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kiwicoral's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this one. Wade was exactly my kind of smart, snarky asshole with a heart of gold. And I loved that Sophie shoeveled his shit right back. Both of their characters developed as their relationship progressed. The supporting characters were really strong as well. The plot progressed naturally and didn't feel as contrived as the first book.
The only thing stopping me from five stars and a spot in my highly coveted top 5 contemporary romance shelf is that there were some times the writing could be clunky. It needed one more copy edit. And that cover is legit terrible.
The only thing stopping me from five stars and a spot in my highly coveted top 5 contemporary romance shelf is that there were some times the writing could be clunky. It needed one more copy edit. And that cover is legit terrible.
laffingkat's review
3.0
I was provided an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was the first book I've read from this author, Melissa Blue, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It worked fine as a stand-alone, so you don't have to read the previous books in the series to enjoy it, although reading the books in order might provide more insight about some of the characters.
I enjoyed some aspects of the book. I appreciated the geeky touches, such as mathematical expressions for the chapter numbers and references to Doctor Who. Although I prefer a little less crude language, I generally enjoyed the banter between the main characters and the secondary characters. And I was sufficiently interested in the characters to keep reading to the end, wanting to find out what would happen. In fact, I am curious enough about the Goon Squad to be somewhat tempted to buy the other books in the series, even though I didn't enjoy this book all that much.
However, the writing seemed a bit awkward to me, and the ARC I reviewed had some grammatical problems and quite a few proofreading errors (missing words, extra words, words in the wrong order). There were times when I had a bit of trouble following the dialog or making sense of what was happening, just enough to pull me out of the story. Since I was reading an ARC, perhaps some of these issues will be corrected in the final published version.
Also, this book deals with some very difficult issues, such as mental illness and the difficulty of recovering from past relationship traumas. When I read romances, I do so for pleasure and as a form of escape, and I generally prefer books that are lighter, not so intense. Perhaps this hit a bit too close to home for me. For others, it might be interesting or a refreshing change.
In addition, I'm not sure I really liked the main characters. They felt believable and I could understand the motivations for their actions, but when reading a romance, I want to read about people I like. I didn't hate these characters, I found them interesting, but they also made me a bit uncomfortable. Not really what I'm looking for from a romance.
There was also a lot of explicit sex that I thought happened too soon in the relationship. If you're looking for a steamy read, maybe that will work for you, but I didn't find it very appealing. The series is called Dirty Sexy Geeks, so I guess I should have been more prepared for that.
So, if you enjoy a bit of geekiness and aren't bothered by crude language, explicit sex scenes, relationship conflict that involves coping with mental illness and trauma, and the occasional grammatical error, give this a try. If any of these things are going to really bother you, give this a pass.
I enjoyed some aspects of the book. I appreciated the geeky touches, such as mathematical expressions for the chapter numbers and references to Doctor Who. Although I prefer a little less crude language, I generally enjoyed the banter between the main characters and the secondary characters. And I was sufficiently interested in the characters to keep reading to the end, wanting to find out what would happen. In fact, I am curious enough about the Goon Squad to be somewhat tempted to buy the other books in the series, even though I didn't enjoy this book all that much.
However, the writing seemed a bit awkward to me, and the ARC I reviewed had some grammatical problems and quite a few proofreading errors (missing words, extra words, words in the wrong order). There were times when I had a bit of trouble following the dialog or making sense of what was happening, just enough to pull me out of the story. Since I was reading an ARC, perhaps some of these issues will be corrected in the final published version.
Also, this book deals with some very difficult issues, such as mental illness and the difficulty of recovering from past relationship traumas. When I read romances, I do so for pleasure and as a form of escape, and I generally prefer books that are lighter, not so intense. Perhaps this hit a bit too close to home for me. For others, it might be interesting or a refreshing change.
In addition, I'm not sure I really liked the main characters. They felt believable and I could understand the motivations for their actions, but when reading a romance, I want to read about people I like. I didn't hate these characters, I found them interesting, but they also made me a bit uncomfortable. Not really what I'm looking for from a romance.
There was also a lot of explicit sex that I thought happened too soon in the relationship. If you're looking for a steamy read, maybe that will work for you, but I didn't find it very appealing. The series is called Dirty Sexy Geeks, so I guess I should have been more prepared for that.
So, if you enjoy a bit of geekiness and aren't bothered by crude language, explicit sex scenes, relationship conflict that involves coping with mental illness and trauma, and the occasional grammatical error, give this a try. If any of these things are going to really bother you, give this a pass.
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