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pattymac61's review
5.0
Loved this books. I couldn't get enough of Brigs. Him and Natasha were just so right for each other, they just needed to get through some really emotional and tough stuff.
lisamh68's review
5.0
I love Karina Halle's book.. This was a good story.. We met Brigs in The Play and now we know his story.
bookgirl0925's review against another edition
4.0
I did enjoy this book and thought the characters were very well written. What I did find a little frustrating was the interactions between Melissa and both Briggs and Natasha.
b_readsromance's review against another edition
DNF - Touchy subject, couldn't continue
hijinx_abound's review against another edition
3.0
This book has been on my kindle for over a year. Not sure why I kept avoiding it, since I loved so many of her other books. The subject matter was heavier and more real than most new adult stories but I really liked the characters. I look forward to reading many more of her stories!
mandy_pandy's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing. It's so hard to try to put into words how much I loved this story. Brigs and Natasha were not supposed to fall in love. She was supposed to be his assistant and he was a married man but you can't help you fall in love with. This was the type of book that you just can't put down once you start. It's told in past/present and normally I hate books that do that but it really was perfect for this story. To understand why both Brigs and Natasha are the way they are and the strength of the connection they share, we had to see their past. There were parts that were hard to read and took me out of my comfort zone but I fell in love with these characters and their story. This was a beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking, angsty, sexy and powerful romance. I loved this book, it's a top book of 2016 and I'm putting it on my all-time favorites list.
re-read April 21 2016 via audiobook - the audio of this book is fantastic! dual narration and a sexy accent - loved this one! Adding to my list of favorite audiobooks!
re-read April 21 2016 via audiobook - the audio of this book is fantastic! dual narration and a sexy accent - loved this one! Adding to my list of favorite audiobooks!
rlp78's review against another edition
5.0
This book was definitely intense. I wasn't expecting Brigs' story to be what it was and I have to admit I almost walked away. The guilt Brigs and Natasha were feeling? I get it because I definitely felt a bit judgmental towards them. It is the sign of an amazing author that I didn't walk away feeling that. The way this book unfolded was impressive. It ripped me apart at times and definitely took its time sewing me back up. There isn't a single thing I would change about this book. Just two comments. One, I hope Lachlen and Kayla change their mind about having a baby. I know their book is over but the idea of Lachlan as a daddy is just too awesome to give up. I'm hoping we get another novella with the story of their wedding!
I'm thinking this series isn't over because the author put in a little nugget that sounds like it would be an AMAZING story. I'm hoping I'm right about that!
I'm thinking this series isn't over because the author put in a little nugget that sounds like it would be an AMAZING story. I'm hoping I'm right about that!
thewordslinger's review
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I fucking hate this book. I hate every single thing about it.
Cheaters.
The worst reason to break up ever known to man.
Characters that feel wooden, who have no backbone and no personality.
A crazy psychopath for no fucking reason.
Surprise pregnancy trope.
If it weren't for the fact that this is in the middle of a series and it'd bug the shit out of me if I skipped over it, I wouldn't have even read it.
I went into the book already hating the MMC from the previous book in this series. So I was prepared to be mildly annoyed. But this...
This.
The only glimmer of intrigue for me was the brief appearance of Kier and the set up for the book that comes after this one.
God that was misery.
Reader's Notes:
Chapter 1: So, the Brigs we meet in this book and the way he interacts with Lachlan is night and day from Lachlan and Kayla's story. He's a total asshat there, spilling all of Lachlan's dirty laundry for him and then driving Kayla around to pubs when Lachlan was at home waiting for her... I straight up hated him in The Play. Now he's all buddy-buddy with Lachlan? Nah, dog. I don't buy it.
Chapter 8: So... I don't think this book is for me. Cheating is a hard limit for me. And despite the fact that they've stated that they never actually slept together, it's been made perfectly clear that they had an emotional affair 4 years in the past.
The fact that it's now "okay" in the present because his wife and child are dead doesn't change the fact that their emotional affair is the catalyst that killed Miranda and Haymich.
This book is short. And I have the audiobook. So I'll finish it... but I have zero emotional connection to any of these characters. I didn't like Brigs already coming into this one, and I can't really like Natasha because of the situation.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Chapter 11: Melissa is really fucking gross. And a problem. She's a shitty friend at the very least. Just. Vomit.
Mmm. Natasha's told Brigs he's being inappropriate, and then tells him she can't do 'this' when he kisses her--and he still doesn't back off... That's rapey behavior, dude. This just keeps getting ickier.
Chapter 12: So much of this book is flashbacks of the two people cheating. I don't care that he's in a loveless marriage. I don't care that the intent is there to ask for divorce. It's cheating. And there's a child involved. I'm just not okay with this.
Chapter 13: Melissa: "It's good to see you suffer." BITCH WHAT????
Chapter 14: So we all know where this is going, right. Melissa is gonna get in between them, threaten to out the student/teacher relationship or claim that Brigs tried something inappropriate with her... I guess I shouldn't be looking for something deep out of all of this...
Chapter 16: Even in the past Melissa is a royal bitch. Selfish, jealous, cruel.... Why is this girl Natasha's best friend? Why do all the FMCs have the shittiest best friends in all of these books????
Chapter 17: I mean the sentiment is sweet... but you're still littering.
Chapter 18: This bitch is so fucking nasty. I wish Melissa had died in that car wreck 4 years ago. She's nothing but trouble. The fact that Brigs doesn't immediately tell Natasha OR the university that Melissa keeps making passes at him makes him a complete and utter idiot.
Chapter 19: This doesn't feel real to me. It doesn't feel right that we go from "you ruined my life" to "I never stopped loving you" in this short of a time-span. I don't feel like Natasha fought hard enough to keep her independence. She said no one night then the very next day she was spread eagle on his fucking desk for god's sake. I dunno man. This sort of just feels like Karina's phoning it in after the last book which was deep and heart-wrenching and full of real-life trauma. You just don't go from a book that's 560+ pages to one that's not even 300 and have it feel right.
Chapter 20: I told you this bitch is crazy.
Melissa being a total psychopath feels like this book is trying way too hard to create drama where there needn't be any.
Like this whole conversation is completely stupid.
Chapter 21: Can you hear my eyeballs rolling around in my head? This is the stupidest thing I've ever read. Literally ever.
God, the characters are breaking up and it's miserable and dramatic and I'm howling with laughter. They're really letting some crazy psycho cunt tear them apart after all of the bullshit they've gone through? In order to keep his job? What.
Just what?
Chapter 22: PREGNANCY TROPE. FUCKING HELL THIS BOOK IS THE WORST.
Cheaters.
The worst reason to break up ever known to man.
Characters that feel wooden, who have no backbone and no personality.
A crazy psychopath for no fucking reason.
Surprise pregnancy trope.
If it weren't for the fact that this is in the middle of a series and it'd bug the shit out of me if I skipped over it, I wouldn't have even read it.
I went into the book already hating the MMC from the previous book in this series. So I was prepared to be mildly annoyed. But this...
This.
The only glimmer of intrigue for me was the brief appearance of Kier and the set up for the book that comes after this one.
God that was misery.
Reader's Notes:
Chapter 1: So, the Brigs we meet in this book and the way he interacts with Lachlan is night and day from Lachlan and Kayla's story. He's a total asshat there, spilling all of Lachlan's dirty laundry for him and then driving Kayla around to pubs when Lachlan was at home waiting for her... I straight up hated him in The Play. Now he's all buddy-buddy with Lachlan? Nah, dog. I don't buy it.
Chapter 8: So... I don't think this book is for me. Cheating is a hard limit for me. And despite the fact that they've stated that they never actually slept together, it's been made perfectly clear that they had an emotional affair 4 years in the past.
The fact that it's now "okay" in the present because his wife and child are dead doesn't change the fact that their emotional affair is the catalyst that killed Miranda and Haymich.
This book is short. And I have the audiobook. So I'll finish it... but I have zero emotional connection to any of these characters. I didn't like Brigs already coming into this one, and I can't really like Natasha because of the situation.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Chapter 11: Melissa is really fucking gross. And a problem. She's a shitty friend at the very least. Just. Vomit.
Mmm. Natasha's told Brigs he's being inappropriate, and then tells him she can't do 'this' when he kisses her--and he still doesn't back off... That's rapey behavior, dude. This just keeps getting ickier.
Chapter 12: So much of this book is flashbacks of the two people cheating. I don't care that he's in a loveless marriage. I don't care that the intent is there to ask for divorce. It's cheating. And there's a child involved. I'm just not okay with this.
Chapter 13: Melissa: "It's good to see you suffer." BITCH WHAT????
Chapter 14: So we all know where this is going, right. Melissa is gonna get in between them, threaten to out the student/teacher relationship or claim that Brigs tried something inappropriate with her... I guess I shouldn't be looking for something deep out of all of this...
Chapter 16: Even in the past Melissa is a royal bitch. Selfish, jealous, cruel.... Why is this girl Natasha's best friend? Why do all the FMCs have the shittiest best friends in all of these books????
Chapter 17: I mean the sentiment is sweet... but you're still littering.
Chapter 18: This bitch is so fucking nasty. I wish Melissa had died in that car wreck 4 years ago. She's nothing but trouble. The fact that Brigs doesn't immediately tell Natasha OR the university that Melissa keeps making passes at him makes him a complete and utter idiot.
Chapter 19: This doesn't feel real to me. It doesn't feel right that we go from "you ruined my life" to "I never stopped loving you" in this short of a time-span. I don't feel like Natasha fought hard enough to keep her independence. She said no one night then the very next day she was spread eagle on his fucking desk for god's sake. I dunno man. This sort of just feels like Karina's phoning it in after the last book which was deep and heart-wrenching and full of real-life trauma. You just don't go from a book that's 560+ pages to one that's not even 300 and have it feel right.
Chapter 20: I told you this bitch is crazy.
Melissa being a total psychopath feels like this book is trying way too hard to create drama where there needn't be any.
Like this whole conversation is completely stupid.
Chapter 21: Can you hear my eyeballs rolling around in my head? This is the stupidest thing I've ever read. Literally ever.
God, the characters are breaking up and it's miserable and dramatic and I'm howling with laughter. They're really letting some crazy psycho cunt tear them apart after all of the bullshit they've gone through? In order to keep his job? What.
Just what?
Chapter 22: PREGNANCY TROPE. FUCKING HELL THIS BOOK IS THE WORST.