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A review by mindylou
Making the Match by Kristen Ashley
2.0
There were some great parts to this book. I did like that Tom found his HEA. But cheating, even if it’s not between the main characters, is a delicate thing to be handled in the romance genre if you want the audience to forgive the cheater and root for their HEA. At least for a big portion of the audience. I do know some who feel differently.
I get that the author was focusing on Tom’s redemption so he could find his HEA. I’m all for that. But I really didn’t like how the path of that redemption went. Yes, I get that sometimes cheating happens because the other partner disconnects or doesn’t provide the emotional support the other needs. But again, that doesn’t excuse cheating for me. Really, nothing excuses it. However, I could have gotten past it in Tom’s case.
I admired that Tom took responsibility by admitting he should have quit the marriage before turning to another woman. He even takes full blame…at first. I think if the author left it there and then focused purely on Tom and Mika, I would have been able to set aside Tom cheating on his first wife and see that he would never do that again and be the man Mika deserved. Sadly, the author didn’t do that. This is where it took a turn for me. What it seemed to me, the author felt Tom needed a better reason to cheat and ultimately throws Imogen, his first wife under the bus. Why??? Now you’re blaming the victim. I especially don’t understand it when you already gave us Imogen’s story in book one where you made us fall in love with her and felt terrible for her how the men in her life kept breaking her. And now you want us to believe she should take responsibility for Tom’s cheating? No. Just no. Maybe that wasn’t the intent here, but that’s exactly how it felt when I read this.
To add to that, I also had a problem with Tom and Mika’s first introduction while Tom was married to Imogen. That felt like Tom’s first instance of cheating even though they both walked away. Emotional cheating is a thing for some people.
I know not everyone views cheating the same. This is my personal opinion and my explanation for the two star rating. I’m also feeling like I glossed over all that was good in this book because of ONE thing. There was a lot of good. I just feel very strongly about how Imogen was portrayed in this book and unfortunate, it overshadowed the rest.
I get that the author was focusing on Tom’s redemption so he could find his HEA. I’m all for that. But I really didn’t like how the path of that redemption went. Yes, I get that sometimes cheating happens because the other partner disconnects or doesn’t provide the emotional support the other needs. But again, that doesn’t excuse cheating for me. Really, nothing excuses it. However, I could have gotten past it in Tom’s case.
I admired that Tom took responsibility by admitting he should have quit the marriage before turning to another woman. He even takes full blame…at first. I think if the author left it there and then focused purely on Tom and Mika, I would have been able to set aside Tom cheating on his first wife and see that he would never do that again and be the man Mika deserved. Sadly, the author didn’t do that. This is where it took a turn for me. What it seemed to me, the author felt Tom needed a better reason to cheat and ultimately throws Imogen, his first wife under the bus. Why??? Now you’re blaming the victim. I especially don’t understand it when you already gave us Imogen’s story in book one where you made us fall in love with her and felt terrible for her how the men in her life kept breaking her. And now you want us to believe she should take responsibility for Tom’s cheating? No. Just no. Maybe that wasn’t the intent here, but that’s exactly how it felt when I read this.
To add to that, I also had a problem with Tom and Mika’s first introduction while Tom was married to Imogen. That felt like Tom’s first instance of cheating even though they both walked away. Emotional cheating is a thing for some people.
I know not everyone views cheating the same. This is my personal opinion and my explanation for the two star rating. I’m also feeling like I glossed over all that was good in this book because of ONE thing. There was a lot of good. I just feel very strongly about how Imogen was portrayed in this book and unfortunate, it overshadowed the rest.