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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
3.5-4 stars
I really enjoyed the beginning where they are trying to navigate their relationship.
There were spots in the book where I felt like it didn't flow, specifically in the relationship aspect.
Overall I really enjoyed the writing! I wished it was dual POV but I think that the next couple books in the series are.
I really enjoyed the beginning where they are trying to navigate their relationship.
There were spots in the book where I felt like it didn't flow, specifically in the relationship aspect.
Overall I really enjoyed the writing! I wished it was dual POV but I think that the next couple books in the series are.
Mafia romance lite
3.5 stars. More of a fairy tale spin than a gritty mafia book but eh. It was fine. I’ll probably read the rest of the series.
3.5 stars. More of a fairy tale spin than a gritty mafia book but eh. It was fine. I’ll probably read the rest of the series.
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I have read many of books that are just like (or similar to) Asher Black. For a story that says it is not the stereotypical "romance novel" story, it really is stereotypical. With Lucy falling for a lot of the same things any other romance novel protagonist would. While this is not a Fifty Shades book, it does have sex and implied situations in it. It is nice that it isn't just solely two characters boning, but even with minimal sex the plot seemed to fall flat. Lucy would have "mental ramblings" which would be a hassle to read, and towards the end I would just start skipping paragraphs because they don't add anything to the story. Parker Huntington does an excellent job writing Asher, but Lucy doesn't reach the same level. One other thing that irked me is that texts conversations were portrayed and illustrated as actual text bubbles with contact photos and text bubbles, it was just something extra that was not needed.
Is this a mafia book? Bc I was never like scared nor did I think the mafia dude was scary and any point of the book. Most of the mysteries were finished wiht bland endings. The characters are average.
I love Lucy, seriously. Sometimes female characters get washed out in romance novels, totally reduced down to almost nothing except a prop for a man but NOT LUCY!
Lucy is strong and incredibly smart, which makes her such an appealing female lead. She isn't entirely confident and she has moments when she waivers which just makes her that much more relatable. Asher is also an incredibly likable character.
I feel like the mystery around who Lucy is and some of the secondary plot lines could have been slightly more developed, but the romance plot line itself was on point. Lucy and Asher's arc is more realistic than a lot of romance novels in how the characters react to each other.
All in all, this was a super entertaining books and I love the way that the author writes female characters. I couldn't put the book down.
Lucy is strong and incredibly smart, which makes her such an appealing female lead. She isn't entirely confident and she has moments when she waivers which just makes her that much more relatable. Asher is also an incredibly likable character.
I feel like the mystery around who Lucy is and some of the secondary plot lines could have been slightly more developed, but the romance plot line itself was on point. Lucy and Asher's arc is more realistic than a lot of romance novels in how the characters react to each other.
All in all, this was a super entertaining books and I love the way that the author writes female characters. I couldn't put the book down.
realistically, this is probably a 2 star book, but i think it had a lot of potential and it never made me actually upset, so i'm being generous. the premise had potential, the characters had potential, but there were so many unnecessarily cringey parts and weak plot points that it just fell kind of flat. the development of the relationship between the main characters was unconvincing and not compelling. once they're in love, it's believable, but the journey there for most of the book doesn't actually feel like a journey anywhere. there's no development until suddenly near the end, they're in love. there was very little tension between them before that (aside from the occasional brief and forgettable moments) to suggest that they were developing as a couple. i really liked the love interest, and i think the main character had potential to be very likable (except for her little voluntourism in africa, lmfaooo) however, every other character was either very annoying (even if they were meant to be endearing, like the best friend) or totally forgettable. the plot was boring and at times nonsensical. the main character also had frequent moments of being very annoying/cringe/acting like a 12 year old. i understand that she is young, at 20, but since i am also 20 i feel qualified to say that the main character was ridiculously immature a lot of the time, and it was made ridiculous by the fact that she is not, overall, an immature person! if that was simply her characterization it would make sense at least, but it wasn't, so whenever she suddenly acts 12 it was weird and frustrating. i also don't want to act like 20 year olds aren't ever immature, because again, i am 20 and i'm plenty immature at times. that's just part of the territory. but there's a specific brand of immaturity that a lot of contemporary romance writers (of books and movies) will give their characters to make things funny or endearing for the reader, and that just does not work for me! i had to skim significant parts because they were just so .... cringe. i wish i could think of a different word to use in this review other than cringe/annoying, because most of the books i read are objectively of that variety and i still really enjoy them! just not this one, lol. i think the characters in this book are a product of the "author thinks the way to make a character endearingly quirky is to make them embarrass themselves or annoying" and i literally do not think that is the way to a reader's heart, lol. also i think if a book is a romance book where the characters ALLEGEDLY have a ton of chemistry, and almost have sex the first time that they meet, then why on earth do they only have sex ONCE over the course of living together, in the same bed, for MONTHS, considering that neither of them have any particular hangups about sex or fwb situations? hello? Hello. what was that. it was such a brief scene that did nothing to further develop or cemet their relationship (not that sex necessarily needs to do either of those things, but the scene was clearly meant to, based on the timing of it and whatnot, but it did not deliver)
Surprisingly, I’m not really sure what to rate this one. It was eh, yet I enjoyed it all the same. Can’t say I’m a fan of how the women are depicted, but I tend to find that a lot in contemporary romances. Maybe I’ll come back to rate this later, because I for some reason find myself wanting to read the next book in the series
lighthearted
fast-paced
Don’t read this, it is honestly terrible. The only reason I finished this book was because I like to torture myself, and because I hate not finishing a book. I wish I could get back the time I took to read this. The main character is insufferable, I truly hated her. She one of those “I’m not like other girls” girls, which I absolutely despise. Her love interest was bland and formulaic - but at least he wasn’t as terrible. Also, if you’re going to write a mafia romance, or a mafia inspired romance, at least make it a little bit accurate. Not that bland “alpha male, I’ve done a lot of bad things” type stuff. Just because you have done something bad does not mean you are in the mafia. I mean come on. I don’t want to waste anymore time on this book. Ugh..