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vicrine's review against another edition
4.0
7.5/10 - the villain didn't get the satisfactory comeuppance he deserved
fromthevault's review against another edition
não consigo pensar em nada que salvaria esse livro pra mim uma pena porque gosto da sinopse dos outros livros da série mas pretendo correr dessa autora no futuro
bookish_notes's review against another edition
4.0
I have a tendency to read books out of order. I was 15% into the second book before I went, YOU KNOW WHAT. LET’S READ BOOK ONE. I clearly make only the most logical decisions with my reading choices.
Trigger warnings for mentions of a loved one and a young child dying in a fire.
I don’t read much historical romance? I don’t know why, because I have liked all the ones I’ve finished reading, but it does take awhile to get me INTO the story? So, I call it a great day when I find one I like and manage to read it all in one sitting. And this is that book.
I went into this only knowing how they’ve gotten together (because reading the second book first will absolutely spoil the surprise), but I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I loved Poppy and Archer.
The book has a LOT of events happening one after the other and I was wondering when the ending was. At the 40% mark, I was like, is this book already hitting the ~big romantic confrontation scene?!? But there are actually quite a lot of those scenes in this book and never felt like a dull moment.
I really enjoyed reading about Poppy’s love for plants, but I would be remiss to point out that despite the story building her up to be independent and all, we never really find out what happens with her ventures after that one big incident near the end because we’re given a typical romance book ending that made me.
Archer is a bit grumpy but has a secret he keeps close to his chest. Literally. He’s darling and has suffered a heartbreak no one should ever have had to have suffered, but there’s much in this book where SO much could be solved if the characters just TALKED to one another. Instead, there’s a lot of miscommunication and results in weeks of angst.
There are hints of Pride and Prejudice in this in that I could definitely see a bit of Elizabeth in Poppy and Mr. Darcy in Archer. And that one rain scene? *chef’s kiss*
This book has some D/s scenes. Which I wasn’t really expecting. But they were enjoyable? The scenes are mostly not between Poppy and Archer though, but I did liked seeing Archer taking a more submissive role. Although for the circumstances in which the scenes occurred, I couldn’t really say. For Archer to have marks that never healed or for the one crop scene to occur when Poppy knows nothing about what she’s doing? Eh. As someone not familiar with the scene at all, I was left wondering afterwards if the show of BDSM in this book was handled well.
There was one annoying character in this book, Tom. He’s a representation of men who think that they’re the “nice guy” who can have whatever, and whoever, he wants and I wanted to punch him in the face every time he appeared. Hopefully, he’s gone from the series for good.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and all the angst that came with it, since it’s been a long while since I read anything heartbreakingly angsty. Back to reading the second book I go!!
Trigger warnings for mentions of a loved one and a young child dying in a fire.
I don’t read much historical romance? I don’t know why, because I have liked all the ones I’ve finished reading, but it does take awhile to get me INTO the story? So, I call it a great day when I find one I like and manage to read it all in one sitting. And this is that book.
I went into this only knowing how they’ve gotten together (because reading the second book first will absolutely spoil the surprise), but I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I loved Poppy and Archer.
The book has a LOT of events happening one after the other and I was wondering when the ending was. At the 40% mark, I was like, is this book already hitting the ~big romantic confrontation scene?!? But there are actually quite a lot of those scenes in this book and never felt like a dull moment.
I really enjoyed reading about Poppy’s love for plants, but I would be remiss to point out that despite the story building her up to be independent and all, we never really find out what happens with her ventures after that one big incident near the end because we’re given a typical romance book ending that made me.
Archer is a bit grumpy but has a secret he keeps close to his chest. Literally. He’s darling and has suffered a heartbreak no one should ever have had to have suffered, but there’s much in this book where SO much could be solved if the characters just TALKED to one another. Instead, there’s a lot of miscommunication and results in weeks of angst.
There are hints of Pride and Prejudice in this in that I could definitely see a bit of Elizabeth in Poppy and Mr. Darcy in Archer. And that one rain scene? *chef’s kiss*
This book has some D/s scenes. Which I wasn’t really expecting. But they were enjoyable? The scenes are mostly not between Poppy and Archer though, but I did liked seeing Archer taking a more submissive role. Although for the circumstances in which the scenes occurred, I couldn’t really say. For Archer to have marks that never healed or for the one crop scene to occur when Poppy knows nothing about what she’s doing? Eh. As someone not familiar with the scene at all, I was left wondering afterwards if the show of BDSM in this book was handled well.
There was one annoying character in this book, Tom. He’s a representation of men who think that they’re the “nice guy” who can have whatever, and whoever, he wants and I wanted to punch him in the face every time he appeared. Hopefully, he’s gone from the series for good.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and all the angst that came with it, since it’s been a long while since I read anything heartbreakingly angsty. Back to reading the second book I go!!
tiredtannah's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
They got married halfway through the book and then them getting their shit together was rather uninteresting
shannon_cocktailsandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this one. I’m moving onto Constance’s story. Must see what kind of a mess she’s made.
kathleenmcg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
xandrarama's review against another edition
4.0
This was very good, well written with excellent character development. The female protagonist is a self-taught botanist wary of marriage due to the loss of autonomy it would entail; the male protagonist is a Sad Widower who needs an heir but is determined to Never Love Again. Mutual attraction leads to a marriage of convenience halfway through the book. The second half is nice and angsty, although it felt like it was getting dragged out unnecessarily by the end (could be me, reading at 4am). One thing that struck me is that the book doesn’t engage to a strong degree with the historical context. The spoken and inner dialogue sometimes feels very modern day (“me too”, “he was her person”, etc.) - there is generally little sense of place and time.
sincerelymendacious's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-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
taisie22's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.0
Archer, Duke of Westmead, needs an heir. Poppy is a neighbor and a botanist. Archer's sister Charlotte hires Poppy to decorate for a ball to find her brother's bride. Poppy and Archer are discovered in a compromising situation and are forced to marry: Poppy for a greenhouse and Archer for his heir. Meanwhile, they both have secrets that complicate the situation.
While I enjoyed this story, a lot is going on. The two main characters are fine, though I would have liked to see more about Archer's secret and how Poppy handles it; I felt the discovery was rather abrupt and since it's so unusual to find this (no spoilers) in historical romances, I would have liked more about it, but it just pops up towards the end of the book. Charlotte, Archer's sister, is great and adds lots of fun to the story. All in all, an interesting book.
While I enjoyed this story, a lot is going on. The two main characters are fine, though I would have liked to see more about Archer's secret and how Poppy handles it; I felt the discovery was rather abrupt and since it's so unusual to find this (no spoilers) in historical romances, I would have liked more about it, but it just pops up towards the end of the book. Charlotte, Archer's sister, is great and adds lots of fun to the story. All in all, an interesting book.