sfirebolts's review against another edition
2.0
It's a slightly better version of Beautiful Disaster.
romancebookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Overall: 3.5/5
Spice: 2/5
POV: Dual
Tropes: Neighbors, Sports Romance, Pride and Prejudice Retelling, College Age
Main Characters: Declan and Elizabeth
TW: PTSD from Sexual Assault
Available on KINDLE UNLIMITED
Declan is the bad boy on campus. Covered in tattoos and training to be in MMA and partaking in underground street fighting, no one messes with him. Elizabeth Bennet has suffered some trauma in the past that she is still dealing with today. She is guarded and needs to always be in control. When things get a little out of hand at a college party, Declan intervenes. When he takes her home she finds out they are actually neighbors. They can’t fight the attraction between them, but both have some darker pasts and issues that they both have to work through if they want to be together.
This story does have a bit of a creepy twist to it, and I liked the underground fighting/MMA aspect since I don’t read a lot of sports book surrounding that. This is another quick read, and Ilsa Madden-Mills is always a go to if I need a quick pallet cleanser. This didn’t get me as much as some of her other books have, but I still enjoyed the connection between Declan and Elizabeth. Declan is secretly a teddy bear and just wants to make sure Elizabeth is then care of and helps her deal with her past.
Spice: 2/5
POV: Dual
Tropes: Neighbors, Sports Romance, Pride and Prejudice Retelling, College Age
Main Characters: Declan and Elizabeth
TW: PTSD from Sexual Assault
Available on KINDLE UNLIMITED
Declan is the bad boy on campus. Covered in tattoos and training to be in MMA and partaking in underground street fighting, no one messes with him. Elizabeth Bennet has suffered some trauma in the past that she is still dealing with today. She is guarded and needs to always be in control. When things get a little out of hand at a college party, Declan intervenes. When he takes her home she finds out they are actually neighbors. They can’t fight the attraction between them, but both have some darker pasts and issues that they both have to work through if they want to be together.
This story does have a bit of a creepy twist to it, and I liked the underground fighting/MMA aspect since I don’t read a lot of sports book surrounding that. This is another quick read, and Ilsa Madden-Mills is always a go to if I need a quick pallet cleanser. This didn’t get me as much as some of her other books have, but I still enjoyed the connection between Declan and Elizabeth. Declan is secretly a teddy bear and just wants to make sure Elizabeth is then care of and helps her deal with her past.
thanys_thoughts's review against another edition
4.0
More of a 3.5 rounded up because I really liked Declan.
This is supposed to be "inspired by" Pride and Prejudice, and I thought with the lead being named Elizabeth Bennet it would be a LITTLE bit more similar. But it's not. Like at all. Just FYI.
also, trigger warning for the beginning of the main character dealing with the aftermath of her rape. That scene was a little intense.
I liked Elizabeth and Declan though. I liked their chemistry. It was a little too insta-love for me, but I just loved Declan's character. Bad ass, straight-forward tough guy who is very sweet, kind, and caring to the broken Elizabeth.
I'll probably be reading Dax's book next.
This is supposed to be "inspired by" Pride and Prejudice, and I thought with the lead being named Elizabeth Bennet it would be a LITTLE bit more similar. But it's not. Like at all. Just FYI.
also, trigger warning for the beginning of the main character dealing with the aftermath of her rape. That scene was a little intense.
I liked Elizabeth and Declan though. I liked their chemistry. It was a little too insta-love for me, but I just loved Declan's character. Bad ass, straight-forward tough guy who is very sweet, kind, and caring to the broken Elizabeth.
I'll probably be reading Dax's book next.
readwithchey's review against another edition
3.0
Big moments happen with the smallest of actions, and sometimes it’s not until later we connect the dots…
So this was hands down one of the oldest books on my TBR, I mean I added it in 2015, when I was still in high school. A lot of my older TBR consists of New Adult books because after reading Abbi Glines for the first time I discovered the magic that is NA Romance and I’ve been passionately pursuing this genre ever since. My reading tastes have changed a lot since high school, and since I skip around genres so often a lot of my NA TBR fell to the back burner, but as this was the oldest book listed on my Goodreads TBR I’m glad I finally read this and can start hammering through my 2016 backlist.
This book was thoroughly enjoyable, and that’s about it. So it was good; the sex scenes were just as juicy as my other NA faves, the banter was enjoyable and I laughed and squealed and gasped a couple times, and the underlying drama got crazy at the end. It had all of the key points I look for in a NA Romance, there just wasn’t anything that made it stand out for me. It was the standard case of like but not love, good but not spectacular.
I’ll probably be reading the other book in the series, although you don’t have to read one to read the other, but I’m gonna save it for when I need a light and steamy read. I tried to find this book on Barnes and Noble but apparently they don’t have it, so it seems Amazon is the way to go for this one if you’re interested in something light but still sexy.
So this was hands down one of the oldest books on my TBR, I mean I added it in 2015, when I was still in high school. A lot of my older TBR consists of New Adult books because after reading Abbi Glines for the first time I discovered the magic that is NA Romance and I’ve been passionately pursuing this genre ever since. My reading tastes have changed a lot since high school, and since I skip around genres so often a lot of my NA TBR fell to the back burner, but as this was the oldest book listed on my Goodreads TBR I’m glad I finally read this and can start hammering through my 2016 backlist.
This book was thoroughly enjoyable, and that’s about it. So it was good; the sex scenes were just as juicy as my other NA faves, the banter was enjoyable and I laughed and squealed and gasped a couple times, and the underlying drama got crazy at the end. It had all of the key points I look for in a NA Romance, there just wasn’t anything that made it stand out for me. It was the standard case of like but not love, good but not spectacular.
I’ll probably be reading the other book in the series, although you don’t have to read one to read the other, but I’m gonna save it for when I need a light and steamy read. I tried to find this book on Barnes and Noble but apparently they don’t have it, so it seems Amazon is the way to go for this one if you’re interested in something light but still sexy.
caityg22's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars!
Perfect balance of an actual story (much unlike other ya contemporary books) and steamy scenes! I will be listening to more from this author!
Perfect balance of an actual story (much unlike other ya contemporary books) and steamy scenes! I will be listening to more from this author!
pharmdpositive's review against another edition
5.0
Swoon. Check the trigger warnings. Uff I love a grumpy man.
jaime_fiction_fangirl's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
Jaime's Review
I feel like I'll be in the minority here but this story was just okay for me. I enjoyed the premise of the story and the characters were likeable but I just never fully connected to them.
Declan was sexy as fuck and the way he wanted to protect and heal Elizabeth's heart was so sweet and swoon worthy. He really made the story for me. I just feel like I never fully got to know him on a deeper level. It was the same for Elizabeth. I liked her and felt for her because of what happened to her but I think that I never fully understood or believed her hatred for violence and struggle with how easily she seemed to accept it after she was so against it for so long.
In the same way that I felt like I could've known more about Elizabeth and Declan on a deeper level, there were parts of the story that felt unnecessary to me. I can understand the friendship between Blake and Elizabeth but I don't think that it was crucial to the story or had a big impact on the story. I can see where it could have and maybe was even meant to, but it fell short for me. I don't normally wish for more drama in books but I sort of wish that this one had prolonged it.
This is my first time reading this author, although I own all of her other books, and I definitely see myself reading more from her. I'm actually really hoping for Dax's story because, strangely, I connected with him more than anyone else in this book.
*I received an ARC from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review
Jaime's Review
I feel like I'll be in the minority here but this story was just okay for me. I enjoyed the premise of the story and the characters were likeable but I just never fully connected to them.
Declan was sexy as fuck and the way he wanted to protect and heal Elizabeth's heart was so sweet and swoon worthy. He really made the story for me. I just feel like I never fully got to know him on a deeper level. It was the same for Elizabeth. I liked her and felt for her because of what happened to her but I think that I never fully understood or believed her hatred for violence and struggle with how easily she seemed to accept it after she was so against it for so long.
In the same way that I felt like I could've known more about Elizabeth and Declan on a deeper level, there were parts of the story that felt unnecessary to me. I can understand the friendship between Blake and Elizabeth but I don't think that it was crucial to the story or had a big impact on the story. I can see where it could have and maybe was even meant to, but it fell short for me. I don't normally wish for more drama in books but I sort of wish that this one had prolonged it.
This is my first time reading this author, although I own all of her other books, and I definitely see myself reading more from her. I'm actually really hoping for Dax's story because, strangely, I connected with him more than anyone else in this book.
*I received an ARC from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review
jhillier19's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0