sri_savita's review
5.0
"An admirer? Is that what I am?"
OH. MY. LORD - STRICKLAND. I devoured this in one sitting. And those five hours were worth it. This was wildly intense. I don't even like alpha dudes - but the tension between Colin and Graciela was PERFECT.
Just look at this cover too.
Also all thoughts of "hey it's creepy that you just show up in rooms and climb balconies to sneak into bedroom windows" were vanquished by the fact that Colin sent like a thousand roses and bought Ela a puppy so that she couldn't refuse his presence. Is that overly dominant and aggressive behavior? Yes. Do I generally hate this kind of possessiveness? Yes. Would I hate it in real life? Absolutely. Did it somehow work for me here? Yes - and I don't understand how or why. But I LOVED Colin.
I also loved how this book takes a setup that could be simply gratuitously taboo and makes it so lushly atmospheric and gothic and with a lot of real emotion, pining, and angst.
I will say the end was extra tense because Sophie Jordan goes there and shows that a romance between a dude and his best friend's stepmother is bound to have drama, but for anyone with triggers related to miscarriages and infertility, tread carefully. I understand why it was important to show these moments in terms of Graciela's character development but it definitely felt like a very over the top Bollywood soap opera near the end.
Will definitely keep this on my favorites shelf as a master class in pacing and tension.
OH. MY. LORD - STRICKLAND. I devoured this in one sitting. And those five hours were worth it. This was wildly intense. I don't even like alpha dudes - but the tension between Colin and Graciela was PERFECT.
Just look at this cover too.
Also all thoughts of "hey it's creepy that you just show up in rooms and climb balconies to sneak into bedroom windows" were vanquished by the fact that Colin sent like a thousand roses and bought Ela a puppy so that she couldn't refuse his presence. Is that overly dominant and aggressive behavior? Yes. Do I generally hate this kind of possessiveness? Yes. Would I hate it in real life? Absolutely. Did it somehow work for me here? Yes - and I don't understand how or why. But I LOVED Colin.
I also loved how this book takes a setup that could be simply gratuitously taboo and makes it so lushly atmospheric and gothic and with a lot of real emotion, pining, and angst.
I will say the end was extra tense because Sophie Jordan goes there and shows that a romance between a dude and his best friend's stepmother is bound to have drama, but for anyone with triggers related to miscarriages and infertility, tread carefully. I understand why it was important to show these moments in terms of Graciela's character development but it definitely felt like a very over the top Bollywood soap opera near the end.
Will definitely keep this on my favorites shelf as a master class in pacing and tension.
rosecoloredlove's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thegeekyblogger's review
3.0
Read for Review/Listened for Fun (Edelweiss/Audible)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 3.50
Story Rating: 4.00
Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)
Quick Thoughts: Part of what I love about Sophie Jordan is she writes unconventional historical romances. This is no exception to that rule. The leading lady Graciela was older than the leading guy Collin. Their romance doesn't follow a typical road either. While I wanted Graciela to have a bit more backbone, I did enjoy their romance. I am really looking forward to the third book in this series because Sophie is going to have to work some magic to make the lead guy in that one worthy of love :)
Audio Thoughts:
Carmen does an excellent job with this series and I loved her voice for Graciela (which has a bit of a Spanish background). I recommend this on audio!
Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Review
Overall Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 3.50
Story Rating: 4.00
Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)
Quick Thoughts: Part of what I love about Sophie Jordan is she writes unconventional historical romances. This is no exception to that rule. The leading lady Graciela was older than the leading guy Collin. Their romance doesn't follow a typical road either. While I wanted Graciela to have a bit more backbone, I did enjoy their romance. I am really looking forward to the third book in this series because Sophie is going to have to work some magic to make the lead guy in that one worthy of love :)
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated by: Carmen Rose /Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
Carmen does an excellent job with this series and I loved her voice for Graciela (which has a bit of a Spanish background). I recommend this on audio!
Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Review
lucy_qhuay's review
1.0
I'm sad to say the best thing about this book is the cover.
In theory this could have been very interesting, starting with the heroine being older than the hero and ending with the hero being her stepson's best friend.
However, I soon lost interest when I saw that for all her 'matronly' years and wisdom Graciela was weaker than most women half her age and Colin was just a childish, horny little earl, sniffing around the heels of the woman who was like a mother to his best friend.
Also, I can't begin to explain the frustration I felt when they pratically ruined every meaningful relationship they had because of a relationship that, as far as I'm concerned, was all about lust and sex.
I think it's time to call it quits on Sophie Jordan's books.
acata's review
3.0
I liked this story better than the first volume of "The Rogue Files", I particularly liked that she was older than him, but the Spanish lines were pretty atrocious. The English expressions seemed to be literally translated into Spanish ("what in heavens" is not "que en los cielos" lol). There were so few expressions, why wasn't a translator contacted to help on this matter? If paying anyone was an issue (which would be a bit ironic, but not at all surprising), the author/publisher could have literally just done some basic research or even asked someone on the Internet.
theaimfiles's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Loved them. She kept turning him away which was annoying at times but he just kept trying to win her over, didn’t give up. Loved that she had Spanish heritage.
nush2's review
4.0
i loved so many aspects of this book. it was so fun to read & so different from many other HR's ive read. this was my first stepsons bestfriend trope ive ever read & it was so thrilling. towards the end it gets extremely heavy & i felt like it was a little unnecessary for it to be so traumatic but then again, the ending did make up for it. i love ela's & colin's characters as well. in the beginning i did think colin was a little childish & selfish & inconsiderate of ela in his demanding that ela gives the affair a chance but towards the end i was fine with it. the only reason this isn't a 5 stars is because i wasn't fully convinced of their romance. like we didn't get to see many instances where ela & colin interacted (sex doesn't count) & we didn't get to see them develop feelings so when colin said he loved her, i wasn't convinced. i would have liked to see the romance building. i felt like their attraction was purely physical & that's why it's not a 5 star. but overall, this was so fun to read & my first sophie jordan book as well & i don't regret it. i will definitely be reading more of her & im excited to continue with the series hehe!!!
carleysuzanne's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0