NJ
So cute. I need to read more Caroline Linden, because I really enjoy her characters. Also, I have realised that I like reading historical romances where the formerly indolent hero becomes a man who is dedicated to his work. I think this may be because one of my first historical romances was [b:Devil in Winter 114166 Devil in Winter (Wallflowers, #3) Lisa Kleypas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309220205l/114166.SY75.jpg 1823830], in which St.Vincent follows the path from rake to prosperous business owner. ALthough it is interesting to consider that both these heroes grew in part because they inherited businesses that their wives father's had built and which then became theirs after marriage.
It was a solid book. Not too many gripes. However, there was not much I liked about it either. I think the concept of a romance book happening in one day doesn't appeal to me as I like slow-build romance.
So far I haven't loved any of the Beharrie books I've read. They've all been solid but nothing out of the ordinary. May nave to abandon her books.
I enjoyed [b:The Flatshare 36478784 The Flatshare Beth O'Leary https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552471375l/36478784.SY75.jpg 58189559] a bit more but this was a perfectly lovely book. O'Leary finds inventive ways for her characters to meet and share each other's lives and it's always a treat to read the character development that comes along with it. THis book was just a sweet ball of fluff.
While reading this book I couldn't help comparing it to Caronline Linden's [b:An Earl Like You 35887277 An Earl Like You (The Wagers of Sin, #2) Caroline Linden https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518171192l/35887277.SY75.jpg 57403792], which had a similar premise. Unfortunately, the characters in this book were not half as likeable and the book suffered for it. There were also a lot of tiny details that detracted from my enjoyment of this novel.
Solid story. I'm probably rating this lower than I would have 2 months ago because all fake dating/friends-to-lovers stories will now be measured against [b:Take a Hint, Dani Brown 49976087 Take a Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters, #2) Talia Hibbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572990974l/49976087.SY75.jpg 72583521]. Although the two books didn't try to do exactly the same thing, I kept comparing the actions of the main characters and finding that a few things were handled with more depth and sensitivity in [b:Take a Hint, Dani Brown 49976087 Take a Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters, #2) Talia Hibbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572990974l/49976087.SY75.jpg 72583521] than they were in this book. However, Reyes is a relatively new author with only a few titles under her belt so I expect her to get better from here. In fact, I already enjoyed the second book in this series a lot more than I did this one.
This was not my cup of tea. It was fairly easy to read; however, the characters had very little depth. I did think that the trope of a subordinate and their boss getting together was relatively well done in some aspects. It didn't really feel like the boss was creeping on their subordinate or making their workplace uncomfortable; this is mainly because the two main characters had established some sort of relationship before learning that they worked in the same company.
This is the second book I've read where the female character quits her job after her relationship with her colleague has been established ([b:Unfinished Business|21964811|Unfinished Business (Strictly Professional #2)|Christina C. Jones|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398132074l/21964811._SX50_.jpg|41259611]). I don't like the subtle messaging of these choices. Blakely tries to suggest that Bryn wanted to branch out on her own and that her decision had nothing to do with her relationship. However, that is a difficult pill for the reader to swallow when we are told over and over again how much she enjoys her job and her colleagues, and at no point do we see her entertaining any ideas to jump ship or set up her own business. Perhaps Blakely wanted Bryn's decision to serve as a twist, however, it did not work. If anything it sent some troubling messages about women sacrificing their career for love and also served to highlight just how little she did to fully flesh out her characters.
It's a shame because there were some enjoyable parts of the book but it didn't fully come together for me.
3.5 stars
I really liked the two characters. I just feel like their relationship would be stronger if they just talked . Beverly never shared her fears with Beck and often left him feeling confused and rejected. I feel like Beck also didn't have much empathy for her grief concerning her husband's death (at least until the final chapters). A lot of heartache may have been avoided if they communicated better.
However, that initial scene where they were playing chicken was hilarious. It was such a great start to the book. The rest of the novel wasn't even half as interesting.
3.5 stars
This was so well-written that it was such a joy to read. I appreciated both characters a lot. However, the ending was a bit too dramatic for my tastes I am not a fan of the baby from an ex trope. . So I enjoyed the ending a bit less. But it was still a good book and I'm sure this is more a me-problem than a problem with the book itself.
Strong 3.5 stars I liked this book a lot. This was a much stronger book than [b:Crushing on You 49125713 Crushing on You (Burlfriends, #1) Jen Trinh https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576777209l/49125713.SY75.jpg 74578761]. I complained in my review of that book, that very little character development happened until the last 20% and I can confidently say that wasn't the case here. Yes, both characters grew a lot during the last 20% (that may just be [a:Jen Trinh 19798667 Jen Trinh https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1590958747p2/19798667.jpg]'s style) but the seeds had been sown during the earlier part of the book. For example, Lina called Asher out on his man-childishness in the first few chapters and he began to make changes almost immediately. Although romance books are usually centred on the heroine, in some ways, this was more Asher's book than Lina's. By the end of the book, he had grown by leaps and bounds and was definitely less child and more man (also shout out to positive representations of therapy). Admittedly, I found the portions about Lina's dissertation difficult to read because my own chemical engineering Masters' thesis is due in September and instead of working, I have been reading romance (but we're not here to talk about me). I really identified with her character and appreciated her growth.However, there were a few parts of this book that gave me pause. During one of their early hookups, Lina mentions being surprised by a kiss Asher gives her. Luckily, she wound up being into it, but I couldn't help thinking that it was skirting the line of enthusiastic consent. I know that sometimes both partners may be flirtatiously sending each other non-verbal cues, but in my opinion, that wasn't the case here (she was surprised). Also by that point, they were not in an established relationship and so surprising someone with a kiss was iffy at best. In addition, as someone who hates public gestures, I was uncomfortable with the scene where Asher sang a song to her after she explicitly told her not to contact him. I feel like this happens quite a lot in romance where one character (usually the heroine) sets a hard boundary and the other character finds a loophole. Something about that always rubs me the wrong way. I feel like if Asher had sung the song without knowing she was in the crowd I may have liked that scene better. Or maybe, Lina should not have been made to set that hard boundary in the first place. I know I am nitpicking here and most romance readers wouldn't have issues with these things, but for me, they detract from my enjoyment of a book. In general, I liked this book and I look forward to more books from Trinh.
Up to about 80%, I disliked this book. The heroine was a judgmental mess who took advantage of other people and the hero had next to no personality. The heroine's ex was admittedly an ass but the way she treated him was not commendable.
However, it was nice to see the characters grow and become better. I feel like this would have been a stronger book if we had seen the characters grow throughout the book, as opposed to packing all the character development in the last 20% of the book. By then, I had spent most of the book disliking the characters and being disinterested in their romance.
Since this is a debut book, I hope that Trinh manages to iron out these issues in her later books.
This is my favourite Cara McKenna book yet. I have complained in reviews of her other books that I felt like her characters could be unfeeling and brutal towards each other. The characters in [b:Unbound 17672182 Unbound Cara McKenna https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1373975839l/17672182.SY75.jpg 24671250] were the opposite of that. They were so kind and considerate of each other that it was lovely to read about.I also enjoyed reading a romance where a for once, the heroine was helping her male love interest open up about his sexual desires. It was such a refreshing break from the usual ‘rake gets together with wallflower and helps her open up' romances. I really really liked this book. Depending on how much I enjoy it after a re-read I may bump my rating up to 5 stars.
The characters in this book were interesting and caused me to rethink certain ideas I had about personal agency However, I never fully got on board with the hero. He constantly ignored certain boundaries that the heroine had set and I never got over that. I really hated that he confronted her sister's ex despite her pleading with him not to. I hated moreover that it was later presented as a relatively good thing because the hero was capable of physically intimidating the ex while the heroine wasn't, and the hero felt like helping the heroine out. I understood the point being made but I am never on board with going against somebody's explicit wishes. It never sits right with me. In reviewing [b:Give It All 22668806 Give It All (Desert Dogs, #2) Cara McKenna https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1419610900l/22668806.SY75.jpg 42170995] by the same author, I remember complaining about the heroine's lack of openness with the hero and after reading this book, I think that Cara McKenna's characters may just not be my cup of tea. She writes characters who are often not nice, and I fundamentally think that at least when I read romance, I want the characters to be if not nice people, then at least kind and thoughtful to each other.
I would have probably enjoyed this book more if I hadn't just read [b:Take a Hint, Dani Brown 49976087 Take a Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters, #2) Talia Hibbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572990974l/49976087.SY75.jpg 72583521]. I think that that book was more successful in portraying certain relationship dynamics.I did enjoy the first half of this book, the characters had wonderful chemistry. However, it all began to fall apart for me when they actually got together. It constantly felt like the hero was pushing the heroine into a relationship when she had been very clear, multiple times that that wasn't what she wanted. In [b:Take a Hint, Dani Brown 49976087 Take a Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters, #2) Talia Hibbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572990974l/49976087.SY75.jpg 72583521], the main characters' relationship organically deepens without the hero pushing or trying to change the heroine's wishes. In fact, he is very cautious not to superimpose his wishes on hers and I really appreciated that. On the one hand, the heroine in Salt+Stilettos was an adult with agency but as the book kept emphasising over and over again she was in a particularly vulnerable spot. This makes the fact that the hero constantly pushes her boundaries even more egregious in my book.That said, I liked most of this book, and excluding this irritating dynamic, I could see myself reading more Janet Walden-West.
I greatly enjoyed most aspects of this book. The only thing that irritated me about this was the subtle anti-Indian sentiment I picked up on. Often when describing certain aspects of Indian culture the term barbaric was thrown around. India was referred to as a dangerous place not safe for a child, with little consideration that perhaps decades of British colonisation had made it so. I understand that the book is set in a time period when the characters may have had even worse feelings about India and Indians. However, Putney does not shy away from unconventional heroes and heroines who don't agree with the popular sentiments of their era, so it is not unimaginable that her characters would have had anti-racist and anti-colonialist views if she so desired. I also understand that the book was written about 20 years ago, and certain sentiments concerning the terms ‘barbaric and savage' have changed greatly, so I am inclined to be less harsh in my assessment. However, it was something that diminished my enjoyment of this book.
2.5 starsI thought I went into this book with my eyes wide open because I had read the reviews that warned that this was not a warm and fluffy book, but the book still disappointed me. I really enjoyed [b:A Million Junes 30763950 A Million Junes Emily Henry https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487956862l/30763950.SX50.jpg 49844163] and since this dealt so heavily with grief, I thought that I might similarly enjoy it but this wasn't the case. I never really cared for either of the characters, if anything I was more interested in the details of the heroine's parents relationship than I was with the relationship between the two main characters. I didn't find the book funny at all despite a few reading a few reviews where readers had had different experiences. Although I generally don't mind grumpy characters, I found some of the hero's behaviour to be veering very deeply into controlling asshole territory. I was troubled by the hero's insistence that the heroine, was too 'bright and fairy-like' to see the site of the cult. There was nothing cute or sweet about that sentiment. If anything it seemed clear to me that he was taking away her agency and under the guise of putting her on a pedestal, making crucial decisions for an adult woman who was capable of deciding things for herself. I felt like after a while, this 'you're too bright to see the darkness in the world' would become stifling for the heroine. and their relationship would not survive the test of time. Meanwhile, his whole point seemed to be that despite what life threw at her she still remained bright and happy. Shouldn't he then trust her ability to remain happy despite whatever she would see in the cult site? Before I started writing this review, I toyed with giving this book 3.5 stars but after considering how little of the book I actually enjoyed, I bumped it down to 2.5 stars. I think because I like [a:Emily Henry 13905555 Emily Henry https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1573928938p2/13905555.jpg]'s writing, I was tempted to give this book a higher rating than it truly deserved.
It was lovely to read this story. Yes, some parts of it were convoluted and abstruse but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. I loved the characters, they all felt real and well-fleshed out. Although I didn't always agree with their choices, I understood them.
I loved reading a book with three female characters who were strong in different ways, who had been beaten down by life but refused to just accept what the world thought was their due. I loved all three characters but I must admit to liking Wanda the most. The power of her 'NO' is something of beauty. Also, I loved the idea that if you proclaimed something to be true and when challenged did it 3 times, then you would possess that power. And then also, it was interesting how none of the characters including the tsar, was truly free. I ended up appreciating his character a lot. He who had been sold to this horrible thing from birth in order to appease his mother's aims of advancement. And then yet still, we had to pause to consider, what may she also have been fleeing in her life to make the bargain that she did? I liked this book because after reading it I was left considering the power of bargaining and all the ways big and small that we betray other people and ourselves in order to gain an easier, simple life. But also, the ways in which sometimes, we can put our own needs aside and simply fight for what's right even when it imperils us greatly. I loved the book and by the end hated none of the characters. Not even the Staryk King. They were all flawed characters who were trying to eke out a little enjoyment from an otherwise bleak existence. .
While I primarily read romance, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the book without any of the little romance it contained. In fact, I was a bit troubled by one of the romantic pairings as I didn't believe that relationship was based on mutual respect and regard. I understand the Staryk King because he and his people did to the Lithvians what Irina was willing to do to them and I still loved her anyway. However, I am ambivalent about his relationship with Miryem. I felt that he was unfeeling and condescending in the beginning with little respect for her personal autonomy. While their relationship may have changed during their 6 months together, the readers didn't get to see much of it. Also, there were no proper reparations nor apologies made for all the harm the Staryk had done. But I guess I wasn't mad that Irina made no apologies for possible harming the winter people. So I guess, I don't really know. I have complex feelings about their relationship and I would have liked the book more easily if their relationship wasn't a part of it. Still, that was one tiny aspect of an otherwise great book. And ultimately I feel like that lack of black and white is why I liked the book. For better or worse, I can't stop thinking about it.
