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wa_reader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Spice with some trope-y romance and suspense.
I was interested in reading Luc's story after #2 in the series. But I found him unlikeable. I did like Alyssa for a bit, but then she kept putting up with Luc's rubbish and a lot of the strengths of her character disappeared from the writing by a third of the way through. I only kept reading to find out the ending & the suspense reveals. Eck, no more thanks.
Trope-y bits that personally wrecked it for me (but that other readers may be happy to read - good luck!):
* "The male not believing what a female says" - hello rubbish 90's Mills & Boon. Luc's complete distrust/disbelief in anything Alyssa says about the parentage of the baby. Even after updated Dr advice and repeated conversations/boundaries. "Finally the truth comes out" only when bouncer Tyler says he had never slept with Alyssa, 90% into the book. Luc is such a loser for only listening to/ believing/ trusting what males tell him. And frankly Alyssa is a victim to put up with his loser-ness.
* "Male putting whore/virgin complex onto female", particularly when he's indulged for years in hardcore kinks. The assumption by Luc, linked to point above, that a prostitute sits at a different moral level/value compared to a soccer mom, any of his male friends, a stripper, one of his previous kink-partners, or even himself is a massive level of cognitive dissonance. How does he even walk and talk at the same time with that level of brain cramp? Insert more complete lack of intelligence/ personality/ value as a human put-downs here.
* "Male bringing around female love interest through non-consensual sex", particularly where she has in the past been assaulted/raped. How magical! Yet another shitty 90's Mills & Boon spew worthy trope. The scene where Luc ties Alyssa up, then has his eye pressed to the locked bathroom door gap, then kicks the door open to get after her? Personal trigger full of red flag spewdom.
Ebook via Libby
I was interested in reading Luc's story after #2 in the series. But I found him unlikeable. I did like Alyssa for a bit, but then she kept putting up with Luc's rubbish and a lot of the strengths of her character disappeared from the writing by a third of the way through. I only kept reading to find out the ending & the suspense reveals. Eck, no more thanks.
Trope-y bits that personally wrecked it for me (but that other readers may be happy to read - good luck!):
* "The male not believing what a female says" - hello rubbish 90's Mills & Boon. Luc's complete distrust/disbelief in anything Alyssa says about the parentage of the baby. Even after updated Dr advice and repeated conversations/boundaries. "Finally the truth comes out" only when bouncer Tyler says he had never slept with Alyssa, 90% into the book. Luc is such a loser for only listening to/ believing/ trusting what males tell him. And frankly Alyssa is a victim to put up with his loser-ness.
* "Male putting whore/virgin complex onto female", particularly when he's indulged for years in hardcore kinks. The assumption by Luc, linked to point above, that a prostitute sits at a different moral level/value compared to a soccer mom, any of his male friends, a stripper, one of his previous kink-partners, or even himself is a massive level of cognitive dissonance. How does he even walk and talk at the same time with that level of brain cramp? Insert more complete lack of intelligence/ personality/ value as a human put-downs here.
* "Male bringing around female love interest through non-consensual sex", particularly where she has in the past been assaulted/raped. How magical! Yet another shitty 90's Mills & Boon spew worthy trope. The scene where Luc ties Alyssa up, then has his eye pressed to the locked bathroom door gap, then kicks the door open to get after her? Personal trigger full of red flag spewdom.
Ebook via Libby
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Kidnapping
mostlyfated's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars! My favorite from Shayla Black's Wicked Series.
jodeezle's review against another edition
5.0
This was the best one out of the first 3. I liked Alyssa and could really relate to her. It was not as predictable as the first two, I loved the twist. Will definately be recomending this bookto friends.
jeslowe115's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad, not great. If I had a half star I'd give it a 3.5. Took 3 attempts to get though 5th chapter. Got better as it went on.
bethb23's review against another edition
3.0
The main characters were extremely annoying in this book. Luc assumed almost throughout the book that Alyssa was a liar and that she slept around on him, but he was willing to overlook that, for whatever reason. Once Luc realized that she wasn't a liar, Alyssa thought that Luc was all of a sudden a liar. Talk about over dramatization! I almost stopped reading this book halfway through (which is really uncommon for me)! But, since I had paid for the book I thought that I should finish it. I think I would have been just as satisfied if I hadn't finished...
romancejunkie1025's review against another edition
4.0
Ok this one hurt my soul. I could not stop tearing up but I really loved that they finally got their shit together so that they could find their HEA.
allisonw9909's review against another edition
5.0
Luc and Alyssa's story is by far my in the series. Black is really getting better with this series and Im looking forward to the next book, especially since it's about Hunter. Luc needed to admit that he loved Alyssa much sooner than he did, but I loved how he proved it to her at the end of the book by giving up all his rights to the child he was desperately trying to get. I wasn't sure how he was going to pull it off, but I understood where Alyssa was coming from. It's hard to admit that someone only wants you because of the child and not because they truely love you. Tyler was a bit protective, but it made more sense once you found out about Josh and his craziness. I hope Black keeps up the great plots, though I was surpirsed there was no menage in this story, but Im sure there will be in the next.
emilij0307's review
3.0
Luc!
Luc!
Luc!
God blass Shayla Black for giving us an incredible story about my favorite character in the Wicked Lovers series! Luc stole my heart in Decadent! His pursuit for the American Dream was admirable, but showed how a need can hurt others when the truth isn't present was the primary reason why I kept reading this book!
And Alyssa - she was a truly lovely character and I loved how she was truly the opposite to every stereotype there is in the world about exotic dancers! Their love story (though at times was tiresome because they weren't honest with each other) was filled with twists and turns and the fact that there wasn't just one stalker, but two had me ALL IN MY FEELINGS!!! Gurl - when her stepbrother came out in the end I screamed!
Overall - this was a great story. And while I typically do not like books with miraculous pregnancies, this one I will give a pass because of my love for Luc and his happiness!
candylovegirl's review against another edition
4.0
Fun story with lots of love and character development. Not as intense as previous titles by this author.