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lovelymisanthrope's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
2.0
I heard about this title on Tiktok and decided to give it a read.
"The Wrong Wife" is a dark romance that follows Penny and Knight. Penny is a twenty-something that is just trying to make enough money to keep her sick mother in the home that Penny knows she loves. Knight, Penny's best friend's brother, is a tough, cold man that has just returned from a mission that went wrong, one in which his entire team was captured and tortured in front of him. Now he is looking to be back on top, and he wants to take over his father's company. When Knight's father informs him that he will need to get married and have a baby within a year or he will lose his chance at CEO, Knight tries to arrange a marriage that suits his needs, but he did not expect to actually start falling for his fake wife.
This story was a roller coaster, and it took me way longer than it should have to finish it. There was something about the writing that was not working for me, and it honestly made me cringe. I ended up switching to the audiobook at about the halfway point just to see if I would enjoy it more, and I ended up just powering through it so I could be done.
Knight has clearly been through something extremely traumatic, and he even more clearly needs some professional help. I know the people in his life do not know how to help him, but I feel like they could have done more to encourage him to talk about what he went through and how to get better. He is so toxic, and honestly not good for Penny. I also felt like his character progression to becoming a better guy felt disingenuous. Knight also uses his money to get what he wants, but in an arrogant way, which was a real turn off. He just wants to control the people around him.
I found Penny to be completely insufferable. She talked way too much and was always putting her foot in her mouth. It started out as a *maybe* cute quirk that made her "not like the other girls" but I was over it by 30% in and just wanted her to be less awkward. I also felt like the fact that she was a virgin made what was happening between Knight and her all the more unbelievable.
At one point they have a pregnancy "scare", and it really rubbed me the wrong way. They are both adults and they both should know the risks of sex, so I do not think realistically either one of them should have been shocked that Penny might be pregnant.
I enjoyed the side characters more than Penny and Knight, so I might be inclined to pick up a different book from this series to see their story in the future.
"The Wrong Wife" is a dark romance that follows Penny and Knight. Penny is a twenty-something that is just trying to make enough money to keep her sick mother in the home that Penny knows she loves. Knight, Penny's best friend's brother, is a tough, cold man that has just returned from a mission that went wrong, one in which his entire team was captured and tortured in front of him. Now he is looking to be back on top, and he wants to take over his father's company. When Knight's father informs him that he will need to get married and have a baby within a year or he will lose his chance at CEO, Knight tries to arrange a marriage that suits his needs, but he did not expect to actually start falling for his fake wife.
This story was a roller coaster, and it took me way longer than it should have to finish it. There was something about the writing that was not working for me, and it honestly made me cringe. I ended up switching to the audiobook at about the halfway point just to see if I would enjoy it more, and I ended up just powering through it so I could be done.
Knight has clearly been through something extremely traumatic, and he even more clearly needs some professional help. I know the people in his life do not know how to help him, but I feel like they could have done more to encourage him to talk about what he went through and how to get better. He is so toxic, and honestly not good for Penny. I also felt like his character progression to becoming a better guy felt disingenuous. Knight also uses his money to get what he wants, but in an arrogant way, which was a real turn off. He just wants to control the people around him.
I found Penny to be completely insufferable. She talked way too much and was always putting her foot in her mouth. It started out as a *maybe* cute quirk that made her "not like the other girls" but I was over it by 30% in and just wanted her to be less awkward. I also felt like the fact that she was a virgin made what was happening between Knight and her all the more unbelievable.
At one point they have a pregnancy "scare", and it really rubbed me the wrong way. They are both adults and they both should know the risks of sex, so I do not think realistically either one of them should have been shocked that Penny might be pregnant.
I enjoyed the side characters more than Penny and Knight, so I might be inclined to pick up a different book from this series to see their story in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent and Pregnancy
momoneymorgan's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I didn’t really like this book. Knight treats penny horribly the whole book and I was just mad and frustrated by the characters the whole book. I love a tortured soul turned lovable guy trope as much as the next girl but this one was just not well done. The change in knight happened on a dime and the change seemed so rushed. I was not a fan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, and Murder
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
mattiehatter's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Dementia and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
mapage's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Wrong Wife featured some of my favorite tropes!
- enemies to lovers
- marriage of convenience
- best friend’s brother
- billionaire romance
- forced proximity
AND HAD SO MUCH SPICE (to me!)
It was about Knight and Penny - two people who could not be more different. Penny was bright, cheery, and innocent. On the flip side, Knight was dark, so grumpy, and has previously been put through the wringer.
Thanks to Penny’s best friend, and Knight’s sister, Penny is hired as Knight’s assistant. Her top task: to get him a wife so he can retain control of their family’s company.
But, what happens when Knight proposes the idea to Penny that they just get married? 👀
This was the first I’ve read by L. Steele and I really enjoyed it! It was a lot spicier than I was expecting 😂 Knight character had a lot of depth and he truly was the perfect ‘grumpy’. Penny was ok. I appreciated her “breath of fresh air”-ness, but her rambling did get to be too much at some points. However, the two of them together were really cute 🤍
Thank you L. Steele and Valentine PR for this eARC in exchange for my honest review<3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
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