Scan barcode
jen286's review against another edition
4.0
After I read the first book in this series I was just meh on reading Zoe's story. I knew I would give it a try, but I didn't think I would love it as much as the author's other books I have read. Only this book was everything! Zoe and Aiden are so sweet together and made me feel all the feels!
I didn't realize how much guilt Zoe carries around with her every day. How she doesn't think she is actually a really good person because of some things that happened in the past. How hard she is on herself when she really shouldn't be. Oh my heart broke for her and how she struggles. I so wanted to see her grow and realize that she is an amazing person. Part of the reason I was meh on reading her story after the first book is because she kept all of this in. She didn't let her friends see. She put on the front all the time to be normal and fun and whatever. But inside she was hurting and oh, I loved reading her story.
And Aiden? Oh, my heart hurt for him as well. He is trying to fix what he thinks he has messed up in the past as well. He has some hurt, some pain that he is not dealing with and oh I loved him as well. He is quiet and shy and adorable. I know these two had a lot between them when the book started, they shouldn't have worked, but oh they were wonderful together. They brought out the best in each other and were there for each other no matter what. I loved this story so much. I couldn't put it down once I started. All the feels were had and oh, my heart is so full right now.
I didn't realize how much guilt Zoe carries around with her every day. How she doesn't think she is actually a really good person because of some things that happened in the past. How hard she is on herself when she really shouldn't be. Oh my heart broke for her and how she struggles. I so wanted to see her grow and realize that she is an amazing person. Part of the reason I was meh on reading her story after the first book is because she kept all of this in. She didn't let her friends see. She put on the front all the time to be normal and fun and whatever. But inside she was hurting and oh, I loved reading her story.
And Aiden? Oh, my heart hurt for him as well. He is trying to fix what he thinks he has messed up in the past as well. He has some hurt, some pain that he is not dealing with and oh I loved him as well. He is quiet and shy and adorable. I know these two had a lot between them when the book started, they shouldn't have worked, but oh they were wonderful together. They brought out the best in each other and were there for each other no matter what. I loved this story so much. I couldn't put it down once I started. All the feels were had and oh, my heart is so full right now.
megnut's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
I thought I had read this when I read another part of the series. Not sure why I didn't, but Clayborn always writes a good read, IMHO.
ruthnessly's review against another edition
5.0
i LOVED this one. i read the first in this series about a week ago, i think, and i thought it was great -- smart and well-written, charming and full of great characters, with a lot of life to them on the page. i wasn't particularly excited to read this one, as i thought zoe seemed grand in kit's book, but it wasn't like i was Deeply In Love.
anyway i love her!
five stars may seem a bit much, but i honestly liked it more than beginner's luck, which was four, SO IT'S GOTTA BE. also i devoured this much faster (when i got a chance to read it, around my various Things today). i loved all of the characters. i love zoe and i LOVE aiden. i really love kate clayborn's sense of character. this is a first person dual pov book, like the first, but everything feels perfectly sharp and clear, to me. they were so distinct, both from each other, and from the characters in the first book, which was so lovely and a real testament to her. also, i think that this book managed to avoid the cliche third act conflict which is a bit hokey. the whole relationship here is built around and upon conflicts; you know, essentially, what is coming. everything felt organic. everything felt real and earned, too. i really appreciated that. i think there was a great maturity to this book? also it's a romance and, obviously, an important part is the central relationship and i really loved that.
a small note, i guess, is the epilogue completely doesn't matter to me and i barely skimmed it because i don't need it or want it. i thought the ending 20% of this book was perfect.
anyway i love her!
five stars may seem a bit much, but i honestly liked it more than beginner's luck, which was four, SO IT'S GOTTA BE. also i devoured this much faster (when i got a chance to read it, around my various Things today). i loved all of the characters. i love zoe and i LOVE aiden. i really love kate clayborn's sense of character. this is a first person dual pov book, like the first, but everything feels perfectly sharp and clear, to me. they were so distinct, both from each other, and from the characters in the first book, which was so lovely and a real testament to her. also, i think that this book managed to avoid the cliche third act conflict which is a bit hokey. the whole relationship here is built around and upon conflicts; you know, essentially, what is coming. everything felt organic. everything felt real and earned, too. i really appreciated that. i think there was a great maturity to this book? also it's a romance and, obviously, an important part is the central relationship and i really loved that.
a small note, i guess, is the epilogue completely doesn't matter to me and i barely skimmed it because i don't need it or want it. i thought the ending 20% of this book was perfect.
mgvand's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
agrandromance's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful story of loss, acceptance and love
Aiden and Zoe have a difficult road ahead in this enemies to lovers romance but Kate Clayborn approaches it with such tenderness and sensitivity and clarity it's a joy to read.
Aiden and Zoe have a difficult road ahead in this enemies to lovers romance but Kate Clayborn approaches it with such tenderness and sensitivity and clarity it's a joy to read.
swagginswanigan's review against another edition
4.0
*4.5*
I really loved this book. All I wanted to do was keep reading it. I absolutely love a grumpy shy hero. I also loved the location and idea of this. It has been a hot minute since I read a really good fake relationships. This was sweet and romantic and everything it needed to be.
*Re-read 9/10/23*
This is a really good book. I really love the characters and the pace at which the story takes place. In a lot of ways, it was even better than I remembered it.
I really loved this book. All I wanted to do was keep reading it. I absolutely love a grumpy shy hero. I also loved the location and idea of this. It has been a hot minute since I read a really good fake relationships. This was sweet and romantic and everything it needed to be.
*Re-read 9/10/23*
This is a really good book. I really love the characters and the pace at which the story takes place. In a lot of ways, it was even better than I remembered it.
1943tre's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 rounded up because it’s Kate freakin’ Clayborn!
Why is this woman so talented? It makes me SICK honestly. Love Lettering and Love At First are two of the best books I’ve read all year, but when I read Beginner’s Luck it didn’t do it for me, so I wasn’t planning on finishing this series. But man I’m glad I did because I’m ashamed I even considered it.
I’m NOT partial to dual POV/1st person but I let it go here because Kate manages two gorgeous emotional arcs that intersect together in such a lovely way. Her heroes are just so good—particularly her shyer ones—and reading Aiden’s voice did add a lot to the story.
I’m not sure how she does it but Kate just finds a way to put words to the tiniest, most nuanced of feelings and captures them in a way that’s just so quiet and human. And then she writes spice that’s just so sexy but also tender and gorgeous and character-driven. It feels like I learn so much about craft every book I pick up by her.
Why is this woman so talented? It makes me SICK honestly. Love Lettering and Love At First are two of the best books I’ve read all year, but when I read Beginner’s Luck it didn’t do it for me, so I wasn’t planning on finishing this series. But man I’m glad I did because I’m ashamed I even considered it.
I’m NOT partial to dual POV/1st person but I let it go here because Kate manages two gorgeous emotional arcs that intersect together in such a lovely way. Her heroes are just so good—particularly her shyer ones—and reading Aiden’s voice did add a lot to the story.
I’m not sure how she does it but Kate just finds a way to put words to the tiniest, most nuanced of feelings and captures them in a way that’s just so quiet and human. And then she writes spice that’s just so sexy but also tender and gorgeous and character-driven. It feels like I learn so much about craft every book I pick up by her.
nssutton's review against another edition
5.0
Ugh, I loved this one so much that I'm so sad it's over. Even though I've been portioning out my Clayborn back archive sooo slowly, I had to move it up in the queue after Fated Mates' fake dating interstitial. That's one of one of my least favorite tropes but Clayborn made the stakes just so high in this one that I stayed up way to late during a super stressful weekend just to see it through.
Also, I read at my library door waiting for the next class to come in. Finished Cultish in print, then opened this on Kindle, in the time it took a student to come in and out of the room across the hall. "You finished that book so fast?!" he said, as if I hadn't seen me standing in the same spot a million times reading Cultish during the entire week before.
Also, I read at my library door waiting for the next class to come in. Finished Cultish in print, then opened this on Kindle, in the time it took a student to come in and out of the room across the hall. "You finished that book so fast?!" he said, as if I hadn't seen me standing in the same spot a million times reading Cultish during the entire week before.