A review by haveloved
Passionate Persuasion by Rosemary Clement-Moore

3.0

This one needed to be longer for me to fully buy into it. "Passionate" Persuasion is right--the story was sexy and not in a gratuitous way, which I appreciated, but ultimately I wanted a bit more talking and a bit less flirting. I was also really disappointed at having been left without resolution on a key point borrowed from Austen's Persuasion (spoilers blocked out for those who haven't read it, but if you know your Austen, you're safe):
Spoilerthat the reason for Alex breaking up with Kiara was Sophie Russell, Kiara's older sorority sister. It was both noble and annoying of Alex to leave Kiara in the dark on that crucial point: that while he'd had his own insecurities about the relationship, he was ultimately persuaded out of it by another, someone who purports to be Kiara's friend. In the original, both parties are fully aware of Lady Russell's actions but Anne cannot, years later, fully regret breaking off the engagement. I think it's a little different here. Kiara should've been made aware of her friend's deception and been able to tell her off about it--she reacted strongly enough to the thought that Greg, Alex's own friend, could've talked him out of it that I think she would've had a few words to say to Sophie. She should have been allowed the chance to stand up for herself, or at the very least, give Alex a scene where he and Sophie talk about what happened and why things are different now
. Overall, I really wish this had been a full novel. Even with the length requirements imposed on category romances, I think it could've done with the extra fleshing out. I wanted more development of the two leads and less "time passed and this happened." I wanted more honest discussion between Alex and Kiara about the relationship and their potential future plans. I enjoyed the time I spent on this, it was a fun diversion, but the lack of depth stops me from classifying it as more than that.