Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by perusing_pages
The Dixon Rule by Elle Kennedy
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This review is for The Dixon Rule by Elle Kennedy, which is released in the UK on the 14th of May! Thanks so much to Netgalley, Piatkus, and Little Brown Book Group UK for giving me an eArc copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.
Where to begin? Going by the synopsis this book promises a light hearted frenemies to lovers/fake dating romance with witty banter and steamy spice which it delivers on but it also has a huge amount of depth to the plot and unexpected emotion to the characters journeys. The last 20% of this book devastated me, and what Shane finds himself going through is something I went through myself and knowing how all of that feels in real life... the way Elle wrote those scenes packed one hell of an emotional punch and resonated with me on a deep level. Up to that point, the book was sitting at around a 3.5 star, but the added depth to the story and to the characters just elevated the entire experience of the book for me.
I read this in less than a day as I struggled to put it down. Initially, I found Diana's character a tad grating, her issues with and behaviour towards Shane because of them were judgemental and childish but thankfully her character soon turned around and I actually really grew to enjoy her. Shane I liked from the get-go as his way of dealing with Diana's initial attitude and snark amused me and when they realise they can help the other out with their respective ex's by pretending to date the story really gets going and it isn't too long before those "fake" feelings start to feel mighty real. The chemistry between these two and the spice was spot on for me, that scene in the kitchen... damn!
As briefly mentioned above this book does deal with some heavier topics in parts so check content and TWs if needed as both Diana & Shane deal with things that could be triggering to some but are topics that are unfortunately part of life so seeing them spoken about and represented in books is important and I personally thought Elle handled them well and with care. This was a all round great read that emotionally devastated me, and that doesn't happen often when I read. This book is now added to the very short list of books that have made me cry and had me thanking it for it afterwards. ππΆπΆπΆ
Where to begin? Going by the synopsis this book promises a light hearted frenemies to lovers/fake dating romance with witty banter and steamy spice which it delivers on but it also has a huge amount of depth to the plot and unexpected emotion to the characters journeys. The last 20% of this book devastated me, and what Shane finds himself going through is something I went through myself and knowing how all of that feels in real life... the way Elle wrote those scenes packed one hell of an emotional punch and resonated with me on a deep level. Up to that point, the book was sitting at around a 3.5 star, but the added depth to the story and to the characters just elevated the entire experience of the book for me.
I read this in less than a day as I struggled to put it down. Initially, I found Diana's character a tad grating, her issues with and behaviour towards Shane because of them were judgemental and childish but thankfully her character soon turned around and I actually really grew to enjoy her. Shane I liked from the get-go as his way of dealing with Diana's initial attitude and snark amused me and when they realise they can help the other out with their respective ex's by pretending to date the story really gets going and it isn't too long before those "fake" feelings start to feel mighty real. The chemistry between these two and the spice was spot on for me, that scene in the kitchen... damn!
As briefly mentioned above this book does deal with some heavier topics in parts so check content and TWs if needed as both Diana & Shane deal with things that could be triggering to some but are topics that are unfortunately part of life so seeing them spoken about and represented in books is important and I personally thought Elle handled them well and with care. This was a all round great read that emotionally devastated me, and that doesn't happen often when I read. This book is now added to the very short list of books that have made me cry and had me thanking it for it afterwards. ππΆπΆπΆ