A review by p0laris
Code Name: Disavowed by Sawyer Bennett

1.0

Ugh this isn't romance. I wanted to love their romance so much, but the MMC prevented me from wanting them to ever end up together. He didn't deserve her. They were supposedly each other's soul mates, yet the moment he realized she wanted to wait a few years to start a family instead of giving up her career immediately after marriage to have his children (not realizing that's what he expected of her), he felt like she had lied to him or something when they had never discussed it before. And after one (1) argument where she tried to compromise on that point but HE wouldn't compromise with her, she realizes that she must not be the woman he wants because she can't give that to him immediately. And he CONFIRMS that thought when she voices it and lets her walk out of his life with no argument.

And then spends the next 12 years blaming her entirely.

He moves on IMMEDIATELY after the "great love of his life" leaves him, and by his own admission falls "in love" with another woman to prove her wrong for leaving him. They get married and immediately have a child, giving him the life he always wanted.

Of course she comes back after their breakup to tell him she'll give up her dream and have his children immediately, but sees his pregnant wife and knows he's already moved on.

So she spends the next 10 years throwing herself into work and blaming herself alone for losing the love of her life.

And he blames her too.

He didn't love her like she loved him, that's for damn sure. And he didn't deserve her even 12 years later.

They NEVER address the fact that he moved on so fast and fell in love right after she left. And of course she never moved on because it's the trend nowadays that the MMC can do anything in his life after the breakup, but the FMC has to be a martyr for her love, no matter how long they're separated. 🙄

65% into the book, after internally hating her and still blaming her for everything, and even once regretting going to save her, he finally realizes that maybe his ultimatum all those years caused her pain too. That maybe she also was also hurt, which is something he NEVER considered in 12 years of blaming her for not caving to his one-sided expectations. So he apologizes ONCE for his part in things while still allowing her to feel guilty and like she should have had a different response back then to his actions.

This shit isn't romance. She didn't need to take 100% of the blame for 12 years, and then still be the one the make compromises and move her life in the end without at least more apologizing and growth on his end. We didn't even get to see if they would work out in the new life he's created for himself with a child and an ex/best friend he "will always love", because it ended too soon to see any of that. She met his son once before a mission where he wouldn't even introduce them, and met the ex once that same day, and that's all we saw. All these years later and she's making concessions to let him have his dream life since she didn't the first time around and doesn't want to miss her chance again smh.

She deserved better, and he deserved to feel the sting of his own actions back then far, far more than he did.

Also, let's talk about how she's a CIA agent who can't fight. More than once she causes things to go awry because she can't fight or defend herself, and yet she's supposedly someone they send into situations to singlehandedly clean up. The operational skills of both main characters seem to come and go as needed throughout the story too. And of course the villains are not as smart as the main characters, even going so far as to conveniently not recognize her when she's standing next to the MMC they've been sent to capture just because she dyed her hair. 🙄 I'm really annoyed I paid for this book. I'm going back to Kindle unlimited books.