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rosie_valadez's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Hate crime, Misogyny, and Murder
onlyonebookshelf's review
emotional
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Kidnapping
Minor: Murder
smartcookiesca's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Colonisation
ashleycmms's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Gun violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
koistyfishy's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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
2 Amsterdam Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5
I am not the right reader for this book. I know that might sound like an excuse but every single problem I have with this book is because it does exactly the opposite of what I am looking for in a romance. It felt like pulling teeth as I progressed through the pages. The only thing that made me see the light at the end of the tunnel was that this was a relatively quick read and that I was doing this as a buddy read. Which meant I could bitch and moan the whole time about every single aspect that frustrated and irritated me to be four corners of the Earth.
This book is a second-chance romance that follows Lennix and Maxim. It starts with Lennix as a 17-year-old leading a protest to boycott a new oil pipe being laid on native American land. However, the protest becomes heated and the police are called in, bringing in attack dogs and tear gas. On the sidelines of this protest, we find the owner of the pipeline Mr Cade, who brought his son to discuss his future. Maxim notices Lennix, is moved by her profound speech and decides to run into the protest to protect her from being bitten by a dog. They share a brief connection and then part ways. A couple of years later they coincidentally reunite in Amsterdam, where they have a ridiculously romantic week filled with passion, romance and everything sweet that you could imagine. The only problem is, throughout all of this, Maxim has not told her that he is the son of the man she hates most. So when situations happen and she finds out about it, she cannot forgive Maxim for lying.
Now the reason I was not the right reader for this book is I prefer reading books where I can escape reality. There are a lot of issues in this world. A lot of things need visibility, need support, need volunteers and voices to highlight those causes and make a difference. However, I don't want to read a book and be reminded about those situations. I am reading a romance book to escape that life.
Unfortunately, this book has three main aspects that are very prevalent in today's society. It felt like I was reading the news, instead of reading the romance. The first aspect was the Native American plight and the loss of their heritage. Now, while Kennedy Ryan did a very clinical and detailed approach on how she broached the subject of Lennix coming of age and the lack of awareness of missing Native American women, it felt too clinical and detached. It was bordering on an info dump and while trying to ensure that no aspect was missed, in being so careful it was lacking emotion and I battled to connect to it.
The second aspect is the plot is heavily influenced by climate change and the war against natural fossil fuels versus green energy, and this is already a big social debate in today's society... But I don't want to read about those global issues in a romance. I'd rather pick up a newspaper or a scientific journal. I don't want them littered in the pages of a romance and causing conflicts in the book.
The Third Aspect is POLITICS! I am not American...I don't follow American politics or how their presidential campaigns work. Again - I AM NOT THE RIGHT READER FOR THIS BOOK...as this HEAVILY INFLUENCES THE PLOT AND I COULDN'T CARE LESS!
The only thing that made this book good was Maxim. He was the biggest green flag I have ever seen. If he was waving one, you would see it from space! He is perfect and sweet and thoughtful, and I adore him. He was an excellent character and carried the book.
Lennix was a frustration in human form. She was so hypocritical, so too minded and frankly, borderline childish and immature. I wanted to climb into the pages and physically slap some sense into her. I called the main conflict ages before it happened and could feel my anger bubbling to the surface BEFORE it transpired on the page. In the juxtaposition of all the ACTUAL world issues, this book tries to HIGHLIGHT it was such a small and insignificant issue.
The weight of issues just didn't pan out. Somebody who is that passionate about doing the right thing should very easily be able to realize that a person is not their family and actions speak louder than words or bloodlines. And the fact that it took so long for her to realize that she forgave him and when she finally did realize this, brushed it off as an excuse instead of apologizing for the complete and utter child she was.
So overall, I will not be picking up the second book. I did not enjoy this and it wasn't the type of book for me.
Trope Summary:
▶ Second Chance Romance
▶ Virgin FMC
▶ Age Gap
▶ Dual POV
▶ Dual Timeline
▶ Instalove to Enemies to Lovers
▶ Social Issue Representation (Native American Issues, Climate Change and Politics)
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5
I am not the right reader for this book. I know that might sound like an excuse but every single problem I have with this book is because it does exactly the opposite of what I am looking for in a romance. It felt like pulling teeth as I progressed through the pages. The only thing that made me see the light at the end of the tunnel was that this was a relatively quick read and that I was doing this as a buddy read. Which meant I could bitch and moan the whole time about every single aspect that frustrated and irritated me to be four corners of the Earth.
This book is a second-chance romance that follows Lennix and Maxim. It starts with Lennix as a 17-year-old leading a protest to boycott a new oil pipe being laid on native American land. However, the protest becomes heated and the police are called in, bringing in attack dogs and tear gas. On the sidelines of this protest, we find the owner of the pipeline Mr Cade, who brought his son to discuss his future. Maxim notices Lennix, is moved by her profound speech and decides to run into the protest to protect her from being bitten by a dog. They share a brief connection and then part ways. A couple of years later they coincidentally reunite in Amsterdam, where they have a ridiculously romantic week filled with passion, romance and everything sweet that you could imagine. The only problem is, throughout all of this, Maxim has not told her that he is the son of the man she hates most. So when situations happen and she finds out about it, she cannot forgive Maxim for lying.
Now the reason I was not the right reader for this book is I prefer reading books where I can escape reality. There are a lot of issues in this world. A lot of things need visibility, need support, need volunteers and voices to highlight those causes and make a difference. However, I don't want to read a book and be reminded about those situations. I am reading a romance book to escape that life.
Unfortunately, this book has three main aspects that are very prevalent in today's society. It felt like I was reading the news, instead of reading the romance. The first aspect was the Native American plight and the loss of their heritage. Now, while Kennedy Ryan did a very clinical and detailed approach on how she broached the subject of Lennix coming of age and the lack of awareness of missing Native American women, it felt too clinical and detached. It was bordering on an info dump and while trying to ensure that no aspect was missed, in being so careful it was lacking emotion and I battled to connect to it.
The second aspect is the plot is heavily influenced by climate change and the war against natural fossil fuels versus green energy, and this is already a big social debate in today's society... But I don't want to read about those global issues in a romance. I'd rather pick up a newspaper or a scientific journal. I don't want them littered in the pages of a romance and causing conflicts in the book.
The Third Aspect is POLITICS! I am not American...I don't follow American politics or how their presidential campaigns work. Again - I AM NOT THE RIGHT READER FOR THIS BOOK...as this HEAVILY INFLUENCES THE PLOT AND I COULDN'T CARE LESS!
The only thing that made this book good was Maxim. He was the biggest green flag I have ever seen. If he was waving one, you would see it from space! He is perfect and sweet and thoughtful, and I adore him. He was an excellent character and carried the book.
Lennix was a frustration in human form. She was so hypocritical, so too minded and frankly, borderline childish and immature. I wanted to climb into the pages and physically slap some sense into her. I called the main conflict ages before it happened and could feel my anger bubbling to the surface BEFORE it transpired on the page. In the juxtaposition of all the ACTUAL world issues, this book tries to HIGHLIGHT it was such a small and insignificant issue.
The weight of issues just didn't pan out. Somebody who is that passionate about doing the right thing should very easily be able to realize that a person is not their family and actions speak louder than words or bloodlines. And the fact that it took so long for her to realize that she forgave him and when she finally did realize this, brushed it off as an excuse instead of apologizing for the complete and utter child she was.
So overall, I will not be picking up the second book. I did not enjoy this and it wasn't the type of book for me.
Trope Summary:
▶ Second Chance Romance
▶ Virgin FMC
▶ Age Gap
▶ Dual POV
▶ Dual Timeline
▶ Instalove to Enemies to Lovers
▶ Social Issue Representation (Native American Issues, Climate Change and Politics)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Misogyny
sydapel's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I think the premise and the arc this novel takes is really interesting, especially the decision to not end with an HEA. I, personally, am not sold on Maxim as a person or a romantic interest, but we'll see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Police brutality
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Kidnapping
bookish_meli's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
OMFG this book is so GOOD. Addictive and unputdownable.
You can tell that Kennedy did her research with this book and that it was written with the utmost care and respect for Native American women, their culture, and their traditions. The amount of things I learned left me both speechless and heartbroken.
Lennix's passion is so admirable. What a powerhouse of a FMC. Strong, resilient, determined, goal driven. I wanna be like her when I grow up.
Maxim is EVERYTHING I love in a grumpy asshole MMC who will stop at nothing to get what and who he wants. I was on my knees for him and at times frustrated at Lennix cause I needed them back together but their push and pull? Oh it was so good.
The Olivia and Fitz vibes, the TENSION between them, the chemistry, the political aspect of it all. DELICIOUS. Kennedy's way of writing is just so UGH in the best way possible.
The ending came a little out of left field so I need to process and sit down with how I feel about it but overall it's just so so good.
PS - highly suggest doing a hybrid read like I did! The audiobook ELEVATES the story. Jason Clarke as Maxim is 😮💨 and Jo Raylan is an incredible Lennix. 10/10!!!
Now bro gotta go read book 2 and schedule a Scandal rewatch 🏃🏼♀️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, and Death of parent
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Rating: 3/5 stars
I read the All the King’s Men duology as a buddy read with some close friends in December, and the buddy read commentary was EXCELLENT. Unfortunately, it was also much better than the books for me.
Lennix and Maxim come from very different worlds, but a chance encounter puts them on a collision course that spans decades.
I didn’t like the time jumps and the initial age gap was super creepy, but I did appreciate the Native American representation. The ending was bonkers, and not in a good way.
If you don’t mind heavy political overtones (and can ignore factual errors) and want something with tons of drama, you may enjoy these more. I know I do have friends who love them!
CW: Violence; kidnapping; trauma; grief
I read the All the King’s Men duology as a buddy read with some close friends in December, and the buddy read commentary was EXCELLENT. Unfortunately, it was also much better than the books for me.
Lennix and Maxim come from very different worlds, but a chance encounter puts them on a collision course that spans decades.
I didn’t like the time jumps and the initial age gap was super creepy, but I did appreciate the Native American representation. The ending was bonkers, and not in a good way.
If you don’t mind heavy political overtones (and can ignore factual errors) and want something with tons of drama, you may enjoy these more. I know I do have friends who love them!
CW: Violence; kidnapping; trauma; grief
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
imskylow's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I wish there was more tension 🤣 some of these romance felt too easy and perfect to be all that fun to read about. That being said, I really loved the characters. The description of Lennix is gorgeous and she’s a complete BA 💪🏽
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
naysia_reads's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Police brutality