Scan barcode
A review by katyanaish
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
3.0
Well, this is my first swing-and-miss with Crusie. It's okay, though. It had to happen at some point.
Here are the problems I had.
1. Amy is The Worst.
I mean, holy shit. She is so fucking horrible that probably 2/3 of my highlights in the kindle were calling out her douchebaggery. Look, the selfish younger sister is a trope that annoys me in books, in general, but usually they annoy me in a secondary way, rather than actually ruin the book for me. But no joke, this book loses an entire star for Amy. She was so horrible, across the board - the most stupid, selfish, entitled piece of shit sibling, who never at any point cared about Sophie. First she's pressing Sophie to end her relationship with the therapist, and then she starts trying to throw a wrench in the relationship with the hero because god forbid Sophie ever actually get something she wants, and not give 100% of her attention to Amy. Then she is the biggest dumb fuck I can even imagine over the Zane thing. Like literally, for a 15 year old character I'd get that level of stupidity - maybe - but for a, what, 25 year old street smart chick who was raised by con artists? Give me a fucking break. This chick doesn't have the intelligence to con a toddler.
This all after she strong-arms her sister into using her life and relationship to write porn for her, something Sophie really doesn't wan to do (and yes, it badly undercuts her otherwise awesome character that she just lets her sister use and bully her, constantly).
And the kicker is when, after someone has been fucking murdered,
What is hilarious is that this bitch is constantly demanding her siblings do what she wants because they have to put family first... when Amy never ever ever puts anyone first but herself. Ever. Period. I was so sad that she didn't die that I actually shed a tear. Angry tear, but it counts.
2. I never bought that Phin really cared for Sophie.
At no point, to me, did she ever move beyond "that chick I am shamefully in lust with, and just can't quit."
I mean, ... it just isn't there. He seems to begrudgingly accept her into his life. At the 76% mark, we get this beauty of a POV from Phin, after Sophie has said she loves him:
And really, it never feels like it changes from there. I kept waiting for some big moment, but instead Sophie is just constantly busting her ass to get him, and he kind of gives in. It was so horribly one-sided. I don't like it. Sophie is freaking awesome, and deserves so much better.
3. So wait,
They never tell anyone about Victoria? She's never arrested? Also, it's pretty heavily fucking implied that she DID kill Phin's wife, Diane. Are we really doing nothing about that? What the actual fuck?
It's unfortunate, because I really liked Sophie. And I actually really liked Davy - he seemed like a great brother - but I literally cannot bring myself to read the next book in the series, because if Amy is in it I may actually light my Kindle on fire.
**2.5**
Here are the problems I had.
1. Amy is The Worst.
I mean, holy shit. She is so fucking horrible that probably 2/3 of my highlights in the kindle were calling out her douchebaggery. Look, the selfish younger sister is a trope that annoys me in books, in general, but usually they annoy me in a secondary way, rather than actually ruin the book for me. But no joke, this book loses an entire star for Amy. She was so horrible, across the board - the most stupid, selfish, entitled piece of shit sibling, who never at any point cared about Sophie. First she's pressing Sophie to end her relationship with the therapist, and then she starts trying to throw a wrench in the relationship with the hero because god forbid Sophie ever actually get something she wants, and not give 100% of her attention to Amy. Then she is the biggest dumb fuck I can even imagine over the Zane thing. Like literally, for a 15 year old character I'd get that level of stupidity - maybe - but for a, what, 25 year old street smart chick who was raised by con artists? Give me a fucking break. This chick doesn't have the intelligence to con a toddler.
This all after she strong-arms her sister into using her life and relationship to write porn for her, something Sophie really doesn't wan to do (and yes, it badly undercuts her otherwise awesome character that she just lets her sister use and bully her, constantly).
And the kicker is when, after someone has been fucking murdered,
Spoiler
she insists Sophie wander in the dark forest alone to see who is spying on them, because god forbid she has to stop filming her shitty porn movie (illegally) for 5 damn minutes. And when the murderer tries to kill Sophie - and nearly fucking succeeds - their brother says that Amy is telling everyone it was SOPHIE'S idea to go. So, not an ounce of concern about the sister who nearly died, nor an ounce of remorse. Just more selfish, lying bullshit.What is hilarious is that this bitch is constantly demanding her siblings do what she wants because they have to put family first... when Amy never ever ever puts anyone first but herself. Ever. Period. I was so sad that she didn't die that I actually shed a tear. Angry tear, but it counts.
2. I never bought that Phin really cared for Sophie.
At no point, to me, did she ever move beyond "that chick I am shamefully in lust with, and just can't quit."
I mean, ... it just isn't there. He seems to begrudgingly accept her into his life. At the 76% mark, we get this beauty of a POV from Phin, after Sophie has said she loves him:
The last thing he wanted to do was explain why he didn’t love her back although he cared about her, of course, more than any other woman he’d ever known, but not “I love you,” not after only three weeks—was she insane? They had such a great thing going here, and it could lead to commitment in a couple of years, maybe when Dillie wasn’t so vulnerable and his mother got used to her, and until then they could keep things going if they were just careful, didn’t expect too much, but no, she had to say it. Christ, women.
And really, it never feels like it changes from there. I kept waiting for some big moment, but instead Sophie is just constantly busting her ass to get him, and he kind of gives in. It was so horribly one-sided. I don't like it. Sophie is freaking awesome, and deserves so much better.
3. So wait,
Spoiler
there's no punishment for the crazy asshole who tried to kill Sophie twice? Seriously?They never tell anyone about Victoria? She's never arrested? Also, it's pretty heavily fucking implied that she DID kill Phin's wife, Diane. Are we really doing nothing about that?
It's unfortunate, because I really liked Sophie. And I actually really liked Davy - he seemed like a great brother - but I literally cannot bring myself to read the next book in the series, because if Amy is in it I may actually light my Kindle on fire.
**2.5**