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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I cannot believe how much I disliked this book. I like most of Cora Riley‘s books, but this was kind of boring. I had really high hopes and had been waiting for this book for a really long time only for it to fall flat with the two main characters being only mildly interesting. Aside from Emma being in a wheelchair due to an accident there wasn’t much to her. Definitely disappointing.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve been waiting for this book since 2021 and honestly I’m a little conflicted by but I think it’s good. The relationship between Emma and Samuel it’s very inspiring and in I think my only problem with this book was *spoiler* how Samuel at the end of the book is recovered from his alcoholism almost like miraculously when in real life it doesn’t happen that way and just bc they were having a baby. I would have love for a longer book but in general, I think it’s great. We don’t expect much from Cora from her last books, but it was a nice reading.
Lately her Mafia books have been lacking the mafia part so it would be nice if she makes her books a little more dark or mafia focus in future stories
Lately her Mafia books have been lacking the mafia part so it would be nice if she makes her books a little more dark or mafia focus in future stories
Cora’s most emotional book yet!
Having recently finished my least favorite book by Cora, I went into this book with pretty low expectations. However, this book surpassed any expectations I had, and I think that this is Cora’s best book yet. Cora’s prose is not overly poetic or eloquent. She can tell a good story, and I think this is her best.
To start off, this book is not a standalone. At minimum, you should read Bound by Duty, Twisted Pride, and Fragile Longing before reading this book as this story is about the romance between Samuel (Serafina’s twin brother) and Emma (Danielo’s sister).
If you’ve read the aforementioned books, you know that Samuel agreed to an arranged marriage with Emma—recently wheelchair bound at age 11 due to a drunk driving accident. Of course, the two of them are not set to be married until she turns 18, but the book gives some of Emma and Samuel’s history, which is necessary going into their romance.
I don’t have a physical disability and don’t know what it’s like to use a wheelchair (so please take that into consideration), but I felt like Cora did a great job at depicting Emma’s character well. It seemed like she did a good amount of research to accurately portray her needs, and wrote it into the romance with care.
I really loved the romance between Samuel and Emma. Samuel is quite caring and protective of Emma right out of the gate, but keeps his inner struggles close to the chest as he deals with a significant amount of grief from his past. Samuel deals with it the only way he feels he can—through alcohol. Samuel is in denial about his addiction, and I love how Emma gracefully dealt with it head-on. She’s a fantastic heroine with the perfect balance of kindness, empathy, self-respect and honesty. I particularly liked how she was upfront about her needs and concerns, leaving no room for miscommunication between the two of them. Cora made me believe in their romance and that the two of them were well-matched.
Having recently finished my least favorite book by Cora, I went into this book with pretty low expectations. However, this book surpassed any expectations I had, and I think that this is Cora’s best book yet. Cora’s prose is not overly poetic or eloquent. She can tell a good story, and I think this is her best.
To start off, this book is not a standalone. At minimum, you should read Bound by Duty, Twisted Pride, and Fragile Longing before reading this book as this story is about the romance between Samuel (Serafina’s twin brother) and Emma (Danielo’s sister).
If you’ve read the aforementioned books, you know that Samuel agreed to an arranged marriage with Emma—recently wheelchair bound at age 11 due to a drunk driving accident. Of course, the two of them are not set to be married until she turns 18, but the book gives some of Emma and Samuel’s history, which is necessary going into their romance.
I don’t have a physical disability and don’t know what it’s like to use a wheelchair (so please take that into consideration), but I felt like Cora did a great job at depicting Emma’s character well. It seemed like she did a good amount of research to accurately portray her needs, and wrote it into the romance with care.
I really loved the romance between Samuel and Emma. Samuel is quite caring and protective of Emma right out of the gate, but keeps his inner struggles close to the chest as he deals with a significant amount of grief from his past. Samuel deals with it the only way he feels he can—through alcohol. Samuel is in denial about his addiction, and I love how Emma gracefully dealt with it head-on. She’s a fantastic heroine with the perfect balance of kindness, empathy, self-respect and honesty. I particularly liked how she was upfront about her needs and concerns, leaving no room for miscommunication between the two of them. Cora made me believe in their romance and that the two of them were well-matched.
I did enjoy this in parts but was also a bit bored.
Reading these books in shackles at this point but I’m too far gone now
Her last few books have just been so bad. There's barely any plot at this point. Like the main conflict is his addiction but then it's just solved so easily it was boring. Her older books at least had an actual climax to the plot.
The writing was also just bad. A lot of telling but no showing. I guess Emma and Samuel like each other because they said they did, but I just didnt really feel it as the reader. It also feels like her writing has gotten clunkier too. The dialogue is way too stilted and formal, but didn't used to be this bad in her older books.
And the section where part of a sentence was repeated three times should have caught if anybody had read the book before publishing.
The writing was also just bad. A lot of telling but no showing. I guess Emma and Samuel like each other because they said they did, but I just didnt really feel it as the reader. It also feels like her writing has gotten clunkier too. The dialogue is way too stilted and formal, but didn't used to be this bad in her older books.
And the section where part of a sentence was repeated three times should have caught if anybody had read the book before publishing.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
lighthearted
medium-paced
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the last years she just wrote the same book over and over again. I miss her old books where there was a good plot. These are not even mafia romance anymore. They are Just romance. PS: babies don't solve people problems, especially if someone Is an alcholist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Grief
Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, Pregnancy