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tandemshelves 's review for:

Darlin' by E.L. Lewis
4.0
adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This entire book was just straight up fun vibes with a southern belle FMC x biker gang MMC dynamic and I ate it up. This is definitely lighter than the author’s typical dark/mafia romances (although some serious themes are still touched on) and I loved what she was doing here! I need more romcoms like this from her. 

I absolutely adored Savannah. She’s so funny, such a sweetheart, had a lot of fight in her. I really liked her humor and overall character arc. I don’t know if it’s just me but I keep reading her dialogue in a southern accent. Her relationship with her brother was really sweet and wholesome because she cares so much for him. Also really enjoyed the found family vibes in a small town setting as Sav became acquainted with the MC gang and got over her own misconceptions. 

The romance between Jesse and Sav definitely started as a slowburn but moved faster than I expected. I loved them together. However, I wanted more from it! The banter and tension was definitely there but things resolved way too quickly after the third act conflict. I would have preferred some chapters in Jesse’s POV too. 

The story does have the typical cliches, some minor plot holes, and a slightly predictable plot twist. But it didn’t significantly affect the reading experience because I was having too much fun with this book from the start😌. 

I wanted to see more of the gang subplots/conflicts but I get that is written more as a romcom. The other characters were very likable with enough depth and I wouldn’t mind if this became a series👀 Beau and Mar’s story would be interesting to read about tbh because I’m intrigued by them.

TYSM to the author for providing this eARC!!!