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emmieanna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I don’t know how to feel about this one. I think I liked the story and wanted the characters to end up together but also he is the worst kind of person. I guess that is the point but she literally did not do one thing wrong to him the whole time and he was a liar and manipulator who couldn’t admit his feelings even to himself.
That being said, I will be continuing the series because I want to see Declan eat his words and be humbled by Iris because I know that they are supposed to end up together.
Also, I love the representation of differently ambled people in this book. Anni is the best character and you can’t tell me otherwise,
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Medical content, Body shaming, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Stalking, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Ableism, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Infidelity
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Classism, Bullying, Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Cancer
edietz22's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit, Classism, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness
tiffanne11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The pair meet at an employee meeting and are immediately at odds and also attracted to each other.
The first 70% or so of this book was a 4 or 5 star. The plot outside of the romance was intriguing and kept you interested. The spice was well written but not too vulgar.
However, there were two things that really pulled me out of the story.
First, Rowan is concerningly possessive of Zahra. He "jokes" that she doesn't have a choice when it comes to various things in their relationship. Ironically, her outspokenness is one of the things he initially liked about her. I think it was supposed to be steamy in a dominant kind of way, but it didn't work for me.
Second, there is a third act break up. I expect it, especially with a romance this long, but *damn*. He quite literally didn't learn from his mistake WITH HER in the early part of the book. I was hoping for a weird twist relating to the will but instead we got the bane of my romance existence.
Overall, I would likely still recommend this book, with the above warnings to potential readers.
Spice: 3/5 🌶️ - acts on page with detail
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
ellawatwat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Pregnancy
platypusd10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Grief, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Cursing, Death, and Terminal illness
annabananadel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
“If I had a heart to give, it would be all yours. Free of cost.”
I had high hopes when I went into this book given the fact that the series is all over the internet. Unfortunately, it wasn't met and I just simply just enjoyed this book not thinking that it would be up there with the other books that are actually good.
It has been so long for me since I've read a employee x boss workplace romance - in fact, I can't even think about a book with that trope at the top of my head, so I guess this might be my first. To be honest, not much has retained from my memory and that’s already a pretty depressing fact. The only things I can remember is that I love workplace romance in this setting - boss and employee. I love how both of them took a vacation and how he actually planned a book signing event just for her. I mean, if you have gazillions of moolah, why not spend it, right? That’s like one the of highest point for me as a book reader (my boyfriend bought me one book in the span of our 3.5 years together so that’s saying a lot).
I think one of the plus points is that they focus so much on work employee’s problems and what benefit they get from the work - this itself redeemed a lot of stars because it’s so relatable especially in the Philippines where health insurance is very limited. I’m thankful that the company I work for has it as a benefit but with the rising expenses, my wage is legit can’t keep up. Will I recommend this to my boss? Definitely no (lol).
The romance between the two MCs are pretty cute considering that it’s grumpy x sunshine so it did make me smile a lot. Also, Rowan is just too cute but kinda dumb for letting Zahra go but he got smarter by the end so everything’s good between us now. I’m happy to see the epilogue too because ugh it’s just so cute to imagine where they would be in a few years time.
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, and Mental illness
Minor: Terminal illness
luxxltyd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism and Addiction
molly31's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Medical content, Terminal illness, Cursing, and Death
bbygirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
And I didn't like that there were two major conflicts/break up scenes in this book and I think it could've only done with one at most. I can't tell you which one I would get rid of, because quite frankly I didn't like either of them, but I do know having two portions of the book focused on that was unnecessary when they're could've only been one section focusing on a conflict/breakup period.
I also have mixed feelings on both MC's. Rowan (MMC) was an asshole through and through for a giant portion of this book. And while I'm understanding of Zahra's feelings on the things Rowan said and did to her, I felt a bit frustrated with her. The way she didn't let Rowan explain anything and the way she jumped to conclusions a lot made me very anxious and frustrated. Like I said, I'm not excusing Rowan's actions/behavior, because it was quite unforgivable even coming from a place of understanding of his past, but I just felt like they should've talked things out like adults and that's what Rowan was trying to do, whereas Zahra wasn't. In my opinion it seemed she just wanted to avoid things until they're unavoidable.
There are things I liked about both characters, like I loved that Zahra had a very sunshine outlook on life. Yes it is sometimes just a way to cover up her true feelings, but for the most part, she tries to exude positive energy especially around others so she doesn't negatively affect others. And I love how deep down Rowan has this sweet caring nature for others. Despite the way he presents himself to the general public, he has this deep seeded care for people in less fortunate situations. You can clearly see that with how he is with Ani and how he immediately helped Martha when he found out she has to work to jobs with a hurt foot/leg. But for the most part Rowan and Zahra were a big letdown to what I was expecting going into this. And how much I like the MC's plays a big part into my overall enjoyment of book.
I think my favorite part of this book were the side characters and the theme park storyline. I loved seeing the progression toward making the park more inclusive and diverse. I loved Ani, she's such a little sweetheart, wanting to help her sister be happy. And she's so adorable with her boyfriend JP. I also really liked Martha as well.
So would I recommend this, maybe, I'd like to say yes but I'm not entirely sure. I'll let the other two books decide for whether it's worth it to read this one or not. I'll most likely say yes, but will see. I thought it was an enjoyable for the most part. Enough for me to keep going until I finished it. It had a great plotline and some great character development in the long run. I loved the ending seeing how Rowan's final plans for Dreamland start to come into effect and I loved seeing him and Zahra together despite their toxic and rocky beginning.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Addiction, Cancer, and Death
mrsalexisrjones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Body shaming, Classism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, Fatphobia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse