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jelkebooks's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
After quite enjoying the first two books in the series I have been so excited to read this one. Especially because this book is the one in the series I have seen the most glowing reviews for. However, this book just REALLY didn't work for me. I mean, it isn't a terrible book. It was quite a quick read, it had its fun moments, but there was one BIG element I just hated.
That is our female main character. I really despised her. For most of the book I thought she was fine enough but there were some parts to her that gave me an ick. For example I thought it was odd how she kept saying in her inner monologue that she would be there for Cal's recovery if he wanted her there, but then she keeps pushing him away again and again. Not a single part of her actions showed me she even wanted him to feel better. It seemed like she rather enjoyed punishing him instead. However, it wasn't too bad, but then the third act conflict happened and her actions are abismal. I don't want to say too much because of spoilers but basically the whole third act conflict is Alana getting mad at Cal for a situation she completely made up in her head, and punishing him over and over again even when she has multiple things pointing to the truth. Her actions in that part of the book just made me DESPISE her so much, and put those early actions that gave me a slight ick in a way more negative light. So yeah, I hated her personally but also nothing in this book actually convinced me that Alana actually loved Cal.
Cal was a fine enough character. I found him a bit blant but in a better book it wouldn't bother me so much. His journey throughout the book wasn't my complete favourite. Even though the ultimate message of the book is that you can only kick your addiction if YOU wanted to do it for you, the way things went down still gave me the vibe of "love can heal everything". I don't know. It just seemed really odd, and a bit off to me. Like I said this book doesn't fully give off that message but it does come a bit too close to comfort for me personally.
It's also a small town romance, which I typically love but I HATED the townspeople in this as well. I just think they felt like they came straight out of a bad cartoon. The way they all just dunked on Cal and pretended like he was the most evil person to ever exist because he *checks notes* dumped his girlfriend at the height of his battle with addiction. It just seemed so odd to me. I'm not saying they should have treated him like a hero. I get why they were apprehensive of him because they are so protective of Alana but the extends these people went to just felt evil, and not real. I kept thinking he must have done something else that was WAY worse, but that reveal just never came.
The romance was also just really lackluster to me. They had some cute moments, especially when Alana's daughter was involved. However, the only basis for their feelings is the fact that they were in love with each other several years ago. We don't get any flashbacks to see them fall in love. We don't get any developement present day. It just felt extremely lackluster. Add to that my previous complaints about feeling like Alana has a deep hatred for Cal instead of loving him, I just didn't buy it AT ALL.
That is our female main character. I really despised her. For most of the book I thought she was fine enough but there were some parts to her that gave me an ick. For example I thought it was odd how she kept saying in her inner monologue that she would be there for Cal's recovery if he wanted her there, but then she keeps pushing him away again and again. Not a single part of her actions showed me she even wanted him to feel better. It seemed like she rather enjoyed punishing him instead. However, it wasn't too bad, but then the third act conflict happened and her actions are abismal. I don't want to say too much because of spoilers but basically the whole third act conflict is Alana getting mad at Cal for a situation she completely made up in her head, and punishing him over and over again even when she has multiple things pointing to the truth. Her actions in that part of the book just made me DESPISE her so much, and put those early actions that gave me a slight ick in a way more negative light. So yeah, I hated her personally but also nothing in this book actually convinced me that Alana actually loved Cal.
Cal was a fine enough character. I found him a bit blant but in a better book it wouldn't bother me so much. His journey throughout the book wasn't my complete favourite. Even though the ultimate message of the book is that you can only kick your addiction if YOU wanted to do it for you, the way things went down still gave me the vibe of "love can heal everything". I don't know. It just seemed really odd, and a bit off to me. Like I said this book doesn't fully give off that message but it does come a bit too close to comfort for me personally.
It's also a small town romance, which I typically love but I HATED the townspeople in this as well. I just think they felt like they came straight out of a bad cartoon. The way they all just dunked on Cal and pretended like he was the most evil person to ever exist because he *checks notes* dumped his girlfriend at the height of his battle with addiction. It just seemed so odd to me. I'm not saying they should have treated him like a hero. I get why they were apprehensive of him because they are so protective of Alana but the extends these people went to just felt evil, and not real. I kept thinking he must have done something else that was WAY worse, but that reveal just never came.
The romance was also just really lackluster to me. They had some cute moments, especially when Alana's daughter was involved. However, the only basis for their feelings is the fact that they were in love with each other several years ago. We don't get any flashbacks to see them fall in love. We don't get any developement present day. It just felt extremely lackluster. Add to that my previous complaints about feeling like Alana has a deep hatred for Cal instead of loving him, I just didn't buy it AT ALL.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Grief
Minor: Miscarriage
silverhill's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Toxic relationship, and Grief
siobhankeira's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
becxaa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
k_fry's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I was surprised by how much I disliked this one, especially in comparison to the earlier books. But I just truly hated Lana’s character.
She isn’t communicative, but expects people to tell her things or else it’s “betrayal”. She refuses to listen when people do try to explain things and then is upset when she finds out about it later.
My biggest issue though, is how everyone treats Cal terribly for frankly the flimsiest reason I’ve ever read. It’s a lose lose situation for him - if he hadn’t left they’d have hated him for staying and not letting Lana do her own thing. The lack of empathy was truly disgusting and I think said A LOT about the authors perspective on addiction. It did not sit well with me and came across as a dangerously naive story to tell.
Wyatt in particular made me want to throw my e-reader at a wall. I’m supposed to root for the friendship of cop that intentionally incited violence? Fuck that. He abused his power and the story called it a joke.
I know it’s “just smut” but even that wasn’t good enough in this book to make up for how it handled addiction as a main element of the story.
The only reason I gave it 1 star is because of the updates to the previous books characters. I don’t think I’ll be reading any more books by this author.
She isn’t communicative, but expects people to tell her things or else it’s “betrayal”. She refuses to listen when people do try to explain things and then is upset when she finds out about it later.
My biggest issue though, is how everyone treats Cal terribly for frankly the flimsiest reason I’ve ever read. It’s a lose lose situation for him - if he hadn’t left they’d have hated him for staying and not letting Lana do her own thing. The lack of empathy was truly disgusting and I think said A LOT about the authors perspective on addiction. It did not sit well with me and came across as a dangerously naive story to tell.
Wyatt in particular made me want to throw my e-reader at a wall. I’m supposed to root for the friendship of cop that intentionally incited violence? Fuck that. He abused his power and the story called it a joke.
I know it’s “just smut” but even that wasn’t good enough in this book to make up for how it handled addiction as a main element of the story.
The only reason I gave it 1 star is because of the updates to the previous books characters. I don’t think I’ll be reading any more books by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
witcheep's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Are you a sucker for second chance romances, working on oneself, and respecting the boundaries of others while in a work-in-progress relationship? Do you like wholesome families that are based both on blood and commitment? If the answer is yes, you'll eat this one up!
"Falling in love with yourself is ten times harder than falling in love with someone else, especially when I don't like myself very much."
—Callahan
This book is a solid read that addresses many sensitive topics (addiction, trust issues, emotionally abusive parents ...) respectfully. The characters are well-rounded and multidimensional, and I'm glad we'll continue to get peeks into their lives even after this Dreamland Billionaires series, since they have cameos as side characters in Asher's newest series Lakefront Billionaires that takes place at the location of this book, Lake Wisteria.
This book is a solid read that addresses many sensitive topics (
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Pregnancy
annadelreads's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.75
“I dare you to wait for me. The real me. The sober me. The best me who wants to spend the rest of his days getting drunk on life with you.”
I think I need to re-read this in the future. I'm not sure why but I did not have motivation to read/listen to this so it took me so long to get through it (2.5 months specifically). It was so good though. I think when I was halfway thru the book, I just instantly finished listening after like two or three days. I think it was pretty difficult, for me, to get thru the first few chapters because of how Cal was - the drunk him. It was pretty hard to listen to his inner thoughts and monologues because he kept messing up and he knows he shouldn't be. But I also know that we had to see that in order to really feel and understand his side of being an alcoholic. But once he was through that phase and it was just a misunderstanding between him and Alana regarding the will, it was just so good. I devoured their love story and to be honest, loved Cal in the process. I saw how he tried to fight his addiction for his family. I saw how he's willing to give up everything for Alana. Even the connection with the Kane brothers was amazing. Bonus points for the other girls as well!
Overall, it was good but I need a re-read to continually read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Grief
bri__'s review against another edition
Cal was an interesting character but I didn't particularly connect with the Lana. The miscommunication trope is heavy in this book and I honestly struggled to get through some of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Alcohol
obsessedfairies's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Grief
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Child abuse and Miscarriage
hjb_128's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy