Scan barcode
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
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
More...