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reading_rainbows's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
2.25 stars because I got through it, but only because I wanted to be able to review it properly.
Characters lack depth. Duke talks a lot about how "bad" he is and how much he needs control with very little action. Eventually we find out that that's all BS though he still believes it. The author is a woman and this book reads like a emotionally stunted dude bro wrote it, points for getting into character I guess but it was a painful read. Some of it was so bad it was funny though.
Characters lack depth. Duke talks a lot about how "bad" he is and how much he needs control with very little action. Eventually we find out that that's all BS though he still believes it. The author is a woman and this book reads like a emotionally stunted dude bro wrote it, points for getting into character I guess but it was a painful read. Some of it was so bad it was funny though.
lit_editions's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this one a lot...I am really starting to like Ms. Gray.
Duke was fun, a hard ass, but fun. His raw emotions and just who he is made him easily liked. I liked Kennedy, but not more than Robyn. Duke kind of stole the stage, he was like a slow burning rise of passion.
Can I just pause and say, I love their friendship, everytime they were together I smiled at Nate, Duke and Tarek. They made me happy.
Anywho, this story was great. I read it in one sitting. I didn't think I was going to like it and I assumed it was going to be flat in comparison to Perv, but I really enjoyed it. Perv was all a game, Nate was fun, Duke brought a very serious, brooding complexity to filth...and filthy it was. I am satisfied 5 easy Stars.
Duke was fun, a hard ass, but fun. His raw emotions and just who he is made him easily liked. I liked Kennedy, but not more than Robyn. Duke kind of stole the stage, he was like a slow burning rise of passion.
Can I just pause and say, I love their friendship, everytime they were together I smiled at Nate, Duke and Tarek. They made me happy.
Anywho, this story was great. I read it in one sitting. I didn't think I was going to like it and I assumed it was going to be flat in comparison to Perv, but I really enjoyed it. Perv was all a game, Nate was fun, Duke brought a very serious, brooding complexity to filth...and filthy it was. I am satisfied 5 easy Stars.
musicalbibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
kelliereadsabit's review against another edition
2.0
Ok look, I tried, I really did! I got 60% of the way through and I just can’t take it anymore. The main character is an ass and not even in a good way. His thoughts are unoriginal after the first chapter, and he is boring all around. He gripes on and on about how he hates being “a good guy” and how he doesn’t like his dad and all that bull crap, but jeez dude do you think about anything else? Also the book starts with a mediocre sex scene that plays out for way too long between the characters that I lost interest in almost immediately. I don’t know the characters yet so why do I care? Then they don’t really touch each other again until like 60% of the way through the book and get this, it’s almost the same exact sex scene! I thought things were about to change and the author does a fade to black moment! Like, the characters are already having sex, you giving out now right when things were heating up just shows you’re not comfortable writing this and you didn’t know where to take it.
I think the book had a lot of potential. The main characters motivations were surface level cool, and I loved the heroine. Their banter was pretty nice, and the slice of life moments at work were fun. My two biggest complaints are his ‘too tough to have emotions’ attitude that completely dominated the writing style, making every passage repetitive and nonsensical, and the fact that it felt like the author couldn’t commit to the steamy sex his characters were talking about on the page. If his personality had more dimension and if their connection was the focus and not the sex they both want (but that the readers are left in the dark about) then I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more.
Romance novels don’t have to have descriptive mind blowing sex if your characters can stand on their own and pull the book forward. Don’t call your novel filth if the filthiest thing they do is go at it doggy style for three sentences with a condom on. If you don’t want to write that then it’s fine, just write what you’re comfortable with. But don’t limit your characters so severely that it completely derails the story and I’m willing to give up with 3 hours left.
All that said, I’ll be keeping tabs on this author and trying out some of their other books, I feel like this book might’ve been a dud, but they’ve got talent if they can just write what they actually want to write. If they wanted to write this then maybe it just wasn’t for me. YMMV and my opinions are my own.
I think the book had a lot of potential. The main characters motivations were surface level cool, and I loved the heroine. Their banter was pretty nice, and the slice of life moments at work were fun. My two biggest complaints are his ‘too tough to have emotions’ attitude that completely dominated the writing style, making every passage repetitive and nonsensical, and the fact that it felt like the author couldn’t commit to the steamy sex his characters were talking about on the page. If his personality had more dimension and if their connection was the focus and not the sex they both want (but that the readers are left in the dark about) then I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more.
Romance novels don’t have to have descriptive mind blowing sex if your characters can stand on their own and pull the book forward. Don’t call your novel filth if the filthiest thing they do is go at it doggy style for three sentences with a condom on. If you don’t want to write that then it’s fine, just write what you’re comfortable with. But don’t limit your characters so severely that it completely derails the story and I’m willing to give up with 3 hours left.
All that said, I’ll be keeping tabs on this author and trying out some of their other books, I feel like this book might’ve been a dud, but they’ve got talent if they can just write what they actually want to write. If they wanted to write this then maybe it just wasn’t for me. YMMV and my opinions are my own.
melonreads's review against another edition
4.0
This book was ridiculously good and hot but also had tremendous character development and depth. Rare is the book that has both and both of the first two books in this series has been phenomenal. I adored Kennedy and Duke - I really didn’t think I’d like Duke very much but as it turns out, I ended up adoring him. Fabulous book.
danni_faith's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
I didn't want to like Duke but he won me over. I'm a sucker for a romance with a great friend group. Duke's support network endeared him to me. It rounded him out so he wasn't just this hard ass.
Kennedy and Duke are so sexy and cute together. I'm not really a second-chance romance reader, but this really did it for me. Damn you Dakota Gray for being so good.
I didn't want to like Duke but he won me over. I'm a sucker for a romance with a great friend group. Duke's support network endeared him to me. It rounded him out so he wasn't just this hard ass.
Kennedy and Duke are so sexy and cute together. I'm not really a second-chance romance reader, but this really did it for me. Damn you Dakota Gray for being so good.
jenreadsromance's review
4.0
I reviewed this over at the Book Queen's site: http://www.tbqsbookpalace.com/2017/07/jens-review-hardcore.html
melonreads's review
4.0
This book was ridiculously good and hot but also had tremendous character development and depth. Rare is the book that has both and both of the first two books in this series has been phenomenal. I adored Kennedy and Duke - I really didn’t think I’d like Duke very much but as it turns out, I ended up adoring him. Fabulous book.
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