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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
The whole time I was reading this I felt both annoyed and intrigued. I'm a BIG fan of MB and have read many of her romances but she didn't get onto my radar until a few years ago. So I haven't read much of her early stuff, like this one. As general romances go, it's more like 3 stars, but as an MB romance, it's just OK.
I was really never sure how it would end, so in that way I was intrigued enough to finish, but there was so much here that wasn't up to my high standards for MB. The pace is sluggish and therefore relies on the repetition of angst and dilemma to prod it along. And so many internal questions! I think this may hold the record for the most question marks in any one story. The scarred/disfigured war hero comes up again in the later books, and has much more warmth and likability, plus better dialogue. Adam isn't awful, but whenever he spoke he just sounded like a generic character. And the same with her females; future heroines are strong like Fleur but have much more depth and personality.
Perhaps if I'd read this before the later books I'd have liked it more, but it really pales in comparison to her recent stuff. Read the Survivor's Club series and you'll see what I mean.
I was really never sure how it would end, so in that way I was intrigued enough to finish, but there was so much here that wasn't up to my high standards for MB. The pace is sluggish and therefore relies on the repetition of angst and dilemma to prod it along. And so many internal questions! I think this may hold the record for the most question marks in any one story. The scarred/disfigured war hero comes up again in the later books, and has much more warmth and likability, plus better dialogue. Adam isn't awful, but whenever he spoke he just sounded like a generic character. And the same with her females; future heroines are strong like Fleur but have much more depth and personality.
Perhaps if I'd read this before the later books I'd have liked it more, but it really pales in comparison to her recent stuff. Read the Survivor's Club series and you'll see what I mean.
emotional
hopeful
tense
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
The story develops slowly, which I actually think, is fitting. I loved that it was slow. The dreadful atmosphere, the pining and the intensity are dragged along with you. Which made it (in my opinion) a class difference excellently written. At some point, I was highly convinced that the two MCs would never find a way to be together despite the genre being HEA guaranteed. The stakes were high and society really had it out for them. MMC had his flaws but I understood him. FMC was strong in many ways, fighting so hard to not let herself be beaten down. The yearning was radiating off the pages, it still lingered after I finished it. I love everything this book made me feel.
Gotta give this an extra star because I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about it. I didn’t always like either main character (or the other characters, for that matter) but Balogh did a great job digging into their personalities and with the whole tangled plate of spaghetti of a plot.
Heroine was a classic TSTL. She drove me nuts and by the end I didn't want anything good to happen for her.
It has moments of greatness, but overall, it's just too long and can't sustain the drama over that many pages.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide
#RitaMary #RetoRita4
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Me ha gustado mucho. Comienzo complicado, un tema "peliagudo" y unos personajes muy tocados hacen que esta historia me enganchara y no pude dejar de leer.
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Me ha gustado mucho. Comienzo complicado, un tema "peliagudo" y unos personajes muy tocados hacen que esta historia me enganchara y no pude dejar de leer.
emotional
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
medium-paced