the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~I have been reading a lot of books lately that have been really great books (overall), but there seems always to be one tiny element that sticks with me and bothers me enough that I can't get into them 100%. This book was actually very, very good. It had great writing. It was well paced. The plot was super engaging. The characters interesting, but I just could not get past the fact that Devin kept their marriage a secret for FIVE years. Going so far as to go on dates with OW (and she went on dates with OM). That isn't love in my book. And, honestly, who puts up with something like that? Sami was portrayed in this book as a super strong and independent heroine, yet she put up with being a dirty little secret for five years? Watched her husband go on "dates" with OW? Watched him get sworn in as a judge from the sidelines? I wouldn't have put up with that for five days, let alone five f-cking YEARS! Even after hearing her lame reason as to why she stayed. I honestly just couldn't get past that level of douchebaggery to find it at all believable that these two would stay together. And ultimately, that is what brought this book down to 3.5 -Stars.
~HERO~
DEVIN...Gosh, Dev was such a mixed bag for me. I LOATHED him for the way he treated Sami before this book. Quite frankly, I found it unredeemable. That said, he is charming and devoted (not to mention hot as F-CK) in this story. Did he grovel enough? NO, not by a LONG shot, but I did feel he was genuinely sorry for the way he acted. I don't know; honestly, for me, his behavior prior was just too disgusting for me to completely warm up to him.
~HEROINE~
SAMINA...Like Devin, Sami was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really liked her in this book (although I thought she caved into Dev all the time WAY too easily). She was strong. She was feisty. She was independent. A good friend and sister. My main issue was the Sami of this book wouldn't have put up with being anyone's dirty little secret for five minutes, let alone five years. I couldn't quite reconcile the Sami of this book with the Sami that allowed herself be treated like dirt for so long. I mean even Dev's family told her to leave his a$$.
~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
Lord have mercy there were a plethora of secondary characters in this one. All of which seemed to be in politics or running for some office. A bit like the Kennedy's these peeps were. That said, all of them were exciting additions, and I can't wait to read more about them. Especially Veer!
~HEAT LEVEL~
High. This couple has tons of sex. Smokin' hot sex. Dev may have been a douche, but dude had the moves for sure. This couple also had a fantastic on page chemistry.
~ANGST LEVEL - SEXUAL HISTORIES~
Low. Honestly, for a book about a couple on the brink of divorce, this was a pretty low angst read. Dev has his head out of his a$$ right from the start and Sami pretty much falls right back into his arms three seconds after he declares he is "never letting her go." Neither were virgins (obviously) although Dev was Sami's first (and only). There was a smidge of OW drama. Dev went on dates with OW, and one is nasty to the heroine. Nothing ever happened on these dates, so no cheating. Although, going on a date with an OW while married IS cheating in MY book, but Sami also went on dates with OM, so I guess they had an agreement. There was no OM drama.
SIDE NOTE: One thing that pissed me extra off in this one was that these two were dating other people in the guise of keeping their marriage a secret, and those other people had NO clue that they were on dates with MARRIED people. How shitty is THAT!?
~IN THE END~
I liked it. There was a lot of good in this one. I would even go so far as to say the majority of it was fantastic. The author has a very readable way to her writing. It was fast-paced. The plot was very engaging. The characters were interesting. The sex hot. The drama was kept at the minimum. I just couldn't get past the way Dev treated Sami for SO long. It was just a bit too much, and there wasn't enough groveling. Maybe if it hadn't gone on for so many years. Maybe if he hadn't gone out on dates with OW. I just don't believe you can love someone as much as Dev claimed and treat them that way. Anyway, it is what it is. I'm still going to recommend this one, and I am onboard (and looking forward to) reading the next book in this series.
cooterbooter's review against another edition
4.0
Good read
Slightly long winded on the political aspect, which I know is a major focus between the characters. Just felt like there was a lot of excessive talk concerning it. The rekindling of their relationship was well written and I love Devin and his possessiveness. First book by this author and I look forward to reading others.
Slightly long winded on the political aspect, which I know is a major focus between the characters. Just felt like there was a lot of excessive talk concerning it. The rekindling of their relationship was well written and I love Devin and his possessiveness. First book by this author and I look forward to reading others.
caromalfe's review
4.0
I like it, it was good, with a domineering alpha as a hero and a sometimes strong heroine. But I would have preferred for her to be stronger than she is. The ending was to short. I didn’t even realise that it was ending until I read “the end”.
But I love the plot.
But I love the plot.
cooterbooter's review
4.0
Good read
Slightly long winded on the political aspect, which I know is a major focus between the characters. Just felt like there was a lot of excessive talk concerning it. The rekindling of their relationship was well written and I love Devin and his possessiveness. First book by this author and I look forward to reading others.
Slightly long winded on the political aspect, which I know is a major focus between the characters. Just felt like there was a lot of excessive talk concerning it. The rekindling of their relationship was well written and I love Devin and his possessiveness. First book by this author and I look forward to reading others.
bookwormbullet's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Toxic relationship
ohthesheenanigans's review against another edition
3.0
When I picked this up, I loved the blurb and was excited to read this novel and needless to say I really really really tried to like this. I swear. Unfortunately it was a dub. The constant back and forth became to repetitive between the characters, the overly emotional lead heroine was a bit too much for me and there was barely any drama to entice me further into the read. There wasn't anything that stood out besides the heroine being a woman of colors which I have to give kudos to the author and moreso the book was pretty mediocre by my standards.
becsa's review against another edition
4.0
Samina Kumar has become a well known "celebrity" lawyer lately and it has put her picture out there for everyone to see and know. Her quiet life has been taken over by paparazzi, especially due to her latest client, Clint Bassett.
For Samina it also brings forth heartbreak due to break ups with her ex and her father who is a tech billionaire but who wants nothing to do with her due to some of her choices. But now her ex is back begging for a second chance.
Can Samina get her life under control before she puts herself back in the spotlight but this time on her own terms.
I really enjoyed this book and it was different than what I was expecting.
I liked Samina and she was a tough lawyer who was thrust into the spotlight by one of her clients. Yet she did not deserve certain things that happened to her, specifically the break in and pictures.
I was totally shocked with her ex and I was so mad at what he put Samina through in the past. I was happy that he realized he made a mistake but he was such a jerk for what he put her through in the past and he definitely had a lot of making up to do.
I really liked the friendships that Samina had with Veer and Jacinta and how the two of them were there for her when she needed them.
I loved the idea of Samina's political stances and how she did not have one clear cut agenda or loyalty to a certain party. I honestly wish we had more of that today.
The interaction between Samina and her father was heart breaking and I was shocked at the things he said to her but I loved how people rallied behind Samina and made the choices that they did.
I loved how everything came together and I really look forward to more in this series and I hope we get Jacinta next!!
For Samina it also brings forth heartbreak due to break ups with her ex and her father who is a tech billionaire but who wants nothing to do with her due to some of her choices. But now her ex is back begging for a second chance.
Can Samina get her life under control before she puts herself back in the spotlight but this time on her own terms.
I really enjoyed this book and it was different than what I was expecting.
I liked Samina and she was a tough lawyer who was thrust into the spotlight by one of her clients. Yet she did not deserve certain things that happened to her, specifically the break in and pictures.
I was totally shocked with her ex and I was so mad at what he put Samina through in the past. I was happy that he realized he made a mistake but he was such a jerk for what he put her through in the past and he definitely had a lot of making up to do.
I really liked the friendships that Samina had with Veer and Jacinta and how the two of them were there for her when she needed them.
I loved the idea of Samina's political stances and how she did not have one clear cut agenda or loyalty to a certain party. I honestly wish we had more of that today.
The interaction between Samina and her father was heart breaking and I was shocked at the things he said to her but I loved how people rallied behind Samina and made the choices that they did.
I loved how everything came together and I really look forward to more in this series and I hope we get Jacinta next!!
thesassybookworm's review against another edition
4.0
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~I have been reading a lot of books lately that have been really great books (overall), but there seems always to be one tiny element that sticks with me and bothers me enough that I can't get into them 100%. This book was actually very, very good. It had great writing. It was well paced. The plot was super engaging. The characters interesting, but I just could not get past the fact that Devin kept their marriage a secret for FIVE years. Going so far as to go on dates with OW (and she went on dates with OM). That isn't love in my book. And, honestly, who puts up with something like that? Sami was portrayed in this book as a super strong and independent heroine, yet she put up with being a dirty little secret for five years? Watched her husband go on "dates" with OW? Watched him get sworn in as a judge from the sidelines? I wouldn't have put up with that for five days, let alone five f-cking YEARS! Even after hearing her lame reason as to why she stayed. I honestly just couldn't get past that level of douchebaggery to find it at all believable that these two would stay together. And ultimately, that is what brought this book down to 3.5 -Stars.
~HERO~
DEVIN...Gosh, Dev was such a mixed bag for me. I LOATHED him for the way he treated Sami before this book. Quite frankly, I found it unredeemable. That said, he is charming and devoted (not to mention hot as F-CK) in this story. Did he grovel enough? NO, not by a LONG shot, but I did feel he was genuinely sorry for the way he acted. I don't know; honestly, for me, his behavior prior was just too disgusting for me to completely warm up to him.
~HEROINE~
SAMINA...Like Devin, Sami was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really liked her in this book (although I thought she caved into Dev all the time WAY too easily). She was strong. She was feisty. She was independent. A good friend and sister. My main issue was the Sami of this book wouldn't have put up with being anyone's dirty little secret for five minutes, let alone five years. I couldn't quite reconcile the Sami of this book with the Sami that allowed herself be treated like dirt for so long. I mean even Dev's family told her to leave his a$$.
~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
Lord have mercy there were a plethora of secondary characters in this one. All of which seemed to be in politics or running for some office. A bit like the Kennedy's these peeps were. That said, all of them were exciting additions, and I can't wait to read more about them. Especially Veer!
~HEAT LEVEL~
High. This couple has tons of sex. Smokin' hot sex. Dev may have been a douche, but dude had the moves for sure. This couple also had a fantastic on page chemistry.
~ANGST LEVEL - SEXUAL HISTORIES~
Low. Honestly, for a book about a couple on the brink of divorce, this was a pretty low angst read. Dev has his head out of his a$$ right from the start and Sami pretty much falls right back into his arms three seconds after he declares he is "never letting her go." Neither were virgins (obviously) although Dev was Sami's first (and only). There was a smidge of OW drama. Dev went on dates with OW, and one is nasty to the heroine. Nothing ever happened on these dates, so no cheating. Although, going on a date with an OW while married IS cheating in MY book, but Sami also went on dates with OM, so I guess they had an agreement. There was no OM drama.
SIDE NOTE: One thing that pissed me extra off in this one was that these two were dating other people in the guise of keeping their marriage a secret, and those other people had NO clue that they were on dates with MARRIED people. How shitty is THAT!?
~IN THE END~
I liked it. There was a lot of good in this one. I would even go so far as to say the majority of it was fantastic. The author has a very readable way to her writing. It was fast-paced. The plot was very engaging. The characters were interesting. The sex hot. The drama was kept at the minimum. I just couldn't get past the way Dev treated Sami for SO long. It was just a bit too much, and there wasn't enough groveling. Maybe if it hadn't gone on for so many years. Maybe if he hadn't gone out on dates with OW. I just don't believe you can love someone as much as Dev claimed and treat them that way. Anyway, it is what it is. I'm still going to recommend this one, and I am onboard (and looking forward to) reading the next book in this series.
jseymour2000's review against another edition
2.0
So let me get this straight... Devin hid the fact that he was married to Sam for 5 years because his father is a Republican and Sam isn't white. If only you could see the look on my face right now.
Also, how did Sam stay with him for so long? Even her best friend, Devin's sister was like "bitch you should leave him" and yet she didn't.
Let me be clear, this book gets two stars because the writing is decent, it isn't shitty writing by any stretch, the contents just kind piss me off.
Also, how did Sam stay with him for so long? Even her best friend, Devin's sister was like "bitch you should leave him" and yet she didn't.
Let me be clear, this book gets two stars because the writing is decent, it isn't shitty writing by any stretch, the contents just kind piss me off.