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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this book that is really as much an adventure and political intrigue novel as much as it was a romance. I did, however, feel like the ending was rushed. It was like all these complicated war-time spy things were going on and then it was just... over.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-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:
Yes
This was a really fun read. Great characters, twisty plot and romance.
Possibly the worst cover for one of the most intriguing plots I've read. Adored the heroine. Had minor issues keeping it from 5 stars, don't have the mental capacity to elaborate. 4.5 stars
I see this book on like every 'best of' historical romance list, and I thought I would give it a shot. Ho boy, that was a mistake. Look, some people will love this, but I just could not. The narration of the love interest was disturbing, honestly. The dude keeps referring to her as a (language and content ahead): There are other issues with the book such as Annique's personality in the second half of the book. Unfortunately, there was no chance of recovery for me because the love interest's viewpoint had already killed my enjoyment of the book.
Spoiler
whore, over and over again. Saying that he's going to have her, and if she's not willing, then he'll make her willing, etc.
This is a tough book for me to review. One one hand, the writing was excellent. The characters were unique, the premise interesting. It easily kept me turning pages.
On the other hand, there were some things I didn't like about it. The biggest is: In my world, "No" means no. Period, end of fornication. I'm not sure how old the heroine was; if the author told us outright, I've forgotten. What I do know is that she's young. Young enough other characters comment on it repeatedly. Young enough to disguise herself as a boy. Young enough that she's never had "those" feelings for a man before. Ever. While I'm sure the author intended her to be "of age" (say 20 or so), the descriptions in the book made me feel like the hero was totally taking advantage of her every time they made out, especially after she told him that she wasn't really SURE she wanted to, and that she was pretty sure it was a bad idea. This is all after she rescued him from prison, saved his friend's life, and they rewarded her by kidnapping her and worse (don't want to give too much away).
I think I probably would have been more sympathetic to both the hero and the heroine if we'd gotten more of the hero's perspective. The few times we flipped to him, it worked better for me than her perspective did; 50/50 would probably have been about perfect.
The last of my big qualms with this book is the easy-way-out the author took regarding the heroine's disability. I was totally intrigued when I learned of her issue, and I felt let down when the author followed the cliche instead of owning what made her character so unique and working with it.
I'm still torn between giving this 2 stars and giving it 3. I've changed my rating twice since I started writing this review. I admit I wouldn't have even bothered writing it if the author had been less talented. I just felt let down, because this book had so much potential, and the author didn't follow through the way I think she could have.
In the end, I have to give credit where it's due. The author's ability to convey which language the characters are speaking while writing in English is brilliant, and for that reason, 3 stars. I will keep an eye out for more titles by Bourne. If she can overcome the plot issues, she certainly has the writing talent to create some amazing books.
On the other hand, there were some things I didn't like about it. The biggest is: In my world, "No" means no. Period, end of fornication. I'm not sure how old the heroine was; if the author told us outright, I've forgotten. What I do know is that she's young. Young enough other characters comment on it repeatedly. Young enough to disguise herself as a boy. Young enough that she's never had "those" feelings for a man before. Ever. While I'm sure the author intended her to be "of age" (say 20 or so), the descriptions in the book made me feel like the hero was totally taking advantage of her every time they made out, especially after she told him that she wasn't really SURE she wanted to, and that she was pretty sure it was a bad idea. This is all after she rescued him from prison, saved his friend's life, and they rewarded her by kidnapping her and worse (don't want to give too much away).
I think I probably would have been more sympathetic to both the hero and the heroine if we'd gotten more of the hero's perspective. The few times we flipped to him, it worked better for me than her perspective did; 50/50 would probably have been about perfect.
The last of my big qualms with this book is the easy-way-out the author took regarding the heroine's disability. I was totally intrigued when I learned of her issue, and I felt let down when the author followed the cliche instead of owning what made her character so unique and working with it.
I'm still torn between giving this 2 stars and giving it 3. I've changed my rating twice since I started writing this review. I admit I wouldn't have even bothered writing it if the author had been less talented. I just felt let down, because this book had so much potential, and the author didn't follow through the way I think she could have.
In the end, I have to give credit where it's due. The author's ability to convey which language the characters are speaking while writing in English is brilliant, and for that reason, 3 stars. I will keep an eye out for more titles by Bourne. If she can overcome the plot issues, she certainly has the writing talent to create some amazing books.
Annique and Grey - I love when a plot is just as good as the romance part!! Highly recommended!!
I read this for a book club since normally I don't read romance with lots of icky moments (blurred lines?). Pushing that aside, I enjoyed listening to this story. It's got a lot of adventure, and the heroine is pretty badass despite her lack of agency for a lot of the book. The ending in particular is satisfying when lots of pieces come together. If you like historical spy romances AND aren't really bothered by the content warnings, I think this book is worth a try. The SA threats made this book very uncomfortable.
1.5 stars
I should have known when the heroine was sexually assaulted on page three that I wasn’t going to enjoy this book.
I kept going longer than I should have, because the writing was very good (the bullet scene in particular was excellent) and I liked Annique, so I gave it a half star for that. But I can’t take it seriously when the person the heroine is supposed to fall in love with repeatedly strips her, humiliates her, and thinks about how easily he could rape her if he wanted to, and then when he drugs her and his friends encourage him to rape her while she’s unconscious...no. Just no.
DNF, because I just didn't care what happens after all that.
I should have known when the heroine was sexually assaulted on page three that I wasn’t going to enjoy this book.
I kept going longer than I should have, because the writing was very good (the bullet scene in particular was excellent) and I liked Annique, so I gave it a half star for that. But I can’t take it seriously when the person the heroine is supposed to fall in love with repeatedly strips her, humiliates her, and thinks about how easily he could rape her if he wanted to, and then when he drugs her and his friends encourage him to rape her while she’s unconscious...no. Just no.
DNF, because I just didn't care what happens after all that.