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bryelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.0
This book was cute but also felt like there were too many plots at a certain point. Like everyone has someone trying to kill them in this book was a lot.
Ava is a student who’s brother is going away. Her brother asks his best friend to watch over him while he is gone. Alex us a grumpy guy who never sees the good. They start fooling around and fall for each other. But Alex has had a plan in place for years to take down important people. He pushes Ava away, but realizes he loves her. He tries to win her back.
Ava is a student who’s brother is going away. Her brother asks his best friend to watch over him while he is gone. Alex us a grumpy guy who never sees the good. They start fooling around and fall for each other. But Alex has had a plan in place for years to take down important people. He pushes Ava away, but realizes he loves her. He tries to win her back.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Suicide
anoveldestination's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
After reading this, I kind of wish I didn't know how to swim, so I could have my brother's super hot friend teach me how to swim. (I also wish I had a brother, so I could have a brother with super hot friends.)
However, overall, this wasn't my favorite romance book. I thought the characters were unrealistic and too exaggerated. I typically love a grumpy/sunshine romance and a billionaire romance, but I think this book is an example of too much of a good thing. I don't think people like Alex Volkov exist. I actually laughed when his character was first introduced: genius IQ, billions of dollars since he was a teenager, a penchant for vengeance, and no problem with violence. He felt like a collection of romance genre tropes, rather than a real person. I would've liked to see some aspects of his character toned down. I would buy the inability to forget information if it wasn't also combined with an extraordinary explanation for how he built his wealth.
Ava was more realistic and relatable. Although, she, of course, also had to have a complicated extraordinary backstory. I'm also just so over heroines in romance novels' biggest flaws being that they're too loving and hopeful. It's like telling someone at a job interview that your biggest weakness is being a perfectionist when we all know that's probably not most people's biggest weakness and you're just saying it too sound good. If we like flawed heroes in romance novels, why can't we see heroines with more flaws or at least flaws other than being too loving and optimistic?
My other main issue with the book was the writing style. The dialogue between Alex and Ava felt too poetic at times. It felt like the author was presenting her interpretation of love, rather than a conversation between the characters. In my opinion, the romance was also too insta-lovey. I like insta-love when it's properly explained or seems reasonable for the characters and world of the book. However, Ava and Alex seem to make a big leap from attraction to love, and I would've liked a more gradual build.
Finally, the plot was just ridiculous, and I didn't need that much action in a romance book. The book could've either cut Alex or Ava's dramatic plotline; I don't think it needed both.
However, overall, this wasn't my favorite romance book. I thought the characters were unrealistic and too exaggerated. I typically love a grumpy/sunshine romance and a billionaire romance, but I think this book is an example of too much of a good thing. I don't think people like Alex Volkov exist. I actually laughed when his character was first introduced: genius IQ, billions of dollars since he was a teenager, a penchant for vengeance, and no problem with violence. He felt like a collection of romance genre tropes, rather than a real person. I would've liked to see some aspects of his character toned down. I would buy the inability to forget information if it wasn't also combined with an extraordinary explanation for how he built his wealth.
Ava was more realistic and relatable. Although, she, of course, also had to have a complicated extraordinary backstory. I'm also just so over heroines in romance novels' biggest flaws being that they're too loving and hopeful. It's like telling someone at a job interview that your biggest weakness is being a perfectionist when we all know that's probably not most people's biggest weakness and you're just saying it too sound good. If we like flawed heroes in romance novels, why can't we see heroines with more flaws or at least flaws other than being too loving and optimistic?
My other main issue with the book was the writing style. The dialogue between Alex and Ava felt too poetic at times. It felt like the author was presenting her interpretation of love, rather than a conversation between the characters. In my opinion, the romance was also too insta-lovey. I like insta-love when it's properly explained or seems reasonable for the characters and world of the book. However, Ava and Alex seem to make a big leap from attraction to love, and I would've liked a more gradual build.
Finally, the plot was just ridiculous, and I didn't need that much action in a romance book. The book could've either cut Alex or Ava's dramatic plotline; I don't think it needed both.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Violence, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Gaslighting and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual assault
mackinstyle's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Sexual assault
agnesbebon's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
2.5
2.5
I asked for something fast and spicy, and I got it. I love a morally grey MC/love interest and dual POV.
The hotel scene was hot, the book is fast paced and easy to read. The epilogue was cute, the spice was there (though I do wish there was more). The thirty or so pages (this could be the completely wrong number, I’m bad at math) in the uncles house was the best part of the book and really had me. I wish it was more like that. Every once in a while there was a beautifully written sentence of passage, so I absolutely see the potential for the series to get better.
I did not like the use and frequency of flashbacks, and I found them poorly written. They felt thrusted into the middle of scenes and used as a way to just tell the reader what’s going on. There was a a lot of summarizing of the plot and this book would’ve benefited from more show less tell.
I wanted some more development before Alex and Ava got together. Really felt like it was missing the development before getting to the alumni gala, and I think more show less tell would’ve helped with that. Same goes for when she just suddenly comes to terms with her nightmares being memories.
While I appreciated the fast pacing of the book, I will say the timeline was confusing to a point where it took away from the overall plot.
Also why did Alex sing at the end? I hated that.
While I did not love this book, I would say I generally enjoyed it and I’m excited to read the rest of the series!
I asked for something fast and spicy, and I got it. I love a morally grey MC/love interest and dual POV.
The hotel scene was hot, the book is fast paced and easy to read. The epilogue was cute, the spice was there (though I do wish there was more). The thirty or so pages (this could be the completely wrong number, I’m bad at math) in the uncles house was the best part of the book and really had me. I wish it was more like that. Every once in a while there was a beautifully written sentence of passage, so I absolutely see the potential for the series to get better.
I did not like the use and frequency of flashbacks, and I found them poorly written. They felt thrusted into the middle of scenes and used as a way to just tell the reader what’s going on. There was a a lot of summarizing of the plot and this book would’ve benefited from more show less tell.
I wanted some more development before Alex and Ava got together. Really felt like it was missing the development before getting to the alumni gala, and I think more show less tell would’ve helped with that. Same goes for when she just suddenly comes to terms with her nightmares being memories.
While I appreciated the fast pacing of the book, I will say the timeline was confusing to a point where it took away from the overall plot.
Also why did Alex sing at the end? I hated that.
While I did not love this book, I would say I generally enjoyed it and I’m excited to read the rest of the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Violence, Suicide, Body horror, Blood, and Physical abuse
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
javirobles's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual assault
anaya_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.25
Top tier grovel and love the Asian rep. Wasn’t anything that memorable though. Still good
Update:
Memorable asf an im an idiot. It was definitely better on the re-read.
In love with Alex.
Update:
Memorable asf an im an idiot. It was definitely better on the re-read.
In love with Alex.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Sexual content, Blood, Child abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Violence, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment
ishreadsss's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
This book honestly surprised the shit out of me. I didn't know about this story in that much depth except it's a brother's best friend trope and grump/sunshine, but there was so much more when I read it.
1. I LOVE the writing so much. I don't know how Ana Huang did it, but I feel like she managed to find just the word for everything? There were no gaps left to fill and even if the chapter was a cliffhanger, it was perfectly crafted and written in such a nice way. Every thought written from Alex's perspective especially, was so flowery and amazing even though he kept calling her the sunshine to his dark.
2. While I didn't love the fast pace of the romance, I did see why it had to play out faster and I liked the plot and twists. They made the story and characters have much more depth and intrigue to them and even though I can't say I enjoyed either character that much, I was still rooting for them and liked the overall story.
3. Alex was over-the-top, but he fit the trope of the morally grey love interest, which I don't think I've ever read before this, so that was fun! I did get a little annoyed at him in the end when he threatened Jack, but otherwise, I didn't really care much and I genuinely enjoyed Ava as a character.
4. The trauma was crafted really well. Sorry, I know that sounds bad.But I think it went perfectly with each other with her fear of pools, her father's betrayal, and his uncle's betrayal all pooling together(pun intended I guess) to form a nice puzzle of mystery.
5. I didn't so much enjoy the lack of emotional love between the two and while I know it was there, I'm more of a slow-burn sucker and live for the tiny moments and I would have liked to see the emotional part develop alongside the physical. I love smut, but I was hoping for more scenes of love-making rather than fucking especially with Alex battling his emotions for her; I had hoped he would get a little too passionate about it and while he did break his rules for her, I wanted to see more of that type of interaction before they were official.
6. Overall, sososososo beautiful!!!! Although the plot and characters weren't exactly my cup of tea, I enjoyed reading about them and I literally cannot believe how much I loved the writing in this book, it just felt so nice to read such a flowy book and I loved it. The amount of times I just stared at a paragraph because it just made sense is way too many to count tbh.
I'm super excited to read about Rhys and Bridget!
1. I LOVE the writing so much. I don't know how Ana Huang did it, but I feel like she managed to find just the word for everything? There were no gaps left to fill and even if the chapter was a cliffhanger, it was perfectly crafted and written in such a nice way. Every thought written from Alex's perspective especially, was so flowery and amazing even though he kept calling her the sunshine to his dark.
2. While I didn't love the fast pace of the romance, I did see why it had to play out faster and I liked the plot and twists. They made the story and characters have much more depth and intrigue to them and even though I can't say I enjoyed either character that much, I was still rooting for them and liked the overall story.
3. Alex was over-the-top, but he fit the trope of the morally grey love interest, which I don't think I've ever read before this, so that was fun! I did get a little annoyed at him in the end when he threatened Jack, but otherwise, I didn't really care much and I genuinely enjoyed Ava as a character.
4. The trauma was crafted really well. Sorry, I know that sounds bad.
5. I didn't so much enjoy the lack of emotional love between the two and while I know it was there, I'm more of a slow-burn sucker and live for the tiny moments and I would have liked to see the emotional part develop alongside the physical. I love smut, but I was hoping for more scenes of love-making rather than fucking especially with Alex battling his emotions for her; I had hoped he would get a little too passionate about it and while he did break his rules for her, I wanted to see more of that type of interaction before they were official.
6. Overall, sososososo beautiful!!!! Although the plot and characters weren't exactly my cup of tea, I enjoyed reading about them and I literally cannot believe how much I loved the writing in this book, it just felt so nice to read such a flowy book and I loved it. The amount of times I just stared at a paragraph because it just made sense is way too many to count tbh.
I'm super excited to read about Rhys and Bridget!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
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