Scan barcode
elisebavs's review
emotional
funny
fast-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
4.25
gorgonine's review
2.0
Plot: Separated for mutual convenience spouses meet and have to spend time with each other and eventually realize they actually kinda like each other.
1. Over the course of reading this, [b:暴君宠婚日常 Tyrant Pampering Wife Diary |53274617|暴君宠婚日常 Tyrant Pampering Wife Diary |一日知千|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587960470l/53274617._SX50_.jpg|81081485] and [b:The Queen of Nothing|26032912|The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)|Holly Black|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553624975l/26032912._SX50_.jpg|45959205] I have developed some nascent thoughts about the nature of fictional relationships and I feel like I have to share them for this review to fully make sense so here it goes.
2. A good ship is about the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts. There are ships which are just- fine, where the friendship makes as much sense as a romantic relationship because it doesn't take away anything from the couple dynamics. There are ships which are bad, because one or more characters radically change or get mutilated into more cliche forms during the course of that relationship (side-eyes [b:Heaven's Queen|18295835|Heaven's Queen (Paradox #3)|Rachel Bach|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1399076617l/18295835._SY75_.jpg|25778609]). And then there are ships which are good because the characters support each other so much and/or work together so well that they transcend their individual selves and become a stronger whole.
3. I do not think the protagonists of this book make for a good ship. I think they have occasional flashes of being mutually supportive, but they are interspersed with long, sometimes interminable sections where they are just really bad for each other? It's this weird dance where they take one step forward, two steps back, and three steps sideways as they participate in long and involved sex scenes. And I suppose towards the end they both take a giant leap forward worth ten steps or so. Idek.
4. Cassandra is a little wishy-washy in characterization. I like that both characters have trauma to work through, but I'm not too fond of Cassandra's trauma being addressed once (at most twice) and being mostly ignored for the rest of the book. It paves the way for her acting like the ingenue for most of her interactions with Joshua- she has flashes of spirit; some of the banter is hilarious and I did like the final fourth of the book a lot? But it was too little too late.
5. Joshua's characterization is worse. He started out pretty fun, but soon fell into the rut of the author trying to make him too many things at once. I'm pretty sure she was going for "cares so much and had been hurt so much he's now a misanthrope", but it came across as "asshole who claims to care about people but is actually very careless about their feelings" which is... a whole different thing. Like Cassandra, there were moments here and there where I could buy into him caring for people, but they were small and spread apart and connected by many many pages of him just being actively hurtful for minimal reason.
6. This book did have a lot of good moments, but most of them didn't involve the romance. I like both sets of siblings, and Lucy is an absolute delight because I have never not loved a chaos gremlin. Plus, some of the writing made me snort, like the Titles of the Secretaries and this little gem-
7. But at the end of the day they were not enough to get me happily through pages and pages of two people being attracted to each other for reasons of "oh they are nicer to me than other people" (Cassandra) and "oh they are not as terrible as I thought they would be" (Joshua). I think a good story could have been wrung out of this narrative, but it would require the book to be a lot shorter. And for it to address Cassandra's past and trauma maybe a little bit more. Substitute the enormous amounts of fluff for emotional depth, so that when we get the fluff we are salivating for it like starving dogs.
8. As it is, it feels a lot like a graveyard of missed opportunities. But I like enough of it to give the author another try so yay at least there's that.
1. Over the course of reading this, [b:暴君宠婚日常 Tyrant Pampering Wife Diary |53274617|暴君宠婚日常 Tyrant Pampering Wife Diary |一日知千|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587960470l/53274617._SX50_.jpg|81081485] and [b:The Queen of Nothing|26032912|The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)|Holly Black|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553624975l/26032912._SX50_.jpg|45959205] I have developed some nascent thoughts about the nature of fictional relationships and I feel like I have to share them for this review to fully make sense so here it goes.
2. A good ship is about the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts. There are ships which are just- fine, where the friendship makes as much sense as a romantic relationship because it doesn't take away anything from the couple dynamics. There are ships which are bad, because one or more characters radically change or get mutilated into more cliche forms during the course of that relationship (side-eyes [b:Heaven's Queen|18295835|Heaven's Queen (Paradox #3)|Rachel Bach|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1399076617l/18295835._SY75_.jpg|25778609]). And then there are ships which are good because the characters support each other so much and/or work together so well that they transcend their individual selves and become a stronger whole.
3. I do not think the protagonists of this book make for a good ship. I think they have occasional flashes of being mutually supportive, but they are interspersed with long, sometimes interminable sections where they are just really bad for each other? It's this weird dance where they take one step forward, two steps back, and three steps sideways as they participate in long and involved sex scenes. And I suppose towards the end they both take a giant leap forward worth ten steps or so. Idek.
4. Cassandra is a little wishy-washy in characterization. I like that both characters have trauma to work through, but I'm not too fond of Cassandra's trauma being addressed once (at most twice) and being mostly ignored for the rest of the book. It paves the way for her acting like the ingenue for most of her interactions with Joshua- she has flashes of spirit; some of the banter is hilarious and I did like the final fourth of the book a lot? But it was too little too late.
5. Joshua's characterization is worse. He started out pretty fun, but soon fell into the rut of the author trying to make him too many things at once. I'm pretty sure she was going for "cares so much and had been hurt so much he's now a misanthrope", but it came across as "asshole who claims to care about people but is actually very careless about their feelings" which is... a whole different thing. Like Cassandra, there were moments here and there where I could buy into him caring for people, but they were small and spread apart and connected by many many pages of him just being actively hurtful for minimal reason.
6. This book did have a lot of good moments, but most of them didn't involve the romance. I like both sets of siblings, and Lucy is an absolute delight because I have never not loved a chaos gremlin. Plus, some of the writing made me snort, like the Titles of the Secretaries and this little gem-
“Cassandra doesn’t like that you took Lucy to visit the witnesses.”
“Why?”
“Because Lucy is a genteel lady, and genteel ladies are meant to be accomplished at dancing and watercolors, not bribery and intimidation.”
“Shame, because she is very good at them,” Isaac said.
7. But at the end of the day they were not enough to get me happily through pages and pages of two people being attracted to each other for reasons of "oh they are nicer to me than other people" (Cassandra) and "oh they are not as terrible as I thought they would be" (Joshua). I think a good story could have been wrung out of this narrative, but it would require the book to be a lot shorter. And for it to address Cassandra's past and trauma maybe a little bit more. Substitute the enormous amounts of fluff for emotional depth, so that when we get the fluff we are salivating for it like starving dogs.
8. As it is, it feels a lot like a graveyard of missed opportunities. But I like enough of it to give the author another try so yay at least there's that.
pathstotread's review
4.0
This was very charming. The dialogue was very sharp and I laughed out loud several times while reading
I know it’s a thing in historical, but I didn’t love the focus on Cassandra wanting a baby? I mean it’s understandable, of course, it just got frustrating when the misunderstanding was always Joshua thinking she only wanted him around for baby-making purposes. But it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book.
(Content warning: child death, miscarriage)
I know it’s a thing in historical, but I didn’t love the focus on Cassandra wanting a baby? I mean it’s understandable, of course, it just got frustrating when the misunderstanding was always Joshua thinking she only wanted him around for baby-making purposes. But it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book.
(Content warning: child death, miscarriage)
ajunkel's review
5.0
This was so perfectly what I was in the mood for (not surprising, given how long I spent googling “Regency marriage of convenience” and reading reviews) that I’m being generous in my rating. Funny, touching, and my favorite trope - a couple married before the book begins.
bibliobeka's review
4.0
Very strong debut -- 4.5 stars rounded down. Fingers crossed everything else she comes out with is this good!
katbhw's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Banter was 100/10, it cracked me up
Would have been 4.5 but he was unrepentantly sleeping with other women during the first couple of years of marriage?????
Would have been 4.5 but he was unrepentantly sleeping with other women during the first couple of years of marriage?????
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
adelalikestoread's review
5.0
one of my favorite hr books this year. i loved banter between main characters and even tho, there was some stupid misunderstanding in the end, it didnt stop me from giving it 5 stars because i really loved it.
theschinxy's review
5.0
This is one of the better regency romances I’ve read in a while. The banter and dialogue was amazing. Make sure to review triggers before reading!
sulub's review
4.0
This book brought back the joy of reading for me. Would have been a 5⭐️ if it wasn’t for the last 10% and they mentioned Birmingham way too much that it became a trigger word
mo_'s review
3.0
3.5 stars
A really nice way to spend the time. A good amount of angst. Enjoyed reading about the turbulent relationship between the sisters.
A really nice way to spend the time. A good amount of angst. Enjoyed reading about the turbulent relationship between the sisters.