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A review by weelasswithabook
Ante Up by Christina C. Jones
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
CW: gun violence, drugging, abusive parent, domestic violence, gambling, chronic illness (lupus), murder, attempted SA, suicide, miscarriage
🌟 Black romance
🌟 Billionnaire romance
🌈 Black MCs
🌶 Edging
Christina C Jones is never one to shy away from heavy topics, but this one felt darker and grittier than her usual novels. It was a change of pace I wasn't expecting, but still really enjoyed.
Ante Up really veers away from the standard usage of tropes and doesn't fit into a particular niche, if that makes sense? With heavy trope use, generally it's easy to see the way a story is going to go as there's a formula involved, with Ante Up, I wasn't a step ahead of the story at any point.
While predominantly a romance, I kinda had the romance on the backburner mentally because I was SO invested in Asha. I just wanted her to succeed and thrive regardless of whatever else happened in the story. CCJ has a gift for writing female characters who are unapologetically bold and fierce, even when they're broken, and they're impossible not to root for. Seriously.
Normally alpha billionnaires aren't really my speed, especially when they try to get mouthy too, but getting a look into Kingston's backstory and seeing how and why he wanted to protect Asha really warmed him up to me.
You should read this if you're looking for something a bit heavier, but you don't want to go down the dark romance route.
🌟 Black romance
🌟 Billionnaire romance
🌈 Black MCs
🌶 Edging
Christina C Jones is never one to shy away from heavy topics, but this one felt darker and grittier than her usual novels. It was a change of pace I wasn't expecting, but still really enjoyed.
Ante Up really veers away from the standard usage of tropes and doesn't fit into a particular niche, if that makes sense? With heavy trope use, generally it's easy to see the way a story is going to go as there's a formula involved, with Ante Up, I wasn't a step ahead of the story at any point.
While predominantly a romance, I kinda had the romance on the backburner mentally because I was SO invested in Asha. I just wanted her to succeed and thrive regardless of whatever else happened in the story. CCJ has a gift for writing female characters who are unapologetically bold and fierce, even when they're broken, and they're impossible not to root for. Seriously.
Normally alpha billionnaires aren't really my speed, especially when they try to get mouthy too, but getting a look into Kingston's backstory and seeing how and why he wanted to protect Asha really warmed him up to me.
You should read this if you're looking for something a bit heavier, but you don't want to go down the dark romance route.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Blood