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theblackstepford's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy
tunezmarie's review
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
fatkidatheartreads's review against another edition
3.0
What a messy story with a twisted and slightly karmic ending. Lol.
But I'm still mad at dude for all that infidelity, she deserved so much better.
But I'm still mad at dude for all that infidelity, she deserved so much better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
now_booking's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
So I know cheating in books is a hard line for many romance fans. And it is for me. There have only been one or two romances ever where I’ve even been able to come back from a cheating hero and certainly never one where the hero claims to be as devoted to the heroine as this one does. But if you’re going to pick a book to read where the hero’s cheating features heavily, it should be this one. This book was A LOT. A lot of parent-related trauma (some of it of the child abuse variety), a lot of really intense emotions, a lot of “OMG what is going on!,” a lot of jaw-dropping moments. I think Polo might be the “ain’t ish”-est romantic hero I’ve event actually liked. This book had me gasping and yelling at the characters especially Polo but also intensely appreciating the author’s sensitivity in tackling the issues in this book.
The premise is that Polo is a professional basketball star in the NBA whose deep love and long-term relationship with his high school girlfriend hasn’t prevented him from being a community 🍆. Despite his girlfriend Kendra knowing of his philander ways, her childhood trauma, emotional fragility and her co-dependence on Polo mean that Kendra stays in the relationship despite Polo’s cheating ways. Until she can’t anymore.
This book is immensely messy. But it’s messy-done-right. The author’s choices in telling this story are brilliant and it never felt gratuitously messy with elements just thrown in for effect. Every bit felt thoughtful and carefully crafted. The author wrote a hero who was a cheat but who was so well-crafted as a character, that you didn’t write him off. Every character was perfectly balanced. And the story felt real and believable and though it is a romance with an optimistic ending, the journey to the ending was realistic and fair. I loved this! It’s hard for me to reconcile because so many complex and unresolved things were going on with the characters, I still have judgey moments thinking about them but this really resonated and felt tangible and I couldn’t sleep till I finished it. I thought even though there was definitely problematic-ness, and even though these characters are co-dependent and in my book in real life should never be near each other, in this romance, I bought what the author was selling and Polo and Kendra are kind of my OTP in a fictional sense.
The premise is that Polo is a professional basketball star in the NBA whose deep love and long-term relationship with his high school girlfriend hasn’t prevented him from being a community 🍆. Despite his girlfriend Kendra knowing of his philander ways, her childhood trauma, emotional fragility and her co-dependence on Polo mean that Kendra stays in the relationship despite Polo’s cheating ways. Until she can’t anymore.
This book is immensely messy. But it’s messy-done-right. The author’s choices in telling this story are brilliant and it never felt gratuitously messy with elements just thrown in for effect. Every bit felt thoughtful and carefully crafted. The author wrote a hero who was a cheat but who was so well-crafted as a character, that you didn’t write him off. Every character was perfectly balanced. And the story felt real and believable and though it is a romance with an optimistic ending, the journey to the ending was realistic and fair. I loved this! It’s hard for me to reconcile because so many complex and unresolved things were going on with the characters, I still have judgey moments thinking about them but this really resonated and felt tangible and I couldn’t sleep till I finished it. I thought even though there was definitely problematic-ness, and even though these characters are co-dependent and in my book in real life should never be near each other, in this romance, I bought what the author was selling and Polo and Kendra are kind of my OTP in a fictional sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Eating disorder
karen_the_reader's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I listened to the audiobook.
Paul Logan (Polo) and Kendra Doll (Ken) are characters that fans of Ms. House's writing have seen before. If I'm being honest though, I wasn't particularly interested in them as a couple from the glimpses I had seen of their personalities and interactions with other characters and each other. Because of that I was happy to wait until my library got the audiobook and even though two of my favorite voice actors narrate the book, I still did not listen to it immediately. Well... let me tell you... the magic created by Alex House's writing, and Wesleigh and Jakobi's voices is a thing of such beauty and pleasure that I should have known better!
From the outside looking in, you would think that Paul is just another entitled NBA player fuckboy and Kendra is his stupid, materialistic live in girlfriend who lets him get away with anything as long as she gets to spend his money. But this book tells a different story. Polo and Ken have a complex history and their relationship is anything but easy, their love is complicated and messy and heartbreaking every step of the way. There are things that I feel conflicted about in this book, but those are the things of life... the things that don't happen the way you expected but in their occurrence you gain an experience or lesson that you would have never otherwise benefited from. Their story is beautifully told and has so many unexpected turns that I was not ready for. I had to stop reading at several points to pick my jaw up off the ground and it's a good thing that I wasn't holding my phone when I was listening to this because I would have thrown it across the room. Flagrant earns an enthusiastic five stars and has me anxiously awaiting the next installment of the St. Louis Cyclones series.
Paul Logan (Polo) and Kendra Doll (Ken) are characters that fans of Ms. House's writing have seen before. If I'm being honest though, I wasn't particularly interested in them as a couple from the glimpses I had seen of their personalities and interactions with other characters and each other. Because of that I was happy to wait until my library got the audiobook and even though two of my favorite voice actors narrate the book, I still did not listen to it immediately. Well... let me tell you... the magic created by Alex House's writing, and Wesleigh and Jakobi's voices is a thing of such beauty and pleasure that I should have known better!
From the outside looking in, you would think that Paul is just another entitled NBA player fuckboy and Kendra is his stupid, materialistic live in girlfriend who lets him get away with anything as long as she gets to spend his money. But this book tells a different story. Polo and Ken have a complex history and their relationship is anything but easy, their love is complicated and messy and heartbreaking every step of the way. There are things that I feel conflicted about in this book, but those are the things of life... the things that don't happen the way you expected but in their occurrence you gain an experience or lesson that you would have never otherwise benefited from. Their story is beautifully told and has so many unexpected turns that I was not ready for. I had to stop reading at several points to pick my jaw up off the ground and it's a good thing that I wasn't holding my phone when I was listening to this because I would have thrown it across the room. Flagrant earns an enthusiastic five stars and has me anxiously awaiting the next installment of the St. Louis Cyclones series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
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