Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Secretos de una noche de verano

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Secretos de una noche de verano by Lisa Kleypas

5 reviews

notbambi's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I actually quite liked the characters. It's a pity they were in such a messy book.

This story is less than the sum of its parts. There are quite a few scenes that are funny, or romantic, or dramatic, and work perfectly well in isolation, but they don't string together to make a cohesive plot. The first half of the book, the Wallflowers make their pact and set their sights on getting Annabelle a husband, but that's resolved about halfway through, the other three girls basically disappear, and the rest is pretty weak. The subplot with Annabelle's mom seems like it's going to end very dramatically for a moment, then just kind of sputters out. Drama with Simon's family is brought up in one scene and never mentioned again. The same scene seemingly introduces a conflict around whether she REALLY loves him, which based on the ending is supposed to be the big conflict in the final third, but the actions and thoughts of both characters don't really lead me to think that this is something causing them a lot of heartache. Even the final chapter, melodramatic as it is, doesn't really feel like it should be the ending to this book. It should have ended 10 chapters ago when they got together!

As I say, I like the characters. Simon's a rascal without being an unlikeable jerk. Annabelle's pigheaded, in a good way. The Wallflowers, underutilized as they may be in the back half, are a likeable group who you can see being besties.

Last comment, and something of a TRIGGER WARNING, this book has a subplot of a woman being coerced into sex by a man she hates in exchange for money. It's awful, I hate it, it makes me feel like I need a shower. It's a level of human depravity that feels out-of-place in an otherwise fluffy novel.

Content Warnings