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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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
2.0
I heard about this title on Tiktok and decided to give it a read.
"The Wrong Wife" is a dark romance that follows Penny and Knight. Penny is a twenty-something that is just trying to make enough money to keep her sick mother in the home that Penny knows she loves. Knight, Penny's best friend's brother, is a tough, cold man that has just returned from a mission that went wrong, one in which his entire team was captured and tortured in front of him. Now he is looking to be back on top, and he wants to take over his father's company. When Knight's father informs him that he will need to get married and have a baby within a year or he will lose his chance at CEO, Knight tries to arrange a marriage that suits his needs, but he did not expect to actually start falling for his fake wife.
This story was a roller coaster, and it took me way longer than it should have to finish it. There was something about the writing that was not working for me, and it honestly made me cringe. I ended up switching to the audiobook at about the halfway point just to see if I would enjoy it more, and I ended up just powering through it so I could be done.
Knight has clearly been through something extremely traumatic, and he even more clearly needs some professional help. I know the people in his life do not know how to help him, but I feel like they could have done more to encourage him to talk about what he went through and how to get better. He is so toxic, and honestly not good for Penny. I also felt like his character progression to becoming a better guy felt disingenuous. Knight also uses his money to get what he wants, but in an arrogant way, which was a real turn off. He just wants to control the people around him.
I found Penny to be completely insufferable. She talked way too much and was always putting her foot in her mouth. It started out as a *maybe* cute quirk that made her "not like the other girls" but I was over it by 30% in and just wanted her to be less awkward. I also felt like the fact that she was a virgin made what was happening between Knight and her all the more unbelievable.
At one point they have a pregnancy "scare", and it really rubbed me the wrong way. They are both adults and they both should know the risks of sex, so I do not think realistically either one of them should have been shocked that Penny might be pregnant.
I enjoyed the side characters more than Penny and Knight, so I might be inclined to pick up a different book from this series to see their story in the future.
"The Wrong Wife" is a dark romance that follows Penny and Knight. Penny is a twenty-something that is just trying to make enough money to keep her sick mother in the home that Penny knows she loves. Knight, Penny's best friend's brother, is a tough, cold man that has just returned from a mission that went wrong, one in which his entire team was captured and tortured in front of him. Now he is looking to be back on top, and he wants to take over his father's company. When Knight's father informs him that he will need to get married and have a baby within a year or he will lose his chance at CEO, Knight tries to arrange a marriage that suits his needs, but he did not expect to actually start falling for his fake wife.
This story was a roller coaster, and it took me way longer than it should have to finish it. There was something about the writing that was not working for me, and it honestly made me cringe. I ended up switching to the audiobook at about the halfway point just to see if I would enjoy it more, and I ended up just powering through it so I could be done.
Knight has clearly been through something extremely traumatic, and he even more clearly needs some professional help. I know the people in his life do not know how to help him, but I feel like they could have done more to encourage him to talk about what he went through and how to get better. He is so toxic, and honestly not good for Penny. I also felt like his character progression to becoming a better guy felt disingenuous. Knight also uses his money to get what he wants, but in an arrogant way, which was a real turn off. He just wants to control the people around him.
I found Penny to be completely insufferable. She talked way too much and was always putting her foot in her mouth. It started out as a *maybe* cute quirk that made her "not like the other girls" but I was over it by 30% in and just wanted her to be less awkward. I also felt like the fact that she was a virgin made what was happening between Knight and her all the more unbelievable.
At one point they have a pregnancy "scare", and it really rubbed me the wrong way. They are both adults and they both should know the risks of sex, so I do not think realistically either one of them should have been shocked that Penny might be pregnant.
I enjoyed the side characters more than Penny and Knight, so I might be inclined to pick up a different book from this series to see their story in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent and Pregnancy
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