Scan barcode
nadine_booklover's review against another edition
3.0
Even after some days between reading this book and finally try to write this review, I'm not sure if I can find the right words for it. I really really wanted to love this book, ending up 'just' liking it. As I can't put exactly into words, why I'm not loving it like everyone else, I'd say it a classic case of 'It's me, not the book'.
I adored Stone, who acted way older than he was. That's to be true when he was young and absolutely when he was in his late twenties. Perfect boyfriend material.
Regan is definitely something else. I loved the way how she 'womened up' and owned her troubled past as well as her wishes and hopes for her future. How she gave into her desires and chased her dreams.
However, I had trouble connecting to them as a couple. I couldn't feel the chemistry which clearly is there.
And even though I absolutely enjoyed reading it, there where many things I got irritated by. I also was left with more question marks I wished for.
I guess that's why I can't give more than three stars. I also must say that if you loved the first two books in this series you should definitely read this third one.
I adored Stone, who acted way older than he was. That's to be true when he was young and absolutely when he was in his late twenties. Perfect boyfriend material.
Regan is definitely something else. I loved the way how she 'womened up' and owned her troubled past as well as her wishes and hopes for her future. How she gave into her desires and chased her dreams.
However, I had trouble connecting to them as a couple. I couldn't feel the chemistry which clearly is there.
And even though I absolutely enjoyed reading it, there where many things I got irritated by. I also was left with more question marks I wished for.
I guess that's why I can't give more than three stars. I also must say that if you loved the first two books in this series you should definitely read this third one.
olovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing
Have you ever felt your heart rip out and then have it gently put back into your chest just for it to happen again? And have it repeat about 10x? No? Just me?
Have you ever felt your heart rip out and then have it gently put back into your chest just for it to happen again? And have it repeat about 10x? No? Just me?
lbreadss's review against another edition
5.0
Dylan Allen has truly made me fall in love with Rivers Wilde. With every book in this series I have become more and more fascinated by the characters and The Jezebel was no exception! Stone and Regan have such a special story, and what a leading lady we have in Regan Wilde! Her journey from beginning to end is so captivating! I can’t say enough good things about her! And how can I forget Stone? What an incredible man he is and a great story he has! Him and Regan truly have a piece of my heart! Loved this book! Couldn’t put it down!
caseroo7's review against another edition
4.0
Find this review and more at Ramblings From This Chick
I have loved the Rivers Wilde series so far, and that continued here with The Jezebel. Each book is a standalone story, but I love the way they connect and you get to see different sides if you read them all. Though it isn’t necessary to enjoy The Jezebel, I highly recommend reading the previous books if you haven’t already.
I loved Regan and Stone. Each was both strong and unique, yet had vulnerabilities and fears that made them relatable. I felt for both of them, and yet because of who they each were I knew that they’d find a way through it all. Their chemistry and connection were there from the start, but as is often the way, life had other plans for them. Their journey wasn’t easy, but everything that happened led to who they became and it was impossible to imagine them being any different than they were. I couldn’t get enough of them and honestly felt like they were made for one another.
The main thing that kept this one from being a five star for me was something personal, and that is that while necessary to tell this story there were several jumps in time. I personally struggle with that in books, with it oftentimes distracting me from the story and becoming cumbersome to try and follow. While I got this story spanned a large stretch of time, I found myself being drawn out of the story at times because of the jumps and that kept me from being as captivated as I might have been. I still loved the story and the characters though, and it was great to see familiar faces again. I highly recommend this book and the entire series and I cannot wait for more from Dylan Allen in the future.
**ARC Provided by Social Butterfly PR**
I have loved the Rivers Wilde series so far, and that continued here with The Jezebel. Each book is a standalone story, but I love the way they connect and you get to see different sides if you read them all. Though it isn’t necessary to enjoy The Jezebel, I highly recommend reading the previous books if you haven’t already.
I loved Regan and Stone. Each was both strong and unique, yet had vulnerabilities and fears that made them relatable. I felt for both of them, and yet because of who they each were I knew that they’d find a way through it all. Their chemistry and connection were there from the start, but as is often the way, life had other plans for them. Their journey wasn’t easy, but everything that happened led to who they became and it was impossible to imagine them being any different than they were. I couldn’t get enough of them and honestly felt like they were made for one another.
The main thing that kept this one from being a five star for me was something personal, and that is that while necessary to tell this story there were several jumps in time. I personally struggle with that in books, with it oftentimes distracting me from the story and becoming cumbersome to try and follow. While I got this story spanned a large stretch of time, I found myself being drawn out of the story at times because of the jumps and that kept me from being as captivated as I might have been. I still loved the story and the characters though, and it was great to see familiar faces again. I highly recommend this book and the entire series and I cannot wait for more from Dylan Allen in the future.
**ARC Provided by Social Butterfly PR**
astravars_thrubooks's review against another edition
dnf @45%
The dramatic chapters and time jumps did a great job of getting me hooked into the many subplots and then the romance started happening *gag* Some of the tacky/cringey things he says and I'm foregoing the weird ass imagery and metaphors :
'But one thing is as true as it was when I was ten -no matter how much i want her: Regan Wilde isn't mine to have.' What???!
'Well, that's good. I don't date little girls, I date women. Because I'm a man.' Okaaaaaaaaay
The dramatic chapters and time jumps did a great job of getting me hooked into the many subplots and then the romance started happening *gag* Some of the tacky/cringey things he says and I'm foregoing the weird ass imagery and metaphors :
'But one thing is as true as it was when I was ten -no matter how much i want her: Regan Wilde isn't mine to have.' What???!
'Well, that's good. I don't date little girls, I date women. Because I'm a man.' Okaaaaaaaaay
stormiclouds's review against another edition
5.0
The Jezebel is an one of those books you start and can't put down until you've read every single word. Reagan's story is an emotional, eye-opening, steamy romance that will pull at your heart strings one minute and have you fanning yourself the next! The Jezebel is an epic addition to the Rivers Wilde series and another book that makes me wish I could pack up and move to Rivers Wilde immediately.
profromance's review against another edition
5.0
Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Nothing makes me happier and excited than to go back to Rivers Wilde, the fictional home of some of Dylan Allen’s best characters. When you return to Rivers Wilde, there are three guarantees: a compelling story, an epic romance that burns the page, and human truth that challenges your thinking. Each and every time, Allen takes her readers on a journey of a 1000 sighs, tears, and smiles. And her newest book, The Jezebel exemplifies this beautifully.
In looking at The Legacy, The Legend, and The Jezebel, it is impossible to choose a favorite because they each hold a specific character and voice that feels necessary. In true, Allen fashion The Jezebel is special. You might say, “well, why, Professor A?” The answer is quite simple: the female experience through history is underscored and challenged on each page. And this includes all women. This book is a scion for “herstory” in the romance community. In other words, this book is pro-woman. That’s right. The Jezebel is PRO-WOMAN. Why is that important? Because the world outside of romance demeans the existence of romance. They infantilize it to $ex. They don’t recognize the autonomy, authority, and agency of the feminine spirit in romance. They reduce it to actions. In The Jezebel, Allen centers her epic romance in the belief that women’s history must be heard, that the history we’ve been taught reduces women to objects, and that this same history fails to represent the truth of history, filtering the experiences through the specter of maleness. Time and time again, from its title to her story, Allen offers a rallying cry that the beginning of empowering women starts with giving them their due in the historical annals of time. If you read this story and miss this message, then you are missing out on Allen’s temerity as a writer.
Added to this is a romance for the ages. Honestly, Allen’s writing voice is grounded in large, sweeping romances. If you’ve read her books, then you know that the beginning, middle, and end of a romance feels necessary. When you choose to read The Jezebel, you must know that Allen is going to take you on a journey where you will fall deeply in love with her characters. Stone and Regan’s characterizations are done so tastefully and carefully that, as the book ends, you mourn the end of The Jezebel. You simply want more of their story because Allen has allowed you entrance to their beginning, their middle, and the start of their future. As such, you want more of her description, narration, and story-building. As characters, Regan is my favorite (I love Stone for his tenacity. Boy, does this hunk of a man love hard!) because she is the ultimate illustration of Allen’s message about women. One of my favorite stories in my study of American Literature is The Scarlet Letter (a sister story to the story of Jezebel). Hester Prynne is demonized and exiled from society. Yet, she proudly wears that badge even though the consequences are heavy on her, and she must carry it alone when her lover fails to acknowledge his role. Hester Prynne is stalwart, humble, and willing to bear her punishment with grace. In The Jezebel, Regan is a modern-day Hester Prynne. She too is stalwart, humble, and willing to bear her punishment at the expense of her own happiness, and this sacrifice invests you in her character. You want to scream at Regan to push back, but she maintains her sense of self through her challenges. You can’t help but admire the type of woman that Allen has created in The Jezebel even if she hides it behind her carefully-constructed walls.
And with a heroine whose experiences have left her with strong boundaries and the resignation of forgoing her own personal happiness, Allen had to craft a hero such as Stone. Interestingly, Stone is younger than Regan. While this is a reverse age-gap romance, Allen is so careful to create their romance. Nothing feels untoward. Instead, these two feel destined for each other from the beginning. Stone has a resolve and a maturity so early on that it’s believable that these two should end up together. Allen’s care in intertwining Stone and Regan is impressive. Then, she writes Stone as a hero who can stand with her other alpha-heroes: Hayes and Remi. Neither of these two overshadows Stone, which again points to Allen’s ability to construct believable characters.
When I finished Dylan Allen’s The Jezebel, I felt both satiated and hungry. Those seem as odds obviously. I knew that Allen had weaved her magic once again in creating a gripping, sweeping tale of romance in one of my favorite imaginative places, Rivers Wilde, but I was hungry for more of Stone and Regan. I still have so many more questions for their future which I hope her bonus epilogue might slake. Needless to say, Allen’s newest romance feels necessary in the world of romance. The more times we allow women’s voices to be heard and acknowledged, all women, the more we can change attitudes about their treatment in society. We are far from equality; we are far from having a place; and we are far from being protected from patriarchal attitudes that deride the power of women. Allen takes a leap and reminds us that every romance is an opportunity to give women their place, their presence, and their purpose. The Jezebel is a must-read romance.
Nothing makes me happier and excited than to go back to Rivers Wilde, the fictional home of some of Dylan Allen’s best characters. When you return to Rivers Wilde, there are three guarantees: a compelling story, an epic romance that burns the page, and human truth that challenges your thinking. Each and every time, Allen takes her readers on a journey of a 1000 sighs, tears, and smiles. And her newest book, The Jezebel exemplifies this beautifully.
In looking at The Legacy, The Legend, and The Jezebel, it is impossible to choose a favorite because they each hold a specific character and voice that feels necessary. In true, Allen fashion The Jezebel is special. You might say, “well, why, Professor A?” The answer is quite simple: the female experience through history is underscored and challenged on each page. And this includes all women. This book is a scion for “herstory” in the romance community. In other words, this book is pro-woman. That’s right. The Jezebel is PRO-WOMAN. Why is that important? Because the world outside of romance demeans the existence of romance. They infantilize it to $ex. They don’t recognize the autonomy, authority, and agency of the feminine spirit in romance. They reduce it to actions. In The Jezebel, Allen centers her epic romance in the belief that women’s history must be heard, that the history we’ve been taught reduces women to objects, and that this same history fails to represent the truth of history, filtering the experiences through the specter of maleness. Time and time again, from its title to her story, Allen offers a rallying cry that the beginning of empowering women starts with giving them their due in the historical annals of time. If you read this story and miss this message, then you are missing out on Allen’s temerity as a writer.
Added to this is a romance for the ages. Honestly, Allen’s writing voice is grounded in large, sweeping romances. If you’ve read her books, then you know that the beginning, middle, and end of a romance feels necessary. When you choose to read The Jezebel, you must know that Allen is going to take you on a journey where you will fall deeply in love with her characters. Stone and Regan’s characterizations are done so tastefully and carefully that, as the book ends, you mourn the end of The Jezebel. You simply want more of their story because Allen has allowed you entrance to their beginning, their middle, and the start of their future. As such, you want more of her description, narration, and story-building. As characters, Regan is my favorite (I love Stone for his tenacity. Boy, does this hunk of a man love hard!) because she is the ultimate illustration of Allen’s message about women. One of my favorite stories in my study of American Literature is The Scarlet Letter (a sister story to the story of Jezebel). Hester Prynne is demonized and exiled from society. Yet, she proudly wears that badge even though the consequences are heavy on her, and she must carry it alone when her lover fails to acknowledge his role. Hester Prynne is stalwart, humble, and willing to bear her punishment with grace. In The Jezebel, Regan is a modern-day Hester Prynne. She too is stalwart, humble, and willing to bear her punishment at the expense of her own happiness, and this sacrifice invests you in her character. You want to scream at Regan to push back, but she maintains her sense of self through her challenges. You can’t help but admire the type of woman that Allen has created in The Jezebel even if she hides it behind her carefully-constructed walls.
And with a heroine whose experiences have left her with strong boundaries and the resignation of forgoing her own personal happiness, Allen had to craft a hero such as Stone. Interestingly, Stone is younger than Regan. While this is a reverse age-gap romance, Allen is so careful to create their romance. Nothing feels untoward. Instead, these two feel destined for each other from the beginning. Stone has a resolve and a maturity so early on that it’s believable that these two should end up together. Allen’s care in intertwining Stone and Regan is impressive. Then, she writes Stone as a hero who can stand with her other alpha-heroes: Hayes and Remi. Neither of these two overshadows Stone, which again points to Allen’s ability to construct believable characters.
When I finished Dylan Allen’s The Jezebel, I felt both satiated and hungry. Those seem as odds obviously. I knew that Allen had weaved her magic once again in creating a gripping, sweeping tale of romance in one of my favorite imaginative places, Rivers Wilde, but I was hungry for more of Stone and Regan. I still have so many more questions for their future which I hope her bonus epilogue might slake. Needless to say, Allen’s newest romance feels necessary in the world of romance. The more times we allow women’s voices to be heard and acknowledged, all women, the more we can change attitudes about their treatment in society. We are far from equality; we are far from having a place; and we are far from being protected from patriarchal attitudes that deride the power of women. Allen takes a leap and reminds us that every romance is an opportunity to give women their place, their presence, and their purpose. The Jezebel is a must-read romance.