One thing about me is werewolves are my ultimate guilty pleaser (blame it on 13 year old me consuming a concerning amount of Twilight and t★ 4.5 stars
One thing about me is werewolves are my ultimate guilty pleaser (blame it on 13 year old me consuming a concerning amount of Twilight and teen wolf and wattpad ...more
This was so Hallmark Christmas movie coded with WAYYY too many conversations about Star Wars and Star Trek.
Not gonna lie, for the entHigh 2.75 stars.
This was so Hallmark Christmas movie coded with WAYYY too many conversations about Star Wars and Star Trek.
Not gonna lie, for the entire first half of the story, I completely forgot their first names because our MC's only ever referred to each other by Mr. Benz and Ms. Delaney - which I now know is because this book was inspired by Pride & Prejudice.
Basically, like all the best hallmark movies, Cara Delaney works in NYC for a management consulting firm and is tapped on a project to travel to Eldovia right before the holidays to help restructure Eldovia’s #1 manufacturing company, that makes luxury watches. She immediately clashes with the King's equerry Matteo Benz, who is devoted to his small country and big on tradition and fears Cara is going to recommend widespread layoffs that will hurt many people. And of course, as they work together throughout the Christmas season, they eventually realize they had each other all wrong and fall in love. Duh.
I'm a romance girly to my core, and while this was a solid book, there was a little too much business/investigation in the story. While I figured her work was going to be a part of the story, I wasn't expecting every meeting and interview to be in the book. This, as a result just made the relationship between Cara and Matteo develop wayy later into the book (I'm talking like 65% into the book) and by then I didn't buy into their relationship anymore. Too much business and not enough romance. ...more
FMC was a complete doormat with no backbone and the MMC was an absolute asshole I couldn't find a single trait to like.
ANope. Did not like either MC.
FMC was a complete doormat with no backbone and the MMC was an absolute asshole I couldn't find a single trait to like.
Absolutely no groveling whatsoever. 500 pages too long. It started strong in the past tense, but the present chapters completely obliterated my enjoyment.
My biggest issue was that I disliked the characters. ...more
I feel robbed by that ending. I was waiting to see more of Lara and Aren's relationship, some HEA shit and we got that??? I think they deserved a littI feel robbed by that ending. I was waiting to see more of Lara and Aren's relationship, some HEA shit and we got that??? I think they deserved a little more than that abrupt ending.
But I actually loved this book so much more than the first one. I was on the verge of tears on multiple occasions because of Lara. I love her so much now oh my world. Lara's strength, perseverance, and just absolute will to fight and live were so powerful to read. I kind of absolutely hated her in the first book, and so did all the other characters in the book. She was constantly struck down by everyone she had betrayed and it quickly made me feel bad because of how alone she was and how hard she tried to find ways to help after her mistakes. Everyone was so cruel to Lara in this book, but I can't say I blamed them either. A lot of angst and pain and forgiveness.
Aren wasn't anything special or memorable honestly. If anything, he got a bit annoying with how wishy-washy he was about Lara and his kingdom. At times, it felt like he kept dragging Lara along just to cause her more pain and hurt, instead of letting her go. Lara was honestly the character that kept me reading.
The setting and plot were great too - A1. The book was action-packed and I never lost interest. I loved all the descriptions of the island and even the new places and environments the characters found themselves in.
I wish we also got an epilogue of Lara and Aren and I wish we got to see a little more of the siblings on both sides - but I guess that will probably come in the next books....more
Not gonna lie this series gets better with every book (little by little but still improving). Aria has gotten some major growth and has an actual lifeNot gonna lie this series gets better with every book (little by little but still improving). Aria has gotten some major growth and has an actual life now instead of all the "rattle rattle purr *gasp*" she did in the first three books. Do I wish it hadn't taken 4 books for it to get good? Yes, but I'm still here, so something must've been going good in the first 3.
Also, trigger warnings throughout the entire series are the same as the first book: Rape, abuse, sexual assault, miscarriage, stillbirth, murder, mutilated children. (Most are extremely descriptive - especially the miscarriage one)...more
I actually had fun reading this series. I was a bit worried about Bianca’s books bc I didn’t really like her the first two books but I enjoyed it. NotI actually had fun reading this series. I was a bit worried about Bianca’s books bc I didn’t really like her the first two books but I enjoyed it. Not my favorite books and not the most memorably but still good reads.
My only complaint is why is this book soooo long. There was no need for it to be 700 pages.
ALSO, BIG MENTION: LOOK UP TW FOR THIS SERIES!!...more
Woah, this was probably the darkest romance I've read and it was uncomfortable but somehow hot?Woah, this was probably the darkest romance I've read and it was uncomfortable but somehow hot?...more
This one was kind of weird and kinda uncomfy but sorta hot.
It was super long for some reason but it read pretty quickly with a bit of skimming.
Also, IThis one was kind of weird and kinda uncomfy but sorta hot.
It was super long for some reason but it read pretty quickly with a bit of skimming.
Also, I was kind of expecting this to be a bully romance or at least an enemies-to-lovers trope but it didn't really come across that way. For the most part, the two MC's never interacted with each other aside from staring across the hall so really their first conversation was about the class project they got paired in. It felt more friends-to-lovers than anything because there wasn't enough bickering or arguments between them.
The story and plot were pretty weak. Plot was all over the place, I didn't even know what it was supposed to be. There were a lot of different storylines hinted at and randomly placed into the story that were irrelevant and unnecessary and not fully developed. As a reader, it felt like the author couldn't decide what side plot to add to the story so they just decided to add them all.
Did the English teacher really get convicted? If everyone knew about what he was doing, why hadn't they reported him? How did Natalie even get involved with him? What happened to Natalie? Did Maggie ever confront Natalie? Why was Natalie even in this story? What about that other kid selling underage sex tapes? What happened to him? How many girls has he recorded? Why did Crew even have one of those videos? Why did no one report him either? What happened with Maggie and Franklin? Did she tell him the baby was his? How did Franklin find out about Fig and Maddie anyway? Why was Maggie such a bitch? How did the school react to Crew and Wren when they got back from winter break? Did Wren and Crew end up passing their finals? Was Wren's dad actually cheating with Veronica? What happened with Wren's dad? What about Malcolm and Ezra?
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I was also really grossed out by the whole "promised myself to my daddy" thing. What was up with that? Why would you word it that way? Wren's father was disgusting and his behavior was absurd. I don't understand how everyone just seemed to completely ignore and forgive how gross and controlling he was. Her dad got so jealous for what??
You're literally her FATHER and you're telling her she promised herself to you and she can't have sex with her boyfriend????? And then at the end lying about buying your daughter a gift her boyfriend actually bought her??????
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Honestly, Wren's father was written more like an ex-boyfriend trying to get back together with her instead of her father.
Also Wren's mom was such a bitch too.Oh you neglected your daughter because you were jealous of how close she was with her father?? Oh you ignored your daughter for 17 years because your husband spent time and money on his daughter??..... Like what???????? What's wrong with everyone??
ON THE OTHER HAND, this is 3 stars because the smut scenes were great and the writing was decent. Crew was also not the worst thing that happened, he was pretty hot (albeit a bit sexist but my standards aren't that high), and I appreciated Wren sexually exploring herself first before she got intimate with Crew for the first time.
ALSO a worthy mention? The purity ring? Around his neck??? *swoons* HOLY WATER
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