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A review by saeruh
The Sum of All Kisses by Julia Quinn
2.75
This did entertain while I was reading it (i love these types of books to turn my brain off) but there was so many problems with it that I felt I couldn’t really over look.
Both of the main characters were pretty insufferable, their motivations felt so stupid 75% of the time, and their reasons for hating each other did not work past their very first conversation together so the whole enemies to lovers trope did not pull through on this. It could have been interesting if Sarah was actually made into a huge bitch and Hugh loved her either because of that or in spite of it but instead we got this weird arc where she has to be everyone’s savior and mold herself to what everyone else needs so she can not be “selfish” anymore. Because all this it was hard for me to really root for them ending up together.
The plot also struggled in this. It had a very similar villain plot to the last book in the series, where there’s this totally evil, two-dimensional bad guy who’s hunting the mmc and who inadvertently hurts the fmc doing so, with even a very similar kidnapping third act! The whole younger sisters banter also felt like a copy of the last book. The scenes between Sarah and Hugh often felt forced and unnatural to me, taking me of the reading element. Weird inclusion of Lady Danbury, her scene added absolutely nothing. There was also just a lot of weird bits of sexual assault, domestic violence, and unnecessary quotes about gender that seemed to be glossed over at the end but whateva.
I also wish we could have seen Anne and Daniel’s wedding just like Honoria and Marcus’s!
Both of the main characters were pretty insufferable, their motivations felt so stupid 75% of the time, and their reasons for hating each other did not work past their very first conversation together so the whole enemies to lovers trope did not pull through on this. It could have been interesting if Sarah was actually made into a huge bitch and Hugh loved her either because of that or in spite of it but instead we got this weird arc where she has to be everyone’s savior and mold herself to what everyone else needs so she can not be “selfish” anymore. Because all this it was hard for me to really root for them ending up together.
The plot also struggled in this. It had a very similar villain plot to the last book in the series, where there’s this totally evil, two-dimensional bad guy who’s hunting the mmc and who inadvertently hurts the fmc doing so, with even a very similar kidnapping third act! The whole younger sisters banter also felt like a copy of the last book. The scenes between Sarah and Hugh often felt forced and unnatural to me, taking me of the reading element. Weird inclusion of Lady Danbury, her scene added absolutely nothing. There was also just a lot of weird bits of sexual assault, domestic violence, and unnecessary quotes about gender that seemed to be glossed over at the end but whateva.
I also wish we could have seen Anne and Daniel’s wedding just like Honoria and Marcus’s!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape