Scan barcode
A review by jessicareadsalot
Two Houses by Suleena Bibra
4.0
this was a pretty solid debut! i was very excited going into this because the epigraph was derived from Romeo & Juliet and i am an absolute sucker for a good R&J retelling/inspired book. it did not disappoint! academic rivals (in flashbacks) to professional rivals to lovers? be still, my heart. Priya and Gavin are from rivaling auction houses and are constantly trying to one-up each other and it's glorious. the banter was witty and funny and there were several moments that had me laughing out loud. really it was funny because my mans Gavin was CLEARLY simping over Priya for basically the entire book and every time she'd try to pull away because they're "enemies from feuding houses" i was screaming "GOD PRIYA HE'S CLEARLY WHIPPED FOR YOU" in my head.
i wasn't really sure where it was going at first but after the setting switch it was pretty generic. the romance is cute and despite it's predictability, i couldn't put it down until i finished it at some ungodly hour of night. my favorite character was honestly Priya's mom who was badass. Priya's brother was annoying and he got off way too easily. he should have stood up for her more.
it was a bit heavy on the art talk. i kept having to look up the painting names because i had no idea what they were referencing. also, i didn't like the sex scenes at all. for so much buildup of tension and angst, it was pretty disappointing and a bit clumsily written, especially with all the damn painting references. however, i did really enjoy the characters and i liked the representation so this is 4 stars instead of 3.5.
fave lines:
“ It takes a lot of energy to hate the same person for so long, but my natural pettiness really helps.”
“What did you do?” she asks, eyes pinning me to the seat and daring me to lie. All while having the most benign smile on her face. It’s scary. This is the content I wished she had taught me. Not how to make her really good dal makhana.”
“I’m in very expensive shoes.” He points down to his feet. “I can’t walk in them.”
I give him serious side-eye, not believing that he doesn’t hear how he sounds sometimes. “We’re in the same tax bracket but I would lead the charge to guillotine you.”
“. “So when can I pick you up tomorrow?” he asks at a normal volume.
“Excuse me?”
“We can’t take two cars to the same place. That’s bad for the environment.”
“That would be a pretty good date,” I say, conceding the point. “What would you have done after the private show?” Our voices are both low, forcing us to lean in to be heard.
“I would hope, and pray, and sacrifice the biggest goat I can find to Venus, hoping you’d consider kissing me goodnight.”
i wasn't really sure where it was going at first but after the setting switch it was pretty generic. the romance is cute and despite it's predictability, i couldn't put it down until i finished it at some ungodly hour of night. my favorite character was honestly Priya's mom who was badass. Priya's brother was annoying and he got off way too easily. he should have stood up for her more.
it was a bit heavy on the art talk. i kept having to look up the painting names because i had no idea what they were referencing. also, i didn't like the sex scenes at all. for so much buildup of tension and angst, it was pretty disappointing and a bit clumsily written, especially with all the damn painting references. however, i did really enjoy the characters and i liked the representation so this is 4 stars instead of 3.5.
fave lines:
“ It takes a lot of energy to hate the same person for so long, but my natural pettiness really helps.”
“What did you do?” she asks, eyes pinning me to the seat and daring me to lie. All while having the most benign smile on her face. It’s scary. This is the content I wished she had taught me. Not how to make her really good dal makhana.”
“I’m in very expensive shoes.” He points down to his feet. “I can’t walk in them.”
I give him serious side-eye, not believing that he doesn’t hear how he sounds sometimes. “We’re in the same tax bracket but I would lead the charge to guillotine you.”
“. “So when can I pick you up tomorrow?” he asks at a normal volume.
“Excuse me?”
“We can’t take two cars to the same place. That’s bad for the environment.”
“That would be a pretty good date,” I say, conceding the point. “What would you have done after the private show?” Our voices are both low, forcing us to lean in to be heard.
“I would hope, and pray, and sacrifice the biggest goat I can find to Venus, hoping you’d consider kissing me goodnight.”