lk822zuh 's review for:

The Carver by Penelope Sky

3.5

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In the continuation of the Fifth Republic series, Fleur has more confidence in herself and is moving forward with her divorce from Adrian. We are also given more back story about Bastien, the type of family he was raised in, and the life he was expected to lead.

The stakes are a little higher, with Bastien‘s lifestyle presenting more danger both to himself and to Fleur. As the danger gets closer, we also learn more about the hierarchy of the criminal underworld that Bastien appears to be the head of.

I think the writing is done very well. I appreciate the short length because we get to major plot points at a faster pace, which is what I am personally looking for in a darker romance. I also liked the dual narration of the audiobook. Both the MMC and FMC narrators were great and easy to understand. 

While I did enjoy this, it wasn’t fully what I was looking for in this type of novel. I didn’t really buy into the relationship between Fleur and Bastien in the first book, and I still didn’t quite feel the chemistry in the first half of this one. I believe this is due to my own personal preferences (for example, I was not a fan of how Bastien treated/acted toward Fleur after the first hiccup of their relationship). I did feel the chemistry got better in the second half and I did genuinely believe that they had deep feelings for each other as they grew closer. 

I am actually far more interested in the criminal underworld storyline that is going on. I think that is being fleshed out very well and with how this ends on a cliffhanger, I am interested to keep reading and find out what happens next.