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isitcake's review against another edition
lighthearted
2.0
I didn't realize this was based on the movie While You Were Sleeping until after I read it so I had to quickly watch the movie. I still didn't really like the book but I know I would have liked it more if I had seen the movie first. This is one of those kind of embarrassing rom-coms, not my fav.
Poppy works in a flower shop (in the movie she's a Chicago L train ticket attendent) and she sees this Duke come in all the time buying flowers for various women/lovers. One day she witnesses him fight in the street and she saves him pushing him out of the way of an oncoming carriage. The man he was fighting is Struan Mackensize, his bastard half-brother. Turns out their dad got his prostitute mother pregnant and had Struan. She's dead and Struan wanted to meet his father to show him the man he became without his help, but his dad is dead too. His half-brother struck him in the street thinking he's going to harass the family. Struan and Poppy take him to his home where he's in a coma and the doctor says he may not recover. With everyone talking, Poppy announces that she's his fiancee and then it escalates before she can stop the lie. Their family invite Poppy and her ditzy, big-boobed 14-year-old sister to their country estate with Struan for the holidays.
Struan is very suspicious of her but also finds himself attracted to her. He thinks his brother is an ass and she should be with him. Poppy also wants to admit the lie but the Duke's friend, Strickland?, convinces her to keep up the charade to make everyone happy. When the Duke wakes from his coma he's convinced to give Poppy a shot and marry her.
This is where I started paying less attention to the audiobook. I'll have to skim the last couple chapters for the details. Obviously Struan and Poppy get together for the HAE.
I just thought the reason for Poppy to continue the lie was pretty weak and I thought Struan came on pretty strong with Poppy in his attempt to seduce her.
Struan is very suspicious of her but also finds himself attracted to her. He thinks his brother is an ass and she should be with him. Poppy also wants to admit the lie but the Duke's friend, Strickland?, convinces her to keep up the charade to make everyone happy. When the Duke wakes from his coma he's convinced to give Poppy a shot and marry her.
This is where I started paying less attention to the audiobook. I'll have to skim the last couple chapters for the details. Obviously Struan and Poppy get together for the HAE.
I just thought the reason for Poppy to continue the lie was pretty weak and I thought Struan came on pretty strong with Poppy in his attempt to seduce her.
mpowers1813's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fmcfranny's review
3.0
I absolutely loved this book. The characters were fun to read about. I laughed at so many points (there were also some 'oh no he didn't' moments). Poppy is some kind of amusing with her fantasy true love and then the metaphorical slap upside the face that has her facing reality, which ironically comes from something she said to herself and everyone took seriously. It was obvious that inspiration for this came from the Sandra Bullock movie While You Were Sleeping. But it did not copy the movie so it was still very interesting, funny, and so upbeat. Struan was way more intense than most characters ever written. He was so in your face and strong. Just not your normal hero, which was fabulous. I loved the diversity. I am very eager to read more of this series.
cala_p's review
4.0
Sophie Jordan always seems to write a cute historical romance, and this book was no exception.
Poppy is a mere shop girl who always sells flowers to one particular Duke, whom she forms a crush on. The interesting part of this book was indeed the realism of that crush. Because while she dreams of him, and later deems he can do no wrong, that she knows "so" much about him when his half brother is claiming other things, she does drop hints into knowing how he really is. When she is admiring him for sending flowers to all his conquests, she also admires that he writes each one a personalized note. She contradicts his greatness by seeing truth, but like in any crush, doesn't act on it and even refuses to admit that it's wrong; she sees the wrong in a positive way.
When he gets into a fight with his half-brother and hero of the story, Straun, she saves him from an oncoming carriage but it ends up putting him into a coma, in which she claims to be his fiancee to gain entrance into his life and make sure he is okay. The funny part of this book is that the little white lie took off and his whole family takes her in as the future daughter-in-law, going as far as helping Poppy's sister and inviting both to their Christmas festivities away from town, where everything goes down.
In between the lie there is strong Straun. At first questioning of her involvement, and later taken in by her personality which then drives desire and the romance that blooms between them. Straun's story is a sad one. The duke's father (thus his father) refused to acknowledge him after ruining his mother, and both were left poor to fend for themselves. So he has grown up hating his father for abandoning him, and also his brother for refusing to see the bad their father did and accept him into the family. Already, he is salty about all this so now that Poppy is in the picture, with him, but being engaged to his brother, she is choosing him over Straun and it's definitely a nice literary reflection of the past.
Poppy and Straun are so cute together! They gave me tingles. I liked that Straun wasn't just nobility, rogue or not, he wasn't even at the same titles as everyone else, but still wealthy and still appreciated Poppy for herself. Given his lower status, he wasn't looking for someone to give him status. It is a beautiful character reflection for him to just love someone for them. It was all so sweet, and by the end even heartbreaking. It does, of course, have a HEA mind you but getting there was the journey of this wonderful book!
Poppy is a mere shop girl who always sells flowers to one particular Duke, whom she forms a crush on. The interesting part of this book was indeed the realism of that crush. Because while she dreams of him, and later deems he can do no wrong, that she knows "so" much about him when his half brother is claiming other things, she does drop hints into knowing how he really is. When she is admiring him for sending flowers to all his conquests, she also admires that he writes each one a personalized note. She contradicts his greatness by seeing truth, but like in any crush, doesn't act on it and even refuses to admit that it's wrong; she sees the wrong in a positive way.
When he gets into a fight with his half-brother and hero of the story, Straun, she saves him from an oncoming carriage but it ends up putting him into a coma, in which she claims to be his fiancee to gain entrance into his life and make sure he is okay. The funny part of this book is that the little white lie took off and his whole family takes her in as the future daughter-in-law, going as far as helping Poppy's sister and inviting both to their Christmas festivities away from town, where everything goes down.
In between the lie there is strong Straun. At first questioning of her involvement, and later taken in by her personality which then drives desire and the romance that blooms between them. Straun's story is a sad one. The duke's father (thus his father) refused to acknowledge him after ruining his mother, and both were left poor to fend for themselves. So he has grown up hating his father for abandoning him, and also his brother for refusing to see the bad their father did and accept him into the family. Already, he is salty about all this so now that Poppy is in the picture, with him, but being engaged to his brother, she is choosing him over Straun and it's definitely a nice literary reflection of the past.
Poppy and Straun are so cute together! They gave me tingles. I liked that Straun wasn't just nobility, rogue or not, he wasn't even at the same titles as everyone else, but still wealthy and still appreciated Poppy for herself. Given his lower status, he wasn't looking for someone to give him status. It is a beautiful character reflection for him to just love someone for them. It was all so sweet, and by the end even heartbreaking. It does, of course, have a HEA mind you but getting there was the journey of this wonderful book!
ravensherwood's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
skyhazzard's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
This was really fun. I really enjoyed Poppy’s character and seeing how she handled this situation she found herself in. And dealing with her teenage sister who seemed to be a handful. Also I loved Struan, what a man. His half brother was definitely a dick and did not change one ounce but I’m glad he ended up forming a relationship with the ladies in the family.
I did want a little more Poppy and Struan which is why it’s not quite 5 stars.
I did want a little more Poppy and Struan which is why it’s not quite 5 stars.
sauvegypsy's review
emotional
hopeful
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