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A review by elenajohansen
Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
2.0
I'm not sure where the magic, likability, or personality of the first book in the series went, because it certainly isn't here anymore.
I'll admit my personal biases up front--despite the fact that I've read quite a few of them, age-difference romance is not a trope I favor. Nor are coworker romances (though they can be tolerable sometimes, I often find the power dynamics gross) or a-hole heroes.
So I'm striking out on all the tropes this particular installment relies on--I didn't know the a-hole hero in the first book was setting a pattern for the whole series (and it obviously was, looking at the blurbs for the future books.)
But a lot of my problems with this book don't even stem from the tropes I don't care for. This one felt far more "British" than the last one, by which I mean, I'm an American reader and even if I loosely understand how the peer system is set up, I'll simply never understand fully its political and social implications, so having everyone in this book be related to someone hoity-toity and constantly referencing a family feud generations old that turns out to just be a shady business deal...I'm over it. I never cared. On top of that, I felt like the references to famous places were much more heavy-handed here, and while I have been to England, I haven't been to London, so they didn't mean much to me.
I buy the central conflict of "we can't be in a relationship for these rock-solid social, personal, and professional reasons." Because both our leads do have excellent reasons not to bang. But they throw all of those out a window really quickly when a Depressing Plot Twist leaves the hero vulnerable, and the nonsexual part of her supporting him through it was actually really sweet, but then of course they go home and bang. I've run into this behavior pattern before in romances, and I'm not even saying it's not realistic, people seek comfort. But I generally don't think it's healthy, and these two have way more obstacles than most standing between them. And I definitely think these two got in the sack sooner than their previous dynamics warranted.
All of that felt rushed, like we have to have them together quickly, because the meat of the story is apparently how they a) fail to keep it secret and b) fail to manage any of the other consequences of their impulsive decision. Most of the middle of the book is a train wreck with a Snidely Whiplash-esque villain metaphorically tying our leads to the tracks via social media pressure, since he's runs a sleazy tabloid.
The thing that's ultimately saving this from being a one-star disappointment of a sequel is the final personal conflict between the leads, which involves a different Depressing Plot Twist, but does display how far the hero has come from being the a-hole he started as. (Unlike in the first novel, where I felt that Richard displayed no real change in self from getting together with Lainie, Luc definitely gets a full personal arc here as a result of his relationship.) I think it all played out in both a realistic and satisfying manner--even if I don't think their romance was handled well in the beginning, as rushed and shaky as it was, it definitely gets a solid ending.
Going to give this series one chance to bounce back--let's see if I can learn to like the next grumpy hero.
I'll admit my personal biases up front--despite the fact that I've read quite a few of them, age-difference romance is not a trope I favor. Nor are coworker romances (though they can be tolerable sometimes, I often find the power dynamics gross) or a-hole heroes.
So I'm striking out on all the tropes this particular installment relies on--I didn't know the a-hole hero in the first book was setting a pattern for the whole series (and it obviously was, looking at the blurbs for the future books.)
But a lot of my problems with this book don't even stem from the tropes I don't care for. This one felt far more "British" than the last one, by which I mean, I'm an American reader and even if I loosely understand how the peer system is set up, I'll simply never understand fully its political and social implications, so having everyone in this book be related to someone hoity-toity and constantly referencing a family feud generations old that turns out to just be a shady business deal...I'm over it. I never cared. On top of that, I felt like the references to famous places were much more heavy-handed here, and while I have been to England, I haven't been to London, so they didn't mean much to me.
I buy the central conflict of "we can't be in a relationship for these rock-solid social, personal, and professional reasons." Because both our leads do have excellent reasons not to bang. But they throw all of those out a window really quickly when a Depressing Plot Twist leaves the hero vulnerable, and the nonsexual part of her supporting him through it was actually really sweet, but then of course they go home and bang. I've run into this behavior pattern before in romances, and I'm not even saying it's not realistic, people seek comfort. But I generally don't think it's healthy, and these two have way more obstacles than most standing between them. And I definitely think these two got in the sack sooner than their previous dynamics warranted.
All of that felt rushed, like we have to have them together quickly, because the meat of the story is apparently how they a) fail to keep it secret and b) fail to manage any of the other consequences of their impulsive decision. Most of the middle of the book is a train wreck with a Snidely Whiplash-esque villain metaphorically tying our leads to the tracks via social media pressure, since he's runs a sleazy tabloid.
The thing that's ultimately saving this from being a one-star disappointment of a sequel is the final personal conflict between the leads, which involves a different Depressing Plot Twist, but does display how far the hero has come from being the a-hole he started as. (Unlike in the first novel, where I felt that Richard displayed no real change in self from getting together with Lainie, Luc definitely gets a full personal arc here as a result of his relationship.) I think it all played out in both a realistic and satisfying manner--even if I don't think their romance was handled well in the beginning, as rushed and shaky as it was, it definitely gets a solid ending.
Going to give this series one chance to bounce back--let's see if I can learn to like the next grumpy hero.