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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Car accident
Moderate: Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Pregnancy
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
slow-paced
3.5
This review is more about J.T. than this particular book.
Ok I need to gush over J.T Geissinger for a second please excuse me. I really liked the first book I read by her in the Wicked series, and then was really really disappointed by the second book in the Wicked series. As a result, I moved on and didn't read any more of her books. Until now. I've gone through half her catalogue in two days! I'm happy to say that the disappointing book was the exception to the rule with this author, when typically it's the other way around.
Things I like about this author:
1. All of her heroines are strong, reasonable, take-no-shit outspoken women.
2. All of her books pointedly avoid stupid misunderstanding tropes. She baits us with those same classic/cliche setups and assumptions and then lets the scene play out completely differently, by having her characters immediately TALK IT OUT. And she makes it SEXY. It is incredibly satisfying and I'm not sure if I can go back to the silliness of those cliches in other books.
3. Most of her books are nuanced and examine female experience dealing with insecurities or aging or race or sexism without making it a plot line that's blatantly thrown in your face. She doesn't overdo it, these aren't deep literature all, she just makes space for it within the confines of a sexy romance and it's so refreshing.
4. Her heros aren't jerks! She does another bait and switch with them. She makes you think you're getting just another tortured beast man alpha type but you're not! I've noticed she really loves the beauty and the beast trope or just loves a damaged hero. They still have all the delicious tendencies I like about those 'alpha' type of characters but with so much more self awareness and without sooo much of the usual problematic nature. And if they act up, they get called on it. Reflect on it. And do better! Idk if it's just me, but usually in romance books I'm pretty much 100% team h and when there's drama or separation or whatever my heart only breaks for her, but in these books it breaks for him too. Maybe I've been reading bad contemporary romance books lately and my standards are just too low, but I'm really happy with this author.
5. No pointless cruelty or drama for drama's sake. Every conflict/source of tension makes sense and has a reason behind it.
6. Really great, believable chemistry between the characters.
7. All on kindle unlimited.
That said, her books aren't perfect, and even though I'm thoroughly enjoying them they still hover around 3-4 stars. I'm not trying to say these are the best romance books ever written or that I've even read this month, but I really appreciate the way that they are written. And the *consistent* way they are written it mostly why I'm raving over them rn.
Things I don't love about some of them:
1. Can be a little slow at parts or to start - which I don't mind cause I'm a good skimmer.
2. There is a bit more cheese in a few of them than I usually like, but again I am a good skimmer. But if you're like me, brace yourself for at least one 90s romcom type declaration of love speech a book. One of them had a lot of corny jokes, but I guess it was the point.
3. The one I didn't like was really pretty bad. And there's one other based on reviews and descriptions I'm thinking I might not like either for the same reason, which is that she does something different and the book ends up not quite being a romance. But that's okay.
Now that I've written this all out I feel silly for it but I've already done it so here we are lol
This review is more about J.T. than this particular book.
Ok I need to gush over J.T Geissinger for a second please excuse me. I really liked the first book I read by her in the Wicked series, and then was really really disappointed by the second book in the Wicked series. As a result, I moved on and didn't read any more of her books. Until now. I've gone through half her catalogue in two days! I'm happy to say that the disappointing book was the exception to the rule with this author, when typically it's the other way around.
Things I like about this author:
1. All of her heroines are strong, reasonable, take-no-shit outspoken women.
2. All of her books pointedly avoid stupid misunderstanding tropes. She baits us with those same classic/cliche setups and assumptions and then lets the scene play out completely differently, by having her characters immediately TALK IT OUT. And she makes it SEXY. It is incredibly satisfying and I'm not sure if I can go back to the silliness of those cliches in other books.
3. Most of her books are nuanced and examine female experience dealing with insecurities or aging or race or sexism without making it a plot line that's blatantly thrown in your face. She doesn't overdo it, these aren't deep literature all, she just makes space for it within the confines of a sexy romance and it's so refreshing.
4. Her heros aren't jerks! She does another bait and switch with them. She makes you think you're getting just another tortured beast man alpha type but you're not! I've noticed she really loves the beauty and the beast trope or just loves a damaged hero. They still have all the delicious tendencies I like about those 'alpha' type of characters but with so much more self awareness and without sooo much of the usual problematic nature. And if they act up, they get called on it. Reflect on it. And do better! Idk if it's just me, but usually in romance books I'm pretty much 100% team h and when there's drama or separation or whatever my heart only breaks for her, but in these books it breaks for him too. Maybe I've been reading bad contemporary romance books lately and my standards are just too low, but I'm really happy with this author.
5. No pointless cruelty or drama for drama's sake. Every conflict/source of tension makes sense and has a reason behind it.
6. Really great, believable chemistry between the characters.
7. All on kindle unlimited.
That said, her books aren't perfect, and even though I'm thoroughly enjoying them they still hover around 3-4 stars. I'm not trying to say these are the best romance books ever written or that I've even read this month, but I really appreciate the way that they are written. And the *consistent* way they are written it mostly why I'm raving over them rn.
Things I don't love about some of them:
1. Can be a little slow at parts or to start - which I don't mind cause I'm a good skimmer.
2. There is a bit more cheese in a few of them than I usually like, but again I am a good skimmer. But if you're like me, brace yourself for at least one 90s romcom type declaration of love speech a book. One of them had a lot of corny jokes, but I guess it was the point.
3. The one I didn't like was really pretty bad. And there's one other based on reviews and descriptions I'm thinking I might not like either for the same reason, which is that she does something different and the book ends up not quite being a romance. But that's okay.
Now that I've written this all out I feel silly for it but I've already done it so here we are lol
emotional
slow-paced
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced