Melanie
I'm actually a bit sad that I rated this lower than book 1 and 2 because it is definitely the most quotable (and Isaac is swoon worthy on so many occasions, I don't even know...).
“Fuck anyone who makes you feel like you need to make light of your accomplishments.”
Like every other book in the series, there's a distinctive effort to show women from different backgrounds but who all have a drive to succeed and be the best at their job. I love this because you often get that for male characters and most of the time, when it's tied to a woman, it often comes to blow back on her. It also often ends in that stupid notion that you can't quite have it all. I mean, yeah, you can't really be amazing at it all because days are just twenty four hours, but it doesn't mean that you can't have a family and a demanding job at the same time. I digress but that's because it's a lot of why I really enjoyed in Suite on the Boss. And Isaac is the most supporting man I've read in a long time (supporting in a way all characters should but often aren't). I really liked that their story was all about moving forward, moving on but also finding balance.
While I really empathized with Sophia, Isaac was almost too perfect? Obviously, he wasn't but this is the one book in the series (not counting Say Yes, but I mean Cecilia >>>> Victor so hard, it doesn't count) where I felt that Isaac shone much more because Sophia's reactions were rooted in so much fear she was a bit more emotional than the other characters. Obviously, it's not a problem in itself and might not be a problem for you, but I guess I just liked the maturity and balance in the other books too much.
I am taking 0.5 star for the worst and stupidest nickname ever in a romance novel. “Kid” is not acceptable and I am BEYOND mad that this is my one true gripe with this story. I adored Carter and Audrey, really adored their love story but I am livid that anyone would be in a sexual and love relationship and calling their S.O “Kid”. It starts as a joke and that's totally okay but as soon as these two hit the sheets, it just got really lame. I don't need babes and sweethearts every page, but KID is just not it.
Apart from the nickname issue, I loved pretty much everything? I know there are more editing issues that are annoying on the spot but dear lord, these two? They own my heart. They were everything, separately and together. I just wanted more book, which wasn't an issue I had with the rest of the series. They were sensible, logical but also emotionally atuned to their feelings (mostly). They had incredibly diverging opinions but show that you can still work things out with someone if you really love them. Also, most incredible phone sex ever. I still have to fan myself thinking about it.
I'm normally not fond of retelling (I even hated Bones retelling from Jeaniene Frost and this is one of my favourite universe ever). This is Jake undone from Jake's POV and you know what? It's quite great. Great, because it's not a carbon copy of the scenes from book 1 in Nina's POV. There are scenes added, there's also a reason behind the retelling. It still very much feels and reads in Jake's voice from Nina's book and it does not bring any brand new information on anything but it's still, as far as retelling goes, very decent and actually note worthy.
I often complain about teenagers not acting like teenagers in books (and I feel like that's especially true in Penelope Ward's books) but you know what? I'm not going to complain. This was beyond sweet, hot and powerful and I have no fucks left to give. I should totally rate this 3.5 or even 3 but I loved it like you love a 4. It was ridiculously intense for two teenagers but I was hooked and I rest my case. I do have to warn that this will be not be everyone's cup of tea. The writing's okay but it's definitely more geared towards dialogue and introspection than towards descriptions (which I find often induce a mood). Mood is nowhere to be found here. Also, the tragedy of these two characters that just cannot seem to catch a breath might induce eye-rolling at times. That's it for my warnings. Do with it as you may.
I enjoyed this but that's about it. As usual, Penelope Ward's style is hit or miss. I thought it worked here but mostly because I found Nina and Jake to be incredibly endearing. It's a love story that takes a while to develop and that's just how I like it. There's an attention to details that is really great but, the writing is also lacking severely in the way it conveys emotions. I am kind of mad at P. Ward for creating such heartwarming characters but never giving them the room to really grow.
I'm a bit sad about rating this so low but honestly, it was just ok. Not great, not terrible either. First of all, the title feels extremely misleading because as far as “arrogant” bosses go, Julian is pretty mellow. He's all the way in right from the start, he's super respectful and it's honestly quite disgusting how smitten he is. The book is so ok, nothing really stood out to me. And it's honestly a shame because this had great potential all over but this feels very much like an unpolished gem. I'm starting to really love Olivia Hayle's style and that was definitely a bit of a letdown after the New York series.
Honestly? I think the present tense narration took me out from the start. I don't think it's a terrible book to be fair. I've read much worse, but it's also really dull. Garrett is quite an ass and Hannah does nothing for me. The chemistry just isn't there and it honestly takes quite a while to get there. When it does, it's actually really great and they're very cute together, but it is such a bore to wait for it to pick up. I don't find the writing strong enough to carry the emotional connection through so I mostly don't want to bother with the rest of the series.
My problem with New York Billionaires number 3 (and I was really expecting this one as soon as they mentionned Cecilia in the previous book) is that it is not seamless like the others. The characters' growth is there but it's not enough. Victor's an asshole and there's honestly no excuse for it. Even when he apologizes for it, he reeks of asshole. It's a fine line writing a character like that. You don't want to cheapen it by turning him into a puppy and I'm honestly really happy that it isn't the case here. You can see Victor being Victor all the way to the end but he softens and you get why. But I felt like his past behavior was really not acknowledged the way it really needed to be.
Honestly, Cecilia deserved a medal. She's like the golden retriever of the human world. No matter how much you kick her down, she's the most precious ray of sunshine there is. I just want a friend like that honestly.
The romance did not quite work. On paper, it should have because from the first mention in book 2 of Cecilia being Victor's PA and being awesome, you know that's going to be their story. When you get to Victor's reason for needing to marry, you know how that's going to play out and it all plays out quite perfectly. But it still lacks some major awareness that Victor is an actual being with feelings. I'd say that there's definitely a bit of failure in the character's department.
I LOVED Summer and Anthony. If Freddie and Tristan's love story felt seamless, this felt even more like melted butter on toasted bread. It was just the right amount of everything. The right amount of burn, the right amount of self loathing, of self discovery, it went through the self before getting to the couple first and I just love love the character's growth here. I just wanted to take those two and wrap them in bubbles by suspending time.
It was honestly agonizing at one point that things did not move faster, although it was refreshing because it stayed true to the characters. So it's definitely a very slow read and while I found Anthony really endearing, I can also see why others would be annoyed by his issues.
I was wholly prepared to hate this because I'm a bit tired of all these rich people in romance stories. Though I understand it makes things plenty easier and obviously, there's a bit more to dream of when it's rich people vacationing in the carribean and enjoying their limo than poor people trying to make ends meet. Anyway, my snark was fully ready but guess what? This is actually pretty good.
I was blown away by the level of maturity in this. Usually, when it's about hot rich guys, they always have very dirty mouth but it wasn't the case here and while I love dirty, this had a nice mature sound to it (despite the sexual introduction). Both within the characters and within the relationships, everything was just the right amount of emotional and logical. Being a very pragmatic person myself, a lot of the characters' reasoning for everything made sense to me.
The drama did not come from where I expected it. I'm so glad to have avoided screaming exes that are painted horribly and meaningless drama between people. I loved how Freddie and Tristan met up, how things could have gotten really terrible but that they really made the best of it because they were intelligent and caring. Of course, there's drama or there's no point to any drama romances, but it was clever. It often highlighted Freddie's ambition without painting her as heartless or Tristan as chauvinistic. Also, I think A LOT of writers should take note on how to write ambitious women.
I wanted to understand the collab Penelope Ward/Vi Keeland and I think I'm starting to get why these two duet on books like that. They do have some seriously similar style. However, while P. Ward takes her time with the burn, V. Keeland masters the tension and quick release better. Neither indulges much in creating atmosphere and overall, V. Keeland has my preference on snarky hot dialogue. That said, P. Ward's characters have serious history and I really enjoyed the slow build up to the inevitable conclusion.
I absolutely adored Mack and Frankie's history together, how they gradually became friends and how it turned into something more. I really loved how they were together without ever being together and just stayed in love throughout the years. The way Mack reappeared in her life wasn't that well done in terms of character introduction and the subsequent dialogues and conversations but it all really paid off with the flashbacks and once they get together (I don't think I'm spoiling much here, right?)
The writing is honestly super clunky. It has no soul at first and it really made me scared for the rest of the book. Maybe it's P. Ward's writing style. I have another book of hers so I'll be able to judge if that was a one off or if it's symptomatic of her style (does not bode well for more books if it is). The story takes a while to take off after that. You need to get into the past to actively care for the present and for the characters to do their magic. But it's quite a shame because it does feel like the story got away from the author and she did not give it the attention or editing it deserved.
Loved the premise of the book and thought we were going to get hotter tibits from Grey and Layla's past. Everything I loved about the book was about the promise of it : the story, the characters, and it all just kind of fell flat. The dialogue was very Vi Keeland (a good thing, she does have a way with snark) and she's really good at turning up the heat (not so good at following it through with the sex scene itself).
In itself, the book was more than fine. It just sucked that it seemed to be an even sadder copy than Stuck-Up Suit. It started with a more interesting premise than the latter and I really did not expect the old girlfriend to come back with the baggage she carried . And while some aspects were different in what happened, it still streamlined as the same as Stuck-Up Suit. Words of advice : do not read both on top of one another.
I'm starting to sense a pattern to Vi Keeland's books. I'm not saying it's a bad pattern, but there are subtle similarities in both Stuck-up Suit and The Baller that makes me wonder what my third forray is going to be like (and I'm totally going for it, right after this one). I'm not too familiar with Penelope Ward yet so I'm not sure what kind of writing hand she had. I'll have to get my hands on a book of hers to determine it.
Back to the similarities that has Vi Keeland's mark on it. First, she has a thing for old ladies, which is fine. Both characters were a hoot in the stories. Second, the past comes back to bite you in the ass, in whatever shape or form. Ex-girlfriend, with extra baggage or not. Third, her heroes tend to be a workhalcolic suit with a seriously dirty mouth that fall seriously in love with a woman that's both super modern and independent and yet riddled with insecurities about a lot of things.
Not saying there's anything wrong with that but I do hope all her books aren't like that. Or I'll have to space them out so I don't read the same story over and over again and just get back to it when I'm in the mood for quick, dirty, emotional stories. Because her books have heart that's for sure. Her writing style is all quick one liners and introspective thoughts, there's no description that adds depth to a scene, everything in her book is relied on the power of emotions and human connections. If that's your thing, go for it. If you want for atmosphere and detailing , there are other authors out there.
Also, can I just say that Vi Keeland's books have the worst blurb in the history of ever. When I was looking for another of hers to read, it took me forever to decide because her blurbs are just atrocious. Someone needs to get right on that. That said, I'm off for another of hers. Preferably, sans another writer so I can really gauge her storytelling.
I just loved Brody and Delilah. I loved them both as characters and as a couple trying to figure it out. There was drama in their respective past and drama in their current relationship but it wasn't so crazy that you're sighing and thinking “seriously, now”. It felt like a grown-up drama (maybe on the higher end of the dramatic part of course) but it was enjoyable that for adult characters, they had adult reactions most of the time. They were both incredibly nice characters but far from perfect. There was insta lust that took its time graduating to sex then to love. It just flowed rather nicely and did not feel rushed at all.
V. Keeland has a great way with words and one-liners. I found this book to be a good enough balance of dialogue and introspection. It weighs heavily in the witty dialogue section since it's definitely the author's strength but I didn't mind that much. It worked well for the book.
There is something happening around the 50% mark that I really did not care for and that I think most readers won't care for. It almost turned me off. There is no way for me to get into it without spoiling everything so when you reach that mark (and you'll know it), I'd say, stick with it. It gets rough but it works out ultimately.
I found Brody's chapters to be a bit lacking as well in terms of his relationship with Delilah. While most of Delilah centered on her thoughts towards Brody, Brody's barely acknowledged Delilah at times. He obviously had a lot going on but it was hard at first to understand why he cared so much about pursuing Delilah when it was time for her chapters.
Honestly, I can't say that this was badly written but it felt so all over the place, I feel like this needed to be heavily edited. I could not make sense of the characters' motivations. It took me a while and an internet trip to understand what the whole domestic discipline was as the book did not do a great job of explaining it.
It had a great character in Sharlee but it all just got so convulated as if the heroine's main purpose was just to be contradictory (although she was mostly reasonnable a lot of times, so like why??). The hero never felt like he was developped either. Replace him with a cardboard copy.
Wasted potential.
On the heels of discovering the DD in the Safe and Secure series, I was a bit intrigued and I stumbled upon this recc. Although it felt a bit silly to go straight to book 6, the blurb was the most intriguing. I'm always a sucker (not always) for an older man expanding a young naive girl's horizons. I was sorely disappointed. I managed to read the entire thing but dear me, the immaturity, the useless drama because those two have nothing in common and barely know each other. There's nothing I hate worse than an author trying to create crazy insta love when there's nothing that makes sense between the characters. Overall, the writing is a letdown. The story is too short and the characters too vain to make you really care about it all.
It wasn't a bad book per se, I finished it. It was written a lot better than most crap on my DNF but still, there was something lacking to the story. I thought the characters had a lot of potential but I feel like the obstacles (well, THE obstacle) lasted too long. Considering it was a weak argument to start with, it made the story drag way too much and prevented the characters from some much needed growth.
Oh dear. I don't want to be judgemental but I'm just surprised this gets so many recs and good ratings on goodreads. Even when I just want something easy and sexy, I do not go for this. The insta everything is so ridiculous, when you pile on the ridiculous amount of trauma both characters have and how they seem to think that they'll fix each other. But hey, they want to try to change who they are after meeting three times and screwing once so you know...There are not enough warning signs for this story. I can't even really talk about the writing. Since it all feels so stupid to me, I'd say the writing or at least, the storytelling needed a hell of a lot more work. Hard pass on the other books.
I enjoyed the Evernight series and was pumped for Balthazar's book but this really fell flat in the worst of ways. I almost wish I hadn't read it. It feels like an unfinished job.
This feels like something you write in a go or that you go over until you suck out all the fun. There's no tension between the characters and you barely feel their connection.
Every few years, I reread this series because I forget if I i liked it or didn't. This is going to be a copy/paste review for all books but I'll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
All in all, it's a series that has its fault but still has some solid strengths. It diverts from usual YAs (of the time) and had heart. It's easy to get lost in things that don't work or twists that are narratively almost impossible to work but if you leave that aside, the pacing is as solid as it gets. Things actively happen in four books, scenery changes, relationships evolve, things aren't stuck for too long. Characters have emotions that feel real and true. These will get even a few tears out of you.
Every few years, I reread this series because I forget if I i liked it or didn't. This is going to be a copy/paste review for all books but I'll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
All in all, it's a series that has its fault but still has some solid strengths. It diverts from usual YAs (of the time) and had heart. It's easy to get lost in things that don't work or twists that are narratively almost impossible to work but if you leave that aside, the pacing is as solid as it gets. Things actively happen in four books, scenery changes, relationships evolve, things aren't stuck for too long. Characters have emotions that feel real and true. These will get even a few tears out of you.
Every few years, I reread this series because I forget if I i liked it or didn't. This is going to be a copy/paste review for all books but I'll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
All in all, it's a series that has its fault but still has some solid strengths. It diverts from usual YAs (of the time) and had heart. It's easy to get lost in things that don't work or twists that are narratively almost impossible to work but if you leave that aside, the pacing is as solid as it gets. Things actively happen in four books, scenery changes, relationships evolve, things aren't stuck for too long. Characters have emotions that feel real and true. These will get even a few tears out of you.
Every few years, I reread this series because I forget if I i liked it or didn't. This is going to be a copy/paste review for all books but I'll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
All in all, it's a series that has its fault but still has some solid strengths. It diverts from usual YAs (of the time) and had heart. It's easy to get lost in things that don't work or twists that are narratively almost impossible to work but if you leave that aside, the pacing is as solid as it gets. Things actively happen in four books, scenery changes, relationships evolve, things aren't stuck for too long. Characters have emotions that feel real and true. These will get even a few tears out of you.
Sometimes, I don't even know why I try a book. It took me about five pages to know this was not going to do it for me. Narration, characters... I really don't want to be mean so I'm just going to stop there, leave this DNF for my own posterity and leave the pleasure of this book to others.