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blumerlamotte's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-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
4.0
The grumpy billionaire man and poor intelligent woman isn’t my favorite romantic teope. However I love a strong, sassy, independent and intelligent FMC. Was a little frustrated with the crappy attitude and actions of the MMC for the first third of the book. He was downright mean and I didn’t appreciate it. Novel was a slow burn for the spice.
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
POV: Dual
HEA: Yes - extended epilogue is a great touch
Cliffhanger: No
Tropes: Billionaire MMC falls for poor FMC, Boss falls for employee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this book
⭐️⭐️ Meh… bored or annoyed
⭐️ Seriously? Not worth it
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ INFERNO. P@nty melting
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Blazing hot
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Now we’re talking
🌶️🌶️ Meh… uninspired missionary
🌶️ Does weak foreplay count?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
kell_yeah_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
3.75
per my spreadsheet:
the grumpiest grump and the loyalest (is that a word? feels weird lmao) sunshine dukin' it out in their marriage of convenience, can i really ask for more? no. i cannot. and our girl iris really taking a stand for herself time and time again, i love it. make that boy work.
we've got marriage of convenience, age gap, friends to lovers, *and* its a slow burn? say less.
spice 🌶 - a 4 🌶 spicy (romance.io scale)
length - just right
reading speed - read in 1 days
did it make me cry? - yes. why are men.
the grumpiest grump and the loyalest (is that a word? feels weird lmao) sunshine dukin' it out in their marriage of convenience, can i really ask for more? no. i cannot. and our girl iris really taking a stand for herself time and time again, i love it. make that boy work.
we've got marriage of convenience, age gap, friends to lovers, *and* its a slow burn? say less.
spice 🌶 - a 4 🌶 spicy (romance.io scale)
length - just right
reading speed - read in 1 days
did it make me cry? - yes. why are men.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism and Physical abuse
maxinesf's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse
koistyfishy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
2 Untranslateable Word Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5
Now books are meant to bring out emotions when reading, sometimes even really strong ones. They can make you sad, they can make you horny, and they can make you angry. They are also able to make you question life, become nostalgic and make you smile. They can make you irritated and annoyed... the point is there is a whole host of feelings and emotions that can be experienced when reading a book.
Now certain books by default imply a certain emotion will be experienced when reading that book. For example - a thriller might make you scared, anxious, or nervous. A political drama might make you frustrated or feel empowered. A dark romance will have you questioning your moral boundaries as you know the man is MEANT to be a walking red flag. What you don't expect is for a traditional contemporary romance to make you utterly mad, livid and just pissed off by how awful the MMC was portrayed...
We have Iris who is Declan's personal assistant. Declan has an issue where his clause in his grandfather's will is that he needs to be married and have a baby before he will be announced CEO of Dreamland Industries. The problem is he doesn't have any prospects of finding a woman who would lower herself to becoming his wife. So Iris steps into his metaphorical wife's shoes and the two get hitched and realise marriage is not just about saying "I Do".
Declan is an arsehole! He is mean to Iris, insults her and makes her feel like shit. Then on top of that treats everyone else like they are a bag of dicks. I have NEVER seen such a selfish, self-absorbed "grumpy" asshole in a book. Every time he did something I wanted to legitimately slap some sense into the man and maybe some manners and respect. Just because you are a billionaire does not mean people have to automatically like you, you jerk face!
Iris felt very underdeveloped as well, at the start being pretty likeable but her story goes nowhere and it feels very "woe is me" and she turns petty. She's pretty young and uses being held back at school for a year and "rejected" from previous jobs as a major definition in her life. She started as Declan's PA as a temp from an agency as her first real job - so WHERE ARE ALL THESE LIFE LESSON JOBS YOU HAVE LOST? She finished school, became a temp and has been working for him for 3 years. I really think she is actually the dumbest smart person I have ever encountered in a book because she is pretty clever from a business point of view - since she has been working for so long on this proposal Declan needs to land to prove he is CEO material. BUT SHE ACCEPTS DECLAN'S CONSTANT EMOTIONAL ABUSE and blows it off because of those stupid little love kernels he throws her way by making people change the font and leaving her voice notes instead of written notes because of her dyslexia?I mean OBVIOUSLY it's those small signs that mean he is the ACTUAL PERFECT MAN FOR YOU. She has suffered and given up so much of her personal life and time for him to continue to use and abuse her and the only time he turns into a decent human being is when she draws the line and says she has had enough...
This is meant to be a cutesy fluffy sweet and adorable romance of two people who find love through convenience, when frankly the characters in this sucked, the plot was kinda stupid and the romance had no connection.
I ALSO AM EXTREMELY UPSET THAT LAUREN ASHER DARED TO SAY SOUTH AFRICA IS NOT A COUNTRY YOU WOULD WANT TO VISIT FOR A HONEYMOON! Excuse me! Like have you seen my country and been anywhere near a luxury safari? As someone privileged to travel the world and SEE MY COUNTRY and go on a few "safaris" of my own - I feel like it was an unfair statement towards the experience and the type of luxury. LIKE BITCH THOSE THINGS ARE FUCKING FANCY IF YOU GO TO THE RIGHT PLACE... Also since she saw a leopard - and I haven't seen one since I was 12 and believe I will only see one going to this specific game reserve and it's on the other side of the country and it made me mad that Iris saw one and I haven't seen one in the wild in 22 years!
Tropes if you care to actually try read this:
▶ Interracial/Multicultural Romance
▶ Marriage of Convenience
▶ Forced Proximity/Workplace Romance
▶ BossXEmployee
▶ GrumpyXSunshine
▶ Billionaire/Rich Romance
▶ Third Act Breakup
▶ Best Friends Brother
▶ Possessive and Jealous MMC
Microtropes:
▷ It Won't Fit
▷ Grey Sweatpant
▷ View is Amazing (Looking at her)
▷ My Wife
▷ Mine
▷ Look at me
▷ Rolled Sleeves and Forearms
▷ Hold on to the....
Overall I HATED THIS! It made me mad and angry and annoyed and all I wanted was for the bloody thing to end so I could read something else...
I'm still gonna read Final Offer though...
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5
Now books are meant to bring out emotions when reading, sometimes even really strong ones. They can make you sad, they can make you horny, and they can make you angry. They are also able to make you question life, become nostalgic and make you smile. They can make you irritated and annoyed... the point is there is a whole host of feelings and emotions that can be experienced when reading a book.
Now certain books by default imply a certain emotion will be experienced when reading that book. For example - a thriller might make you scared, anxious, or nervous. A political drama might make you frustrated or feel empowered. A dark romance will have you questioning your moral boundaries as you know the man is MEANT to be a walking red flag. What you don't expect is for a traditional contemporary romance to make you utterly mad, livid and just pissed off by how awful the MMC was portrayed...
We have Iris who is Declan's personal assistant. Declan has an issue where his clause in his grandfather's will is that he needs to be married and have a baby before he will be announced CEO of Dreamland Industries. The problem is he doesn't have any prospects of finding a woman who would lower herself to becoming his wife. So Iris steps into his metaphorical wife's shoes and the two get hitched and realise marriage is not just about saying "I Do".
Declan is an arsehole! He is mean to Iris, insults her and makes her feel like shit. Then on top of that treats everyone else like they are a bag of dicks. I have NEVER seen such a selfish, self-absorbed "grumpy" asshole in a book. Every time he did something I wanted to legitimately slap some sense into the man and maybe some manners and respect. Just because you are a billionaire does not mean people have to automatically like you, you jerk face!
Iris felt very underdeveloped as well, at the start being pretty likeable but her story goes nowhere and it feels very "woe is me" and she turns petty. She's pretty young and uses being held back at school for a year and "rejected" from previous jobs as a major definition in her life. She started as Declan's PA as a temp from an agency as her first real job - so WHERE ARE ALL THESE LIFE LESSON JOBS YOU HAVE LOST? She finished school, became a temp and has been working for him for 3 years. I really think she is actually the dumbest smart person I have ever encountered in a book because she is pretty clever from a business point of view - since she has been working for so long on this proposal Declan needs to land to prove he is CEO material. BUT SHE ACCEPTS DECLAN'S CONSTANT EMOTIONAL ABUSE and blows it off because of those stupid little love kernels he throws her way by making people change the font and leaving her voice notes instead of written notes because of her dyslexia?I mean OBVIOUSLY it's those small signs that mean he is the ACTUAL PERFECT MAN FOR YOU. She has suffered and given up so much of her personal life and time for him to continue to use and abuse her and the only time he turns into a decent human being is when she draws the line and says she has had enough...
This is meant to be a cutesy fluffy sweet and adorable romance of two people who find love through convenience, when frankly the characters in this sucked, the plot was kinda stupid and the romance had no connection.
I ALSO AM EXTREMELY UPSET THAT LAUREN ASHER DARED TO SAY SOUTH AFRICA IS NOT A COUNTRY YOU WOULD WANT TO VISIT FOR A HONEYMOON! Excuse me! Like have you seen my country and been anywhere near a luxury safari? As someone privileged to travel the world and SEE MY COUNTRY and go on a few "safaris" of my own - I feel like it was an unfair statement towards the experience and the type of luxury. LIKE BITCH THOSE THINGS ARE FUCKING FANCY IF YOU GO TO THE RIGHT PLACE... Also since she saw a leopard - and I haven't seen one since I was 12 and believe I will only see one going to this specific game reserve and it's on the other side of the country and it made me mad that Iris saw one and I haven't seen one in the wild in 22 years!
Tropes if you care to actually try read this:
▶ Interracial/Multicultural Romance
▶ Marriage of Convenience
▶ Forced Proximity/Workplace Romance
▶ BossXEmployee
▶ GrumpyXSunshine
▶ Billionaire/Rich Romance
▶ Third Act Breakup
▶ Best Friends Brother
▶ Possessive and Jealous MMC
Microtropes:
▷ It Won't Fit
▷ Grey Sweatpant
▷ View is Amazing (Looking at her)
▷ My Wife
▷ Mine
▷ Look at me
▷ Rolled Sleeves and Forearms
▷ Hold on to the....
Overall I HATED THIS! It made me mad and angry and annoyed and all I wanted was for the bloody thing to end so I could read something else...
I'm still gonna read Final Offer though...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism and Physical abuse
siobhankeira's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
chloewilson_13's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
albasapri's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Definitely a "fast food" book for me. It was easy to read and I properly enjoyed some parts in which the characters' stryggles felt quite genuine, as well as it doing exactly what it I was looking for: distracting me and getting me to read for longer than 20 min after going a month without being able to.
I wasn't inclined to review as it's not really written for me, but I do think there's a reason these books are popular and it does what it sets out to achieve. (I say this because possessiveness, unbalanced power dynamics... aren't my thing and being quick to forget problematic behaviours because of the lusting makes me uncomfortable). I enjoyed the couple much much more than the first book,their dynamic and relationship just felt more real in a way Rowan and Zahra lacked for me personally once they got together.
I'd say in general the character work is better in this book and Cal's presence tempts me to try and find the last book in another charity shop for potential future book slumps.
I was looking for a quick and easy read to get me out of a reading slump and that I got! I'd recommend it to folk looking for another standard het romance :)
I wasn't inclined to review as it's not really written for me, but I do think there's a reason these books are popular and it does what it sets out to achieve. (I say this because possessiveness, unbalanced power dynamics... aren't my thing and being quick to forget problematic behaviours because of the lusting makes me uncomfortable). I enjoyed the couple much much more than the first book,
I'd say in general the character work is better in this book and Cal's presence tempts me to try and find the last book in another charity shop for potential future book slumps.
I was looking for a quick and easy read to get me out of a reading slump and that I got! I'd recommend it to folk looking for another standard het romance :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, and Pregnancy
karlapardo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism and Physical abuse
katelynndzindzio's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
Imagine being a billionaire and having to get married and have a baby inorder to earn your inheritance and become CEO of your grandfather's company.... Declan understands the struggle. Unfortunately for him, he has no prospects for a wife so his assistant Iris has to find him one.
Iris found the fake wife but after just moments with Declan she quits. Leaving only one solution, Iris has to marry Declan.
These two have a spark that is ignoring between them and now they can't ignore it. Now that they are more.
Iris found the fake wife but after just moments with Declan she quits. Leaving only one solution, Iris has to marry Declan.
These two have a spark that is ignoring between them and now they can't ignore it. Now that they are more.
"Well he might be considered cold to the rest of the world, he makes me burn."-Iris
At the ceremony they realize they were screwed.
"The kiss I shared with Iris in the church was electric. The kind that shouldn't feel as good as it did, given our circumstances." -Declan
In order to sell their fake marriage, Iris created a plan for them to fake date but that only makes them question every single touch they share.
"Our marriage might be fake, but these feelings burning inside of me or anything but. It's only a matter of time before I make her mind. She just doesn't know it yet." -Declan
Declan is an asshole and hurts Iris but thankfully he proves to her that he really does love her.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
michaelahoyman's review against another edition
emotional
medium-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
4.0
The book honestly had a slow start, although I still very much enjoyed it. Once I picked up the book, I couldn’t put it down
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer and Pregnancy
Honestly Declan may have his faults but I still love him