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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I am very much struggling with this quartet for several reasons. First off, Sebastian and Esme! Their storyline is making me so angry. First off, he cheated on Gina and she cheated on Miles in book one, then she didn't tell him that she was going to be with her HUSBAND the next night, so he snuck in and inadvertently caused her Miles' death. All that was book one. She tells him "I will never marry you. You killed my husband," and sends him away. Yay! That should be the end, right?
Wrong.
Sebastian becomes a gardener at her estate, where she is prego, and their affair continues! What. Is. This?! THEY ARE THE WORST COUPLE EVER! She tells him "I won't marry you, go away," and what does he do? HE SNEAKS INTO HER BED!
Plus, we have Stephen and Beatrix in this book. I liked them both until Stephen decided to play with all the ladies, even if it is fake for most of them. Helene, asking him to help her make her scoundrel of a husband jealous, okay, I'll accept that. It's actually kind of funny. Esme trying to make Sebastian jealous, though? NO. Not at all. ESPECIALLY since he's trying to seduce Bea and DECIDES not to tell her that the other relationships are fake! He instead decides to make HER jealous, and hurts her badly in the process! And then he tells HER to woo him? Girl, run from him. He is a walking red flag. All the men in this series are. Except maybe Cam. He might be the only good one.
Okay, but then Bea considers flirting with Sebastian to show Stephen she doesn't care, and Sebastian threatens Stephen's life because "no one will marry Esme but me." THAT IS SO POSSESSIVE! So bad. This house party was an absolute mess. Everyone but Sebastian and Bea (oh, and Helene's husband) are in the know, and they are being tortured by everyone else. It might have ended happily, but STILL. It was cruel.
Please, PLEASE tell me Esme and Sebastian aren't going to be characters in the next book. PLEASE. Forbidden love and cheating are not my favorite tropes.
Wrong.
Sebastian becomes a gardener at her estate, where she is prego, and their affair continues! What. Is. This?! THEY ARE THE WORST COUPLE EVER! She tells him "I won't marry you, go away," and what does he do? HE SNEAKS INTO HER BED!
Plus, we have Stephen and Beatrix in this book. I liked them both until Stephen decided to play with all the ladies, even if it is fake for most of them. Helene, asking him to help her make her scoundrel of a husband jealous, okay, I'll accept that. It's actually kind of funny. Esme trying to make Sebastian jealous, though? NO. Not at all. ESPECIALLY since he's trying to seduce Bea and DECIDES not to tell her that the other relationships are fake! He instead decides to make HER jealous, and hurts her badly in the process! And then he tells HER to woo him? Girl, run from him. He is a walking red flag. All the men in this series are. Except maybe Cam. He might be the only good one.
Okay, but then Bea considers flirting with Sebastian to show Stephen she doesn't care, and Sebastian threatens Stephen's life because "no one will marry Esme but me." THAT IS SO POSSESSIVE! So bad. This house party was an absolute mess. Everyone but Sebastian and Bea (oh, and Helene's husband) are in the know, and they are being tortured by everyone else. It might have ended happily, but STILL. It was cruel.
Please, PLEASE tell me Esme and Sebastian aren't going to be characters in the next book. PLEASE. Forbidden love and cheating are not my favorite tropes.
Beatrix and Stephen were two wonderfully rich characters and I loved getting to know them. They had great chemistry and still managed to have a wonderful romance despite the messiness of the whole situation they were thrust into.
I liked that Bea was in a lot of ways strong and wholly herself, yet was balanced by very relatable fears and experiences as well. Despite her experience she was also naïve and innocent in a lot of ways, and it was great to see Stephen bring those things out in her.
Stephen was an interesting hero, coolly logical and yet inexplicably drawn to Bea despite her reputation.They had a wonderful chemistry and I enjoyed them getting to know each other.
I honestly wished that Stephen and Bea could have gotten more time in a book that should have been entirely theirs. As much as I like Esme and Sebastian, and I appreciate the challenges that their relationship had, I did wonder why they just hadn’t gotten their own book?
I understood that Esme was kind of the tie that binds as such between all of the books in the series, but it could have been balanced differently to achieve tell the stories in a deeper and even more enriching way.
I truly think that if these two could have gotten more time (Bea and Stephen) this book would have rated even higher for me.
The downer for this book, after really liking Esme for the first two books, was Esme. Pregnancy does bring about changes in your personality, which I understand, but she dithered and acted like an idiot and was wholly unlike the smart, perfectly normal woman who we started to know in the first book.
It could have been better in many ways, but what I got of the primary romance was great except for the stupid fake relationships that popped up along the way, it got a little silly there with that. However, a great read nonetheless.
I liked that Bea was in a lot of ways strong and wholly herself, yet was balanced by very relatable fears and experiences as well. Despite her experience she was also naïve and innocent in a lot of ways, and it was great to see Stephen bring those things out in her.
Stephen was an interesting hero, coolly logical and yet inexplicably drawn to Bea despite her reputation.They had a wonderful chemistry and I enjoyed them getting to know each other.
I honestly wished that Stephen and Bea could have gotten more time in a book that should have been entirely theirs. As much as I like Esme and Sebastian, and I appreciate the challenges that their relationship had, I did wonder why they just hadn’t gotten their own book?
I understood that Esme was kind of the tie that binds as such between all of the books in the series, but it could have been balanced differently to achieve tell the stories in a deeper and even more enriching way.
I truly think that if these two could have gotten more time (Bea and Stephen) this book would have rated even higher for me.
The downer for this book, after really liking Esme for the first two books, was Esme. Pregnancy does bring about changes in your personality, which I understand, but she dithered and acted like an idiot and was wholly unlike the smart, perfectly normal woman who we started to know in the first book.
It could have been better in many ways, but what I got of the primary romance was great except for the stupid fake relationships that popped up along the way, it got a little silly there with that. However, a great read nonetheless.
My feelings about this can be reduced to MORE ESME/SEBASTIAN THEY DESERVE MORE THAN BEING A BETA STORY OVER TWO BOOKS.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't quite know how to describe this book. I found it very busy with all the different couples dancing around each other. It never fully caught my interest in the way that Stephanie Laurens or Julia Quinn does - I just don't think James' writing style appeals to me. I'd probably read another of her novels if I had nothing else to read but I wouldn't be in a hurry to read it.
Melodramatic- like a farcical play - feigned relationships for a variety of reasons. And it went on and on...... I gave it 3 stars based on the skill of the narrator to keep me listening until I finished despite the silly characters and plot!
The only reason this book got four stars was because of Esme/Sebastian's relationship. I really couldn't get emotionally involved with the Beatrice/Stephen relationship, mostly because I didn't really like Beatrice. Oh boo hoo, you have daddy issues so you're a slut to get attention! DON'T CARE. And Stephen was idiotic for going after a girl half his age. She wasn't mature in the least, and I didn't understand his attraction except for the fact that she was barely dressed the entire book. Happy Esme got her man though!
Esme and Sebastian’s romance loses its charm as it drags out and while I liked both members of the main couple their relationship was rather icky
This book got off to a slow start. There were a lot of characters and their previous history to absorb. I found out later than this is the third book in a loosely connected series of four. I never really believed in any of the characters as actual people. Maybe Helene, but Bea and Esme were supposed to be so gorgeous and charismatic and their problems were pretty trumped-up. But the story was still fun. She did a good job with the pacing of multiple storylines. I intend to read more of her books.