Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I enjoyed this and I’m thankful for the recommendation but I will admit this book left me a bit conflicted. I don’t believe it's a “dark romance”, it just has dark themes. I loved the plotline and was keen to read but in my opinion the characters were a bit messy. Honestly if the plot wasn’t as good, I would’ve DNF’d.
The FMC (Aspen) was incredibly indecisive to the point where I wanted to stop reading at times because I was getting whiplash from her.
The love interest is her brother’s best friend (Isaac) and he is 🔥 but is a bit immature and definitely is a cause to MC’s struggle to communicate healthily.
Aspen’s brother (Austin) was complete hypocrites for most of the book as well as immature and honestly a bit overdramatic.
For me the plot and spice is the only thing that carried the book. While saying that I also want to point out that the plot was actually great, the timing between drama and complications was good and I did have quite a couple giggle and gasp moments.
Overall I had higher hope and am I little disappointed but would still recommend.
TROPES:
🖤 Brother’s Best Friend
🖤 Age Gap
🖤 Taboo Romance
🖤 Sex Club
🖤 Unrequited Love
🖤 Forced Proximity
PSA: Please be aware that this book contains mature themes, triggers and is recommended for readers 18+
I had high hopes for this book and I enjoyed the first half quite a bit but around the 40% mark my enjoyment had dwindled somewhat. That may be partly due to my personal preference of the story feeling rushed and what I believe crucial world building glided over.
Apart from those miner complaints I enjoyed the banter between the main characters and how the friendships are formed/grow. There was some mild spice and tension between the two MCs but in my opinion it was lacking.
I received a ARC of this book via netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely honest and my own.