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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
DNF @ 76%
I'm really upset about this. I paid like $5 for this and I had such high hopes. I love a lot of AR, I love the insta-love and the alpha-males. But I think a full length novel with an extremely stalkerish hero and a push over heroine is just too much. I couldn't get into this couple at all, they both pissed me off so much. At the 76% mark as I was complaining to my boyfriend about having to finish this book he very pointedly told me not to keep doing something I hated. So this is a DNF.
I'm really upset about this. I paid like $5 for this and I had such high hopes. I love a lot of AR, I love the insta-love and the alpha-males. But I think a full length novel with an extremely stalkerish hero and a push over heroine is just too much. I couldn't get into this couple at all, they both pissed me off so much. At the 76% mark as I was complaining to my boyfriend about having to finish this book he very pointedly told me not to keep doing something I hated. So this is a DNF.
1 star
Warning - this contains rants and spoilers for this book. You have been warned.
Have you seen the movie trailer where Silence of the Lambs is edited like a romantic comedy? Or Mrs Doubtfire recut as a horror film? When reading this book, I knew it was a romance, but I kept thinking about how creepy the hero is and it could easily be a thriller where the heroine gets stalked.
Our hero Miles saw our heroine Mallory when she was in high school at a math tournament. He decided, without talking to her, that she was the one for him. He then manipulates everything in her life to where she will fall into his path.
Miles is obsessed, several character including his family call him out on it. The things he does are so creepy, and it's made much worse that this book takes place in the span of month.
Here's some examples of things that were supposed to sweet and romantic that would scare the shit out of you if someone you just met said them to you.
There's this jewel from when Mallory goes out and dances with a friend from college. Miles sees Joel dancing with her and punches him in the face.
Let's not even discuss how he arranges for an internship and gets her a job at his company, which I felt was a rip off of fifty shades. In fact, this book seemed to try to make Miles creepier than Christian Grey.
- He arranges a scholarship so she can go to the school he wants.
- He hires security details on her with daily reports without her knowledge for years before they ever talked.
- He had her name tattooed across his chest over his heart the day after he met her. Four years before he spoke to her.
-
- He pressures her into unprotected sex while they are having sex for the first time. He is excited about the possibility that she could get pregnant and be bound to him in such a permanent way.
- When Mallory says she needs space and wants to keep her own place, he buys her a whole wardrobe and puts it in his closet. All the clothes are maternity clothes. This is less than a month after dating and Mallory has not yet taken a pregnancy test.
Mallory even acknowledges these red flags.
I was going to dnf this book but didn’t mainly because I wanted to see how the author would pull this off. Honestly the most surprising thing about this book was Mallory wasn't murdered at the end of it.
Warning - this contains rants and spoilers for this book. You have been warned.
Have you seen the movie trailer where Silence of the Lambs is edited like a romantic comedy? Or Mrs Doubtfire recut as a horror film? When reading this book, I knew it was a romance, but I kept thinking about how creepy the hero is and it could easily be a thriller where the heroine gets stalked.
Our hero Miles saw our heroine Mallory when she was in high school at a math tournament. He decided, without talking to her, that she was the one for him. He then manipulates everything in her life to where she will fall into his path.
Miles is obsessed, several character including his family call him out on it. The things he does are so creepy, and it's made much worse that this book takes place in the span of month.
Here's some examples of things that were supposed to sweet and romantic that would scare the shit out of you if someone you just met said them to you.
“Baby, you can call me whatever you want. As long as you don’t try and run from me.”
"I can’t leave you alone.” The way he says it makes a chill run up my spine. There’s so much need in his voice. Possession. It’s like he can’t live without me, and I don’t know what to do with that. “You’ll hear me out.” He moves back in, crowding into my space again.
"Mallory, nobody puts their hands on what’s mine. Nobody.”
There's this jewel from when Mallory goes out and dances with a friend from college. Miles sees Joel dancing with her and punches him in the face.
“I’m sorry, baby. I was going to surprise you, but then I saw someone with his hands on you and lost it. I missed you so much, Mallory. Please don’t be mad.”
Let's not even discuss how he arranges for an internship and gets her a job at his company, which I felt was a rip off of fifty shades. In fact, this book seemed to try to make Miles creepier than Christian Grey.
- He arranges a scholarship so she can go to the school he wants.
- He hires security details on her with daily reports without her knowledge for years before they ever talked.
- He had her name tattooed across his chest over his heart the day after he met her. Four years before he spoke to her.
-
Spoiler
Mallory's closest friend Paige is actually Mile's sister, who he hired as her security. Who got them a great apartment, in the building Mile's owns and lives in the penthouse.- He pressures her into unprotected sex while they are having sex for the first time. He is excited about the possibility that she could get pregnant and be bound to him in such a permanent way.
- When Mallory says she needs space and wants to keep her own place, he buys her a whole wardrobe and puts it in his closet. All the clothes are maternity clothes. This is less than a month after dating and Mallory has not yet taken a pregnancy test.
Spoiler
She does. It's positive.Mallory even acknowledges these red flags.
He’s always been intense but now it seems like he’s cracked a little or maybe the real him is coming out and this part of him is on a mission to steamroll me.
I’m melting at his words. They should probably scare me, but they make me fall even deeper for him.
I was going to dnf this book but didn’t mainly because I wanted to see how the author would pull this off. Honestly the most surprising thing about this book was Mallory wasn't murdered at the end of it.
DNF Only pages in and already can't stand this book. Age gap when first interaction one of them is a minor just gives me child predator vibes and I hate the "adult" character instantly. He manipulated her entire life to ensure they met. How is this romance? Obsessive stalking is more realistic. He should be locked up. This was my first attempt at an Alexa Riley not sure if I'll try another.
I'm kind of torn about this book.
This book was intense and hard to put down. Miles was a bit.. obsessive and stalker-ish for my liking, but I was able to finish the story. I kept reading, thinking it might go differently.
I'm not much for the obsessive stalker "alpha" males.
Basic plot: Miles sees Mallory at a high school academic event, but she's only 17, so he DOESN'T EVEN INTRODUCE HIMSELF. He just spends the next 5 years orchestrating her life so eventually she lands in his lap. He gives her a scholarship to Yale. He makes sure the only internship she gets offered is at his company. He gets daily updates on her life to feed his addiction. So when they finally meet, there seems to be an instant attraction, but the little comments he makes about "You don't know how long I've waited for you," they just add to to the creepy factor. He gets her to do quite a few things that make me go "dude, no. No. NO!" But the bedroom scenes were pretty hot, so it did have that going for it, aside from Miles pulling the ole "I don't have a condom, but it will be okay" garbage. There were a few moments that were so sweet, I was reaching for the orajel to mend my toothache. But even when the whole thing gets uncovered, Mallory is too quick to forgive. The bulk of the book pretty much takes place over only a few days, so their romance is very fast paced. For someone who is supposed to be so smart and good with numbers, she sure is naive about relationships. Which probably stems back to being in foster care most of her life and needing connection, so what a normal human sees as stalkerish, she sees as sweet and giving her the family she's never had.
Side note: Mallory spends hours and hours getting ready for her internship at the company and studying everything she can about the infrastructure, and yet, somehow she is completely oblivious that her boyfriend is the head of the co. How do you miss this? If she was so obsessive about "studying" she would have had the bosses' profiles & pictures memorized....
So, this wasn't really the book for me. I wasn't ever planning on reading this tale based on the blurb, but for some reason, a copy ended up in my mailbox, so I read it. If you loved Fifty Shades of Grey and think it was a great love story, this is probably a good book for you.
This book was intense and hard to put down. Miles was a bit.. obsessive and stalker-ish for my liking, but I was able to finish the story. I kept reading, thinking it might go differently.
I'm not much for the obsessive stalker "alpha" males.
Basic plot: Miles sees Mallory at a high school academic event, but she's only 17, so he DOESN'T EVEN INTRODUCE HIMSELF. He just spends the next 5 years orchestrating her life so eventually she lands in his lap. He gives her a scholarship to Yale. He makes sure the only internship she gets offered is at his company. He gets daily updates on her life to feed his addiction. So when they finally meet, there seems to be an instant attraction, but the little comments he makes about "You don't know how long I've waited for you," they just add to to the creepy factor. He gets her to do quite a few things that make me go "dude, no. No. NO!" But the bedroom scenes were pretty hot, so it did have that going for it, aside from Miles pulling the ole "I don't have a condom, but it will be okay" garbage. There were a few moments that were so sweet, I was reaching for the orajel to mend my toothache. But even when the whole thing gets uncovered, Mallory is too quick to forgive. The bulk of the book pretty much takes place over only a few days, so their romance is very fast paced. For someone who is supposed to be so smart and good with numbers, she sure is naive about relationships. Which probably stems back to being in foster care most of her life and needing connection, so what a normal human sees as stalkerish, she sees as sweet and giving her the family she's never had.
Side note: Mallory spends hours and hours getting ready for her internship at the company and studying everything she can about the infrastructure, and yet, somehow she is completely oblivious that her boyfriend is the head of the co. How do you miss this? If she was so obsessive about "studying" she would have had the bosses' profiles & pictures memorized....
So, this wasn't really the book for me. I wasn't ever planning on reading this tale based on the blurb, but for some reason, a copy ended up in my mailbox, so I read it. If you loved Fifty Shades of Grey and think it was a great love story, this is probably a good book for you.
I feel like I should hate this book on principle alone. As others have said, the hero's actions in this book would be very troubling in real life, but in fiction, he's kind of strangely sweet.
I really liked the first half of the book, but the second half was a bit of a let down. I think the big reveal happened too early, and the heroine accepted things too quickly. But I still ended up liking the book as a whole, and I'll continue the series.
I really liked the first half of the book, but the second half was a bit of a let down. I think the big reveal happened too early, and the heroine accepted things too quickly. But I still ended up liking the book as a whole, and I'll continue the series.
I am so confused about my feelings for this story. 3.5 stars? 4 stars? I'm giving it a 4, but I am not
concrete on that rating.
This book reminded me of the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day, Knight by KA, or really any book by JEM, however, I believe those authors were able to accomplish and solidify their stories a little better than AR. There was something.... missing? Something... weird? Something... something... I don't know what.
I may have had high expectations. That is definitely a possibility. BUT I think a lot of people who love AR will have high expectations.
Overall I liked it. Didn't love it. I think it needed to be "darker" in order to really pull the story together.
Quick star ratings:
Hero: 3.5 stars!
Heroine: 4 stars!
Plot: 3.5 stars!
Sex scenes: 3 stars!
I'll keep reading AR, novellas and full length. And I will still have high expectations for the next full length story.
concrete on that rating.
This book reminded me of the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day, Knight by KA, or really any book by JEM, however, I believe those authors were able to accomplish and solidify their stories a little better than AR. There was something.... missing? Something... weird? Something... something... I don't know what.
I may have had high expectations. That is definitely a possibility. BUT I think a lot of people who love AR will have high expectations.
Overall I liked it. Didn't love it. I think it needed to be "darker" in order to really pull the story together.
Quick star ratings:
Hero: 3.5 stars!
Heroine: 4 stars!
Plot: 3.5 stars!
Sex scenes: 3 stars!
I'll keep reading AR, novellas and full length. And I will still have high expectations for the next full length story.
Ahh, I loved this. I love Alexa Riley and have always longer stories so this is perfect for me. Yes, Oz is a stalker but sincs there is not one part of this that is realistic it was a non issue for me. This had everything I love about Alexa Riley, instalove, an ott alpha and sweetness overload and I loved it.
some writers really can write insta love so well. i wish more of alexa riley's books were in physical form. i just love love love her books.
we got our alpha male who really couldn't stand seeing mal even talking to another guy. if they were real i'd be worried for her but in fiction i found it kinda hot.
we got our alpha male who really couldn't stand seeing mal even talking to another guy. if they were real i'd be worried for her but in fiction i found it kinda hot.