ellajtee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
evelyreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? No
5.0
thebookbloglife's review against another edition
2.0
Read more of my reviews at the book blog life
So I have continued my romance journey. After seeing Bad Saint recommended by quite a few people, I picked it up. This book underwhelmed me, and I think I should have trusted my instincts when I first started reading. There was something about the writing style that just didn’t work for me but I pushed on hoping for something to bring it back from the brink. Unfortunately, that just didn’t happen. This book became SO unrealistic to the point where I couldn’t ignore it. The story lost me, I know romance books do err on the side of fantasy. Like nothing else could have happened to these characters because they hit every box.
CHARACTERS IN BAD SAINT
Bad Saint, tells the story of a young bride who is kidnapped on her honeymoon by a group of Russian men. They basically go on a journey and she sees something in one of the men that makes her trust him. My biggest issue with Bad Saint was the chemistry between the two characters. It just wasn’t developed enough to be believable, especially given the fact he was her captor. I would have loved this book more if I wasn’t constantly having to fight to find it believable. There was also nothing that was particularly interesting about either of them which was a little frustrating. Especially as we’re stuck with their POV all the way through, which does nothing for my enjoyment.
Talking about the ‘hero’, Saint. I must say that this is a dark romance and therefore Saint isn’t the hero our heroine needs. However Bad Saint was missing the redeemable factors I usually look for. Saint has nothing that drew me to him as a person. It almost felt as though it was a romance of convenience rather than having anything in common. I would have loved a little more development between the two and focus on them getting to know each other. Too much angst instead.
GOOD AND BAD BITS
The good bits of Bad Saint were the setup, I actually really enjoyed the concept. I was expecting great things from the premise and I would definitely try another book like this one. One thing I did really like was Willow’s resilience all the way through the story. There was definitely no bending to the attraction straight away and there was more of a build up which was interesting.
I will say there were more bad bits than good unfortunately. I mentioned that there were moments that felt so unrealistic, and I stand by that. The parts of the story that stand out to be are the bits where I kind of scoffed at what was going on and disconnected. The complete lack of chemistry was frustrating and made worse by the lack of believability. Also there wasn’t an awful lot of smut in this one and I was so underwhelmed because there was so much buildup and no payoff.
RECOMMENDATION
I don’t think I would recommend Bad Saint unfortunately. It wasn’t what I was looking for and I don’t think it was constructed in the best way. I am still looking out for other romance books that I should try so if you have any you think I should check out then leave them below!
Read more of my reviews at the book blog life
So I have continued my romance journey. After seeing Bad Saint recommended by quite a few people, I picked it up. This book underwhelmed me, and I think I should have trusted my instincts when I first started reading. There was something about the writing style that just didn’t work for me but I pushed on hoping for something to bring it back from the brink. Unfortunately, that just didn’t happen. This book became SO unrealistic to the point where I couldn’t ignore it. The story lost me, I know romance books do err on the side of fantasy. Like nothing else could have happened to these characters because they hit every box.
CHARACTERS IN BAD SAINT
Bad Saint, tells the story of a young bride who is kidnapped on her honeymoon by a group of Russian men. They basically go on a journey and she sees something in one of the men that makes her trust him. My biggest issue with Bad Saint was the chemistry between the two characters. It just wasn’t developed enough to be believable, especially given the fact he was her captor. I would have loved this book more if I wasn’t constantly having to fight to find it believable. There was also nothing that was particularly interesting about either of them which was a little frustrating. Especially as we’re stuck with their POV all the way through, which does nothing for my enjoyment.
Talking about the ‘hero’, Saint. I must say that this is a dark romance and therefore Saint isn’t the hero our heroine needs. However Bad Saint was missing the redeemable factors I usually look for. Saint has nothing that drew me to him as a person. It almost felt as though it was a romance of convenience rather than having anything in common. I would have loved a little more development between the two and focus on them getting to know each other. Too much angst instead.
GOOD AND BAD BITS
The good bits of Bad Saint were the setup, I actually really enjoyed the concept. I was expecting great things from the premise and I would definitely try another book like this one. One thing I did really like was Willow’s resilience all the way through the story. There was definitely no bending to the attraction straight away and there was more of a build up which was interesting.
I will say there were more bad bits than good unfortunately. I mentioned that there were moments that felt so unrealistic, and I stand by that. The parts of the story that stand out to be are the bits where I kind of scoffed at what was going on and disconnected. The complete lack of chemistry was frustrating and made worse by the lack of believability. Also there wasn’t an awful lot of smut in this one and I was so underwhelmed because there was so much buildup and no payoff.
RECOMMENDATION
I don’t think I would recommend Bad Saint unfortunately. It wasn’t what I was looking for and I don’t think it was constructed in the best way. I am still looking out for other romance books that I should try so if you have any you think I should check out then leave them below!
Read more of my reviews at the book blog life
shanbreads's review against another edition
5.0
I’m absolutely blown away by the depth of this story and how easy it is to connect to the characters and feel their very pulse.
Willow is strong and resilient and her courage and bravery in adversity is remarkable. I love broken but strong heroine. Monica James writes her character so beautifully.
This story is in Willow’s POV but Saint grips your heart in every way, even as the captor everything about him makes me want to fall at his knees.
He’s a sinner in the worst way but every bit a Saint. I can’t wait to dive into book 2 of this series.
giuliastartaglia's review against another edition
3.0
"He’s leading a lamb to the slaughter, but the one thing he doesn’t realize…is that I’m not a lamb. And I never will be. 3.5/5 ★
Well, shit.
Willow is a newly wed woman and on the day of her honeymoon she is kidnapped by her love interest. Nothing screams meant to be more than this, right? Yeah, uh. Maybe not. But who am i to judge love?
I really enjoyed it, i finished it in one sitting so it was truly addicting.
I loved Willow as a character so much, i loved her strength and bravery. I loved her relationship with Saint and her new pet (a chicken, yes she adopted a chicken. again we're not here to judge. the poor girl has been abused, kidnapped, betrayed, sold to a psycopath who wants his girls to act like dogs. her mental state isn't really healthy right now so if she wants to adopt a chicken, let her adopt a chicken morons)
Saint, the love interest, is a hitman. he is this killer who loves sudoku and runs into a storm to save said chicken. yes, i loved him. can't wait to see how these two will kill the bad guy and move back to the island to be reunited to their adorable chicken.
Well, shit.
Willow is a newly wed woman and on the day of her honeymoon she is kidnapped by her love interest. Nothing screams meant to be more than this, right? Yeah, uh. Maybe not. But who am i to judge love?
I really enjoyed it, i finished it in one sitting so it was truly addicting.
I loved Willow as a character so much, i loved her strength and bravery. I loved her relationship with Saint and her new pet (a chicken, yes she adopted a chicken. again we're not here to judge. the poor girl has been abused, kidnapped, betrayed, sold to a psycopath who wants his girls to act like dogs. her mental state isn't really healthy right now so if she wants to adopt a chicken, let her adopt a chicken morons)
Saint, the love interest, is a hitman. he is this killer who loves sudoku and runs into a storm to save said chicken. yes, i loved him. can't wait to see how these two will kill the bad guy and move back to the island to be reunited to their adorable chicken.
lifeasjanedoe's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this book was nerve wracking to the nth degree.
Yikes!
Yikes!
sjc2508's review against another edition
5.0
As always this author leaves me wanting more and so egar to have more. This was a fantastic read which I devoured. I highly recommend this story.
amberb0413's review against another edition
5.0
WOWZA!
This book was hot, dark, and enticing!!!
Willow is kidnapped on her honeymoon after marrying her perfect guy. The book follows Willow almost in a daily account of what’s she going through, feeling, thinking, and how she plans to escape her kidnappers.
Saint’s story unfolds part in book one, but there’s definitely more that meets the eye with this guy. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he agreed to kidnap Willow.
I definitely need a Saint to kidnap me!
This book was hot, dark, and enticing!!!
Willow is kidnapped on her honeymoon after marrying her perfect guy. The book follows Willow almost in a daily account of what’s she going through, feeling, thinking, and how she plans to escape her kidnappers.
Saint’s story unfolds part in book one, but there’s definitely more that meets the eye with this guy. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he agreed to kidnap Willow.
I definitely need a Saint to kidnap me!
ela_35's review against another edition
1.0
• I didn’t like this book at all as it was boring and some of the things that happened didn’t really make sense to me
• The plot in this book was rubbish as while things happen, they are boring or don’t really have a point; I get that this is a book but some of the things that happened were ridiculous or didn’t make sense
• I didn’t like the character as they didn’t seem to be developed enough; Willow was a really badly thought out character as she doesn’t think before she acts and I didn’t really like how she was constantly changing her mind about things () as she’d decide on something and then a few pages later she’d talk about the other option; Saint’s character wasn’t that good either as one thing would be said about him/his personality but when he did things, sometimes his description would fit and other times it wouldn’t
• I liked how at the beginning of every chapter there were a few lines written from Saint’s POV; some of the ridiculous things that happened would have been fine in other books but this author’s writing style just made the scenes feel annoying and out of place; another thing about this book is that it feels like it’s stretched out/dragged out so that there will be enough of the story left for the other books in the series
• I definitely won’t continue with the series as the plot in this book was boring and the writing style wasn’t for me but I’m hoping that it was just this book and that the writing will be better in other books by this author
• The plot in this book was rubbish as while things happen, they are boring or don’t really have a point; I get that this is a book but some of the things that happened were ridiculous or didn’t make sense
• I didn’t like the character as they didn’t seem to be developed enough; Willow was a really badly thought out character as she doesn’t think before she acts and I didn’t really like how she was constantly changing her mind about things (
Spoiler
if she liked Saint or not, if she thought her husband was guilty or not• I liked how at the beginning of every chapter there were a few lines written from Saint’s POV; some of the ridiculous things that happened would have been fine in other books but this author’s writing style just made the scenes feel annoying and out of place; another thing about this book is that it feels like it’s stretched out/dragged out so that there will be enough of the story left for the other books in the series
• I definitely won’t continue with the series as the plot in this book was boring and the writing style wasn’t for me but I’m hoping that it was just this book and that the writing will be better in other books by this author