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A review by paperbacksandsketchbooks
Golden Burn by Bridget W Deen
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you Yours Truly PR and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I had fun this one! I've been loving crime based dark romance lately, so this was just what I needed.
FMC Etta is unknowingly part of the well-known crime family, the Lombardos. She is kidnapped by MMC Odin at the beginning in order to fulfill a long standing contract between their families. The terms of this contract? Etta has to marry Odin. There a lot of moving parts to how this plays out, and it was very well done.
I thought our main characters were great. Even the side characters were great and I wouldn't mind getting to know more about them, to be honest. The character development was *chef's kiss.*
I did think this story read like a cheesy soap opera at times. The action was very over the top. Some of our characters' reactions were over the top. It was all *a lot* at times.
Etta and Odin's relationship moved very fast. It was almost like stockholm syndrome? Etta hated him so much for kidnapping her, but she found herself lusting after him. If you're into insta-love, you'd probably enjoy that about this book, but that's not my cup of tea.
The contractual marriage bit was also sort of disjointed from the rest of the story, in my opinion. The concept was there, but I also find myself wondering why exactly this contractual marriage can't be broken if the man who signed it is dead? I definitely had to suspend disbelief at that plot point and just go with it.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and thought it was fun. It is a very mild dark romance, so if you're thinking about dipping your toes into the genre, this is a great place to start!
I had fun this one! I've been loving crime based dark romance lately, so this was just what I needed.
FMC Etta is unknowingly part of the well-known crime family, the Lombardos. She is kidnapped by MMC Odin at the beginning in order to fulfill a long standing contract between their families. The terms of this contract? Etta has to marry Odin. There a lot of moving parts to how this plays out, and it was very well done.
I thought our main characters were great. Even the side characters were great and I wouldn't mind getting to know more about them, to be honest. The character development was *chef's kiss.*
I did think this story read like a cheesy soap opera at times. The action was very over the top. Some of our characters' reactions were over the top. It was all *a lot* at times.
Etta and Odin's relationship moved very fast. It was almost like stockholm syndrome? Etta hated him so much for kidnapping her, but she found herself lusting after him. If you're into insta-love, you'd probably enjoy that about this book, but that's not my cup of tea.
The contractual marriage bit was also sort of disjointed from the rest of the story, in my opinion. The concept was there, but I also find myself wondering why exactly this contractual marriage can't be broken if the man who signed it is dead? I definitely had to suspend disbelief at that plot point and just go with it.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and thought it was fun. It is a very mild dark romance, so if you're thinking about dipping your toes into the genre, this is a great place to start!