mslori's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.0
I loved this story, even though it's not super duper unique. But the troupe of a grumpy I can't trust women because they all want my money and title vs a honest lady who's afraid of everything who frankly thinks he a butt face and is fine not marrying home thank you very much is always good. So kind of an enemies to lovers?
And although the narrator did a good job, I could tell everyone apart etc. I didn't love her in this one. But still will done.
And although the narrator did a good job, I could tell everyone apart etc. I didn't love her in this one. But still will done.
julianaphilippa's review against another edition
5.0
4.75 stars
What another lovely read by Vivienne Lorret! When Lorret gets it right, she gets it so right. I have such a stupid silly grin on my face right now from this book, I just can't take it. I loved how Ellie and Brandon's relationship develop, even it is kind of a case of insta-lust—I didn't really count it as such, because they're just victims of the Stredwick Certainty, which happens in Brandon's family where both people in the destined pair feel an overwhelming sense that they're destined to be together ... because Brandon and Ellie are!!!! I loved their developing friendship, which then eventually becomes intermingled with kissing because they just can't help themselves. Now normally I would be bothered because of George—Ellie's kind-of-intended—and I was, though not for the reasons you might think. He was just such a smarmy guy and from the beginning I knew I didn't like him; not that it makes cheating on him okay, but honestly, with the promises—or lack thereof—that he's given Ellie, it hardly counts as cheating. And throughout, she's determined to stop and keep her friendship with Brandon platonic, but they what do you know?! I absolutely adored that the hero was the one who knew halfway through and the heroine is the one who is the Love Scaredy Cat—makes for such a nice and refreshing change! Brandon easily made it onto my Favorite Heroes list; he's so sweet and tender with Ellie and so understanding about her fears and touching in the way he wants to help her get over them. Lovely book, read it!!
What another lovely read by Vivienne Lorret! When Lorret gets it right, she gets it so right. I have such a stupid silly grin on my face right now from this book, I just can't take it. I loved how Ellie and Brandon's relationship develop, even it is kind of a case of insta-lust—I didn't really count it as such, because they're just victims of the Stredwick Certainty, which happens in Brandon's family where both people in the destined pair feel an overwhelming sense that they're destined to be together ... because Brandon and Ellie are!!!! I loved their developing friendship, which then eventually becomes intermingled with kissing because they just can't help themselves. Now normally I would be bothered because of George—Ellie's kind-of-intended—and I was, though not for the reasons you might think. He was just such a smarmy guy and from the beginning I knew I didn't like him; not that it makes cheating on him okay, but honestly, with the promises—or lack thereof—that he's given Ellie, it hardly counts as cheating. And throughout, she's determined to stop and keep her friendship with Brandon platonic, but they what do you know?! I absolutely adored that the hero was the one who knew halfway through and the heroine is the one who is the Love Scaredy Cat—makes for such a nice and refreshing change! Brandon easily made it onto my Favorite Heroes list; he's so sweet and tender with Ellie and so understanding about her fears and touching in the way he wants to help her get over them. Lovely book, read it!!
romantically_swept_away's review against another edition
5.0
*all of my reviews contain possible spoilers*
**NOTE: This review is written using my old process. Which is just me chatting about the book. All new reviews starting in 2022 will be written with my easy to read, easy to understand, review layout!
How to sum up my experience while reading this book?
I think the best way would be to dump this gallon bucket of tears in my review, which I collected whilst reading it...
Basically... it made me cry... ALOT!
This story was an absolute treasure to read. If you follow me, you know that I don't always write reviews for every book I read. Even if I loved it. But this book was simply too amazing not to share a review on. What a beautiful emotional roller coaster!
First off, let's talk a little bit about George. I mean, what a little dick. Vivienne wrote this little asswipe so well that I legit hated the guy. What a toxic, womanizing, childish, disrespectful little shite. (If you couldn't tell, I use the word "little" a lot in reference to George. Because he's such a small teeny tiny itsy bitsy little PIECE OF SHIT!) But you know what else Vivienne did? She gave us George as a little boy, before the story began. And this is where my heart first broke. The scene between Ellie and George as children was beautiful. And sweet. It gave us a little boy that held so much promise as someone important in Ellie's future. Even if it was only friendship. But then we see what George became and it made me cry. To see his character with Ellie as a child, and then as an adult, was so hurtful to read. The way he spoke to her, and treated her, as if she was this small inconsequential thing that was only there for his own amusement, use, and happiness was horrible.
Because we got the aspect of them as children first, the first discussion between Ellie and George as adults actually made me cry. It hurt to read it. It was truly such a sad thing to read. The way George spoke to Ellie... the "fake-ness" of it, the charm and carefree attitude in which he would speak "at" her, when she should have been someone in his life deserving of his respect and true friendship, it hurt. It made me cry, and rail at the book like he was a real person in front me! It angered me so much. I don't know if I can recall ever reading a character quite as toxic as George before. And the whole situation with her friend... how disgusting. I felt so bad for her. And even though Vivienne alluded to her and George having been intimate, it wasn't stated. So I'm praying she didn't let him go all the way. Especially because I'm pretty sure her book is next, with Savage *heart eyes* and I'm praying she gets to have her first time with her first and true love! I can only hope. To imagine what all she allowed with that scum, made me feel so sick inside.
If you couldn't tell by that mile long paragraph... that was definitely an emotional part for me. And I praise Vivienne for doing it so well!
Lastly, we have Ellie and Brandon. Who are simply amazing. Ellie is extremely slow to realize things and good Lord I was about to expire from waiting for this woman to wake up! But she was wonderful and real, and I thoroughly enjoyed her.
Brandon was a dream hero on a stick. What a perfect character. This guy will be inspiring my next several hundred fantasies before bedtime without a doubt.
I adore when a man realizes he loves the heroine first, and pursues her. Especially when it's done as well as this. Vivienne is a magician!
I may not be writing as much about their characters as George's, but that's simply because George pissed me off so much, and upset me so much, that there was no way I could only write a few lines. But trust me, Ellie and Brandon are amazing!!
I have two quotes to share from this book that will perfectly display just how amazing this story is. They're not quotes of undying love and devotion from the heroine and hero. They are raw, relatable, emotional quotes. That stood out so starkly to me that I knew I had to share them.
The first one was Aunt Maeve speaking to Ellie:
"As much as I love you, Elodie, you know nothing of a broken heart until you watch the man you love live a full life with a woman you have tea with every Tuesday."
And the second was Ellie thinking to herself:
She'd left the man she loved more than life itself because she was afraid. Afraid that he would die and leave her alone to suffer in agony without him.
Meanwhile, she was suffering in agony without him anyway.
Love them! This book was amazing.
**NOTE: This review is written using my old process. Which is just me chatting about the book. All new reviews starting in 2022 will be written with my easy to read, easy to understand, review layout!
How to sum up my experience while reading this book?
I think the best way would be to dump this gallon bucket of tears in my review, which I collected whilst reading it...
Basically... it made me cry... ALOT!
This story was an absolute treasure to read. If you follow me, you know that I don't always write reviews for every book I read. Even if I loved it. But this book was simply too amazing not to share a review on. What a beautiful emotional roller coaster!
First off, let's talk a little bit about George. I mean, what a little dick. Vivienne wrote this little asswipe so well that I legit hated the guy. What a toxic, womanizing, childish, disrespectful little shite. (If you couldn't tell, I use the word "little" a lot in reference to George. Because he's such a small teeny tiny itsy bitsy little PIECE OF SHIT!) But you know what else Vivienne did? She gave us George as a little boy, before the story began. And this is where my heart first broke. The scene between Ellie and George as children was beautiful. And sweet. It gave us a little boy that held so much promise as someone important in Ellie's future. Even if it was only friendship. But then we see what George became and it made me cry. To see his character with Ellie as a child, and then as an adult, was so hurtful to read. The way he spoke to her, and treated her, as if she was this small inconsequential thing that was only there for his own amusement, use, and happiness was horrible.
Because we got the aspect of them as children first, the first discussion between Ellie and George as adults actually made me cry. It hurt to read it. It was truly such a sad thing to read. The way George spoke to Ellie... the "fake-ness" of it, the charm and carefree attitude in which he would speak "at" her, when she should have been someone in his life deserving of his respect and true friendship, it hurt. It made me cry, and rail at the book like he was a real person in front me! It angered me so much. I don't know if I can recall ever reading a character quite as toxic as George before. And the whole situation with her friend... how disgusting. I felt so bad for her. And even though Vivienne alluded to her and George having been intimate, it wasn't stated. So I'm praying she didn't let him go all the way. Especially because I'm pretty sure her book is next, with Savage *heart eyes* and I'm praying she gets to have her first time with her first and true love! I can only hope. To imagine what all she allowed with that scum, made me feel so sick inside.
If you couldn't tell by that mile long paragraph... that was definitely an emotional part for me. And I praise Vivienne for doing it so well!
Lastly, we have Ellie and Brandon. Who are simply amazing. Ellie is extremely slow to realize things and good Lord I was about to expire from waiting for this woman to wake up! But she was wonderful and real, and I thoroughly enjoyed her.
Brandon was a dream hero on a stick. What a perfect character. This guy will be inspiring my next several hundred fantasies before bedtime without a doubt.
I adore when a man realizes he loves the heroine first, and pursues her. Especially when it's done as well as this. Vivienne is a magician!
I may not be writing as much about their characters as George's, but that's simply because George pissed me off so much, and upset me so much, that there was no way I could only write a few lines. But trust me, Ellie and Brandon are amazing!!
I have two quotes to share from this book that will perfectly display just how amazing this story is. They're not quotes of undying love and devotion from the heroine and hero. They are raw, relatable, emotional quotes. That stood out so starkly to me that I knew I had to share them.
The first one was Aunt Maeve speaking to Ellie:
"As much as I love you, Elodie, you know nothing of a broken heart until you watch the man you love live a full life with a woman you have tea with every Tuesday."
And the second was Ellie thinking to herself:
She'd left the man she loved more than life itself because she was afraid. Afraid that he would die and leave her alone to suffer in agony without him.
Meanwhile, she was suffering in agony without him anyway.
Love them! This book was amazing.
naceprettub's review against another edition
4.0
This is my favorite of the series so far! I didn’t realize how much I enjoy an enemies to lovers until now. I honestly don’t know how I didn’t because Pride and Prejudice is my jam, but here we are! Anyway, I really enjoyed the back and forth between Elodie and Brandon. His frustration with his attraction to her gave me life. I really felt their chemistry. I can’t express how much I enjoyed this book.
Tropes I noted: enemies to lovers, pining, road trip, unrequited love, fear of love, best friends brother
Tropes I noted: enemies to lovers, pining, road trip, unrequited love, fear of love, best friends brother
hammock_and_read's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this series and loved this one a lot. We get the lady just waiting for the man to make the move when someone she thought and knows will never go for her, after getting to know her and once he figures out she is not after him this is just a cute chemistry on the side. She has always loved the neighbor next door but he is just using her as a backup. The girls are still working on their book, which is a cute little side story. We get the side characters from the previous books.
Enjoy this series.
4 stars
3.5 steam
Enjoy this series.
4 stars
3.5 steam
fringebookreviews's review against another edition
3.0
✨I really just fucking couldn’t with George✨
This story starts off super cute then gets super not cute super fast. Picture this: girl loves boy, they grow up, woman loves man (man indifferent about woman), woman meets new man (this man is absolutely GONE for woman), then it’s fucking 94 percent and woman is still being a big dum dum about first man when the better man is RIGHT THERE. If this seems mildly irritating, I promise after 300 pages it is MAJORLY irritating.
I started out loving this book!! I was okay with Ellie fancying herself in love with George because I assumed it would change rather quickly. I mean really, Brandon was SUCH a charmer and their chemistry was off the charts. And then George just kept being THE WORST and she kept forgiving him. Seriously, there was no nuance to George. He was THE WORST. This also made him a severely uninteresting character. There was never any “maybe he could be good” NO it was all bad all the time and it only got worse. Every mention of George was pointless and added nothing to the story because he was clearly TERRIBLE. Which is BAD because SO much space was given to her thinking about George or him popping up randomly to fuck shit up. He made this book so tedious. It also made Ellie look like such a fool, making her annoying and tedious. Which made Brandon annoying and tedious because I don’t trust his judgement liking her when she was being so ANNOYING AND TEDIOUS.
In a bubble, I loved their relationship. Him understanding her fears and letting her conquer them on her own terms was lovely and heartwarming. Like I said, he was absolutely GONE for her from the start which I loved. I just loved her not being equally gone for him (because her reasons were TERRIBLE aka George) a lot less. I mean come on, George tried to force her into an air balloon and she was STILL making excuses.
THEN, when she came to her senses, she did NOT rip George a big enough asshole. He got off SO easily and I’m still pissed ten days later. What’s fun and enjoyable about having such a terrible character who gets not one ounce of the proper comeuppance he deserves??? He ruined this book and he was not ruined enough.
Also, so many important scenes were skimmed or skipped over entirely and then “remembered.” Like something would be happening, then it would be cut off only to be mentioned in passing. This would be fine if the cut scenes were PROPOSALS and other important scenes like SEX. YEAH, we got one good sex scene and then the rest were faded. I cry.
Speaking of, the narrator was okay but was VERY overcome during the sex scenes, especially from Brandon’s perspective. Honey sounded absolutely WINDED. It was rather alarming. Rather than being hot, I just wanted to make sure he was okay.
Alls this to say: fuck you George you motherfucker.
⭐️⭐️⭐️*/5
This story starts off super cute then gets super not cute super fast. Picture this: girl loves boy, they grow up, woman loves man (man indifferent about woman), woman meets new man (this man is absolutely GONE for woman), then it’s fucking 94 percent and woman is still being a big dum dum about first man when the better man is RIGHT THERE. If this seems mildly irritating, I promise after 300 pages it is MAJORLY irritating.
I started out loving this book!! I was okay with Ellie fancying herself in love with George because I assumed it would change rather quickly. I mean really, Brandon was SUCH a charmer and their chemistry was off the charts. And then George just kept being THE WORST and she kept forgiving him. Seriously, there was no nuance to George. He was THE WORST. This also made him a severely uninteresting character. There was never any “maybe he could be good” NO it was all bad all the time and it only got worse. Every mention of George was pointless and added nothing to the story because he was clearly TERRIBLE. Which is BAD because SO much space was given to her thinking about George or him popping up randomly to fuck shit up. He made this book so tedious. It also made Ellie look like such a fool, making her annoying and tedious. Which made Brandon annoying and tedious because I don’t trust his judgement liking her when she was being so ANNOYING AND TEDIOUS.
In a bubble, I loved their relationship. Him understanding her fears and letting her conquer them on her own terms was lovely and heartwarming. Like I said, he was absolutely GONE for her from the start which I loved. I just loved her not being equally gone for him (because her reasons were TERRIBLE aka George) a lot less. I mean come on, George tried to force her into an air balloon and she was STILL making excuses.
THEN, when she came to her senses, she did NOT rip George a big enough asshole. He got off SO easily and I’m still pissed ten days later. What’s fun and enjoyable about having such a terrible character who gets not one ounce of the proper comeuppance he deserves??? He ruined this book and he was not ruined enough.
Also, so many important scenes were skimmed or skipped over entirely and then “remembered.” Like something would be happening, then it would be cut off only to be mentioned in passing. This would be fine if the cut scenes were PROPOSALS and other important scenes like SEX. YEAH, we got one good sex scene and then the rest were faded. I cry.
Speaking of, the narrator was okay but was VERY overcome during the sex scenes, especially from Brandon’s perspective. Honey sounded absolutely WINDED. It was rather alarming. Rather than being hot, I just wanted to make sure he was okay.
Alls this to say: fuck you George you motherfucker.
⭐️⭐️⭐️*/5
tenderbrushes's review against another edition
4.0
Vivienne Lorret novels feel like a sweet hug from a good friend. The kind of hug you give each other while you're eating delicious takeout, drinking too much malbec, and telling juicy stories about hot boyfriends. I love her combination of fun and playful banter, over-the-top plot arcs (elephant stampede at the zoo? runaway hot air balloon?), and steamy love scenes.
The only bad marks I have to give for this one are the heroine being an absolute dunderhead when it came to deciding on the hero. Uhhh get a clue, he's doing everything in his power to be an amazing person and you're hemming and hawing over a douche canoe from age 7? While her phobias were a unique angle for her character, I didn't feel like we got enough other than that, aside from her propensity to blush.
Brandon on the other hand is just a total cinnamon roll. Love a hero that goes all out to woo, and I loved his reaction to her physical reaction to him. Their transition from argumentative enemies-to-lovers banter to playful flirting was adorable and fun. The sex scenes were fantastic and the buildup from the slightest fingertip brushes to getting ravaged in a folly was just *chef's kiss*. Ms. Lorret is quickly becoming one of my new faves for warm and gooey.
The only bad marks I have to give for this one are the heroine being an absolute dunderhead when it came to deciding on the hero. Uhhh get a clue, he's doing everything in his power to be an amazing person and you're hemming and hawing over a douche canoe from age 7? While her phobias were a unique angle for her character, I didn't feel like we got enough other than that, aside from her propensity to blush.
Brandon on the other hand is just a total cinnamon roll. Love a hero that goes all out to woo, and I loved his reaction to her physical reaction to him. Their transition from argumentative enemies-to-lovers banter to playful flirting was adorable and fun. The sex scenes were fantastic and the buildup from the slightest fingertip brushes to getting ravaged in a folly was just *chef's kiss*. Ms. Lorret is quickly becoming one of my new faves for warm and gooey.
jcmbank's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ebgracie77's review against another edition
I feel torn. I didn’t finish. I liked a lot of the book but there were just enough things that made it not quite work for me.
On one hand, I enjoyed the interactions, the slow getting to know you, the patience of the hero to wait until he’s seen, the family support. But, I stopped at 90%. The heroine tells him she loves him and then they have sex. It makes no sense. The whole book is her being too innocent for words.But without him saying he loves her or asking to marry him, they have sex outdoors!? I mean, I know that historical romance can be a little unrealistic, but this is not the behavior of a man who cares for a woman in this day and age. I hate the trope of “we just couldn’t control ourselves”.
On one hand, I enjoyed the interactions, the slow getting to know you, the patience of the hero to wait until he’s seen, the family support. But, I stopped at 90%. The heroine tells him she loves him and then they have sex. It makes no sense. The whole book is her being too innocent for words.But without him saying he loves her or asking to marry him, they have sex outdoors!? I mean, I know that historical romance can be a little unrealistic, but this is not the behavior of a man who cares for a woman in this day and age. I hate the trope of “we just couldn’t control ourselves”.