Good writing of realistic marriage matters 2 years after a whirlwind marriage of a couple who’s romanc***Major SPOILERS under PLOT & Sexual History***
Good writing of realistic marriage matters 2 years after a whirlwind marriage of a couple who’s romance is desire-based and lacked open communication.
Liked the point Lamb made for a 1979 HP that a woman can be in love with her husband yet still feel some attraction to other men. Also quite advanced of Lamb to show the more darker side of sex with h liking H’s roughness with her although H was the 1 who felt bad about it but wish it was addressed again @ the end when they reunited as either a mutual part of their sex life or H resolving his jealousy issues. Liked H’s jealous-posessiveness over h but not how rape-y and violent & accusing he was with her. Lacked character growth since no satisfying resolution by the end & h’s view of H softening up because he looked at their baby with love was not good enough indicator of his change. Good pacing/S chem/emo.
PLOT: @1%--H&h already distant in the last 6 months during their 2-yr marriage after a whirlwind courtship/@10% h sees H kissing his coworker after she overhears him mentioning his marriage frustrations with OW @15%--h stays at her old friend’s place & sees her male friend OM again since more than 2 years ago @23%-- H is greeted by OM when he comes for h & punches OM after accusing h of adultery/@30% H catches h packing at their house & rapes her after she tells H she wants a divorce & lies to him re: OM being her lover since he won’t believe her denials about OM not being her lover (h tells him “no” but he meant to “have her” anyway) @35%-- h moves in with her BFF & takes the acting job offer that OM pulled strings for her @47%-- h makes out with OM & seriously considered sleeping with him due to their sex chemistry but reconsiders after OW advises her to not divorce H yet due to his potential judge upgrade & tells h that she was only H’s confidant & have never had an affair with him @60%-- h&H openly talk about their issues including H’s jealous obsession over h & h’s sexual attraction to OM and H agreed to move to London & let h pursue acting while h assures H that she will only be friends with OM & she frankly tells OM of it @80%-- they smex but roughly due to H’s jealousy over OM coming over their house while he was away & H accusing h of cheating on him despite h denying it but h liked it rough and told H that after they got done smexxing & H was apologetic over how aggressive & out of control he became with h then told H he wanted a separation to figure out his lack of control & jealousy when it came to h @82%--h moves in with her BFF while getting acting jobs & going back to her friendship with h and soon learns that she’s preggo from H’s rape months ago @91%--@ending months later with h giving birth to their baby girl & she’s surprised at how H seems to taken with their daughter & has become softer overall like the man she fell in love with when they met.
Sexual History: 23yo theatre-actress h was a virgin when she married 36yo British lawyer H 2 years ago after a brief & passionate courtship. She & H had a sexually satisfying marriage until she miscarried from the pregnancy she pushed for after he explicitly told her he didn’t want kids but she thought having a baby would help her not feel so bored with her new life as a housewife. H raped her after she told him she wanted a divorce, after she witnessed what she appeared to be H kissing his coworker OW. About 1 week or so after she left H to stay at her BFF’s place, she let OM kiss her & she was quite turned on by him and considered sleeping with him that night of the party if not for H showing up there too. No info on H”s sexual or dating past but that he had many female admirers. He’d only been with h since they met and he’d been secretly very obsessed with her. He didn’t kiss OW....more
2.5-star **SPOILERS** Good writing overall but for the iffy HEA/romance at the end.
The GOOD: #1. Unpredictable drama & good emotionality made for good 2.5-star **SPOILERS** Good writing overall but for the iffy HEA/romance at the end.
The GOOD: #1. Unpredictable drama & good emotionality made for good pacing: *@5% H&h’s rom immediately established & set but h had to confess about having a fiance/@28% H stalks h at her house & rapes her *@30% h wakes up @ hospital with amnesia from her fall after her father came home & witnesses her nakedly falling from the stairs after she &H got done smexxing from the partial rape *@55% h sees H again & immediately gets her memory back but he thinks she lied & blackmails her to marry him or else risk her reputation & thereby hurting her crippled fiance who H knows she still cares for.
#2. Good characterization with depth that showed h&H's dysfunctions.
#3. Good sexual tension.
#4. Good emotionality & pacing.
The BAD: #1. Poor character development since h stayed kinda weak at the end & H became more unlikable. At the end, H was still unforgiving & vengeful so their HEA is iffy. Their romance was unresolved, although H&h did seem to love each other. Wished their epilogue showed H&h 1 or more years later being better together and H being as soft & loving as he was with h in the beginning of the book.
#2. Didn’t like how forceful & rape-y 36yo journalist H was.
#3. h cheated on her partially-paralyzed fiance of 2 years with H during the week they met at a convention together. h didn’t’ tell H until he came on to her & kissed her at their last convention day that she had a fiance, even though she already realized she had fallen for H.
#4. Characters weren't that likable mostly due to their dyfunctions (i.e., h with her passive-aggressiveness from falling out of love with her nice fiance (OM) and wanting more than him as both had changed in 2 years since OM's accident but yet sticking around with him & his family due to her people-pleasing tendencies & overall niceness, H with his self-absorbed and vengeful ways brought on from his life as a loner and a successful journalist in a cut-throat journalist industry).
#5. ok sex scenes since didn’t like how H raped h and put the blame on her more than taking responsibility for his actions yet excused them as his loving her
Sexual History: 23yo h was probably not a virgin since she was in love with her fiance (OM) whom she dated for 1 year before he proposed 2 years ago. She’d been celibate for 2 years since OM’s car accident. When she 1st smexxed with H, she said she was hurt but not sure if it was coz he smexxed her too roughly or when she wasn’t ready or if she was a virgin with him. Likely from H forcing himself on her before she was ready although she did end up reciprocating his S advances later. No other info of h’s dating life. H was known to be popular with women & he seemed to have a penchant for blondes like h. No info if he had any previous Gfs....more
Almost-DNFed @ 3% coz 20yo h sounded like a spoiled brat as she related why she left home 1.5 years ago. But by 5% sh**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Almost-DNFed @ 3% coz 20yo h sounded like a spoiled brat as she related why she left home 1.5 years ago. But by 5% showed that she’d changed & was regretful and embarrassed with how she behaved before.
Much more character/emotional/romantic depth than Pargeter's Substitute Bride. The contrast between H&h’s characters & relationship 1.5 years before and the present time were intriguing and understandable. h’s POV was full of regret and humility but still had moments of determination and impulsiveness but more seasoned than how she used to be. Still, h showed her naivete and immaturity. So, her character change in 1.5 years based on experiencing life outside her rich father’s pampering (i.e., she worked as a nanny & housekeeper for free to help a struggling widow, she asked for and gave all the money she got from her father in order to help another lady) was believable and consistent. H's change from being open/vulnerable/patient about his interest in h into a cynical/mistrusting/and guarded one was understandable.
Loved when 35yo H’s OTT obsession and jealous-possessiveness would come out despite him trying to hide it from now-20yo h through his cruel and frank words and actions. Loved how H took then-18yo h’s rudeness and insulting misjudgments of him as a social climber and unwelcome replacement in her father’s business with patience and kindness. H wasn’t a total bully as he also showed moments of tenderness and care for h especially when she got sick. And his bullying her was about him believing she was promiscuous with other men but won’t give him the time of day. So, his bullying showed his hurt re: his unreciprocated feelings/desire for her.
Really liked the combo of humor/angst/frustrations from H&h. Good sexual tension as H&h both tried to resist their desire for each other as they dealt with their emotional 1-upmanship. Sex scenes were good and had good enough detail to crank up the heat for a 1983 Harlequin book.
Sexual History: 20yo h was a virgin with 35yo H, her dad's new business partner. She's beautiful and popular with men so dated a lot, especially during her rebellious few months of partying after her father let H live in their estate with before she suddenly left home. Aside from some kisses from only select few since she couldn’t stand being touched by most, there was 1 incident when she let a date do more than kiss since she was in some early state of undress when H rescued her from her amorous date. During her 1.5-year away from home, she didn’t date and was busy helping with her landlady’s household. When she was forcibly engaged to H around 70%, she allowed an old date who came by to declare his intentions kiss her a brief goodbye. She allowed the kiss and kissed him back too as a form of rebellion against H. When H devirginized her, it started out as somewhat forced (based on his anger towards her seeing that old date and another man that he forbid her to see again) but she wanted H and willingly participated in her devirginizing. But the pain from H’s first thrust and his shock that he totally misjudged her as promiscuous caused H to stop their smexxing and she sorta fainted.
H was popular with women and had lovers before but no one significant. He became celibate since he insta-loved h @ 1st sight 1.5 years ago. He tried to date other women when h left home but no one could stop his obsession with h....more
The Good: Liked the drama. Liked the mix storylines of Cinderella and Ugly Duckling.
MEH or the BAD: Dyfunctional romance thus iffy HEA.**Some SPOILERS**
The Good: Liked the drama. Liked the mix storylines of Cinderella and Ugly Duckling.
MEH or the BAD: Dyfunctional romance thus iffy HEA. Too much focus on 19yo virgin h’s plain & skinny look. 35yo Barbados plantation-owner H kept making comments on h’s plain looks & how it must be something else (namely, her sexual experience) that’s attracting other men.
Their love declarations were superficial since they hardly knew each other--with H mostly insulting her looks & h fighting with him. their 7-week separation a couple days after their wedding didn't help. Her love feelings for H was her mistaking her hormones & physical attraction for romantic love. H’s love for h seemed borne out of his feelings of competition with other men who are now vying for prettier-h’s affections. Their attraction was lust-based coupled with their own personal issues (her with her loneliness & insecurities from being an orphan to a Cinderella-type maid to her mean Aunt & model cousin and H with his control-power issues).
Hated that H seemed to only look at h 2x after she gained curves & improved her looks via salon treatments while he was away for 7 weeks. He was just a cruel bully and was never really endearing.
Lacked emotionality & romance. Sexual tension was awkward.
Sexual History: 19yo h had never dated or been kissed before until H. She got devirginized by 35yo H via rape (but she kinda stopped towards the end & then orgasmed so 90% rape) 7 weeks after their wedding coz he got jealous & possessive after he heard news re: h’s popularity with some men in the island. No direct apologies for raping her but some indirect apologies for previously misjudging her as a “slut”. He did soften up to her after but still made sure she knew her limits with him.
H was engaged to h’s model cousin (OW) for months before he pushed h towards an arranged marriage with him as his revenge against OW cheating on him with another man. He was attracted to OW and enjoyed a sexual relationship with her and was a convenient pick to have kids with until he caught her cheating on him. He told h he hadn’t been with any other woman since he married her, including the 7 weeks he was away from her. Could be true....more
DNF @ 37% due to poor writing & the story didn’t sound anything like the book blurb.
Picked this up because I thought it was written by Vanessa James wDNF @ 37% due to poor writing & the story didn’t sound anything like the book blurb.
Picked this up because I thought it was written by Vanessa James who wrote HPs in the 1980s, especially Try To Remember. According to fictiondb.com website, this book was supposedly written by the same '80s Vanessa James. But it's clearly not, as I learned from reading a few pages of this novella:
-stilted dialogue/POV -lacks flow of characters & scenes -lacks emotionality -filled with contrived scenes & lots of sudden explanations that were lame & seemed focused on making h appear strong & the savior of her dysfunctional family -has no romantic feels & just lacked romance overall -dialogue in modern language with lots of unnecessary cussing -characters are unlikable, especially aggressive/complainy/judgmental h and H was ho-hum -boring...more
DNF @ 19% coz unlikable 22yo h who seemed immature/spoiled/lacked purpose & ambition/rebellious & her cousin & guardian 33yo H seemed beta as a forgetDNF @ 19% coz unlikable 22yo h who seemed immature/spoiled/lacked purpose & ambition/rebellious & her cousin & guardian 33yo H seemed beta as a forgetful professor & tinkerer. Lacked romance & read like chick-lit fiction about h’s daily life with her quirky household....more
MEH & the GOOD: Good emotion overall/dialogue/overall evocative writing. The romance developed & had some ang3.5-star ***SPOILERS***
My 1st James book.
MEH & the GOOD: Good emotion overall/dialogue/overall evocative writing. The romance developed & had some angst after 75% so the book was better & tighter towards the last 75%. Liked the full explanations H&h gave re: their misunderstandings & secret feelings & misjudgments in the end of the book so their HEA was believable & possible & somewhat excused H basically raping h on their 2nd day of marriage when he got mad at her. Liked H’s long-time obsession with h but not his quick & cruel judgment of her as being like her seductive mother. ok S chem. S scenes were described in a more general way & not overly detailed around 65%.
The BAD: Writing wasn’t tight re: 25yo h's selective amnesia so was unclear until about 70% & thus made h’s character/emotions/romance seem bipolar. In a few scenes, h would declare that she was in love with H for years and then switch to being scared of him & not remembering him that clearly. What made it unromantic (and thus a half-star off) was h mistaking him for his brother, when she saw him again 10 years later. H wasn't masked or changed in his appearance. She saw him again clearly in his well-lit office. Yet, she confused him for his brother during their 30-minute meeting. What made it worse (and insulting to H) was that 20yo H was her BF from their summer in Scotland when she was 15yo and his younger brother almost raped her towards the end of that summer, if not for H coming in her room. H's bro was currently blackmailing her younger sis into an affair with him if she squealed re: the money both H's younger bro & h's younger sis were embezzling from H's dad’s firm’s elderly clients). h's trauma from H's bro almost raping her coupled with getting a phone call re: her mom's impending death & other stressors was a weak excuse for h's deliberate selective amnesia re: her romance with H. It made her look psychologically weak overall. H raped h the day after their wedding because he was mad & jealous.
Sexual History: 25yo h was a virgin on her wedding night with H. After the fallout of her brief summer fling with H when she was 15 & her fuzzy memory about it which she liked to keep fuzzy, she didn’t date & devoted her life helping her flashy younger sister out and working. 30Yo H was pleasantly surprised that h was still a virgin with him since she caught her in bed with her younger bro 10 years ago & thought they’d been secretly having an affair then while he was romancing her. H dated and smexxed many women in the past 10 years to get over h but it didn't work. He proposed an MOC with h with a promise of separate rooms & no touching but the promise was broken their wedding night....more
Reads like an improved version of James' Devil's Advocate (written 3 years before this in 1984). Even the Hero's name is the same4.5-star **SPOILERS**
Reads like an improved version of James' Devil's Advocate (written 3 years before this in 1984). Even the Hero's name is the same! It's as if James realized what was missing in Devil's Advocate and put all the improvements in this book. And it worked. This one has a tighter & better-written amnesia romance story. Better romance/romance development. Better character and character development. Even the sex scenes were better and more descriptive (lots of breast play).
For an improved version of Devil's Advocate, the story wasn't the same. This one's unpredictable & angsty. I liked the mystery of h’s amnesia & how we get to see her fuzziness/confusion/frustration/unresponsiveness as H tries to help her regain her lost memory from the last 5 years since the car accident. Angsty from H’s desperation to make h remember him/their romance by taking her to places & doing things that they did in the past to shake her memory but most of the time she couldn’t remember anything & he would try to be nonchalant in his disappointment. Loved former barrister & ex-con 30yo H’s angry obsession with h & his trying to hide his desperation over her not remembering him. Loved H’s sacrifices for h including going to prison for 2 years for falsely agreeing that he kidnapped & raped h per her stepfather’s & his brother’s schemes because he thought that h cheated on him with his brother per his brother’s lies & life was no longer worth living since h’s stepfather wouldn’t let H see her even after her accident. Really liked the full explanation of H&h’s misunderstandings in the end.
Sexual History: 19yo h was a virgin with 25yo H when they secretly eloped 5 years ago before her car accident. She didn’t date anyone in the next 5 years mostly because her stepfather tried to cloister her at the house he moved them to after her car accident and she took care of him during his illness until his death. No info on H’s previous relationships before h but he’d been in love with her since they were kids. H seemed to be celibate during their 5-year separation since he was in prison the 1st 2 years and was bent on planning revenge against h & her stepfather....more
NOTE: Read & rated this back in Jan 2020, when I was more tolerant and didn't do Safety Spoilers.
1. believable romance of dark characters for a GlinesNOTE: Read & rated this back in Jan 2020, when I was more tolerant and didn't do Safety Spoilers.
1. believable romance of dark characters for a Glines book. Twisted/dysfunctional/& promiscuous mid-20s mean-girl socialite h is secretly stalked by 30s mysterious grim & commanding secret-FBI-type-leader & known-cold-killer H. He'd been watching her from multiple hidden video cameras, including 1 in her bedroom and even shower. He began staging for her to fall for 1 of their secret-agents (OM) so she can spill info about 1 of her past lovers, who's a mafia leader & known pedophile sex-trafficker. But he ends up not sticking with the plan as he falls deeper for her
Loved how H became OTT alpha demanding-possessive & secretly-obsessed with h, although it didn't start out that way. In the 1st 50%, he forced OM to woo h back again. Even risking her falling for OM again & smexxing him. But H got jealous & “punished” her for letting OM kiss her after her 1st date with OM. Their romance development was complicated, fun, and real. Loved that h deliberately tried to get herself preggo with H at their 2nd Vegas affair. H knew about it coz he saw her birth control pills in her hotel-room trash. He viewed that as proof of her love & his way out of his secret-FBI leadership. Believable HEA.
2.) mean girl becomes likable Loved h's char development from being mean/cold-hearted/& manipulative in previous books in the series to becoming calmer/more of a homebody/& openly wanting the love of husband and kids like her other siblings. She became likable and H's love for her was understandable. However, in the 1st 50% of the book, some of h's dialogue & actions were not consistent with how mean/thoughtless/& impulsive she was in previous books.
3. good & sometimes funny weaving of the (sorta) love-triangle Great writing in how it weaves h's love triangle between H & secret-agent OM. H planned to stop his Vegas-weekend tryst with h by paying a showgirl to publicly claim that he got her preggo (He actually never slept with her ever). It was his setup to have h meet his teammate OM, who was coaching to get back in h's good graces via written notes about what made h beautiful & wining & dining her at her secret-garden spot with all her fave foods & wine.
It was funny how she became so annoyed with OM & would be frank with him about it coz she knew at that point that she only wanted H, even when he rejected her for the showgirl. Nor did it it stop her from going back to Vegas to hopefully see him again. Funny too with OM's POV re: his kinda-love for h but couldn't stop smexxing random OW per his usual & h knew about it coz of his reputation for smexxing many waitresses in restrooms & his disgust at h's fave food like olives while pleased that H would know how to get to h while hating him for being so controlling. It seemed fitting that OM was staged to be killed at the end, including a funeral with family & h & others so that he can then take H's place as the underground FBI-type leader. ...more
NOTE: Read & rated this back in Jan 2020, when I was more tolerant and didn't do Safety Spoilers.
Bit of angst from 26yo waitress h seeing her 1st loveNOTE: Read & rated this back in Jan 2020, when I was more tolerant and didn't do Safety Spoilers.
Bit of angst from 26yo waitress h seeing her 1st love 27yo restaurateur H ignore her & smexxing the lead server OW, when she sees him again 10 yrs later. She was forced to leave him by her foster mother. Her abusive foster-mom threatened to kill her & H if h came back. When she came back months later after she was rescued from her homelessness, h couldn't find him and was now preggo with his baby. She couldn't find any trace of him the next 10 years until just a few months ago. She & their 9yo daughter (who H had no idea even existed) moved to where he was coz their daughter wanted to meet her father. h also wanted to check him out 1st to see how he was before she'd introduced their daughter to him.
H became a big manho & killer the last 10 yrs, after h's mom told him that she killed h. As a result, he became hopeless & homeless after committing the mom to a mental hospital. He got trained to be an assassin by the guy who rescued him from the streets.
Liked that she was celibate after H since she never got over him and hoped to find him. It fit her strong survivalist and protective-mother character. Liked that H became OTT possessive-obssessive with h, after he found her again. He loved her and thought her dead. And he'd been trying to forget the last 10 yrs with his random hookups. Liked that both didn't resist their love for each other, when they saw each other again. So, no unnecessary drama. Both matureed enough to let jealousies & Big Misunderstandings go for the sake of their daughter & their 2nd chance....more
NOTE: Read & rated this back in Jan 2020, when I was more tolerant and didn't do Safety Spoilers.
Likable characters. Especially 19yo virgin 4.5-star
NOTE: Read & rated this back in Jan 2020, when I was more tolerant and didn't do Safety Spoilers.
Likable characters. Especially 19yo virgin h who just buried her beloved mom (who she took care of for 3 yrs from cancer) and who's neglectful dad has just sent her to live at the beach house of his wealthy stepson--famous-rockstar's son 24yo stocktrader H. Loved her inner strength and positive outlook. She also tended to be kind & forgive, despite the many negatives she's gone through in life the last 5 years (i.e., her ID twin died from car accident with her then-involved dad driving, dad leaves h & her mom after sister's death for his ex-GF who's H's stepmom, h's mom struggled with cancer for 3 yrs with h taking care of her, h's childhood BFF & BF cheats on her & not there for her during her mom's sickness).
Loved stepbro H's OTT alpha possessive-obssessive attitude towards h. Initially, he was cruel and acted like a jerk to her. He made sure h could hear/see them smexxing. He put her in the tiny room below stairs by the kitchen coz he thought she was a moocher like her dad. He strongly resisted his attraction towards her by bringing different OW in his house. Loved seeing H by Book3 solidly prioritize h & their baby first in his life. He made it clear to his sister and his mom clear that they come 1st.
Good emotionality with some angst from H, when he put his manipulative younger sister 1st & ignored h's calls/texts when she needed him coz he was busy trying to console his guilt-tripping sister. Written well with great pacing. 2ndary chars were written in a balanced way that introduced them w/o distracting from the main romance. ...more
1.5-star **Major SPOILERS under Plot and Sexual History**
Should've DNFed @ 11% but skimmed until the end since it picked up @ 33%. But then it went ba1.5-star **Major SPOILERS under Plot and Sexual History**
Should've DNFed @ 11% but skimmed until the end since it picked up @ 33%. But then it went back down after 58%.
The GOOD: 1.) Good-enough emotionality with some angst 2.) Hot detailed bareback S scenes
The BAD: 1.) Weak & shallow characters Due to 18yo H leaving town after their secret summer fling, 16yo h drowned her sorrows with sex & alcohol. She had no ambitions to pursue anything other than her just-to-pay-the-bills waitressing job she got via her aunt. Eight years later, she's still doing the same thing.
H cowered under his wealthy parents’ pressure & rebelled by leaving town instead of going to Yale. He didn't communicate his travel plans to h. Nor his plan to come back for her 2 years later, when she became legal. He slept with her, knowing she was underage and that he was going to leave town soon. Neither did that much to fight to stay together or be reunited soon or have a long-distance relationship since they could've easily been in contact secretly through H's many friends and h's aunt-boss. Or text/phone/Skype (This was written in 2014). Instead, they slept with other people to get over each other and h's pregnancy loss. And never reached out 1 year, 2 years, or more to discuss what happened. H had a bike so he could've come back to meet up with her at a secret location, if he really wanted to.
2.) H's inconsistent persistence & obsession with h One day (or 6 months), he's all possessive & stalkery obssessive. But then, with a little rejection from h or threat from his dad, he deflates and soon dates other women. He also lacked responsibility and was ok not working and just traveling around with his bike and golfing while being funded by his family funding. If it wasn't for h's frank talk about his joblessness and her worry about their future, he would've just kept golfing & puttering around. He was like a rich loser.
3.) Immature romance & unsure HEA
PLOT Highlights: @11% h's POV revealed that she slept around with “whatever wealthy hot guy hit on (her)” at bars to drown her sorrows after H left her 8 years ago & that included his close cousin OM who she 1st smexxed coz he looked like H but ended up falling in love with him and dating him the next few years until recently when OM died from an accidental drowning.
Skimmed until about 30% when I felt some angst & interest from the major tidbits dropped re: what else was involved in H&h’s breakup & subsequent heartache were dropped including a baby they lost.
@33% h finally let H talk to her re: the baby she thought she aborted (her aunt later corrects her that she miscarried the baby at the clinic but h was knocked out so she didn't know & just assumed they aborted her baby all those years) & her sleeping with other guys to get over her & H took the blame for leaving her to deal with the fallback of her aunt & his dad finding out about their affair when h was still a teen.
@40% they called a truce to be friends but both jealous when the other is with another potential date. @46% H declared his plan to talk with h about all that happened 8 years ago when h was ready so they can both heal.
@58% h let H finger her to orgasm & he soon after told her ILY but she said it was too late.
@63% 3 months later H dates his ex-GF (OW) from high school to get over h since she rejected him but seeing h again when she was serving him & his date at the restaurant & she seemed jealous of OW confused him. It wasn’t until his friend told him to not just give up on h but fight for her that he told OW he couldn’t date her anymore & then pursued h again.
@89% H&h’s 1st sex scene after he agreed with her plan to date each other casually although he wanted to be exclusive. But after they smexxed he got all possessive claimy & wanted to be exclusive but she frankly told him that she couldn’t without a firm commitment from him since he can just walk away again from her again since he didn’t have a job and she didn’t want to move out of town.
@96% h hadn’t heard from H in 5 days & thought they were done until he ask her to go with him to show her the actual locations of the hotel and their future home that he recently purchased with his inheritance money & then proposed marriage.
Sexual History: 16yo trailer-park h was devirginzed by 18yo wealthy college-bound H during their short & secret summer fling before he was forced to go to Yale after his dad found about his fling with poor h & blackmailed H into leaving her. Both of them slept with other people to get over each other over the next 8 years. Since her BF's death 2 years ago, h had been celibate until H.
H had 4 previous lovers before h, including his recent ex-GF of 2 years who his parents wanted him to date. After h, he slept with bunch of other women to get over h but it didn’t work. When he came back to town 2 years ago, he was single and silently watching h dating his cousin. He left town again for awhile & no info on whether he dated or slept with anyone. When he came back again 6 months ago, he silently stalked h to give her support over losing her BF and due to his obsession with her. He seemed to have been celibate for that 6-month period. He didn't smex his ex-GF during the 1-2 week period he dated her after h rejected his ILY. Not sure if he kissed or touched her but he was willing to date her since he felt rejected by h and wanted to be with someone who wanted him and she was a good lover in the past....more
If it wasn't for the grooming bits and not giving h a college trial period, I'd rate this higher. But it IS a Jessa Kane plus Alexa Riley **SPOILERS**
If it wasn't for the grooming bits and not giving h a college trial period, I'd rate this higher. But it IS a Jessa Kane plus Alexa Riley novella so...
THE GOOD: 1. Smutty & sweet romance I liked secretly-obsessed 35yo Russian hitman H who’d been the bodyguard of18yo sheltered flirty college-bound virgin h since she was 13yo after her mom died. H had been biding his time until his 5-year contract agreement with h’s politician father was done before he claimed h sexually and officially as his wife. She thought her desire for H was 1-sided since she did all she could to flirt and seduce him but H was often non-responsive. Sometimes she’d see quick glimpses of something in his eyes/face but H was quick to mask it.
2. Good straightforward romance/rom dev/S chem/hot detailed bareback S scenes with breeding intent.
3. Likable chars and character development Mostly from H&h finally honestly talking about their feelings and plans for each other. Like that h didn’t easily give in to H when it came to her college plans. She wasn’t a doormat and gave him some sass, which he tried to tamp down but ultimately supported since it was part of h’s character.
MEH or the BAD: 1. As much as I liked H’s OTT obsession and possessive protective claims towards h, it had some grooming sense to it. H admitted to wanting h since they 1st met when she was 13yo and he was 30yo. It's not so much the huge age-gap but h's initial age, when H started wanting her/taking care of her/and planning to claim her. H became responsible for taking care of h due to her neglectful and busy father, including buying her clothes and feeding her. So, her calling him “Uncle” was true in a way since H became a father-figure to her and both even said so.
2. It would’ve felt less groom-y if H gave h at least 1 week (or better yet 1 month) to attend college on her own (or even at least with him watching her in the background) to give her the freedom she wanted to experience as a young adult. And to prove to herself and to us readers that her feelings for H was truly due to an adult love and not some kind of transference of child-father gratitude with some mix of sexual attraction.
Sexual History: 18yo homeschooled virgin h had never been kissed or touched sexually by anyone other than H. She was sheltered by her wealthy politician father since her mom’s death 5 years ago. Her father assigned H to protect h, especially from male admirers including from H himself. She had desired H since she was 16 and accidentally walked in on him showering and self-pleasuring there. She flirted and tried to seduce him by sitting on his lap and wearing sexy clothing for him since. But H was self-controlled to not fall for it. H was persistent and loyal to his 5-year contract with her father. He subverted his desire for her all these years by getting her named tattooed all over his body/masturbating/secretly having her dream house constructed/and making plans to get her wed and bred by him on the very 1st day after his contract with her father expired. H was not a virgin but have been celibate for 5 years ever since he met h. No other woman would do for him....more
NOTE: I cheated & read the last book 1st. I'm not sure if I'll ever read the 1st 2. Not Safe.
I heard such good **Major SPOILERS under Sexual History**
NOTE: I cheated & read the last book 1st. I'm not sure if I'll ever read the 1st 2. Not Safe.
I heard such good things about the 1st 2 books of the series (Satan's Affair(the Prequel) & Haunting Adeline(Book1)) from other reviewers. But some very disappointing things about this final book. I hate it when my hopes are up for H&h in a romance series. Only for it to take a downturn later. Since I wasn't invested in the couple or the characters yet, I wanted spoilers of the end first. Such as: 1.) What exactly to kidnapped h? 2.) Was the romance in this last book truly just mostly sex between H&H?
The answers are: 1.) h was raped multiple times by her abductors 2.) No, there was more romance development between H&h than sex scenes in this book. For details, read below.
I liked how H was consistent with his alpha-dominant obsessive-possessive love for h & how he searched the depths to find her & kill all who got her kidnapped & molested. Found it un-necessary to prove H's love for her and show h's character growth as strong & dark by having her gang-raped & cut up during her 2-month kidnapping. But things sex-trafficking does happen. It's just hard to read it. Especially when a couple were happy and in love before the kidnapping. I just don't think I can read the earlier books, knowing what will happen to h later. Too heartbreaking.
But I did appreciate how the romance was shown to grow from such a tragedy. I also liked how h's innate sassy grit still shone through in the midst of being traumatized as seen in her 1-pager secret diary that she'd write during her captivity. Overall good writing. Good psychological & romantic depth. Believable romance & HEA.
Sexual History in Book2 ONLY: @19% kidnapped h's 1st rape by the brother of her female trainer (Francesca)
@25% h beaten badly by her trainer for supposedly ruining her shoes (h was setup by a crazy co-abductee) & then shoved her high-heeled shoe nside h's butt. Later, trainer's bro & other henchmen shoved different things inside h's butt & gang-banged her & the 3 other new abductees that night. 3 days h's butt still hurting that even merely farting hurts.
@30% h & other 5 girls are forced to wear skanky clothes while being hunted down like prey ala Hunger Games-style by 5 rich pervy guys
@35% It's been 2 months & h has been unofficially claimed by sadistic OM (Xavier) who's allowed to smex her 1x a week in the past month before the auction in 3 weeks where he'll officially buy h. This OM cuts her skin while raping her & h felt even more broken when she orgasmed with him.
@43% h escapes from her captors after killing her psycho co-captive & is found by H who'd been desperately looking for her & buying all the girls @ slave auctions he attended hoping 1 of them was h
@50% 5 weeks later h is cocooned in H's well-protected house but won't let H touch her due to her PTSD & found out she has an STD/chlamydia when she got herself tested
@60+% h lets H kiss her & only lets him touch her while self-defense training with him & H patiently encouraging/supporting h's healing & a bit later allows him to touch her at her permission (i.e., hold the knife she was using like a dildo per his suggestion to orgasm, using a rose to intimately touch her & prick her)
@70% she BJs H & let him booby-smex her
@74% H&h revenge-hunts & kills h's former groomer & her main rapists
@75% h lets H lightly cut(with a glass piece) all her body-scar locations she got from being knife-cut by her now-dead sadistic rapist so H can replace her painful memories into pleasurable ones of him
@76% h finally smexxes H with clear intent that she's the 1 in control of their smexxing
@80% 3rd time they smex & 1st time h tells H ILY while she had him in handcuffs
@88% h breaks up with H coz she didn't want to keep endangering her parents' lives & he leaves then h minutes later chases after him with regret. He forgives her & shows her she'll never get rid of him. They smex.
From what I clued in from this book, neither h nor H were virgins when they 1st got together in Book1. No idea about either ones dating & sexual history before this book. H was celibate for a total 4-5 months since h was kidnapped for 2 months & then waited 2-3 more months after he rescued her to heal & trust him again....more
DNF @ 82%, although writing was good overall. It became a blah read.
The mystery re: what happens to H&h' romance once H regained his memory was alreadDNF @ 82%, although writing was good overall. It became a blah read.
The mystery re: what happens to H&h' romance once H regained his memory was already solved @ this point. And H&h's responses to it wasn't anything really dramatic. Some worry, some hurt. Resolved quite quickly by talking honestly with each other. The plot and pacing became dull after. Dialogue & H&h's romance became even-keeled. The new mystery re: H's attacker & the secret island became their focus by 80% & was uninteresting to me.
Average romance/pacing/characters/char dev/S chem/S scenes/emotions.
Sexual History: 22yo h had never been kissed or interested in anyone since she was basically sheltered in her uncle & aunt's house. H was her 1st & only. Their 1st kiss happened when H had amnesia & thought himself in an arranged marriage to h. But was actually a fake marriage certificate h procured from the archbishop, when she thought H was dead from the attack & saw it as an opportunity to free herself from the forced marriage to her cousin her uncle demanded in order to get her inheritance. @30-40%, H fingered h to orgasm. @61%, H devirginized h & both had a regular sex life after.
H had several previous lovers, including tavern girls, a courtesan, and secret trysts with society ladies including his now-married ex-GF. H was in love with his ex-GF years ago & proposed to her but she married a Duke instead. They've been having a secret affair since with ex-GF regretting not marrying H instead. When H already had amnesia, his ex-GF told him she planned on divorcing her duke husband for H even though she was pregnant with the duke's child. H had already had an agreement with the duke that H would end his affair with his wife in exchange for getting his vote on a certain bill....more
DNF @ 34% after H&h's 1st sex scene. I was ready to DNF around 13% but I continued on to see if it'd get better. But **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
DNF @ 34% after H&h's 1st sex scene. I was ready to DNF around 13% but I continued on to see if it'd get better. But found myself getting sleepy and bored every time I'd pick it back up.
First 2 chapters were promising but didn't like h's character and H was only meh. Wealthy Scottish virgin h was a know-it-all virago/harridan type of heroine I don't like. Chapters 3 & on goes back & forth from present to 3.5 years ago, when H&h first met. h was a little general who managed her Scottish properties with acumen and organization. She was very much a business woman in their 19th-century UK world. She was much wealthier and more alpha than H.
H was beta when he met h 3.5 years ago and not quite as beta in the present time and more mysterious. However, he secretly blamed h for part of his torturous years of being kidnapped in a convict ship to Australia. He kept secretly whining & complaining in his POV that h should've reported him missing to the authorities and not have gone back to Scotland, even though he acknowledged that she had no way of knowing that he was abducted. She thought that he abandoned her to travel the world (due to the huge withdrawals from her bank account & her witnessing him walking out of their honeymoon ship after their wedding) or dead (as H's cousin insisted H was). He was miffed that she didn't search the world for him but instead went back to Scotland.
Overall writing was ok. I've enjoyed most Duran books I've read, such as The Duke of Shadows, Fool Me Twice, and A Lady's Lesson in Scandal. But the S chemistry, emotional chemistry, and romance was just lacking in this one. The only sex scene I read was awkward and unexciting and summed up my overall reading experience of this book. So, I stopped.
Sexual History: No idea if early-20s virgin h was kissed by any OM before meeting H. She was attracted to H and was turned on by him and looked forward to their wedding night. But he disappeared before then, after she saw him walking out of their honeymoon ship and never contacted her by letter or messenger the next 3.5 years. When she found out he was back in London the last 8 months, she stormed into the London house he bought with her money and insisted he get her pregnant with an heir since she didn't want her family inheritance to pass on to some relative. H wanted them to have separate residences and lives in general since he secretly wanted to spare her the knowledge of his kidnapping & torture. He did agree to having sex with her to give her the baby she wanted. But H insisted that they have sex with her blindfolded and her hands bound since he didn't want her seeing the scars concealed with his clothing. She agreed and H devirginized her in that manner. He only lasted a few pumps before he orgasmed since he was still very attracted to her and he'd been celibate since meeting her.
H was sexually experienced and likely with prostitutes. No mention of mistresses. When he came back to London, there were plenty of willing women (prostitutes?) around but he coudln't stand being touched by them and had no sexual desires due to his PTSD from his kidnapping-torture. But seeing her again revived his sexuality....more
DNF @ 74% coz the 2nd sex scene was ruined with h's psychobabble. And I was just done with it.
I read way more pages t**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
DNF @ 74% coz the 2nd sex scene was ruined with h's psychobabble. And I was just done with it.
I read way more pages than I should've but I wanted to give this author a chance. Now I have and this author is not for me.
My best description of Adams' writing style (this is my 2nd book of hers) is it's esoteric prattling with sprinkles of humor & confrontation. Her writing style is an odd mix of formality & plain-speaking. Part introspective wanderings, part therapy-speak, part philosophy, and part drama. It takes me out of the story & the romance. It's all told in H&h's 3rd-person POV so it ends up feeling emotionally distancing, even though what's being discussed may be painful or shameful. A lot of times it ended up reading like a bunch of nonsense. For example @ 38%,
“I’m tired,” she said. “Well, you are welcome to avail yourself to one. Since your fake nap on the plane didn’t actually gain you any rest.” “I challenge anyone to rest while you’re looming about.” “I don’t recall looming. I feel as if I was sitting.” “Of course. Nobody thinks that they loom.” “You say that definitively.” “I have a heavy exposure to men of all varieties, and believe me when I tell you, many of them loom, and none of them think they do.” “Go to sleep, Olive.”
A failed attempt at humor that ended up just being nonsensical. There were times when h's POV & talk was funny, like @22% when she was making up some excuse why she was sitting on the floor of her office with crackers when H walked in. It read better than my only other Adams read, His Secretly Pregnant Cinderella. At least the writing here was a little more straightforward. But it's still generally meandering and made for an uneven reading pace.
If this book was written in a much more simpler/straightforward way, this would actually be a decent read. There was more emotional involvement here than in His Secretly Pregnant Cinderella. I could almost feel some angst (i.e., the secret-pining romance between H&h was there, the secret worries both had about having a baby) but for the busy writing style. Compared to His Secretly Pregnant Cinderella, the characters in this book were more likable and the romance was average but at least it was apparent. ok sexual chemistry. First sex scene was good but 2nd one was a dud due to h's intrusive POV.
Sexual History: Mid-20s h had been secretly crushing on mid-30s H since she met him when she was 6 and he was 16. She'd been kissed a few times by some men she tried dating but H had always been her ultimate fantasy & desire. Her workaholic father had kept her busy since childhood with business training. When her father died 6 months ago, she became even busier as now the tech company owner. After her father's funeral, she tried to kiss H but he stopped her. She came on to him again 6 months after the funeral ,after she won the 10-year business contract both were competing on. She took of her shirt and then they smexxed the 1st time. He didn't know he was de-virginizing her. And she didn't mention being a virgin but only that she won't see him the next 10 years. However, H unexpectedly came by her office 2 months later, when he found out that she paid his employee to spy on him so she could secure that 10-year contract.
H had casual lovers but no serious attachments. He promised himself no wife or kids ever due to his issues with his father. He began secretly wanting h when he saw her looking at him with attraction on her 18th bday. But due to their business rivalries with their father and his secret issues, he didn't pursue her. H was celibate 2 months after they 1st had sex because he couldn't forget her and no other woman would do....more
DNF @ 46% (then skimmed/skipped pages until 74%). Not romantic. Unlikable characters. Strange writing style. Sex scenes were hot 1.5-star **SPOILERS**
DNF @ 46% (then skimmed/skipped pages until 74%). Not romantic. Unlikable characters. Strange writing style. Sex scenes were hot though.
Strange writing style Writing was sometimes hard to follow coz sometimes read like a simple fairy-tale narrative and other times more complicated philosophical phrases that didn't make sense to me. Dialogue followed this mix of simple & esoteric talk that wasn't helped by frequent unfinished sentences/phrases that we as readers were supposed to understand. For example,
“An acknowledgment of the truth doesn’t have to be bending. It can just look like acceptance. Or so I am learning.” He paused for a long moment. “I am well aware of the fact fantasy serves no purpose. I am a believer in reality. I...thought. You are right. The force of my...” “You can say it’s denial.” “I don’t want to.” “Oh. Well. Denial about your denial—that really is something.”
Huh? I re-read this conversation between H&h 3x and I'm still scratching my head. A confusing & emotionally-distant read. Since this is my 1st Adams book, I'll read another 1 of hers to see if this book may have been a 1-off.
Un-likable characters None were endearing to me. All major characters (H/h/H's younger bro/H's parents/h's mom) were selfish/liked to be in massive denial/enabling of another's dysfunction/needlessly complicated things to get certain results.
h was stupid. She reminded me of the breathy dumb-blonde character Marilyn Monroe played in “Gentleman Prefers Blondes”. She lacked insight and often contradicted herself in her POV. She was ridiculous so I kept laughing initially coz she was so dumb and somewhat clueless about it. For example, she viewed herself as cautious with people & responsible. Then a couple sentences later, she admitted to lacking insight with people. She also let her BF pay off her loans and give her money and she stopped working after his death and lived off the money he gave her. She stopped being funny as it became clear that the way her character was portrayed was either inconsistent or she seriously was written to be fickle and weak. I didn't buy her excuse re: her lonely upbringing. She was easily defeated and influenced. She did show some improvement later. After 50% she finally told H the truth about him being the father of her instead of her game-playing comments about it. @62%, she asked H to not resent the kids as her mom did with her. But she was still too insecure. And this book still unromantic.
H was a resentful martyr who sacrificed for his family by overworking & indulging their partying lifestyles as an atonement for his perceived self-blame for his twin sister's death years ago. He heaped more on after his brother's death. @70%, he agreed with his dad to keep the fact that he was the father of h's babies and not his deceased brother a secret to his mom & the public. Just like H, he was a weak character that bent too easily to others' pressures.
Sexual History: 22yo virgin h was with her rich & charming player BF (H's younger bro) of 6 months but had never smexxed him coz he didn't push it at all and she wasn't ready until the night she caught him with another woman in his bedroom. She had changed into her lacy bodysuit in another bedroom before she went into BF's bedroom, when she saw her BF with another woman. She snuck out without either of them seeing her into another room in her BF's parents' mansion, which ended up being the library where her BF's older bro, 30s H, was. H suggested that she shouldn't waste her sexy lingerie so she should smex him since he knew she wanted him and vice versa from their 1st meeting. She agreed since she finally let herself honestly acknowledge that she'd wanted H all this time, even though she told herself she didn't like him coz he always glowered at her & viewed her as a gold-digger. He de-virginized h in the next few minutes without him clueing in that she was a virgin and she didn't say anything about it either. After he orgasmed, he told her to put on her clothes ASAP & ordered her ride to her apartment. Basically, h cheated on her BF with his older bro H since she hadn't broken up with her BF yet. And after his death/funeral, she said that she still loved her BF. If her BF forgave her for sleeping with H since he cheated on her first anyway, h would very likely still be with her BF.
Next time they see each other is at his bro's funeral a few days later since that fateful night his bro/her BF was killed in a car accident allegedly driving his lover home. Second time they smex was after the funeral, when H drives h back home. Just like the 1st time, they smex bareback but this 2nd time they smex multiple times that night. Next time they see each other was 5 months later, when H confronts h about her pregnancy he & his parents found out about from a gossip magazine.
No info whether H had ever had a serious GF but only that he preferred sophisticated women. He had casual lovers. He promised himself to never marry or have kids as a self-punishment for his twin sister's death when they were both kidnapped @ age 8 for 2 months and then added his younger bro's recent death to it. He also promised to abstain from sex with h as part of his secret punishment but he didn't promise abstinence from all sex but only with her. In fact, H & he agreed that they wouldn't have sex with each other during their MOC marriage but can take other lovers. But when h told him the truth re: being her only lover after their wedding ceremony, their no-sex threats went out the window & they smexxed soon after. No info whether H was celibate during their 5 months apart before he found out she was preggo....more
Immediate steamroll Just seconds after they bump into each other @3%, 32yo car-workshop owner H is already “mine”-claiming strange3.5-star **SPOILERS**
Immediate steamroll Just seconds after they bump into each other @3%, 32yo car-workshop owner H is already “mine”-claiming stranger, 24yo paralegal h. Then kissed her, after saying something like 3 words to her. He was so OTT cavemanish with h & so immediately sure that she was "the One". It was hilarious! Loved the romantic ridiculousness of his insta-love for her and her reactions to him. She was understandably shocked by his instant intensity & runs away from him to her new office to report his assault of her. Due to his family's legendary insta-love history in their Montana small town, no cops were called.
4-star for H's character H was a known player & charmer in their town. He was also responsible and caring with his family. Loved how H became so into h because he'd never been like that with any other woman. And he kept proving that it wasn't temporary. He was relentless in his charming but insistent pursuit to get h & her 6-month-old daughter (conceived via in-vitro) to move in with him ASAP. It was a battle of wills since h wasn't that easily persuaded & resisted him. But he'd laugh off her attempts since he was so certain for both of them. So, by day3, she let him smex her. His chasing her didn't feel creepy or cruel. Nor her quick consenting to him seem cheap or weak. He was attuned to her needs/wants & showed it. It also helped that he welcomed her and her baby into his big rowdy family and she was able to see how trustworthy & caring H generally was. By day7 (@55%), he managed to get her & her baby moved in with him.
3-star for h's character She was likable too with her mix of sass & quiet caution, niceness & feistiness. Just didn't like that she became romantically jaded due to empty promises of her past boyfriends.
Like a novella but longer What I find different about Weir's books so far (this is my 4th Weir read) is it's smutty-novella feel but with longer pages so we get more explanation, time, and discussion with H&h. As a result, the insta-love is more fully fleshed-out and realistic questions/issues around it are better handled. Both were able to delve into h's trust issues and H's manwhore past better. @ the end/epilogue, their quickie wedding & h's inevitable pregnancy didn't seem so impulsive and their HEA is more believable.
Sexual History: 24yo h had past BFs, including her last college-football BF of about 2 years in her latter college years who she caught cheating on her. She's drawn to “alphaholes” than nice guys & some have declared their love & deep interest in her but eventually ended their affair for some reason. After her last BF, she had no-strings sexual hookups with men she'd meet @ bars & clubs. She'd been celibate for about 18months since before her surrogate pregnancy. Her best friend (BFF) was infertile & really wanted to have a baby with her husband. So, she begged h to donate her eggs and be a surrogate for their baby. But a few weeks into h's surrogate pregnancy, her BFF & her soon-to-be-ex husband insisted that h get an abortion since they were now divorcing. h's BFF had caught her hubby cheating on a woman who was also now preggo with his child. Since then, h's BFF and her hubby no longer wanted h's baby.
Not sure if H ever had a serious GF. He's a known player in their small Montana town just like his 6 brothers. He had a weekly rotation of no-strings hookups with several women, many he met at their local bar & who he'd smex at his bachelor-pad apartment over his workshop. From another book, he had 3 different lovers who had alloted days of the week slots he'd hookup with. One of his hookups (OW) became obsessed with him & tried to get pregnant by him by poking holes in his condoms. He dropped her after that & became celibate since 1 year ago. He'd always used a condom (mostly 2 at a time) with all his lovers so h is the 1st one he's smexxed bareback. First time H&h smexxed was 2 days after they met @ 36% & bareback every time since he was clear about his intent to breed her with lots of babies....more
Meh 20% & then better after, just like in Weir's Spare Part 1.
1st 20%: Meh pacing/characterization/emotion. Awkward romance & S chem that***SPOILERS***
Meh 20% & then better after, just like in Weir's Spare Part 1.
1st 20%: Meh pacing/characterization/emotion. Awkward romance & S chem that either felt 1-sided &/or disjointed or just lacking. 43yo neighbor logging-owner H's instant change from quiet & distant to suddenly claimy & touchy with 21yo waitress h (after a customer asks her out) after 1 year of quietly showing up at whenever she'd work at the diner was abrupt & weird. It came out of nowhere, regardless of H feeling threatened now that some guy asked her out on a date. It didn't make sense why no other guy had asked attractive h out on a date or flirted with her since there weren't any other diners in town & their small town was frequented by tourists.
But the good thing was that h thought H's abrupt change was weird too and brought this up to H repeatedly. And she even kicked him on the balls @ 20% coz she got freaked out by his sudden romantic claims of her & his jealous possessiveness towards her. Now that was funny! But before his sudden claiming of her, the only thing he'd say to her for 1 whole year was his coffee & bear claw order. Nothing else.
20% of the book is too long to sustain such romantic awkwardness. It made both characters (especially H) seem off & their romance stilted. One chapter of this awkwardness would've been plenty. Or, at least, show H's POV as already having some romantic thoughts & jealous-possessive feelings towards h. Or even H having interest in getting to know h's person or life even in a secret way. Something other than his disinterest in knowing her aside from her work schedule & that she got home safely. I can see people DNF-ing this book by this time. Just like with The Spare - Part One, this book wasted pages with its long meandering intro to H&h's initial characters (since they end up changing later) and their H&h's romance.
Last 80%: More focused writing. Better romance/rom dev/S chem/char dev/pacing. Average emotion. Liked h's character growth and how she became a mix of domestic/adventurous/spunky/simple. She may be a quiet homebody but she wasn't a doormat. She cared for her parents & opted out of school because she wanted to and not because she was obligated to. Same way she worked long hours as a diner waitress because she liked the work & not because she needed the money.
Liked that she called H on his OTT-ness (i.e., steamrolling through her resistances, jealous-possessiveness with other men, seducing her to change her mind) not because she didn't like it but because he changed so much & so abruptly. Liked that her questions were catalysts to make H verbalize his feelings & romantic-change process towards h. She didn't easily trust him, given his abrupt change with her. Yet she wasn't so resistant. It helped in building a believable HEA. It also helped make sense of H's OTT jealous-possessive alpha claim of her. So, he didn't just seem like a creepy middle-aged guy stalking a 21yo gal.
H's reasons for not making his romantic interest in h was weak. Their 22-year age gap wasn't even a major issue. He admitted to being attracted to her for the past year so didn't make sense why he didn't ask her out then. Just because she wasn't legally able to drink alcohol @ age 20 seemed like a weak excuse. I didn't like that he still continued casually smexxing available women while already stalking h for 1 year.
H became more likable too. He was big & quietly confident alpha leader as the eldest of 7 brothers. Loved how OTT he became with her, with his mantra of "no distance, no space". It was funny when he'd insist on no privacy even when she was peeing and she called him a weirdo for it. Some funny moments for sure. Liked his non-apologetic intensity with her because he was so into her like with no other woman. Loved that he was persistent in winning her over to move in & marry him and would chase after her, when she would try to get some distance from him. Yet he wasn't cruel in his pushiness and he would give her space, when she was serious about it. It was sweet when his feelings would be hurt by her minimizing their affair as just a hookup. Sexual chemistry was awkward at 1st but got better as they understood each other & realized their feelings for each other. Sex scenes were detailed/bareback/hot with 1st scene @ 50% (3 days after he tells her she's his). Enhanced by H's dirty talk.
Sexual History: 21yo virgin h had 1 BF in high school for a few months before her mom got sick. They made out a few times & went as far as 2nd base (boobs) but she got busy taking care of her mom & he broke up with her. She had no time for dating & opted to waitress at a local diner instead of attending college since she took care of her sick mom until her death last year. In the meantime, she fulfilled her romantic/sexual fantasies with H, whom she'd had a crush on since she was 13yo. She finally agreed to date someone else (an out-of-town customer) but H swooped in their date & told her date to leave.
H had 1 GF in high school but they broke up since he went o college. He only had hookups over the years since he wasn't interested enough in any woman he met. Most of his hookups since coming back to their small town were tourists. In the last year since he started secretly following h to & from work for her protection, he continued having sexual hookups mostly from women he met at bars his brothers frequented. His last sexual hookup was with 1 of the bar regulars a few weeks before he declared his intentions to h....more
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