amanda_reads13's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
2.5
Abbie thought she and Richard were endgame. So, when he dumped her and left her standing on the side of the road in a bunny costume on Halloween, she and her friends decide to get revenge. What better way to get revenge than to hook up with his boss?
Was this an incredibly well written book? No, but it was a quick, fun read. It was pretty obviously a play on Legally Blonde. The blonde who is never taken seriously, get her revenge on her ex.
One thing that really annoyed me about the writing was the long monologues within the dialogue. The characters would be talking, then there would be 3 pages of an inner monologue, then the conversation continued.
Abbie had been dating Richard for 4 years and he was absolutely horrible to her. Their relationship was riddled with gaslighting, manipulation, and emotional abuse. Addie changed everything about herself to become the person Richard wanted, but he was just using her. She was understandably traumatized from that relationship and had a lot of insecurities and self-esteem issues due to it.
I liked seeing how she was able to build herself back up throughout the book. Yet, I was kind of disappointed that most of her newfound self-esteem hinged on compliments from Damien.
Damien is a well known playboy, who also happens to be Richards boss. He is tall, dark, and handsome man who has a thing for petite blonds (shocker). He doesn't do serious, but changes his ways for Abbie (surprise!). The one thing that I really liked about him was that he spends a lot of time and effort helping to build Abbie back up and heal wounds caused by Richard.
I generally love a strong group of girlfriends. But her one friend needs some serious therapy...
Tropes: revenge, instalove
Was this an incredibly well written book? No, but it was a quick, fun read. It was pretty obviously a play on Legally Blonde. The blonde who is never taken seriously, get her revenge on her ex.
One thing that really annoyed me about the writing was the long monologues within the dialogue. The characters would be talking, then there would be 3 pages of an inner monologue, then the conversation continued.
Abbie had been dating Richard for 4 years and he was absolutely horrible to her. Their relationship was riddled with gaslighting, manipulation, and emotional abuse. Addie changed everything about herself to become the person Richard wanted, but he was just using her. She was understandably traumatized from that relationship and had a lot of insecurities and self-esteem issues due to it.
I liked seeing how she was able to build herself back up throughout the book. Yet, I was kind of disappointed that most of her newfound self-esteem hinged on compliments from Damien.
Damien is a well known playboy, who also happens to be Richards boss. He is tall, dark, and handsome man who has a thing for petite blonds (shocker). He doesn't do serious, but changes his ways for Abbie (surprise!). The one thing that I really liked about him was that he spends a lot of time and effort helping to build Abbie back up and heal wounds caused by Richard.
I generally love a strong group of girlfriends. But her one friend needs some serious therapy...
Tropes: revenge, instalove
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
danicam's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
jackieyvette's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.25
Okay this one was actually pretty good. I loved the main characters and found them so enjoyable to read about.
Damien is a great love interest (even though I hate his name) and Abigail is super relatable and I love her.
I’ve only read the one other book from this universe, but this one was for sure the better of the two
Crying score: No
Damien is a great love interest (even though I hate his name) and Abigail is super relatable and I love her.
I’ve only read the one other book from this universe, but this one was for sure the better of the two
Crying score: No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
nitya's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Damien Martinez is EVERYTHING to me
And the Legally Blonde vibes 🫶🫶
And the Legally Blonde vibes 🫶🫶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Infidelity
hanna's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
5.0
This deserves all the hype it got and is definitely one of my 2023 highlights (if not one of my romance highlight). Abbie and Damien are perfect for eachother and seeing their relationship develop from "not in it for anything serious" to "hey you're my soulmate" was so beautiful — and I wasn't complaining about the revenge plot 😉 I was scared there was gonna be a typical 75% break-up but it wasn't what I expected and I'm so glad. The way The Drama™ was handled was so much more fitting for the characters and really realistic. I loved to see Abbie reinvent herself after her relationship with Richard and I'm so glad we're starting to turn over a new page in romance mc's who embrace their femininity and love for girlish things instead of pushing it away. Morgan Elizabeth's books just get better with each one she writes and I'm so happy to be along the ride with her ❤
P.S.: Download the bonus scene! Totally worth it for my Hannah & Abbie sister feels
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Pregnancy
annikaa's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
backitupmoony's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Body shaming
Minor: Domestic abuse and Violence
forgottencupoftea's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Infidelity and Abandonment
bffbookclubbritt's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Sometimes I wish I could be one of those people that’s just along for the ride, but alas, I am not. This is genuinely one of the worst books I’ve ever read.
Abbie wants revenge on her jerk boyfriend who broke up with her because she’s not Reese Witherspoon so she decides to sleep with his boss who is not Luke Wilson. This is a classic case of too much tell and not enough show. I get it, you like pink. I get it, he’s a jerk. I get it, the boss is a hottie. I got to the point where I would skip entire pages and literally missed nothing from the story because it was so repetitive.
This book starts off as “sticking it to the patriarchy” by getting revenge on a controlling a-hole, but then she ends up dating A CONTROLLING A-HOLE. Like cool if that’s what the author is into but don’t pretend you’re going to make this about women’s rights then make the love interest just a different flavor of sexist.
Don’t even get me STARTED on the cringey romance scenes and constant grammatical errors. *shivers*
0/5 stars, honestly.
Abbie wants revenge on her jerk boyfriend who broke up with her because she’s not Reese Witherspoon so she decides to sleep with his boss who is not Luke Wilson. This is a classic case of too much tell and not enough show. I get it, you like pink. I get it, he’s a jerk. I get it, the boss is a hottie. I got to the point where I would skip entire pages and literally missed nothing from the story because it was so repetitive.
This book starts off as “sticking it to the patriarchy” by getting revenge on a controlling a-hole, but then she ends up dating A CONTROLLING A-HOLE. Like cool if that’s what the author is into but don’t pretend you’re going to make this about women’s rights then make the love interest just a different flavor of sexist.
Don’t even get me STARTED on the cringey romance scenes and constant grammatical errors. *shivers*
0/5 stars, honestly.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, and Infidelity
cluckieduck's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Ohhh boy, seems I'm in the minority with this holiday romp, but I found it completely cringe-worthy. Everything from the dialogue, to the plot, to sex just...no. And the pages upon pages of inner monologue minus any fulsome introspection?? I really started skimming ~50% because it was just became the same old, same old.
I know that, as romance readers, we need to suspend our disbelief and enjoy the fantasy of HEAs but this relationship is toxic AF. You're gonna tell me that a self-described player who enjoys his women 'young, blonde, and soft' will change his spots with a woman who's been unceremoniously dumped after being trapped in a 4-year abusive relationship and it's gonna work out?? While I enjoyed the age-gap, Damien and his magic peen were too perfect. If Damien says it's ok, Abbie believes it's ok. Damien says 'yes', Abbie says 'oh.' The number of first time experiences for Abbie because 'guys don't do that' or 'guys don't like that,' but in swaggers 'Mr. Man' Damien to show her how a 'real man' behaves...my eyes could not have rolled further back.
Anyways, I didn't connect with either MC or any side character and found the story fairly lacklustre. The perfect holiday read it was not.
I know that, as romance readers, we need to suspend our disbelief and enjoy the fantasy of HEAs but this relationship is toxic AF. You're gonna tell me that a self-described player who enjoys his women 'young, blonde, and soft' will change his spots with a woman who's been unceremoniously dumped after being trapped in a 4-year abusive relationship and it's gonna work out?? While I enjoyed the age-gap, Damien and his magic peen were too perfect. If Damien says it's ok, Abbie believes it's ok. Damien says 'yes', Abbie says 'oh.' The number of first time experiences for Abbie because 'guys don't do that' or 'guys don't like that,' but in swaggers 'Mr. Man' Damien to show her how a 'real man' behaves...my eyes could not have rolled further back.
Anyways, I didn't connect with either MC or any side character and found the story fairly lacklustre. The perfect holiday read it was not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism, Gaslighting, and Misogyny
Minor: Body shaming and Infidelity