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courtney_in_chaos 's review for:
Lies & Lullabies
by Sarina Bowen
This started really strong for me, and I like Kira and Jonas a lot. They had a nice friends to lovers thing going on, and when the book starts, Jonas is returning after five years, so a little unrequited love going on there too.
The beginning of the book goes back and forth between flashbacks of the couple's summer together five years ago and present day, and at the tail end of the flashbacks, we learn about Kira's past sexual assault in college. Unfortunately, I ended up having similar feelings to how it was handled here as I did with [b:Rookie Move|27190530|Rookie Move (Brooklyn Bruisers, #1)|Sarina Bowen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456486844l/27190530._SY75_.jpg|47232527]. I've been trying to figure out what exactly bothers me about it, and I think it's two things. One, we don't find out about the assault until quite a few chapters in during the last flashback, and then the book goes back to current time, and Kira is no longer the woman who needs to be "healed" by Jonas. In the book world, Kira has had five years to move on and it's no longer a major part of her life, but for the reader, it's a chapter. So to go from having her being scared to have sex again and flippantly telling Jonas to their next encounter being a rougher all-over-each-other thing, it's a bit jarring and strange. My other issue is that it didn't really feel necessary for Kira's character. Besides using it as a strange catalyst to get the two together, it's essentially forgotten about for the rest of the book. It was built up as this huge important thing, and then it's never mentioned again. It kind of overshadows everything else that we learn about Kira, though, so it's hard to focus on anything else about her.
So with all of that, it was harder for me to enjoy the middle part of the book. The ending gets better, but honestly, there were a lot of more interesting things that could have been developed more that just get passed over so quickly. Like, how Kira worried about being enough for Jonas after watching his concert. I think that would have been an interesting dynamic to explore.
Overall, I never really felt like this was a very strong couple. It was weird that Jonas left for five years and was still whoring it up, and he didn't really come back to Maine with the expectation of seeing Kira. It was just coincidence that they were there at the same time. So to go from 'never expecting to see someone again' to 'I've loved you the whole time we were apart' just didn't feel that believable.
It was written well, and I loved Kira's relationship with her brother and her daughter, but as a romance, it fell pretty flat for me.
The beginning of the book goes back and forth between flashbacks of the couple's summer together five years ago and present day, and at the tail end of the flashbacks, we learn about Kira's past sexual assault in college. Unfortunately, I ended up having similar feelings to how it was handled here as I did with [b:Rookie Move|27190530|Rookie Move (Brooklyn Bruisers, #1)|Sarina Bowen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456486844l/27190530._SY75_.jpg|47232527]. I've been trying to figure out what exactly bothers me about it, and I think it's two things. One, we don't find out about the assault until quite a few chapters in during the last flashback, and then the book goes back to current time, and Kira is no longer the woman who needs to be "healed" by Jonas. In the book world, Kira has had five years to move on and it's no longer a major part of her life, but for the reader, it's a chapter. So to go from having her being scared to have sex again and flippantly telling Jonas
Spoiler
as long as he doesn't bang her head into a dumpster than the sex will be goodSo with all of that, it was harder for me to enjoy the middle part of the book. The ending gets better, but honestly, there were a lot of more interesting things that could have been developed more that just get passed over so quickly. Like, how Kira worried about being enough for Jonas after watching his concert. I think that would have been an interesting dynamic to explore.
Overall, I never really felt like this was a very strong couple. It was weird that Jonas left for five years and was still whoring it up, and he didn't really come back to Maine with the expectation of seeing Kira. It was just coincidence that they were there at the same time. So to go from 'never expecting to see someone again' to 'I've loved you the whole time we were apart' just didn't feel that believable.
It was written well, and I loved Kira's relationship with her brother and her daughter, but as a romance, it fell pretty flat for me.