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mrshays's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
greatestheights's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
_isabel_'s review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.0
Well, this was lovely!
I've been very curious about Noah and David's relationship since the very first time they appeared. "A Rulebook for Restless Rogues" was sweet and slightly angsty, lightly steamy ans absolutely endearing, and surprising in some ways. Its two leads were wonderful and their romance was absolutely lovely: oblivious, pining best friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes, especially when it's paired with a side of angst and second-chance romance.
So why three stars?
Some things didn't work for me, obviously. I just don't know which ones or why, exactly; and the same thing happened with it's predecessor.
I would have usually loved something like this to bits, but maybe my brain just doesn't function properly these days; maybe it was too long and the writing style was too much? Or maybe I should give up on this series but ugh, the characters and the found family vibes are always impeccable.
Because wow, once again I found myself absolutely intrigued by all the side characters: I'm desperate for a novel about Warren, and one about Shaw, and maybe something about Annabelle too. But I probably should give up on this series because I know I'll end up skimming those as well: I'm furious with myself!!!
I don't understand why I couldn't enjoy this novel fully, and I why I ended up getting a biiiiit bored with it and skimming when everything about it usually works so well for me. Ugh.
So yeah, I think this is very much a "me" issue: if you're a fan of friends-to-lovers, historicals and precious and ridiculously endearing queer found families you'll probably love this. I wish I'd loved it more, but maybe I chose to read this book at the very wrong time. Anyway, there were definitely some positives and I loved seeing Noah and David (David especially! He was my absolute favourite, and I went feral over him many many times) finally reach their HEA.
There's one last thing I want to point out though: Noah uses a lot of Italian words and phrases here, and while most of them were correct, quite a few of his most recurring ones had glaring grammatical errors: "perfetta" instead of "perfetto", "la" used instead of "il" and others that just made me cringe a bit, especially considering the fact that Noah has, supposedly, spent a few years in Italy and his fluency is remarked upon quite a bit.
I hope they'll be fixed in the final copy of this book.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've been very curious about Noah and David's relationship since the very first time they appeared. "A Rulebook for Restless Rogues" was sweet and slightly angsty, lightly steamy ans absolutely endearing, and surprising in some ways. Its two leads were wonderful and their romance was absolutely lovely: oblivious, pining best friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes, especially when it's paired with a side of angst and second-chance romance.
So why three stars?
Some things didn't work for me, obviously. I just don't know which ones or why, exactly; and the same thing happened with it's predecessor.
I would have usually loved something like this to bits, but maybe my brain just doesn't function properly these days; maybe it was too long and the writing style was too much? Or maybe I should give up on this series but ugh, the characters and the found family vibes are always impeccable.
Because wow, once again I found myself absolutely intrigued by all the side characters: I'm desperate for a novel about Warren, and one about Shaw, and maybe something about Annabelle too. But I probably should give up on this series because I know I'll end up skimming those as well: I'm furious with myself!!!
I don't understand why I couldn't enjoy this novel fully, and I why I ended up getting a biiiiit bored with it and skimming when everything about it usually works so well for me. Ugh.
So yeah, I think this is very much a "me" issue: if you're a fan of friends-to-lovers, historicals and precious and ridiculously endearing queer found families you'll probably love this. I wish I'd loved it more, but maybe I chose to read this book at the very wrong time. Anyway, there were definitely some positives and I loved seeing Noah and David (David especially! He was my absolute favourite, and I went feral over him many many times) finally reach their HEA.
There's one last thing I want to point out though: Noah uses a lot of Italian words and phrases here, and while most of them were correct, quite a few of his most recurring ones had glaring grammatical errors: "perfetta" instead of "perfetto", "la" used instead of "il" and others that just made me cringe a bit, especially considering the fact that Noah has, supposedly, spent a few years in Italy and his fluency is remarked upon quite a bit.
I hope they'll be fixed in the final copy of this book.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
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