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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
I wasn’t a big fan of either of the main characters but enjoyed the story
I wasn’t a big fan of either of the main characters but enjoyed the story
I’ve been seeing this on Goodreads for so long and I’ve finally given in and read it. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! I’m not usually a fan of teacher/student romances, but this one was an addicting read. Maybe it was the MC behind the story that made it that way.
From the first time they met face to face, they had explosive chemistry. They couldn’t get enough of each other and their relationship happened so easily. Yes, this is an age gap and I know that I shouldn’t say that I was rooting for a 18 year old student and 26 year old teacher, but I was and have no shame about it. If you’ve read it, then you know King showed that he was all man in a few ways.
The back and forth on Cress’s end did get on my nerves a bit. She would constantly give into King but immediately push back after. Or he would only find out how she felt about him by overhearing her with her friends or when she was trying to get a girl to back off King. He was so forthcoming with what he wanted from her and what he saw in her. I just wish she could have given him the same thing just as easily.
“Because I fuckin’ love you enough to tear the world apart if it wrongs you, if it causes even a minute of misery for my girl with the whiskey eyes. Never felt this way about anything and I don’t want to ever again.”
The relationship between the Fallen MC men was a good one. I love the loyalty and how they extended care to Cress. I’m hoping that we get to see a lot of them find their old ladies.
All in all, this was a fast paced and quite steamy read. The next book is about Zeus and I’m super excited to read it.
From the first time they met face to face, they had explosive chemistry. They couldn’t get enough of each other and their relationship happened so easily. Yes, this is an age gap and I know that I shouldn’t say that I was rooting for a 18 year old student and 26 year old teacher, but I was and have no shame about it. If you’ve read it, then you know King showed that he was all man in a few ways.
The back and forth on Cress’s end did get on my nerves a bit. She would constantly give into King but immediately push back after. Or he would only find out how she felt about him by overhearing her with her friends or when she was trying to get a girl to back off King. He was so forthcoming with what he wanted from her and what he saw in her. I just wish she could have given him the same thing just as easily.
“Because I fuckin’ love you enough to tear the world apart if it wrongs you, if it causes even a minute of misery for my girl with the whiskey eyes. Never felt this way about anything and I don’t want to ever again.”
The relationship between the Fallen MC men was a good one. I love the loyalty and how they extended care to Cress. I’m hoping that we get to see a lot of them find their old ladies.
All in all, this was a fast paced and quite steamy read. The next book is about Zeus and I’m super excited to read it.
Reread January 2022: I read the audiobook this time and I absolutely loved the experience.
Reread June 2021: I think I fall in love with this book more and more every time I read it.
I loved this book probably even more than I have before. It is just such a fantastic story and I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
Reread June 2021: I think I fall in love with this book more and more every time I read it.
I loved this book probably even more than I have before. It is just such a fantastic story and I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
I keep re-reading this book and it just gets better and better.
An incredible deep and emotional story, its got beautiful description. Really makes the book come alive and as the reader I can vividly image what is happening in every scene.
Cress is like a bird trapped in a cage, just wanting to spread her wings and experience everything she has dreamed about. She has been moulded her entire life to be the perfect wife. Some may see her a weak but I see the strength.
Cress has trauma that she is trying to work through, it’s hard and it’s an up hill battle.
King is patient with her. King knows what he wants and is not afraid to take it. He sees that she is unsteady on her legs and helps her finally love and live again. He is your typical alpha male but he also has a soft side.
I loved seeing Cress meet his biker family and her come to love and see them as her own family. Zeus protecting her like she is already his family. The brothers coming to help her out.
Both characters are highly intelligent, the back and forth. The conversations that was had surrounding “paradise lost” was incredible. I looked forward to these interactions and face offs. It made the dialogue more interesting and exciting, especially because its the main couple. They felt on par with each other.
The chemistry was amazing and like always Giana can write and a darn good romance.
Content warnings: Violence, explicit content, control and coercion by an ex partner and parents , sexual assault and kidnapping and panic attacks
An incredible deep and emotional story, its got beautiful description. Really makes the book come alive and as the reader I can vividly image what is happening in every scene.
Cress is like a bird trapped in a cage, just wanting to spread her wings and experience everything she has dreamed about. She has been moulded her entire life to be the perfect wife. Some may see her a weak but I see the strength.
Cress has trauma that she is trying to work through, it’s hard and it’s an up hill battle.
King is patient with her. King knows what he wants and is not afraid to take it. He sees that she is unsteady on her legs and helps her finally love and live again. He is your typical alpha male but he also has a soft side.
I loved seeing Cress meet his biker family and her come to love and see them as her own family. Zeus protecting her like she is already his family. The brothers coming to help her out.
Both characters are highly intelligent, the back and forth. The conversations that was had surrounding “paradise lost” was incredible. I looked forward to these interactions and face offs. It made the dialogue more interesting and exciting, especially because its the main couple. They felt on par with each other.
The chemistry was amazing and like always Giana can write and a darn good romance.
Content warnings: Violence, explicit content, control and coercion by an ex partner and parents , sexual assault and kidnapping and panic attacks
I really loved and enjoyed this book. I’ve been waiting to start the series so badly. I was a little uncomfortable with the student trope relationship but the ages were appropriate so it didn’t make me cringe.
I have to say that daddy Zeus is everything. I can’t wait to read his story.
I have to say that daddy Zeus is everything. I can’t wait to read his story.
This was not my first Giana Darling and absolutely will not be my last, but it was not my favorite. I was bored through a lot of it until the last 20% or so. I didn't really feel the chemistry between the characters and wasn't the biggest fan of the heroine. I do so love Giana's writing style, though and cannot wait to read the rest of this series.
I normally don't like age gap romances where the younger one is still a teenager, and I also don't think this being a reverse age gap and him being a man excuses that. I still get the ick. Butttt I have to say that I still enjoyed this one despite that.
Not only is it the forbidden romance trope, but it's also a MC romance, which I didn't realize before going in because I only skimmed the blurb. It was recommended for a different trope and I thought I would hate it for the age gap trope so I planned to just read a little bit and then DNF when I couldn't take it anymore.
But I finished it and really liked it instead.
The MMC is completely devoted, single minded on making her his, and he's also smart, well read, extremely thoughtful, and romantic. Like HE'S the romantic, he's not just doing this stuff because someone told him it's how to get her, he's got the biggest bleeding heart for her. He writes her poetry that actually makes sense (don't ask me how often books have burned me in this area) and a few of them had me swooning with the way they tied into what she was teaching. He comes into her life and makes it better in every way he sees that he can. There are times when he shows his age, but mostly I was able to mentally age him up for my own sanity.
I also liked the FMC for the most part (see my notes below about her though). She was coming out of her shell after basically being wedded off as a freshly 18 child herself to her parents' best friend who then treated her as a trophy for the next 8 years to be taken out and put back on the shelf as needed.
She fights her feelings for a long time, knowing it's wrong, despite the MMC's unrelenting interest.
If you like very taboo spice having to do with schools and teachers, this book has it.
I also really liked the MC and the MMC's family. Though I would have liked to see more of them than just when they were needed, they did pack a punch when they were on the page. All of their interactions had meaning, and left me with either a laugh or the warm fuzzies.
So why wasn't this rated higher?
Basically it was the FMC.
‼️SPOILERS‼️
I hated her reactions whenever he did something for her. In the beginning, it could be brushed off as her not wanting to accept his intentions, but it continued for the majority of the story, and she was horrible about it. It was a toss up on whether she would swoon and tell him how perfect he was, or whether she would yell at him publicly about what he had done.
The worst was after he had fixed up her outrageously old and junky car for her. She knew he was fixing it up. But when he brought her to see it, and all the other MC members gathered around bc they had all pitched in to make it run well and add modifications to make it even nicer, she yelled at him for making changes without asking her. It was embarrassing for ME to even read it.
They kept saying everyone found her precious and had a soft spot for her but if I were in that MC and she kept being ungrateful every time we helped with stuff I'd be done helping.
Or like that very first time they did something for her when they had all shown up to fix up her back yard for her, and she openly called them a gang and insinuated he'd brought a bunch of criminals to her house.
The MMC does confront her when she does this, and she does show growth. She learned to correct her preconceived notions about the MC, etc. But she kept blowing up about things and it honestly pissed me off, I wanted the MMC to leave her ass at least once because she had it sooo good from him and she rarely showed that she was grateful.
Also her speech to get him back at the jail after hurting his feelings the last time gave me second hand embarrassment. Not only was her speech way too long and cringey, but I just imagined all the officers sitting around laughing at that shit as she's pouring her heart out to him in a monitored room.
Edit: Oh I forgot that I found her advice to the kid who confessed he was gay after a life-threatening incident at the school and was seeing her other classmate (who had confessed months earlier to her that he was gay) to be incredibly hypocritical and ignorant. Imagine the woman who let her boyfriend's dad pretend to be her boyfriend in front of her parents and her ex in order to keep her secret, telling the closeted gay kid to do right by his uncloseted boyfriend instead of sneaking around with him. And don't get me started on how we don't. push. people. to. come. out. before. they're. ready!!
Also no closure with her horrible parents. :/
Anyway, I really did enjoy this one overall. Some nice swoony moments. I'm interested in reading the books for other members of the MC too.
Not only is it the forbidden romance trope, but it's also a MC romance, which I didn't realize before going in because I only skimmed the blurb. It was recommended for a different trope and I thought I would hate it for the age gap trope so I planned to just read a little bit and then DNF when I couldn't take it anymore.
But I finished it and really liked it instead.
The MMC is completely devoted, single minded on making her his, and he's also smart, well read, extremely thoughtful, and romantic. Like HE'S the romantic, he's not just doing this stuff because someone told him it's how to get her, he's got the biggest bleeding heart for her. He writes her poetry that actually makes sense (don't ask me how often books have burned me in this area) and a few of them had me swooning with the way they tied into what she was teaching. He comes into her life and makes it better in every way he sees that he can. There are times when he shows his age, but mostly I was able to mentally age him up for my own sanity.
I also liked the FMC for the most part (see my notes below about her though). She was coming out of her shell after basically being wedded off as a freshly 18 child herself to her parents' best friend who then treated her as a trophy for the next 8 years to be taken out and put back on the shelf as needed.
She fights her feelings for a long time, knowing it's wrong, despite the MMC's unrelenting interest.
If you like very taboo spice having to do with schools and teachers, this book has it.
I also really liked the MC and the MMC's family. Though I would have liked to see more of them than just when they were needed, they did pack a punch when they were on the page. All of their interactions had meaning, and left me with either a laugh or the warm fuzzies.
So why wasn't this rated higher?
Basically it was the FMC.
‼️SPOILERS‼️
I hated her reactions whenever he did something for her. In the beginning, it could be brushed off as her not wanting to accept his intentions, but it continued for the majority of the story, and she was horrible about it. It was a toss up on whether she would swoon and tell him how perfect he was, or whether she would yell at him publicly about what he had done.
The worst was after he had fixed up her outrageously old and junky car for her. She knew he was fixing it up. But when he brought her to see it, and all the other MC members gathered around bc they had all pitched in to make it run well and add modifications to make it even nicer, she yelled at him for making changes without asking her. It was embarrassing for ME to even read it.
They kept saying everyone found her precious and had a soft spot for her but if I were in that MC and she kept being ungrateful every time we helped with stuff I'd be done helping.
Or like that very first time they did something for her when they had all shown up to fix up her back yard for her, and she openly called them a gang and insinuated he'd brought a bunch of criminals to her house.
The MMC does confront her when she does this, and she does show growth. She learned to correct her preconceived notions about the MC, etc. But she kept blowing up about things and it honestly pissed me off, I wanted the MMC to leave her ass at least once because she had it sooo good from him and she rarely showed that she was grateful.
Also her speech to get him back at the jail after hurting his feelings the last time gave me second hand embarrassment. Not only was her speech way too long and cringey, but I just imagined all the officers sitting around laughing at that shit as she's pouring her heart out to him in a monitored room.
Edit: Oh I forgot that I found her advice to the kid who confessed he was gay after a life-threatening incident at the school and was seeing her other classmate (who had confessed months earlier to her that he was gay) to be incredibly hypocritical and ignorant. Imagine the woman who let her boyfriend's dad pretend to be her boyfriend in front of her parents and her ex in order to keep her secret, telling the closeted gay kid to do right by his uncloseted boyfriend instead of sneaking around with him. And don't get me started on how we don't. push. people. to. come. out. before. they're. ready!!
Also no closure with her horrible parents. :/
Anyway, I really did enjoy this one overall. Some nice swoony moments. I'm interested in reading the books for other members of the MC too.
I fell in love with each character in this book. Can not wait to read the rest of the series. Giana writing is perfect, she makes you feel like you are living in her world she is writing about, like we are part of the MC! ❤️
My first (and the first) Fallen Men book but not my last! I loved the dynamics between King and Cress. It’s not often you get an older woman/younger man in romances but it can be one of my favorites. Well written and engaging characters with smut that’s 10/10. Will be continuing on with this series for sure!