katekate_reads_'s review
3.0
This is a hard book to review. In general - I liked most of it. I was into the story - Married at First Sight crossed with rockstar romance.
However. Asia has a lot in her background. I don’t think the “team of experts” should have selected her for this experiment. She has a history of being abandoned and entering a marriage where at 6 months they each decide whether to stay or not sounds like a bad setup for her.
And when they hit that six month point is when this book fell apart for me. Instead of saying anything to her or clarifying what guy she was with (her brother) he just chooses to leave her without a word and ignore all her calls. Pretty much the absolute worst possible thing he could do given her history. I just hated that so much. I’m glad they eventually resolved it but I feel like that was so shitty and so unnecessary. It really brought this book down from something I really enjoyed to something that’s just fine and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
Content warnings: lots mentioned in Asia’s past - domestic violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse, parental drug and alcohol abuse, abandonment, homelessness, depression, suicidal thoughts.
However. Asia has a lot in her background. I don’t think the “team of experts” should have selected her for this experiment. She has a history of being abandoned and entering a marriage where at 6 months they each decide whether to stay or not sounds like a bad setup for her.
And when they hit that six month point is when this book fell apart for me. Instead of saying anything to her or clarifying what guy she was with (her brother) he just chooses to leave her without a word and ignore all her calls. Pretty much the absolute worst possible thing he could do given her history. I just hated that so much. I’m glad they eventually resolved it but I feel like that was so shitty and so unnecessary. It really brought this book down from something I really enjoyed to something that’s just fine and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
Content warnings: lots mentioned in Asia’s past - domestic violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse, parental drug and alcohol abuse, abandonment, homelessness, depression, suicidal thoughts.
booksandboos's review against another edition
4.0
Talon is my favorite in the Ashes & Embers series so far! I was immediately intrigued by the social experiment set of having the couple get married without knowing each other. I'm a little obsessed with this idea. I loved seeing Talon and Asia get to know each other and really enjoyed the slow build of their relationship. The only reason this isn't a five star is because I'm not a big fan of miscommunication in a romance. Everything else in this book was excellent though. I loved that the women in this series have some autonomy and don't just exist to be the partner of the rock star. There's been a bit of this in each book where the FMC has to stand on her own before they get the HEA and I feel like it's been done really well each time.
kirillsasha's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ankeb04's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
kalynne's review against another edition
Honestly these characters both really annoyed me. For the FMC to have to “grow up young” she is super immature. She was too timid and pretty self righteous imo