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A review by where_the_readers_are
Through Any Fire by Katherine Carter
2.0
I received an ARC and I am voluntarily leaving a review, all thoughts are my own
Tropes: second chance, marriage of convenience
Microtropes: touch her and die, my wife, he washes her hair
Spice: 3/5
I signed up for this ARC because I absolutely love a good second chance/marriage of convenience story. They're forced to spend time together and slowly develop feelings? SIGN ME UP. As I was reading I discovered the microtropes and they worked so well for the story! My wife, touch her and die and he washes her hair are some of the favorite microtropes I see mentioned often on social media. Loren and Callahan definitely had an underlying pull towards each other throughout the story and I'm glad they were able to get their happy ending.
There were several things that drew me out of the story however. First of all, the cover implies a historical/period piece but the setting of the story was contemporary. Also, the marketing of book implies contemporary romance but I felt the content leaned more towards dark romance as both the FMC and MMC are involved in the darker aspects of the story. Second of all, the story is advertised as single POV and while the majority of the story is from the FMC's POV, there were at least 4 chapters from the MMC's POV and the epilogue is entirely in third person. Thirdly, I struggled with Loren's constantly changing motivation. She initially agreed to the marriage to save her brother, then halfway through the story, she was like oh well Mason knew what he was getting into - I gotta stay in this to rescue my friend, and by the end she's back to her brother as motivation and her friend falls by the wayside. I also disliked how Loren was not there at all for her friend Alice after she was rescued. Loren literally thinks that she should go check on her friend but allows herself to be distracted by sex. I was disappointed in how Alice's trauma was framed as Loren also has thoughts of "with any luck she'll be back to herself in no time" after Alice had gone through a terrible kidnapping and implied multiple sexual assaults. Finally, there were some things that just did not make sense. There's no such thing as a surgically implanted IUD and when cars are constantly being blown up and fires are constantly being set, an oxygen tank in a car is the absolute worst idea as it is combustible and greatly enhances the burning of other objects.
This book would be a good fit for fans of darker contemporary romance who enjoy warring crime family drama, second chance romance and marriage of convenience. It would also be great for fans of the microtropes touch her and die, my wife, and he washes her hair.
Tropes: second chance, marriage of convenience
Microtropes: touch her and die, my wife, he washes her hair
Spice: 3/5
I signed up for this ARC because I absolutely love a good second chance/marriage of convenience story. They're forced to spend time together and slowly develop feelings? SIGN ME UP. As I was reading I discovered the microtropes and they worked so well for the story! My wife, touch her and die and he washes her hair are some of the favorite microtropes I see mentioned often on social media. Loren and Callahan definitely had an underlying pull towards each other throughout the story and I'm glad they were able to get their happy ending.
There were several things that drew me out of the story however. First of all, the cover implies a historical/period piece but the setting of the story was contemporary. Also, the marketing of book implies contemporary romance but I felt the content leaned more towards dark romance as both the FMC and MMC are involved in the darker aspects of the story. Second of all, the story is advertised as single POV and while the majority of the story is from the FMC's POV, there were at least 4 chapters from the MMC's POV and the epilogue is entirely in third person. Thirdly, I struggled with Loren's constantly changing motivation. She initially agreed to the marriage to save her brother, then halfway through the story, she was like oh well Mason knew what he was getting into - I gotta stay in this to rescue my friend, and by the end she's back to her brother as motivation and her friend falls by the wayside. I also disliked how Loren was not there at all for her friend Alice after she was rescued. Loren literally thinks that she should go check on her friend but allows herself to be distracted by sex. I was disappointed in how Alice's trauma was framed as Loren also has thoughts of "with any luck she'll be back to herself in no time" after Alice had gone through a terrible kidnapping and implied multiple sexual assaults. Finally, there were some things that just did not make sense. There's no such thing as a surgically implanted IUD and when cars are constantly being blown up and fires are constantly being set, an oxygen tank in a car is the absolute worst idea as it is combustible and greatly enhances the burning of other objects.
This book would be a good fit for fans of darker contemporary romance who enjoy warring crime family drama, second chance romance and marriage of convenience. It would also be great for fans of the microtropes touch her and die, my wife, and he washes her hair.