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callidoralblack's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
clockworkbee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
If you prefer your romance to be sex positive, this is not the book for you. There are sex scenes in it, but there are also discussions of body counts, judgement about being older for their sexual debut, and a lot of annoying tropes. Like “She’s a virgin but she gets off because he breathed on her nipples once and then started jackhammering her”. The sex scenes were also pretty cringey because the author uses clinical terms for genitalia. Reading clitoris five times in one paragraph just doesn’t do it for me.
That’s just my comments on the sex scenes. The rest of the book was equally cringey. I didn’t think the H was very nice to the h. I wanted to root for Emma, but she didn’t have much personality and she seems to let events happen to her versus her taking any action. We get told a lot that she’s sassy, but I never saw any evidence of that. The hero (I’ve already forgotten his name) was just a generic romance hero. The plot had more holes than Swiss cheese.
Also, the hero is supposed to be an archaeologist but it’s clear the author knows absolutely nothing about archaeology. I’m an archaeologist and I didn’t find anything about the hero being one believable. In one scene he tells Emma that he uses his powers to move artifacts into his colleagues test units. If you know anything about archaeology you’d that artifacts have little value If they aren’t discovered in their original context. A five minute google search could have told you that.
Anyway, it’s a hot mess. I don’t recommend.
That’s just my comments on the sex scenes. The rest of the book was equally cringey. I didn’t think the H was very nice to the h. I wanted to root for Emma, but she didn’t have much personality and she seems to let events happen to her versus her taking any action. We get told a lot that she’s sassy, but I never saw any evidence of that. The hero (I’ve already forgotten his name) was just a generic romance hero. The plot had more holes than Swiss cheese.
Also, the hero is supposed to be an archaeologist but it’s clear the author knows absolutely nothing about archaeology. I’m an archaeologist and I didn’t find anything about the hero being one believable. In one scene he tells Emma that he uses his powers to move artifacts into his colleagues test units. If you know anything about archaeology you’d that artifacts have little value If they aren’t discovered in their original context. A five minute google search could have told you that.
Anyway, it’s a hot mess. I don’t recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content and Terminal illness
kloughlin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing
megs1328's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What began as a fun, witchy romcom turned into a surprisingly deep and satisfying trauma-resolving story.
Two childhood friends have always been contracted to marry, but when Emma turned 21 and they began planning their wedding, Bastian suddenly left with no word and Emma has moved on. She has built a new life far from home when he turns up again begging her to marry him to prevent his mother from dying as a result of the broken contract. There is no trust left between them, but she agrees on the basis of friendship only.
Emma and Bastian go from friends to enemies to friends to lovers, with a arranged marriage of convenience. I enjoyed their journey and was surprised at the twist which led to the third-act breakup, but was happy with the resolution. In the end the feelings and situations holding them back from truly becoming husband and wife are resolved and they get their HEA.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Two childhood friends have always been contracted to marry, but when Emma turned 21 and they began planning their wedding, Bastian suddenly left with no word and Emma has moved on. She has built a new life far from home when he turns up again begging her to marry him to prevent his mother from dying as a result of the broken contract. There is no trust left between them, but she agrees on the basis of friendship only.
Emma and Bastian go from friends to enemies to friends to lovers, with a arranged marriage of convenience. I enjoyed their journey and was surprised at the twist which led to the third-act breakup, but was happy with the resolution. In the end the feelings and situations holding them back from truly becoming husband and wife are resolved and they get their HEA.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
milehightbr's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Confinement