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A review by stephdaydreams
How the Wallflower Was Won by Eva Leigh
5.0
What a story! I recently read Eva Leigh’s The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes, and as much as I enjoyed that one, this book right here made me fall beyond like right into complete love. I read through this within 24 hours, taking every opportunity I had to read. I feel sad that I’ve finished so quickly, because I was so comfortable and light-hearted within the romance of our wonderful leads Finn and Tabitha.
I adored Tabitha; she is of an intelligent, progressive mind, who endeavors to make real change happen in her world. But her heart is timid and vulnerable, putting up a wall due to past hurt…until she meets Finn. And suddenly, her heart begins to dream again.
And Finn *is* the dream man, I tell ya. The dream man. He is gorgeous, kind, honest, respectful, and intelligent. He is looking to help his best friend find a wife, but suddenly finds himself with one instead. And it happens to be a wife he comes to very quickly care for.
That said, there is deep rooted insecurity within each protagonist. Finn is insecure over his learning disability. Having been made to feel “stupid” by others (including his own parents), he does not believe he is a worthy partner of the intelligent mind of Tabitha, thus fearing her rejection. Whereas Tabitha has been hurt by a past potential suitor who crushed her feelings of the heart as something weak and insignificant. These insecurities are ones they will each have to learn to overcome, and luckily they now have the support to accomplish just that.
I so loved the equal partnership and support Finn and Tabitha gave to one another. Tabitha never once saw Finn as someone less worthy because of his difficulties with reading, rather she saw his value and made a stand against anyone who dared dispute that. And there is Finn who constantly supported Tabitha’s goals to forge her path in the world of male sameness to establish a platform for diverse voices to rise. They each saw the other’s potential and did not hesitate to let one another know. Their mutual respect was as attractive as their romantic chemistry.
One of my favorite aspects in this romance was how much Finn and Tabitha simply *liked* each other. While there is a physical attraction, Finn and Tabitha are also attracted to one another’s minds. Finn sees Tabitha’s scholarly pursuits as a positive; just as Tabitha admires his strategic mind. That said, we are treated to some excellent smut. So while we have a beautiful story of both friendship and romance, you can also expect some fiery, delicious steam to rise as well.
The only personal hiccup I had was that I didn’t quite buy into the late game argument that arose, it didn’t feel like a powerful enough scene to earn the fallout that followed. It simply felt a bit weak compared to the rest of the strong story, but absolutely not enough to deter me from this 5 star rating, because this story is still outstanding in every way.
We have terrific leads that stand strong on their own, as well as together; a beautiful love story you will just swoon over; a charismatic supporting cast (can’t wait for Dom’s second chance romance!); and a wholly powerful story that reminds us of our self-worth and value.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I adored Tabitha; she is of an intelligent, progressive mind, who endeavors to make real change happen in her world. But her heart is timid and vulnerable, putting up a wall due to past hurt…until she meets Finn. And suddenly, her heart begins to dream again.
And Finn *is* the dream man, I tell ya. The dream man. He is gorgeous, kind, honest, respectful, and intelligent. He is looking to help his best friend find a wife, but suddenly finds himself with one instead. And it happens to be a wife he comes to very quickly care for.
That said, there is deep rooted insecurity within each protagonist. Finn is insecure over his learning disability. Having been made to feel “stupid” by others (including his own parents), he does not believe he is a worthy partner of the intelligent mind of Tabitha, thus fearing her rejection. Whereas Tabitha has been hurt by a past potential suitor who crushed her feelings of the heart as something weak and insignificant. These insecurities are ones they will each have to learn to overcome, and luckily they now have the support to accomplish just that.
I so loved the equal partnership and support Finn and Tabitha gave to one another. Tabitha never once saw Finn as someone less worthy because of his difficulties with reading, rather she saw his value and made a stand against anyone who dared dispute that. And there is Finn who constantly supported Tabitha’s goals to forge her path in the world of male sameness to establish a platform for diverse voices to rise. They each saw the other’s potential and did not hesitate to let one another know. Their mutual respect was as attractive as their romantic chemistry.
One of my favorite aspects in this romance was how much Finn and Tabitha simply *liked* each other. While there is a physical attraction, Finn and Tabitha are also attracted to one another’s minds. Finn sees Tabitha’s scholarly pursuits as a positive; just as Tabitha admires his strategic mind. That said, we are treated to some excellent smut. So while we have a beautiful story of both friendship and romance, you can also expect some fiery, delicious steam to rise as well.
The only personal hiccup I had was that I didn’t quite buy into the late game argument that arose, it didn’t feel like a powerful enough scene to earn the fallout that followed. It simply felt a bit weak compared to the rest of the strong story, but absolutely not enough to deter me from this 5 star rating, because this story is still outstanding in every way.
We have terrific leads that stand strong on their own, as well as together; a beautiful love story you will just swoon over; a charismatic supporting cast (can’t wait for Dom’s second chance romance!); and a wholly powerful story that reminds us of our self-worth and value.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.