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bcope84's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
kotashomelibrary's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment
chaotic_hyperactive's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Miscarriage
nikitanavalkar's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I was extremely fascinated by Arsène when we first met him in Ruthless Rival, but overall we knew nothing about him or his love interest for that matter. So as much as you’d have guessed certain things from RR, drop all of those preconceptions and go in with a clean slate because FF will surprise you and enchant you in all the best ways. This series has a Bollywood saga style of storytelling so far, and this story also starts out and proceeds rather unconventionally like RR, with a dash of Cruel Intentions depravity.
We get to unearth all about Arsène’s mysterious background and what makes him tick (or not), and for once you don’t root for the forbidden, toxic relationship which we so often are titillated by in fiction. Or at least I am. As dramatic and full of salacious revelations Arsene and Winnie’s romance is, it is also a story of two people working towards healing and growth while dealing with their own complicated kinds of grief. While like-loathing each other at first of course. The author does not shy away from telling those parts of the story that are often a footnote or a fraction of a prologue, and in that gives us a deeper understanding into her characters by making us live through their pasts, so to speak.
I’ve said time and time again that few authors have an understanding of characters that Ms Shen does, and she proves it yet again. She flays open her MCs’ and exposes raw nerves, turning them inside out so you empathize and mourn and laugh with them as if they were real. Winnie is your sunshine but with a secret dark side only Arsène can bring out, Arsène is the grump, nay the sociopath adjacent grump who was so broken as a boy that he only finds comfort in self sabotage. The only relationships he’s known are the abusive kind, and that’s all he thinks he deserves for himself. Of course he’s a toxic asshole himself, but who can dislike an asshole that does dishes? And is respectful where it counts? I loved his nerdy little black heart so much I wanted to hold him tight and put him back together. Him unlearning his toxic past and her learning more of her self worth while falling for each other without compromising on their personal journeys was both sweet and sxxy to watch. Even though the spice level of this series isn’t the usual LJ 3 alarm fire, the tension between these two is palpable and as sizzling as you’d expect from the author with their banter and barbs.
I was also very happy the author chose not to soften the very real impact of a certain condition and not offering a neat little magic solution at the end like books so often do. That made the entire book that much more bittersweet and dear to me.
TW: parental neglect, emotional (and some physical) abuse, not between main couple, descriptions of death and grief, infertility, miscarriage (not graphic)
*I received an arc from the PR company in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*
We get to unearth all about Arsène’s mysterious background and what makes him tick (or not), and for once you don’t root for the forbidden, toxic relationship which we so often are titillated by in fiction. Or at least I am. As dramatic and full of salacious revelations Arsene and Winnie’s romance is, it is also a story of two people working towards healing and growth while dealing with their own complicated kinds of grief. While like-loathing each other at first of course. The author does not shy away from telling those parts of the story that are often a footnote or a fraction of a prologue, and in that gives us a deeper understanding into her characters by making us live through their pasts, so to speak.
I’ve said time and time again that few authors have an understanding of characters that Ms Shen does, and she proves it yet again. She flays open her MCs’ and exposes raw nerves, turning them inside out so you empathize and mourn and laugh with them as if they were real. Winnie is your sunshine but with a secret dark side only Arsène can bring out, Arsène is the grump, nay the sociopath adjacent grump who was so broken as a boy that he only finds comfort in self sabotage. The only relationships he’s known are the abusive kind, and that’s all he thinks he deserves for himself. Of course he’s a toxic asshole himself, but who can dislike an asshole that does dishes? And is respectful where it counts? I loved his nerdy little black heart so much I wanted to hold him tight and put him back together. Him unlearning his toxic past and her learning more of her self worth while falling for each other without compromising on their personal journeys was both sweet and sxxy to watch. Even though the spice level of this series isn’t the usual LJ 3 alarm fire, the tension between these two is palpable and as sizzling as you’d expect from the author with their banter and barbs.
I was also very happy the author chose not to soften the very real impact of a certain condition and not offering a neat little magic solution at the end like books so often do. That made the entire book that much more bittersweet and dear to me.
TW: parental neglect, emotional (and some physical) abuse, not between main couple, descriptions of death and grief, infertility, miscarriage (not graphic)
*I received an arc from the PR company in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Infidelity
Moderate: Miscarriage