beelizabeeth 's review for:

Ignite by Melanie Harlow
2.0

1.5/5
'out of context booktok quote p.11'
Warning: this is mainly just rambles

I'm gonna start this review with the obligatory I loved the tropes because boy do I love grumpy single dad romances. I just didn't like the grumpy single dad in this book. The kids are the only redeming quality.
--Here are some things I typed out while reading the book about him and things he said--
swears around his kids too much
way too antagonistic against his ex-wife
didn't tell his ex about their daughter's allergic reaction
"shes too young" (12-year gap gross) continues to overly sexualize her
can't get his kids to put on more sunscreen great dad
creepy friends("she not that young")
NOT LITTLE GIRL STOP
Her sister mentions Dex is like their dad STOP
Insinuates cops are good guys
DO COMPARE HER TO YOUR DAUGHTER
"I even liked the things that reminded me of her age" gross
"yelled at them to stop fucking whining" get therapy/srs
oh god he's got daddy issues
"I hate that I hurt you" does it again

Winnie really gets unlucky with the guys she falls for and she falls hard and fast. How am I supposed to like a relationship that is so eerily similar to all the ones that failed this time he's not overconfident. She was really right when he said she ignores the red flags because she sure ignored all of Dex's. Dex did not deserve her AT ALL. He and his group of friends at this point need to be kept away from anyone 5 years younger than them because I'm sensing a really unhealthy pattern. How and why does everyone think it's okay for a 34-year-old man to be putting the moves on a 22-year-old?! Like I don't hate age gaps but why couldn't she at least be mid-twenties and not in kindergarten when he graduated (something he mentions more than once cause gross) Like I get her dad had an age gap but that was weird too! I should have researched a bit more to find out what their ages were when it said 12-year gap but too late now I suffered through a grown man falling for a woman who is barely able to drink.

Winnie really deserved her big grand gesture of love FROM SOMEONE ELSE yk preferably someone that is actively going to therapy and acknowledges their faults and works on them. And also maybe years down the line where she's not thrown into the stepmother and basic housewife role at 23!? Yes, Winnie says she wants to be a mother and wife but that doesn't mean she should have to give up on her dream job over a guy who can't admit his feelings. I might have believed that she could fall for him, (because he was constantly doing couplely things when told not to ) but I sure as heck didn't have to like it. Why be all shocked she loves you dude when she already says she fell for dudes who just gave her attention? I was really hoping from the start that somewhere along the book she would develop and actually fall for a nice guy but then Dex existed past being a shitty father to his girls. (Because honestly, he needs to regulate his anger if he wants to be a good dad)

Winnie is lucky she was working with her family because he future employer would not be too siked to hire her hearing she left her last job after moving to a new state like a week later. Great commitment Winnie. I just wished she would have committed to her no love rule and not taken Ellie's stupid advice because now she's married to a carbon copy of her dad and I'm disgusted. If this weren't a romance and if Ellie were a good friend she would have done the reasonable healthy things.
1. Not encourage Winnie in pursuing anyone
2. Tell her to stay far away from the man who is way too old for her
3. Tell her to stay in Rhode Island
But no she's the typical bad friend in a romance who encourages the shitty stuff.

A bad romance, with a spinless FMC with a bad support system and an MMC who needs extensive therapy before he is around anyone again. Insta Lust that's it

Also, Dex was a firefighter and he talked about a job one time. It was dual pov why didn't we see more of their lives individually?
Also Also, don't read books with former military men male leads because 99% of the time they take out their issues on those around them. (Dex suspiciously took it out on all the women in his life)