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ryleighhampson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
eslismyjam's review against another edition
3.0
First, I liked this book. Good quality escapism that hit my reading catnip buttons. And I will say that if you are willing to suspend disbelief and not think about it too much you can probably really enjoy this book. I read it cover to cover in a few hours because it was a good story.
Second, there were A LOT of things that didn't work for me.
This is a dark, angsty contemporary romance with a tortured hero AND it was well-reviewed over on Smart Bitches Trashy Books which equals an auto-buy.
I'm not sad that I bought it, but there were a bunch of things that bugged me-- and are still bugging me a day later.
So technically this is a rock star romance, but I didn't shelve it as such because while the hero is in the band Bad Habit it was completely secondary to everything in the book and frankly, completely implausible for him to be in a world famous rock band given his back story. I digress...there are a few issues with continuity. AJ picks up Chloe and carries her into the bedroom and suddenly she is standing in the doorway of the bedroom and he is behind her. These things....eh, whatever, I can gloss over them when reading.
Other things, were less easy to get by. The hero is clearly completely MESSED UP from a painful past. This is fine, but many of the issues that the reader is introduced to at the start of the book: AJ doesn't like to show his face in photos, and wears a hoodie all the time are never addressed after the big reveal of his origin story. Call me jaded-- but to me, the back story was dark, but not that dark. There are a lot of messed up characters with bad backgrounds in contemporary romance these days. Par for the course in this sub-genre. The other thing that irritated me was the heroine essentially fixes the hero. All he needed to solve a lifetime of issues was the love of a good woman. And while I respect the romantic sentiment, it didn't feel true that he would be able to just blossom into this amazing man overnight.
The other thing that really just didn't work for me AT ALL was the twist that happens in the last quarter of the book.
So it's strange because I actually liked this book and I'll probably go and read the first one and the third one, but it is not without issues.
Second, there were A LOT of things that didn't work for me.
This is a dark, angsty contemporary romance with a tortured hero AND it was well-reviewed over on Smart Bitches Trashy Books which equals an auto-buy.
I'm not sad that I bought it, but there were a bunch of things that bugged me-- and are still bugging me a day later.
So technically this is a rock star romance, but I didn't shelve it as such because while the hero is in the band Bad Habit it was completely secondary to everything in the book and frankly, completely implausible for him to be in a world famous rock band given his back story. I digress...there are a few issues with continuity. AJ picks up Chloe and carries her into the bedroom and suddenly she is standing in the doorway of the bedroom and he is behind her. These things....eh, whatever, I can gloss over them when reading.
Other things, were less easy to get by. The hero is clearly completely MESSED UP from a painful past. This is fine, but many of the issues that the reader is introduced to at the start of the book: AJ doesn't like to show his face in photos, and wears a hoodie all the time are never addressed after the big reveal of his origin story. Call me jaded-- but to me, the back story was dark, but not that dark. There are a lot of messed up characters with bad backgrounds in contemporary romance these days. Par for the course in this sub-genre. The other thing that irritated me was the heroine essentially fixes the hero. All he needed to solve a lifetime of issues was the love of a good woman. And while I respect the romantic sentiment, it didn't feel true that he would be able to just blossom into this amazing man overnight.
The other thing that really just didn't work for me AT ALL was the twist that happens in the last quarter of the book.
Spoiler
After having a terminal brain tumor removed AJ is blind. So I get why the author decided to make him go blind-- it's a dark book and really there is nothing worse than dark romance that ends up as a sickly sweet where everything is rainbows and sunshine at the end even when is clearly impossible given the characters and the conflict-- so I appreciate the author trying to be consistent with darkness all the way through, but having AJ go blind didn't work for me. Having a hero go blind, right at the end of a book and then simply adding an epilogue stating how well adjusted he is and how everything was fine and how everyone around him treated him just the same was completely ridiculous. In fact, going blind is a conflict enough for a whole OTHER book. I would have preferred no twisty-terminal-brain-tumor or him to have surgery where he didn't go completely blind. Because come on?! /Spoiler
So it's strange because I actually liked this book and I'll probably go and read the first one and the third one, but it is not without issues.
natssbookshelf's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
rutras's review
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
missylynne's review against another edition
4.0
Good: AJ's backstory, the enemies to lovers progression of the relationship. Broody, tattooed drummer
Bad: Unexpected pregnancy (Duh! It's one of the risks of unprotected sex.) And one of my most hated tropes. The book could have done without the whole knocked minor plot.
Asshole abusive cop ex.
Bad: Unexpected pregnancy (Duh! It's one of the risks of unprotected sex.) And one of my most hated tropes. The book could have done without the whole knocked minor plot.
Asshole abusive cop ex.
shelfg's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0