Anonymous

Mediocre and Predictable

Reviewed: 06-06-24

What a disappointment and a waste of a credit. There was no emotional weight, no deep exploration of complex feelings in a complex situation, no showing - just lots of telling.

They fell in love so quickly and overcame layers of complex feelings almost instantly. As a result, all the tender moments and caring gestures felt like ticking a box instead of weighty and emotional.

Also, the plot points were predictable and again, no weight. It felt like the author just threw obstacles for no reason.

In the end, I was bored and annoyed listening to this book because I didn't care about the H/H and their story.

The best part of the book was the narrators.

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Good but Major Problems Made It Disappointing Read

Reviewed: 05-29-24

I've really enjoyed this series so far. I really enjoy the slow burn romance, the world and story but this book has some pretty major issues.
1. Diem really frustrated me. Her stubbornness and inability to see some obvious things was very frustrating.
2. While I appreciate Diem's moral convictions, her unwillingnees to be flexible was also extremely frustrating. It led to a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering because she wasn't able to see past herself and her beliefs. This inflexibility led her to making some really obvious and dumb decisions. it was upsetting to see a supposedly smart MFC make these choices.
3. Diem's mother was equally aggravating. She was also unnecessaryly stubborn and made alot of questionable choices.
4. I really hate how the author kept using the same techniques in the story. The favorite one was to interrupt a conversation that would reveal important information. It happened over and over again until it felt like the author was just using it to manipulate my emotions until I felt annoyed about it.
5. The last 3-5 hours of the book lasted way too long. It just kept dragging on and on until I was considering not finishing it.
6. The ending of the book felt unnecessary. It was due to Diem making a series of really impulsive and thoughtless decisions. As a result, it again. made it feel like the author was just manipulating my emotions which made me feel annoyed and wished the book would just end.

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Mostly Amazing

Reviewed: 02-04-24

This book had me hooked from the beginning. I've heard lots of great things about it but was still reluctant because I haven't always loved this author's books. But I found the story engaging, tender and thoughtful. It was steamy without being over the top and the drama and angst was there but again not over the top.I would rate this book more like 4.5. The part that made me drop half a star is a*potential slight spoiler*

At one point, Luke "made" Juliette give him a blow job when he was angry with her as her "punishment". I really hate it when author's do this because it always feels so degrading and something I can't get on board with.

Aside from that one part, I really enjoyed the story.

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Disappointing and Insulting

Reviewed: 06-17-23

I had some issues with this book, like how people's skin color was included in part of their description, and how predictable it was. It felt like this book was trying to be Schitts Creek but somehow lacked the heartwarming, feel good sparkle the show possessed,

However, I really also appreciated the LGBTQ IAP+ representation and the humor. Despite the complaints above, I was fine with going along with the crazy plot until **SPOILER ALERT**

One of the main characters is vegan and as a vegan myself, I appreciated that, even though her veganism was always described with an undertone of mockery. Then towards the end of the book, it was revealed that she was secretly eating meat. I find this incredibly insulting. I chose to be a vegan due to ethical and environmental reasons. I didn't make this decision to be hip, cool or trendy. I chose it because veganism aligns with my personal beliefs. I would never and don't ever expect anyone else to be vegan just because of what I chose to eat or not eat. As a matter of fact, my husband and son are not vegan. I actually sat down and spoke to my husband when I decided to go down this path because I knew it would make it difficult for our family. This was a decision that I made through lots of thinking, soul searching and planning. So to have *finally* a vegan character and then to have her be mocked felt really insulting. I acknowledge that there are vegans who can be overbearing and pushy about their agenda. But this is true for people with all sorts of different beliefs.

What makes Schitts Creek work was that they were able to find humor and made social commentaries without being hurtful or judgement. This book was so disappointing. I know I'm right at the end of the book but I'm going to DNF.

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No Consent

Reviewed: 01-26-23

I was really sucked into this book in the beginning but it started to unravel about a third in. I thought Lenon would be stronger yet despite her hatred of Phoenix, there was a lot of talk about her attraction to him. I was willing to over look that until the part where there was no consent during a f/f scene. And after that, Phoenix touched Lenon without her verbal consent either. While verbal consent is not always needed, the fact that Lenon told Phoenix how much she hated him meant that he needed to have her say yes before touching her. At least that's what I need. It's too bad because the book had great bones.

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2 people found this helpful

No Consent, No Way

Reviewed: 01-19-23

I've heard lots of positive reviews about Kresley Cole so I finally decided to give it a try. I wanted to start from the beginning of the series and am sorry I did. I just can't stand the no consent and forcing someone to do their bidding plot line. I don't care how awful someone treated you, no is no. How could forcing someone to do whatever you want them to do ever be considered romantic or love? This story made me livid. I've had enough of men wanting to control women, especially strong women who have a mind of their own and who refuse to apologize or feel shame, in real life so why would I ever want to listen to more of it?

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1 person found this helpful

So Good

Reviewed: 12-17-22

Abby Jimenez 's books are a bit hit or miss for me. This book was beyond a hit. While there are a few parts of the storyline that I could see coming, it was written in a way that felt real, fresh and unpredictable. I loved this book. The characters were flawed but loveable. It had deep feelings, really funny moments, chemistry between h/h, a strong heroine and above all, I really appreciate the way the abuse part of the story was handled. That part of the storyline had weight and was written with respect, care, understanding and no judgement.

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Disappointing

Reviewed: 06-23-21

This book had so much potential but in the end, I just couldn't finish it. Instead of talking to them, I couldn't stand the way Claire yelled at her kids when they were struggling. Yelling and nagging would definitely not be the way I'd help my son work through grief if he lost his dad. And Tristan, seriously, he was so selfish. If he really cared about Claire, then why would he yell at her for grieving her husband? If someone treated me like that, I would tell him to take a hike and to not let the door hit him on his way out. I definitely would not go begging him for forgiveness. Instead of really talking to each other, they work out their issues by having sex. I'm not opposed to listening to book that is hot and sexy but I need it to be balanced out with adults who show growth, kindness and care for each other. I wanted to hear about the journey these two take together. The funny and cute moments were not enough to balance out the weak characters who were just not very kind to each other.

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1 person found this helpful

Disappointing and Not At All Empowering

Reviewed: 02-23-21

This book was super disappointing. I was interested by the author's note about grief. While grief was mentioned in the book, the story would have been so much richer if the topic was more thoroughly explored. Instead, it felt like the author just skimmed the surface. This story would have been so much more interesting if the messiness of life was embraced instead of having everything be tied up in a neat and pretty bow.

Also, I didn't find either Sloane or Jason to be particularly interesting characters. Sloane was needy and clingy. She basically followed Jason around and lived her life according to his. She recognized it but in the end, didn't do much about it.

Jason was decent enough but there really wasn't much beyond that. While Jason was never a bully, he basically made several important life changing decisions for Sloane without ever consulting her, including somethings he said and decisions he acted on in the epilogue. I would never ever be ok with that if my husband did that. It is in no way a sign of love or respect.

The characters' feelings towards each other felt more obsessive than love. And ultimately, neither one of them grew or changed that much. I believe the best books about love is how two people can lift each other up and help them grow and be stronger.

I felt the underlying themes of the book is not empowerment but obsession and a woman following around a rich famous man who "respects" her but somehow ends up making life decisions for her. These are not ideas I can support. Ever.

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Best story I've listened to in a long time

Reviewed: 08-06-20

This is story is beautiful, exploring important and relevant topics with candor and sensitivity.

The story broke my heart with it's honest exploration of deep rooted racial injustice and the #metoo movement. Yet, it's that honesty and the challenges the h/h waded through for their HEA that brought hope.

The character and relationship development was true and slow, the sex was never gratutious and the conversations were all real. There was never unnecessary drama added for the sake of dramatics.

The narrator was wonderful. Each character had their own personality and voice. I particularly love her southern LJ drawl.

This book was well worth the credit and definitely worth listening to. It made me feel a range of emotions, taught me to think about issues from different perspectives and helped me feel a bit hopeful during this really difficult time.

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