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mattiedancer's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Writing: 3.75⭐️/5
Serviceably written, with some very fun sections!
Characters: 4⭐️/5
I mean, I might just be in love with Joshua, but I thought the characters we focus on were both fun and fresh in their development. I loved their quirks and personalities, and I loved getting to know both of them. However, the side characters definitely lacked some depth and, despite the fact that I love the main characters, I would have loved to see the development of side characters even just a touch more.
Plot: 4⭐️/5
A coworker who hates you, a merger that pushes you to work hard to save jobs, and a hot guy you have to stare at all day. Throw in a momentary illness, a wedding in which one of you needs a date, and a very hot scene in an elevator, and you have a captivating story. Sure, the paintball section drug on way too long in my opinion. Sure, the wedding section could have been condensed to include all the spicy scenes and fewer tense moments. Sure, I could have gone without the misunderstanding tropes times a few times. Sure, the ending lacked a little something something. But, damn, I had fun.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Fans of a fast slow burn (trust me, it makes sense)
- Fans of enemies to lovers
- Fans of there’s only one bed!
- Romance readers who are looking for a read with a bit more than just spice
Content Warnings?
- Sexual content, vomit, illness, medical content, gaslighting, bullying, toxic family, toxic relationships,
Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5
Cute, I love them.
Final Rating: 4⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
jules_c's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Body shaming, and Gaslighting
Minor: Stalking and Vomit
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Gaslighting, and Sexism
victorianbsilva's review against another edition
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexism and Misogyny
skiesarereading's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
An adventure. I read this after the movie came out, and I haven't watched it yet but the cast already sounds perfect.
I'll admit romance isn't my usual, chick-lit tends to have me so frustrated it becomes a DNF by the end, but this one is just amazing (still frustrating with the hating game *pun intended).
Everything about this book is entertainment, it has just the right amount of character personality as much as a plot (a playful plot at that) involving extremely relatable, messy hustlers and over-achievers. What else can I say? If you're in for a hot slow-burn that consumes you, with office romance and enemies-to-lovers with fake-dating and messy, unreasonable parts that keeps you on the edge and wanting to know what they do by the end, definitely pick this book up.
Also, the audiobook? Masterpiece.
(Add. notes: some parts of this book I admit feels a bit off, but somehow I shrug it off because I can't imagine the two characters with anyone else. I can't tell if that's good or not, but it was a very fun read that's fast-paced and keeps you locked in for the whole narrative).
I'll admit romance isn't my usual, chick-lit tends to have me so frustrated it becomes a DNF by the end, but this one is just amazing (still frustrating with the hating game *pun intended).
Everything about this book is entertainment, it has just the right amount of character personality as much as a plot (a playful plot at that) involving extremely relatable, messy hustlers and over-achievers. What else can I say? If you're in for a hot slow-burn that consumes you, with office romance and enemies-to-lovers with fake-dating and messy, unreasonable parts that keeps you on the edge and wanting to know what they do by the end, definitely pick this book up.
Also, the audiobook? Masterpiece.
(Add. notes: some parts of this book I admit feels a bit off, but somehow I shrug it off because I can't imagine the two characters with anyone else. I can't tell if that's good or not, but it was a very fun read that's fast-paced and keeps you locked in for the whole narrative).
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
kayesomething's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Vomit, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Fatphobia, Ableism, and Gaslighting
michellemaas's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I want to put a disclaimer that I read this book directly after reading The Spanish Love Deception and I'm 100% sure that it affected my reading experience, and will therefore affect my review.
I am going to start by saying that if you liked this book you'll also like The Spanish Love Deception and vice versa. Cue my problem. It was for the most part the same book. Short girl, super tall guy, a wedding where they go as fake dates to not be embarrassed in front of family members and ex, a work environment where they met and consequently don't get along, the male character having daddy-issues . . . Just take my word for it that a lot of the aspects are the same. By that, I'm not saying that it's a word-for-word match or anything, since the actual plot of this book does focus on different things than The Spanish Love Deception despite having a bunch of similar scenes and settings, and this doesn't take away from the fact that it's still a good book but I had to mention it. I also don't read a ton of contemporary romance novels (I'm more of a fantasy reader) so it is very possible that all books in the genre have this same premise and that I'm complaining about nothing.
That being said, I liked the relationship between Lucinda and Joshua and the book was entertaining. It's just overall creativity causing me to knock a few stars down. As I said, it was a good contemporary romance but it didn't blow my mind as I was hoping it would. Still, a worthwhile read though because Lucy and Josh are adorable.
I am going to start by saying that if you liked this book you'll also like The Spanish Love Deception and vice versa. Cue my problem. It was for the most part the same book. Short girl, super tall guy, a wedding where they go as fake dates to not be embarrassed in front of family members and ex, a work environment where they met and consequently don't get along, the male character having daddy-issues . . . Just take my word for it that a lot of the aspects are the same. By that, I'm not saying that it's a word-for-word match or anything, since the actual plot of this book does focus on different things than The Spanish Love Deception despite having a bunch of similar scenes and settings, and this doesn't take away from the fact that it's still a good book but I had to mention it. I also don't read a ton of contemporary romance novels (I'm more of a fantasy reader) so it is very possible that all books in the genre have this same premise and that I'm complaining about nothing.
That being said, I liked the relationship between Lucinda and Joshua and the book was entertaining. It's just overall creativity causing me to knock a few stars down. As I said, it was a good contemporary romance but it didn't blow my mind as I was hoping it would. Still, a worthwhile read though because Lucy and Josh are adorable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
tiitu's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Ableism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content, Ableism, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
stllyltc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Time was a factor that introduces the flow of the story. It had a lot of specific details annotating just for a day which is a good read for one sitting. All in all it was nice to see how it ended with growth spurts, breaking stereotypes and honest communications.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Gaslighting
fanygrza's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I think I would've liked it if I had read it in the 2000s. The story is solemnly focused on the male alpha personality of Joshua and the silly quirky tone of Lucy and lacks plot and character nuances. Even though the autor tried to portrait Joshua as a healthy masculinity character, he has a lot of toxic masculinity traits that are romanticized throughout the book.
Thus, I really didn't dig their enemies to lovers relationship—I think the reason they hated each other was ridiculous. Their whole relationship was based on the old concept that if a boy likes you, he treats you badly. Lucy spent a lot of the time being emotionally abused, and Joshua seemed to only care about her emotions once she started to show some interest in him.
This, plus the lack of diversity in characters made it really uncomfortable for me to read it atItimes. I would definitely not read it again but if you're okay with these kinds of things, then you may enjoy this. It has good writing and could've been a great story if it wasn't for the whole romanticized idea of violent love.
Thus, I really didn't dig their enemies to lovers relationship—I think the reason they hated each other was ridiculous. Their whole relationship was based on the old concept that if a boy likes you, he treats you badly. Lucy spent a lot of the time being emotionally abused, and Joshua seemed to only care about her emotions once she started to show some interest in him.
This, plus the lack of diversity in characters made it really uncomfortable for me to read it atItimes. I would definitely not read it again but if you're okay with these kinds of things, then you may enjoy this. It has good writing and could've been a great story if it wasn't for the whole romanticized idea of violent love.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
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