alfeeney's review
emotional
2.0
What I liked: the sexy lessons trope and Welsh accents in the audiobook.
But.. rant incoming š
This was not enemies to lovers!! And having the E2L thing repeatedly shoehorned-in ruined the story.
There wasnāt one moment where these MCs werenāt nice to each other. Vague allusions to a feud between their families (when actually they all hang out on the reg) does not an enemies to lovers story make.
This was childhood friends to friends with benefits to lovers, and nothing to do with enemies. What kept them apart was him thinking she wouldnāt make a good wife for his planned future (despite thinking sheās āthe only woman heād ever truly wantedā). And her not wanting to be with any man, ever, due to a disastrous encounter.
The transition to romantic feelings happened before the book began, which isnāt my fav. And, the heroine had ILY thoughts before the sexy bargain started, which isnāt how I like to see this trope play out.
Having the heroine propose āenemies with benefitsā in the bargain convo while privately thinking, āsheād had feelings for him for years,ā didnāt magically turn this into an E2L story. I wish weād ridden the longing train through FriendsWithBenefitsVille to Pinetown. But the story was too busy insisting they were enemies to emphasize their years of longing.
Plus these characters were messy. For example, our heroineās main personality trait was her interest in animal welfare. Yet, she routinely wore exotic animals and, more illogically, weād get a scene like this: she liked her rescued peacock and was admonishing someone for joking about peacock pieā¦ and then pulled out her peacock feather fanāharvested from a bunch of dead peacocks (!)āand joked about threatening her pet with it... Calm down, Cruella.
The story just didnāt hang together well enough for me. Too much Telling, too little romance.
But.. rant incoming š
This was not enemies to lovers!! And having the E2L thing repeatedly shoehorned-in ruined the story.
There wasnāt one moment where these MCs werenāt nice to each other. Vague allusions to a feud between their families (when actually they all hang out on the reg) does not an enemies to lovers story make.
This was childhood friends to friends with benefits to lovers, and nothing to do with enemies. What kept them apart was him thinking she wouldnāt make a good wife for his planned future (despite thinking sheās āthe only woman heād ever truly wantedā). And her not wanting to be with any man, ever, due to a disastrous encounter.
The transition to romantic feelings happened before the book began, which isnāt my fav. And, the heroine had ILY thoughts before the sexy bargain started, which isnāt how I like to see this trope play out.
Having the heroine propose āenemies with benefitsā in the bargain convo while privately thinking, āsheād had feelings for him for years,ā didnāt magically turn this into an E2L story. I wish weād ridden the longing train through FriendsWithBenefitsVille to Pinetown. But the story was too busy insisting they were enemies to emphasize their years of longing.
Plus these characters were messy. For example, our heroineās main personality trait was her interest in animal welfare. Yet, she routinely wore exotic animals and, more illogically, weād get a scene like this: she liked her rescued peacock and was admonishing someone for joking about peacock pieā¦ and then pulled out her peacock feather fanāharvested from a bunch of dead peacocks (!)āand joked about threatening her pet with it... Calm down, Cruella.
The story just didnāt hang together well enough for me. Too much Telling, too little romance.
_booktique2_'s review
5.0
Thank you net galley for sending this arc for an honest review!
DO YOU LIKE ENEMIES TO LOVERS??? Because this my friends was the epitome of a historical enemies to lovers. I literally COULD NOT get my eyes off this book. Iām so in love to the point Iām gonna buy a physical copy. Iāve slowly been reading historical romance and itās become one of my fave things ever. This book sets aside the idea of familyās whom are enemies who both happen to have spawns who are supposed to āhateā each other but keep seeking out this passionate desire between the two. Highly recommend this book to all because I just wanna wear a ball gown and run to some earl now lol
DO YOU LIKE ENEMIES TO LOVERS??? Because this my friends was the epitome of a historical enemies to lovers. I literally COULD NOT get my eyes off this book. Iām so in love to the point Iām gonna buy a physical copy. Iāve slowly been reading historical romance and itās become one of my fave things ever. This book sets aside the idea of familyās whom are enemies who both happen to have spawns who are supposed to āhateā each other but keep seeking out this passionate desire between the two. Highly recommend this book to all because I just wanna wear a ball gown and run to some earl now lol
jazmin's review
4.0
I've literally never read anything by this author and just decided to pick this up after seeing a Goodreads friend read it. I definitely vibed with this author's writing style and am super excited to read more of the books in this series! Series where each book follows a new sibling or family member>>>
my carrd ā¦
ā§ļ½„ļ¾: *ā§ļ½„ļ¾:* *:ļ½„ļ¾ā§*:ļ½„ļ¾ā§
my carrd ā¦
palnic26's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bleuetlau's review
3.25
Wasnāt a bad book per se but I felt like the plot took the whole place. The characters are not my favourite of the series too. Still worth reading for book 2Ā
mzdeb's review
3.0
I received a digital ARC from NetGalley.
I've apparently hit a rough patch in reading, having started and stopped this book a few times, so the smuggling "adventure" alongside the enemies-to-lovers trope (which is normally my jam) didn't hold my interest, even though Maddie wanting to be an archeologist should be intriguing. "This Earl of Mine," which starts the Bow Street Bachelor series, actually held my attention more, even though there was still the issue of the story lagging in parts. And creepy and abusive suitors being creepy and abusive (no, not Gryff) set my teeth on edge. Also, I appreciate people's understanding and acceptance of germs back then was way different compared to now, but I will never get people getting it on in places that are far from clean. This book clearly sets up two sequels, so I might give those a go.
I've apparently hit a rough patch in reading, having started and stopped this book a few times, so the smuggling "adventure" alongside the enemies-to-lovers trope (which is normally my jam) didn't hold my interest, even though Maddie wanting to be an archeologist should be intriguing. "This Earl of Mine," which starts the Bow Street Bachelor series, actually held my attention more, even though there was still the issue of the story lagging in parts. And creepy and abusive suitors being creepy and abusive (no, not Gryff) set my teeth on edge. Also, I appreciate people's understanding and acceptance of germs back then was way different compared to now, but I will never get people getting it on in places that are far from clean. This book clearly sets up two sequels, so I might give those a go.
josephine_b13's review
4.0
I kid you not, I finished this book in less than one day. I am a huge fan of regency romance novels so I sped through this book it was so good. The banter between the two main characters was some of the best I've ever read in a novel of this genre. The plot was also very well developed and nothing too extreme or unrealistic which I appreciated and enjoyed. I cannot wait to see what else this author comes out with (especially in this series!). I would HIGHLY recommend anyone who likes the regency era and romance to read this book.
mymatemeg's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
amanda_lind84's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0