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wellactjoally's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
3.0
Enemies to lovers with a whole lot of shit along the way.
Sex shaming. Poverty. Prejudice. Classism. Threats. Abandonment. “Retarded”. Foster care. Mutilated animals. Murder. Arson.
Sex shaming. Poverty. Prejudice. Classism. Threats. Abandonment. “Retarded”. Foster care. Mutilated animals. Murder. Arson.
nathalyalvarez's review against another edition
3.0
Todavía no entiendo como me gusta tanto éste libro a pesar de que siento que la protagonista es una tonta por enamorarse de un imbecil que no la trata bien en absoluto. `Probablemente porque Linda Howard tiene una forma tan fascinante y cautivante de escribir que te mantiene obsesionada con la trama (a pesar de que es super predecible) y un patrón tan distintivo en sus historias con hombres que odias y terminas amando (como lo hice en Mr. Perfect).
venicesunsets's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Keeping in mind this is a Harleiquin/Harmony book written in the 90s (so there's stuff that's really a product of its time) I quite enjoyed this read. I liked the mystery aspect a lot and the whole family dynamics were so bizarre and messed up that at one point I laughed and thought it was becoming more a psychological thriller.
I wanted a old fashioned smutty read and I got it (even though I felt it could have been *more* smutty haha). I also liked Faith and her story of triumph after her childhood and how she was an accomplished business woman so I'll say it was kinda annoying how much she was unable to function around Gray. Gray from the second half of the book really grew on me, he was protective and funny.
I'm still not sure what to think of this book but I'll probably read it again one day where I need something a bit unhinged and hot lol
I wanted a old fashioned smutty read and I got it (even though I felt it could have been *more* smutty haha). I also liked Faith and her story of triumph after her childhood and how she was an accomplished business woman so I'll say it was kinda annoying how much she was unable to function around Gray. Gray from the second half of the book really grew on me, he was protective and funny.
I'm still not sure what to think of this book but I'll probably read it again one day where I need something a bit unhinged and hot lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexism and Child death
inessova's review against another edition
2.0
This is not romance! This is not LOVE... This was a lust story with a terrible hero.
anggia's review against another edition
dark
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
5.0
gray the man you are. literally sobbed when this was over
chelsea53's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
archangelwings's review against another edition
4.5
I called the bad guy (and where he híd the body) way before we were shown that he's not quite as nice and honorable as he made himself out to be (pat on the back) - still I had a great time with it
I could almost give this 5 stars, it was fun, the setting was great and I really liked faith and grey, however their rs and feelings could've used some more and better development, so 4.5 stars rounding down to 4
PS.: after what happened that night and the way grey treated faith, I was expecting some J major groveling, but we didn't really get any, so that was a miss
Ax2. N👍🏻👍🏻
I could almost give this 5 stars, it was fun, the setting was great and I really liked faith and grey, however their rs and feelings could've used some more and better development, so 4.5 stars rounding down to 4
PS.: after what happened that night and the way grey treated faith, I was expecting some J major groveling, but we didn't really get any, so that was a miss
Ax2. N👍🏻👍🏻
meggie82461's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This was a dumpster fire and I am the trash panda that loved (almost) every second of it. These 90s stories have excellent plots along with the impeccable misogyny that I grew up with. Logically I know that the story is just a product of its environment at the time, but I could have done with just a little less of the whole “town whore” thing. And probably because of that, I didn’t like the curveball at the end, that Guy was really in love with an unnamed third party. In my head canon, he loved Renee because she was his equal, and they deserved each other.
Regardless, this is a classic that I urge any romance reader to get their hands on.
This was a dumpster fire and I am the trash panda that loved (almost) every second of it. These 90s stories have excellent plots along with the impeccable misogyny that I grew up with. Logically I know that the story is just a product of its environment at the time, but I could have done with just a little less of the whole “town whore” thing. And probably because of that, I didn’t like the curveball at the end, that Guy was really in love with an unnamed third party. In my head canon, he loved Renee because she was his equal, and they deserved each other.
Regardless, this is a classic that I urge any romance reader to get their hands on.
janellebzn's review against another edition
5.0
Same as Martha Cecilia's Sensual and Jonaxx's Sands of Time/ 1st chapter line on one of Costa Leona book and same plot
anna3101's review against another edition
1.0
If this is your first book by Linda Howard, I feel sorry for you. Truly. Just set it aside and try others - they are much better. Honestly. Not all of them feature a trembling damsel in distress whining after a chauvinistic macho.
So, where do I start? Just how many things are hateable about this book? Well, pretty much every single one. The suspense is so weak it doesn't leave you even with a twinge of doubt as to who the main villain is. The main heroine doesn't mind being insulted and abused by the hero. Scene one, she's 11, he never pays attention to her but she follows him like a little obedient puppy. Scene 2, she's thrown out of her house and, literally, into the dirt by the same, - she still finds no fault with that. Scene 3, she is (presumably) a successful grown-up woman who is threatened and assaulted by her knight in shining armor - but her knees still grow weak at the very sight of him because obviously she never does any thinking with her brain, only with her intimate parts. Speaking of the trembling knees, I kept wondering how she was able to walk at all - the amount of time she spent going all weak over the oh-he's-so-sexy-i-don't-care-he's-a-stalker guy should have actually left her lying on the floor non-stop.
It is really amazing how any idea of self-esteem would just disappear from her little mind whenever HE HIMSELF appeared. Obviously, the poor thing had so little sex in her life that the sight of a good-looking man was too much to handle. I thought that self-control was one of the differences between homo sapiens and other species but obviously I was wrong.
But let's look at our hero, shall we? He didn't talk. He growled. I think I should have counted the number of times the world "growled" was used. Is he a bear or something? Well, judging by his behaviour he is definitely close to Neanderthal. The only thing he thinks about is sex, and his only way of communicating with the heroine is seizing her, shaking her, grabbing her and intimidating her as much as possible. Oh, sorry. I forgot that sometimes he can be articulate enough to shout. Or growl. Big RRR. So masculine, huh? Excited? Are you going all weak in your knees already?
Somehow I did not, and the only reason I read the book until the end was to see if it could get any worse. It did. There was a cute plot twist where one of secondary characters - surprise! - let another secondary character screw her just because she felt it was kinda inappropriate and impolite to refuse. So she went on with it. For 7 years. But you should understand that, of course, she could not stop him from having having sex with her because otherwise he might get upset and leave, and if he left, then maybe her mummy would also be upset. NB: We're not talking about a teenager girl here. We're talking about a 30+ woman. Ok, I know, people have weird issues etc. Right. But sometimes too much is just too much, and some plausibility really should apply even to romance genre. I'm inclined to believe Freud himself was turning in his grave when Linda Howard was writing that stuff.
The conclusion: this was one of the worst, the ugliest and the stupidest romance book I've ever read, and I'm sorry for the precious minutes lost on it.
So, where do I start? Just how many things are hateable about this book? Well, pretty much every single one. The suspense is so weak it doesn't leave you even with a twinge of doubt as to who the main villain is. The main heroine doesn't mind being insulted and abused by the hero. Scene one, she's 11, he never pays attention to her but she follows him like a little obedient puppy. Scene 2, she's thrown out of her house and, literally, into the dirt by the same, - she still finds no fault with that. Scene 3, she is (presumably) a successful grown-up woman who is threatened and assaulted by her knight in shining armor - but her knees still grow weak at the very sight of him because obviously she never does any thinking with her brain, only with her intimate parts. Speaking of the trembling knees, I kept wondering how she was able to walk at all - the amount of time she spent going all weak over the oh-he's-so-sexy-i-don't-care-he's-a-stalker guy should have actually left her lying on the floor non-stop.
It is really amazing how any idea of self-esteem would just disappear from her little mind whenever HE HIMSELF appeared. Obviously, the poor thing had so little sex in her life that the sight of a good-looking man was too much to handle. I thought that self-control was one of the differences between homo sapiens and other species but obviously I was wrong.
But let's look at our hero, shall we? He didn't talk. He growled. I think I should have counted the number of times the world "growled" was used. Is he a bear or something? Well, judging by his behaviour he is definitely close to Neanderthal. The only thing he thinks about is sex, and his only way of communicating with the heroine is seizing her, shaking her, grabbing her and intimidating her as much as possible. Oh, sorry. I forgot that sometimes he can be articulate enough to shout. Or growl. Big RRR. So masculine, huh? Excited? Are you going all weak in your knees already?
Somehow I did not, and the only reason I read the book until the end was to see if it could get any worse. It did. There was a cute plot twist where one of secondary characters - surprise! - let another secondary character screw her just because she felt it was kinda inappropriate and impolite to refuse. So she went on with it. For 7 years. But you should understand that, of course, she could not stop him from having having sex with her because otherwise he might get upset and leave, and if he left, then maybe her mummy would also be upset. NB: We're not talking about a teenager girl here. We're talking about a 30+ woman. Ok, I know, people have weird issues etc. Right. But sometimes too much is just too much, and some plausibility really should apply even to romance genre. I'm inclined to believe Freud himself was turning in his grave when Linda Howard was writing that stuff.
The conclusion: this was one of the worst, the ugliest and the stupidest romance book I've ever read, and I'm sorry for the precious minutes lost on it.