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hannahmcl394's review against another edition
- 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
Declan appealed to me more a lot more than Rowan, despite being described as the more “robotic” or heartless of all the brothers I found him a lot more loveable and thoroughly enjoyed reading the book from his pov (most notably the secret smiles he doesn’t allow Iris to see)
The wedding in particularly coaxed a visceral reaction from me and absolutely reeked havoc with emotions.
Love love loved Iris and Cals friendship!! I only wish there was more of it (however there is always book 3) and thoroughly enjoyed the small moments of Declan’s jealously over it.
Initial rating: 5 stars
Reviewed rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5
While this is my favourite Lauren Asher book so far and in some ways it could deserve the five star rating when compared to books by other others (Ana Huang) the writing falls short and so it must be dropped a fraction of a star.
Spice rating: 🌶🌶🌶 3.5 spice
Not huge amounts of smut but worth the buildup and definitely integrated well into the storyline without feeling forced. Very much a slow burn romance with great pay off. <spoiler?> THE OFFICE SCENE OH MY GOD!!
Would I read again? Yes
Would I recommend? Yes
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
serena_hien's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy
zc2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
ka_ke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
culzean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
things100's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
_andreamaia's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
merlesstorys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really liked Iris as a person, Declan not so much. He’s still an a-hole in my point of view. However, their story was as filled with tropes and clichés as other fake-marriage stories.
I also liked their word game, even when it left me curious to why some were chosen. The translations for them were amazing to have however. (But, just to clarify, Backpfeifengesicht means “a face badly in need of a slap” not fist. Word breakdown: Backpfeife = slap, Gesicht = Face.) That really made me laugh (both the word itself and the fact that it was not translated correctly.)
The plot weakened through that a bit. There were mostly motives that came through again and again (him wanting to work all day, Dreamland Tokyo,…) but not one storyline that was used throughout the whole book that created tension and the wish to continue reading. (The characters were used for that quite nicely though.)
The side characters were a pleasure, especially Cal who really came into the spotlight. Rowan and Zara were nice additions, and Seth Kane was an a-hole similar to Declan, but what a surprise lol.
All of this was influenced by the nice and fluent writing style of Lauren Asher. Her way to write left me hanging on, even when I was tired of this story and it’s faults.
Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
beansbookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Touches on emotional abusive relationships, but doesn’t have much of a character development in the end.
I would have just preferred to see some extra development like Rowan in the first book. I usually prefer a duel POV, but every time it was Declan’s POV I just felt bored - like there was no development for his behavior, he knew it was wrong yet continued.
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood