Don't Go Stealing My Heart

Leaving this unrated for now. Will rate after a reread.

I really enjoyed this book. The premise is a bit unconventional and aspects of it were really sweet. However, it sometimes felt like the hero expected his money to solve the heroine's problems. I would have loved the novel more if we had seen her become independent and achieve some level of self-actualization. Instead, her actions in the novel seem centred around the hero and her love for him. He asks her to move in with him after two weeks of knowing each other and despite her misgivings, she does. She makes a major life-decision that affects her main source of income and the hero's reaction is to provide her with money and a new job. There is never a time where they have chat about what *she* wants to do with her life now that she's quit her illegal activities. The hero's actions stand in marked contrast to those of the heroine in Truly by Victoria Dahl; when faced with a heroine who has also made a life-changing decision and is attempting to centre her life around him, this hero reminds her that her dreams are worth pursuing on their own. My enjoyment of the book was limited because I felt like the heroine wasn't given sufficient space and time to find her own two feet. Although I understand that this is a romance, and the relationship is the centre of the novel, I prefer feeling like the characters really respect each other's individual needs, dreams and aspirations.