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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
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
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow I had really high hopes for this book. Everyone was hyping it up and the reviews were great. But this book contained so many tropes that I just couldnāt stand.
There was a LOT of miscommunication like way too much for these two grown adults.
Second chanceā¦ I donāt like second chances cause why didnāt you stick the landing the first time, and sadly with this book she wrote a situation that just would never work out. He saw her first, they vibed. Her mother ruined that for her and the next day she meets her husband. He sees her again and she already in love with his best friend/ brother and never says anything for 12 years. 12 years and just pretends to hate her. For 12 years. Which brings up the whole miscommunication trope.
This book has third, fourth, and fifth act break up. Like they were only officially together and fully accepting of it for 2% of the book. How does that happen?
I also canāt stand when characters have sex instead of talking. I couldnāt even enjoy the smut because they were just so toxic together. They both needed therapy. Him for constantly thinking heād turn into his father (I get it but I donāt think it was needed) and her still grieving her husband / his best friend.
I was trying to think of an ending that would have made me happy cause adding another band to her ring did not make me happy. And there honestly is anything that would have saved this book for
There was a LOT of miscommunication like way too much for these two grown adults.
This book has third, fourth, and fifth act break up. Like they were only officially together and fully accepting of it for 2% of the book. How does that happen?
I also canāt stand when characters have sex instead of talking. I couldnāt even enjoy the smut because they were just so toxic together. They both needed therapy. Him for constantly thinking heād turn into his father (I get it but I donāt think it was needed) and her still grieving her husband / his best friend.
I was trying to think of an ending that would have made me happy cause adding another band to her ring did not make me happy. And there honestly is anything that would have saved this book for
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book deserves more 1-star reviews. Let me help get the ball rolling.š„°
My goodness, this book was GOD AWFUL: the worst 10 hours and 20 minutes of my life. The book was so abhorrent that listening to it gave me a headache.
Why this is the worst romance book I've ever read:
My goodness, this book was GOD AWFUL: the worst 10 hours and 20 minutes of my life. The book was so abhorrent that listening to it gave me a headache.
Why this is the worst romance book I've ever read:
- Dominic is by far the worst contemporary romance MMC I've ever read about in my entire life. He's honestly the main reason I loathe this book.
Ch. 4 - we find out he would verbally abuse the FMC, Sloane, for over ten years. And here's one of the things he'd say to this best friend's wife, by the way: āI wouldnāt have pegged you for an attention whore, Sloane. I guess itās not enough for you to have my best friend wrapped around your finger, you gotta make sure everyone else has their eyes on you too, huh?ā (ch.3)
- By that point, I was already grossed out. I couldn't believe that THIS was supposed to be the love interest. Mind you, he's been dishing stuff out like this on her for YEARS! (side note: It upset me that her supposed best friend, Mal, downplayed the verbal abuse she was subjected to as "no big deal." That personally rubbed me the wrong way. And also, where was everyone else when he was doing this?! Her husband? Like, people just let this man disrespect her.)
On top of that, this guy is such a man child. He's so immature. Something else he says to her (this is ch. 11): āNo. I didnāt think you were trying to edge me out. Eric and Mallory have been my family since we were in diapers. A random girl wasnāt going to change that.ā This guy's ghosts her because he's not mature enough to handle his emotions, and then later on discredits her marriage with his best friend by labeling her as some "random girl." INSANE! Again, this is the supposed "love interest."
- I could give you even more quotes on how terrible he is, but this would be an essay. No, we're going to get into the meat and potatoes of this book. The reason he's been verbally abusing our FMC for over a decade.
You guessed it because he's in love with her for 12 YEARS, apparently.š
- Him liking her makes no sense:
He meets her at a college party while she's drunk out of her mind, wanting "danger." She sits on his lap, wearing a white dress, and apparently, that's all it takes for him to fall in love with her. And continues to be in love with her for 12 YEARS!š„“ This has to be the biggest reach I've ever read in a romance book. And because this college boy and then a 30-year-old man has the emotional intellect of a roach, he chooses to hate the FMC for something that wasn't her fault instead of airing his grievances like a mature individual.
Eyes that have probably glazed over numerous times, trying to figure out why I didnāt like her when everyone else did. I never knew she thought about it, and the admission almost makes me want to tell her the truth. Jumbled words crowd on the tip of my tongue, ready to push their way through, but I swallow them down. She isnāt ready for that and probably never will be. (also ch. 11) Again, he has the emotional intellect of a cucumber. Oh I didn't know the girl I act like I overtly hates for over a decade would wonder why I overty hate her for over a decade. UGHHHHHHH! I HATE HIM!
- Her liking him MAKES NO SENSE! I kid you not, after I'd say around the 40% mark, this book becomes one straight erotica. Just sex scenes after sex scene after scene. Any substance their "relationship" could've had was foregone once the author decided that she was going to rely on physical attraction alone to further their "relationship" and paint it as "love." There are no viable reasons for either of their MCs to be in love with one another, and yet here we are.
- And Sloane, honestly, she's just stupid. I couldn't imagine falling for someone just because they saved me from some creep at the club. Later on in the book, she meets this decent guy and dumps him because he doesn't give her sparks. Which is crazy, considering she goes on about how she prefers thoughtfulness over sparks. "who needs sparks when you have thoughtfulness and intention (ch.16)
Being with a man like Ash would be simple, uncomplicated, because anything that happened with himāgood or badāwouldnāt pose a threat to the most important relationships in my life. The same canāt be said for this thing with Dominic, and I canāt help but wonder if itās worth it. If giving in to the attraction blooming between us is worth hurting the people who mean the most to us. People that are only in our lives because of Eric. People I canāt imagine losing. (ch. 29)
- But she loves him, because the author said so.š
- And again, I just HATE HIM! He doesn't handle the situation with his ex well until things start to get crazy. He's super possessive of the FMC to the point where it's not cute anymore. Like he's ready to pounce on any guy that even touches her (literally; there are multiple examples of this in this book). And the 3rd act conflict, where he acts immature and says hurtful things to our FMC, because he can't just voice his emotions like a competent adult. (check ch. 41 for reference, I know you're tired of the quotes)
- The word "angel" is used about 135-150 times in this book. (ruined the nickname forever)šš¤®
- I was promised an emotional romance. The only chapter worth substance is ch.30. So many good plotlines (like her relationship with her mom, his contentious relationship with his dad, Mal & Mama finding out) were all sacrificed for the spice.š
- This book is way too long. I listened to the last quarter on 3x (new record for me), and it still felt like nails on a chalkboard to listen to.
- The female narrator felt AI-generated. (her being on 2x and then 3x was the only way to make her bearable)
Bonus: This is what he says to her on her wedding day. Because they've had a one-sided tempestuous relationship, she comes to him in the hope that they can make amends because they're family now. Here's what he says:
"I have no interest in becoming your family, Sloane," he says, "Kind of late for that." and then he says, "Marrying Eric makes you his family, not mine."
*he never apologizes for the abuse he puts her through, by the wayš¤
All and all, I wish I dnf'd at ch.4 like I wanted to. I'm so upset because I wanted a black romance to OBSESS over, but they have been straight misses lately, especially from the indie authors, unfortunately. Of course, I will always and forever support and read black authors, but I will NEVER be reading from this woman EVER again!
Spice Rating:š¶ļøš¶ļøš¶ļø/5 (i'm talking about category, not the quantity; i'm aware 70% of this book is spice)
All and all, I wish I dnf'd at ch.4 like I wanted to. I'm so upset because I wanted a black romance to OBSESS over, but they have been straight misses lately, especially from the indie authors, unfortunately. Of course, I will always and forever support and read black authors, but I will NEVER be reading from this woman EVER again!
Spice Rating:š¶ļøš¶ļøš¶ļø/5 (i'm talking about category, not the quantity; i'm aware 70% of this book is spice)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Extremely long book with some great spicy scenes but also kind of slow in moments.
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too much 18+. Not my cup of tea
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was raw, steamy, and unforgettable. Dominic and Sloaneās chemistry burns off the page, and J.L. Seegars captures every ounce of heartbreak and desire with brutal honesty. My only gripe was the miscommunication, I was yelling at them to just spit it out already!!! All-in-all, this is a messy, emotional second-chance romance that will leave you hooked and wanting more.