Reviews

“Like a rose,” Vivian continued dreamily, smiling against Jules’s mouth, stroking over the burgundy fabric at Jules’s shoulder. “Petals and thorns. I want them both.”

Since this is a continuation of the first book, I obviously won't say too much about the plot to avoid spoilers. But clearly, I loved it. I adored this duet so much, and I'm really glad Sinclair decided to rework it and publish it, because otherwise I probably would not have gotten around to reading it. I loved this second book pretty much because I loved the first book? It is, after all, one complete story split into two parts.

And the thing is, this second part has a lot of flaws that would niggle at me in other books. The plot isn't super strong, there are perhaps some unnecessary love scenes, and not a lot, like, happens? But this is still 5stars! The author did such a good job of establishing the characters and the relationship in the first book, but there's still a lot of things they need to figure out, a lot of interpersonal conflict to be hashed out. I read this without my usual fear of having to contend with a stupid third act conflict, because I felt like this author knew her characters well enough, and the characters knew each other well enough that we wouldn't have to get bogged down with unnecessary drama.

“I needed you because you were there, and you were there because I needed you.”Again, that isn't to say that there is absolutely no conflict, because there is. Vivian and Jules misunderstand each other and miscommunicate as much as any other couple, and it felt real and cathartic and just so wonderful to go through that journey with them. I literally feel like I could read about these two characters watching paint dry, and if it's written in this distinctive way that clicks into their personalities so well, I'd still love it. It takes a certain amount of finesse to write characters in a committed relationship in a contemporary romance, still have enough material to make an entire book of it, and not resort to any overblown drama. I loved seeing them go through all of those little milestones that couples do; it truly made me giddy. I teared up at several moments, but that isn't a surprise to me. I'm so weepy these days and also... I love these women! I can't believe how much Vivian has grown on me from that first moment. And I mean, she's still very Vivian. Ice queen all the way. But she is mush for Jules in a way that feels absolutely authentic and wonderful. I felt the emotional connection between them so strongly. Gah.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Abby Craden, and it was sublime as always. I'm usually a little bit picky about my 5 stars, and I guess this technically isn't perfect, but again, if I'm going based on my enjoyment, it's a complete winner. Some of the language in a couple of love scenes was perhaps a little bit cringey, but by the time I started feeling that way, I was absolutely head over heels, so I truly didn't care. Roslyn Sinclair is definitely an auto-buy author for me now. I loved this to bits.

She kissed Vivian’s forehead and then her temple and then her cheek as Vivian kept her own lips pressed hard against Jules’s hand while she murmured her gratitude to—or for—the one who loved her best.

lexikaraivanova's review against another edition

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3.0

again plz ignore that im just reading bad lesbian smut to get to my reading goal. this was better than the first book but also had less plot/development so uh take that as u wish

tarawesely23's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.75

brookeadell's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

3.5

Okay, surprisingly better than the first book. I didn’t enjoy the first one too much, but was curious enough that I wanted to know how their story ended.

I am glad I read the second book, I feel it showed a side of Vivian in relation to Jules that we all needed to see, it was nice to see them take on the world together and it wrapped things up quite well.

kittybd's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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