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margymatson's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A friends with benefits turned lovers book. I was expecting there to be more to the plot, but it was all revolved around the physical chemistry. Lots of steamy sex scenes but there were so many, they become repetitive after a while. And there was nothing more to the plot beyond their lust turned love.
noall's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
santana22's review against another edition
5.0
I have re-read this book already 3 times. I love the storyline and the BANTER oooof amazing.
jackiehorne's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 This is my first book by Samantha Young, and I picked it up because it's been getting a lot of positive press among fall 2018 romance releases. A meet-angry at the airport between 30-year-old Ava Breevort, an always-put-together interior decorator and 35-year-old Caleb Scott, a cranky, broody CFS of a major tech company leads to a steamy one-night stand while the two are stranded by a layover. Both of the two have their reasons for their rude behavior to one another. Ava's returning from the funeral of her best friend, from whom she's been estranged for years after (won't reveal PLOT SPOILERS). Caleb, too, is dealing with an overabundance of loss and betrayal, although he, unlike a slightly tipsy Ava, won't reveal anything about them. Agreeing that they don't even much l like one another, Ava and Caleb still manage to find welcome solace in each other's arms. (And, of course, the best sex either of them has ever had; this is a romance novel after all).
Of course, when Ava gets back home to Boston, she and Caleb run into each other again, and again, and both decide to have a sex-only fling until Caleb has to return home to Scotland. We only hear the story from Ava's POV, but Young does great work exploring the characters of both. Ava's approach to dealing with her past losses is to be über-controlling, not only with her appearance, but at her home and in her work. Caleb's is to speak as little as possible, to not bother to thank anyone (coworkers, stewardesses, wait staff, not anyone), and to shut down emotionally whenever someone gets too close to one of his emotional hurts and freeze them right out. Both make somewhat incorrect assumptions about the other based on appearances and first impressions, but as they two start to cross the line from sex-only to friends-with-benefits, Young shows the reasons behind those first impressions, which shows the reader what made those impressions both wrong and, to a certain degree, also right.
1/2 star off for Caleb's occasional sexist assertions, and also for the nature of his big hurt:.
Of course, when Ava gets back home to Boston, she and Caleb run into each other again, and again, and both decide to have a sex-only fling until Caleb has to return home to Scotland. We only hear the story from Ava's POV, but Young does great work exploring the characters of both. Ava's approach to dealing with her past losses is to be über-controlling, not only with her appearance, but at her home and in her work. Caleb's is to speak as little as possible, to not bother to thank anyone (coworkers, stewardesses, wait staff, not anyone), and to shut down emotionally whenever someone gets too close to one of his emotional hurts and freeze them right out. Both make somewhat incorrect assumptions about the other based on appearances and first impressions, but as they two start to cross the line from sex-only to friends-with-benefits, Young shows the reasons behind those first impressions, which shows the reader what made those impressions both wrong and, to a certain degree, also right.
1/2 star off for Caleb's occasional sexist assertions, and also for the nature of his big hurt:
Spoiler
his girlfriend got pregnant and then had an abortion without telling him. The girlfriend is cast as evil for so-doing, as much for the abortion itself as for lying to Caleb about it. And Ava is totes on his side about how wrong it was of evil other woman to act so.lilybellreader's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
alannar2422's review against another edition
5.0
This book was really good and made me kind of emotional at some parts. Ava was an amazing character and what happened between her ex-fiance and ex-best friend is something so painful its hard to imagine. I liked Caleb a bit, but I think he could have done more to fight for Ava. She was left feeling like crap for weeks and while he did explain himself the pain he caused Ava was no joke. I feel like he could have done a bit more because it was resolved way too quickly for the amount of time Ava was feeling the way she did. I didn't really like Caleb that much because of how much he hurt Ava and treated her throughout their relationship. Harper was also an amazing character and I loved her. Overall great book!
jojo_27's review against another edition
1.0
SPOILERS ABOUND, but I strongly recommend you not bother with the book anyway. "Don't judge a book by its cover" is true here: the cover is the best part, by far.
I hated this book. The only reason it gets a star is because you have to give one and because the writing was decent enough that I got to the end (although unhappily). I know what I'm getting into when I read a romance novel, but in this case, I was desperately hoping that the happy ending was that she got some good sex and learned some life lessons about how to be a single woman for a while longer.
My first problem with this book is that the author went too hard in creating the tension between the two protagonists. I can get making Caleb a little rude out of stress/fear of flying, but he's a downright dick to Ava before he can even lean into that whole bullshit excuse of "I had to be mean to you because I wanted you to not want to sleep with me" thing. Also, what a bullshit excuse. He's so awful that I immediately lost any desire to see him be happy or for things to work out for him. His accent is also written out way too heavily, and it's almost as obnoxious as him only calling her "babe".
Next: Ava's terrible choices wrt her finances are mentioned at the beginning of the book (and they are terrible; I live in Boston and there's no need for her to live where she does, and no explanation for it except that she likes nice things, I guess) but then never mentioned again. She's apparently thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars in debt, so I thought it would be a Thing, but I guess the author forgot about it?
Also in terms of Ava's hardships, I struggled to empathize with her problem of being too beautiful. I don't have any trouble believing that she's been objectified and harassed and generally treated badly by men for it, but like, these issues aren't unique to gorgeous women, and she also seems to benefit from it to an extent (in her work, her appearance helps); anyway, all the stuff about how ~*hOtT*~ she is seemed a little much.
Ava's friendship with Harper is nice but I'm also curious as to why Harper is her only friend; I was thankful that there was no "other women hate me because I'm beautiful", and Ava didn't seem that way, but I wondered if that was in between the lines. When she does make another friend, albeit in a weird, roundabout way, he just gets used as a way to make Caleb jealous. Ugh.
The backstory with Nick and Gemma seemed a little convoluted; I could totally buy Nick being a cheating asshole, but I didn't really see that coming from Gemma. It seemed like just a plot device to make the reader sympathetic to Ava.
There was also just a lot of telling that seemed OTT, but then other stuff that was withheld (imo for too long) wrt the characters' backstories.
Other reviewers have also mentioned the scene where Caleb hesitates to grab a condom; NOT COOL, NOT OK, I DON'T CARE HOW HOT THE MOMENT IS. THIS IS R*PE.
Oh oh, the scene where Caleb explains his past relationship?? So I get that she went about everything completely wrong, and she was terrible, but it really really comes off as him hating her because she had an abortion, and...yeah I can't with that.
My feelings about the end were pretty much the same as the beginning; Caleb is too horrible to her when they finally talk after he ghosts her (so much for all the talk about caring about her as a friend; why do people think that it's ok to treat someone like complete shit as soon as sex/romance is involved). He's so awful and cruel that I don't want Ava to take him back, at all, ever. That scene is a deal-breaker and if I were her friend and she told me about that and then got with him again, I'd be pissed and not able to support that relationship.
Also, in general, I just don't get why he's so awful so often. Obviously he knows how to behave nicely when he wants to, but there's a huge difference between general rudeness and his level of outright cruelty to her on multiple occasions. Also, the whole thing where he doesn't thank servicepeople?? And Ava is initially put off by it but then like, oh, I get it now?? NO, lady. Listen to your instincts. She also takes on way too much of the responsibility for their initial skirmishes (when he is awful and she is understandably pissed off). Speaking of those scenes, DISAPPOINTED at the other women, like the airline employee who is also horribly rude to Ava because she thinks Caleb is hot. So unprofessional and talk about internalized misogyny.
Other disappointing person: Caleb's brother Jamie, who sees Ava on a regular basis for an entire month before realizing that his snap judgment of her is inaccurate, and only then because he sees her express care for Harper, who just got the shit beat out of her?? DUDE get over yourself.
Oh, and Vince! Yeah, every dude in this book is shitty. I mean, clearly this was coming all along, but I didn't feel like I knew enough about Harper's backstory to be able to just accept it when she let him treat her badly--I'm guessing that she is the main character in another book, guessing involving Jamie, but still--so I was just frustrated.
There are a few times where Ava stands up for herself against the shit men in her life, and I was glad when that happened. I just wish it had lasted wrt Caleb. Yeah, the sex is great, but what happens when he decides not to bestow his benevolence on you and reverts back to being a terrible person?
In summary: BEING HOT AND HAVING AN ACCENT DOES NOT MAKE BAD BEHAVIOR OK. This book was a huge disappointment.
I hated this book. The only reason it gets a star is because you have to give one and because the writing was decent enough that I got to the end (although unhappily). I know what I'm getting into when I read a romance novel, but in this case, I was desperately hoping that the happy ending was that she got some good sex and learned some life lessons about how to be a single woman for a while longer.
My first problem with this book is that the author went too hard in creating the tension between the two protagonists. I can get making Caleb a little rude out of stress/fear of flying, but he's a downright dick to Ava before he can even lean into that whole bullshit excuse of "I had to be mean to you because I wanted you to not want to sleep with me" thing. Also, what a bullshit excuse. He's so awful that I immediately lost any desire to see him be happy or for things to work out for him. His accent is also written out way too heavily, and it's almost as obnoxious as him only calling her "babe".
Next: Ava's terrible choices wrt her finances are mentioned at the beginning of the book (and they are terrible; I live in Boston and there's no need for her to live where she does, and no explanation for it except that she likes nice things, I guess) but then never mentioned again. She's apparently thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars in debt, so I thought it would be a Thing, but I guess the author forgot about it?
Also in terms of Ava's hardships, I struggled to empathize with her problem of being too beautiful. I don't have any trouble believing that she's been objectified and harassed and generally treated badly by men for it, but like, these issues aren't unique to gorgeous women, and she also seems to benefit from it to an extent (in her work, her appearance helps); anyway, all the stuff about how ~*hOtT*~ she is seemed a little much.
Ava's friendship with Harper is nice but I'm also curious as to why Harper is her only friend; I was thankful that there was no "other women hate me because I'm beautiful", and Ava didn't seem that way, but I wondered if that was in between the lines. When she does make another friend, albeit in a weird, roundabout way, he just gets used as a way to make Caleb jealous. Ugh.
The backstory with Nick and Gemma seemed a little convoluted; I could totally buy Nick being a cheating asshole, but I didn't really see that coming from Gemma. It seemed like just a plot device to make the reader sympathetic to Ava.
There was also just a lot of telling that seemed OTT, but then other stuff that was withheld (imo for too long) wrt the characters' backstories.
Other reviewers have also mentioned the scene where Caleb hesitates to grab a condom; NOT COOL, NOT OK, I DON'T CARE HOW HOT THE MOMENT IS. THIS IS R*PE.
Oh oh, the scene where Caleb explains his past relationship?? So I get that she went about everything completely wrong, and she was terrible, but it really really comes off as him hating her because she had an abortion, and...yeah I can't with that.
My feelings about the end were pretty much the same as the beginning; Caleb is too horrible to her when they finally talk after he ghosts her (so much for all the talk about caring about her as a friend; why do people think that it's ok to treat someone like complete shit as soon as sex/romance is involved). He's so awful and cruel that I don't want Ava to take him back, at all, ever. That scene is a deal-breaker and if I were her friend and she told me about that and then got with him again, I'd be pissed and not able to support that relationship.
Also, in general, I just don't get why he's so awful so often. Obviously he knows how to behave nicely when he wants to, but there's a huge difference between general rudeness and his level of outright cruelty to her on multiple occasions. Also, the whole thing where he doesn't thank servicepeople?? And Ava is initially put off by it but then like, oh, I get it now?? NO, lady. Listen to your instincts. She also takes on way too much of the responsibility for their initial skirmishes (when he is awful and she is understandably pissed off). Speaking of those scenes, DISAPPOINTED at the other women, like the airline employee who is also horribly rude to Ava because she thinks Caleb is hot. So unprofessional and talk about internalized misogyny.
Other disappointing person: Caleb's brother Jamie, who sees Ava on a regular basis for an entire month before realizing that his snap judgment of her is inaccurate, and only then because he sees her express care for Harper, who just got the shit beat out of her?? DUDE get over yourself.
Oh, and Vince! Yeah, every dude in this book is shitty. I mean, clearly this was coming all along, but I didn't feel like I knew enough about Harper's backstory to be able to just accept it when she let him treat her badly--I'm guessing that she is the main character in another book, guessing involving Jamie, but still--so I was just frustrated.
There are a few times where Ava stands up for herself against the shit men in her life, and I was glad when that happened. I just wish it had lasted wrt Caleb. Yeah, the sex is great, but what happens when he decides not to bestow his benevolence on you and reverts back to being a terrible person?
In summary: BEING HOT AND HAVING AN ACCENT DOES NOT MAKE BAD BEHAVIOR OK. This book was a huge disappointment.
nbrickman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mmz's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No