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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
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
Overall Rating: 3.5/5.00
Story: 4/5
FMC : 4/5
MMC : 4/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Conflict & Resolution: 3/5
Pacing & Engagement: 3/5
Reread: 2/5
Story: 4/5
FMC : 4/5
MMC : 4/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Conflict & Resolution: 3/5
Pacing & Engagement: 3/5
Reread: 2/5
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
medium-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
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
2.5 stars
Devney really took the ‘she fell first and he fell harder’ trope too far in this book. It was more like she fell first, decided to fix him after nine years of waiting for his attention, and then he fell harder.
I have never read a book about such a pathetic and delusional FMC. Willa could do so much better than Jackson, and instead of making him grovel or beg for ignoring her for nine years, she accepted him with open arms after a few cute post-it notes and frequent visits to her workplace.
Jackson and Willa infuriated me a lot in this book. He is the type of man who would blame everything except himself for his issues, and Willa is the type of woman who settles for the bare minimum. Together, they make a perfect couple. He ignored Willa when she put herself out there for him and called her Willow for nine years, even though she corrected him every time, and he blamed it on ‘I’m bad with names’.
He forgot their first kiss because he was too drunk and drugged to even remember it, and then the moment he saw the beautiful portrait of Willa drawn by Thea, he immediately decided that she was different and that he wanted to have something with her that didn’t end in one-night stands.
He didn’t even grovel for how he behaved and ignored her for nine years! He just dropped post-it notes about cute and mundane things at her doorstep for a few weeks, and then Willa decided that he’d done enough and she was too pathetic to make him grovel, so she accepted the date invite because she’d been in love with Jackson.
“I was glad I’d been able to give her this dream. Some other man—a man who believed in love—would get her others. But at least I’d gotten this one.”
He took all her firsts because Willa was so obsessed with him for nine years and decided the first day she saw him that Jackson would be her first kiss and the man she would marry. I have no problem with FMCs waiting for their crush or love, but you just have to have some self-respect if that man never even called you by your right name or treated you right.
“I should have cut her free sooner, but I’d been a coward. A big dumb coward. I hadn’t been able to walk away from her, because I wanted her too much. I needed her too much.”
They both fell into this getting-to-know-each-other-and-sex routine, and then Jackson realised he couldn’t give Willa the life she wanted and deserved, so he decided to end things with her. But first, he decided to get as much of her as he could before breaking things off because he ‘couldn’t stop when it came to her’. It’s as good as use and throw for me, and no, you can’t change my mind.
Jackson didn’t even deal with his abandonment issues until the very end—he just accepted the fact that he loved her and would do anything in his power to give her everything she wanted. Jackson is a sweet and caring type of guy, but he’s also a certified playboy who doesn’t know how to treat a woman who has loved him for almost a decade. He felt lucky to have Willa in his life, but not enough to deal with his issues himself. Even when he was breaking up with Willa, it was Willa who pushed him to his limits and asked for his reasons. She was the one who made him realise that he loved her, and that was enough for Willa as long as he loved her.
And Willa was just as bad as Jackson, if not worse. She had no self-respect. She settled for the bare minimum. I get that she believed in him, and that belief was so strong that she did everything in her power to fix him—and, guys, she did fix him. She turned him into this family guy who wants kids and marriage, from the manwhore he was. What an incredible couple they are.
Willa deserved better, and I hated how easy she made everything for Jackson. She gave him everything on a silver platter, and he accepted all of it. She also felt insecure when her friends called out her relationship with Jackson, saying it was just a fling for him. At least she stood up for herself against those fake friends, but she still behaved like a delulu, thinking that it didn’t matter as long as Jackson kept coming back to her and she kept going back to him. I think they both deserve each other with how pathetic and boring they were.
At least the romance was bearable enough for me to finish this book, and there were a few moments I even liked. But then they both decided to act like these stupid characters.
The suspense and murder plot in the last five chapters was so useless. The torture is finally over. Devney, please don’t do it again.
“One day, I am going to marry Jackson Page. I just had to get him to notice me first.”
Devney really took the ‘she fell first and he fell harder’ trope too far in this book. It was more like she fell first, decided to fix him after nine years of waiting for his attention, and then he fell harder.
I have never read a book about such a pathetic and delusional FMC. Willa could do so much better than Jackson, and instead of making him grovel or beg for ignoring her for nine years, she accepted him with open arms after a few cute post-it notes and frequent visits to her workplace.
“Hey, Willa.” Oh. My. Goodness. He’d called me by the right name. Finally! After years of correcting him each time he called me Willow, hearing my name in his deep voice gave me wings.
Jackson and Willa infuriated me a lot in this book. He is the type of man who would blame everything except himself for his issues, and Willa is the type of woman who settles for the bare minimum. Together, they make a perfect couple. He ignored Willa when she put herself out there for him and called her Willow for nine years, even though she corrected him every time, and he blamed it on ‘I’m bad with names’.
“After years of watching and waiting and hoping, Jackson had finally noticed me. Me, the shy girl who’d loved him from a distance. Tonight, he’d made one of my dreams come true.”
He forgot their first kiss because he was too drunk and drugged to even remember it, and then the moment he saw the beautiful portrait of Willa drawn by Thea, he immediately decided that she was different and that he wanted to have something with her that didn’t end in one-night stands.
He didn’t even grovel for how he behaved and ignored her for nine years! He just dropped post-it notes about cute and mundane things at her doorstep for a few weeks, and then Willa decided that he’d done enough and she was too pathetic to make him grovel, so she accepted the date invite because she’d been in love with Jackson.
“I was glad I’d been able to give her this dream. Some other man—a man who believed in love—would get her others. But at least I’d gotten this one.”
He took all her firsts because Willa was so obsessed with him for nine years and decided the first day she saw him that Jackson would be her first kiss and the man she would marry. I have no problem with FMCs waiting for their crush or love, but you just have to have some self-respect if that man never even called you by your right name or treated you right.
“I should have cut her free sooner, but I’d been a coward. A big dumb coward. I hadn’t been able to walk away from her, because I wanted her too much. I needed her too much.”
They both fell into this getting-to-know-each-other-and-sex routine, and then Jackson realised he couldn’t give Willa the life she wanted and deserved, so he decided to end things with her. But first, he decided to get as much of her as he could before breaking things off because he ‘couldn’t stop when it came to her’. It’s as good as use and throw for me, and no, you can’t change my mind.
“Why had she waited so long for me? Why had she made me crave her? Why couldn’t she have gone to college and met her future husband? That way, I never would have known her. She would have always just been Willow. This was just as much her fault as it was mine.”
Jackson didn’t even deal with his abandonment issues until the very end—he just accepted the fact that he loved her and would do anything in his power to give her everything she wanted. Jackson is a sweet and caring type of guy, but he’s also a certified playboy who doesn’t know how to treat a woman who has loved him for almost a decade. He felt lucky to have Willa in his life, but not enough to deal with his issues himself. Even when he was breaking up with Willa, it was Willa who pushed him to his limits and asked for his reasons. She was the one who made him realise that he loved her, and that was enough for Willa as long as he loved her.
“I closed my eyes, trying to work up the nerve to leave. But fuck, I wanted to keep her. Forever. Would she stay? Would Willa be that one person to stick? Yes. She was my courageous champion. My warrior. My lover. My friend. My everything. Willa was the one.”
And Willa was just as bad as Jackson, if not worse. She had no self-respect. She settled for the bare minimum. I get that she believed in him, and that belief was so strong that she did everything in her power to fix him—and, guys, she did fix him. She turned him into this family guy who wants kids and marriage, from the manwhore he was. What an incredible couple they are.
“You shouldn’t have to put up with that kind of shit from a man. I’m a mess. If you want me to stop so you can find someone better, just say the word. I’ll walk away.” Better? I snorted a laugh. There wasn’t better than Jackson Page. In my book—literally in my diaries—he was as good as it got.
Willa deserved better, and I hated how easy she made everything for Jackson. She gave him everything on a silver platter, and he accepted all of it. She also felt insecure when her friends called out her relationship with Jackson, saying it was just a fling for him. At least she stood up for herself against those fake friends, but she still behaved like a delulu, thinking that it didn’t matter as long as Jackson kept coming back to her and she kept going back to him. I think they both deserve each other with how pathetic and boring they were.
“Maybe a braver woman would have pestered and pressed him until he admitted what was bothering him. Maybe she would have stood up to him, demanding he lose the grumpy attitude. But I wasn’t that woman. I let him be a grouch during the day because at night, he’d still sleep with me in his arms.”
At least the romance was bearable enough for me to finish this book, and there were a few moments I even liked. But then they both decided to act like these stupid characters.
“There.” My finger shot in the air. “Did you see it?”
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t they pretty?”
“Beautiful.” But he wasn’t staring at the sky. He was looking at me.
The suspense and murder plot in the last five chapters was so useless. The torture is finally over. Devney, please don’t do it again.
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes