DNF @ 21% but skipped pages to find out what h's big secret was.
Lacked S chem/emo/romance. Telling My 2nd book by this author and this is it for me.
DNF @ 21% but skipped pages to find out what h's big secret was.
Lacked S chem/emo/romance. Telling with no showing.
Quickly went from no chemistry or any relationship really (they didn't even talk or share some kind of non-verbal understanding since H was mostly out of the house working) to suddenly having sex, after their 1st dining experience out. The next chapter summarized their being together for 1 year now and H proposes. Skips 1 or 2 years later in the next chapter (chapter 8), with both lovey-dovey with each other and H pampering her with his rich lifestyle and insisting she not work.
**SPOILERS** There's no emotional or romantic development. We're just told the status of their relationship. @25% by chapter 10, about 5 years have gone by and H suddenly slaps her, after she lets the waiter help wipe off some spill on her dress when she & H were dining out. H all of sudden becomes this jealous-possessive psycopath. Skipping more--h runs back home later and H abducts her and rapes her with his now full-blown psycopathy. So glad I skipped & didn’t read through this. Not going to read the rest of this series.
No emotional connection but mostly focused on H financial pampering of h without any explanation of why. Lots of repeated teasers all through the book of h trying to forget her traumatic meeting with H. Which is basically H saving her after she may have killed a man, who may be her client. Since this book cliffhangered @ the big reveal that h worked as a prostitute. That wasn't surprising....more
DNF @ 13% coz h sounds stupid. I couldn't even get through the 1st book of the series. What a waste of this boxed set!
23yo virgin ex-supermodel & nowDNF @ 13% coz h sounds stupid. I couldn't even get through the 1st book of the series. What a waste of this boxed set!
23yo virgin ex-supermodel & now college-student h was stupid to chase after a possible-murderer mid-30s art professor H--who she’s never met and who she’s only known/became intrigued by from reading the letters he wrote to his ex-lover OW (who was the last occupant of her dorm room and left her letters under the dorm bed h is now occupying).
Even after finding out that he had an affair with his students (OW) and he may have possibly murdered-by-castration the guy he caught OW smexxing, h is still ga-ga over H due to his passionate letters to OW and began writing him letters. He starts responding back briefly. After h told him she won’t write to him anymore (@ their 4th letter correspondence), H starts spouting off similar passion-filled stuff with h who he’s never met. And she buys his 2nd-hand love! Unbelievable.
I wish this H&h switched pairings with the H&h of Pretty Little Lies. This H&h were too similar so their romance was predictable and even-keeled. WhicI wish this H&h switched pairings with the H&h of Pretty Little Lies. This H&h were too similar so their romance was predictable and even-keeled. Which is good for them but it lacked drama and high emotion that I like in my romance books!
If this spunky & frank 19yo ballet-student paired up with the cruel jerk of a bully H of Pretty LIttle Lies, (PLL) she would've challenged that H much more to change. And he definitely would've had to grovel to get her back (unlike the too-quick and too-easy forgiveness of PLL's h). In the same way, this grim 25yo Russian mafia-leader H would've been shaken up more emotionally by PLL's shy and sweet h. He also would've challenged that h to get a spine and become a stronger person.
This H&h’s romance was pretty straightforward. Mostly due to sharing many characteristics (both outspoken/emotional distancing/strong/take-no-prisoners approach to enemeies but kind to those in need & loved ones). They had their affair for about 2.5 years in the book with both adhering to their BDSM-y sex affair without getting too personal (i.e., rarely kissing).
Average emotion due to both H&h similarly keeping their emotional distance. Not much angst since neither wrestled with secret longing for the other until about 70-80% of the book. Drama and emotion only came towards the end when H was hospitalized after getting shot 8 times in the back while protecting h from drive-by shooters. Wished the epilogue showed them with kids or at least h preggo.
Sexual History: 19yo h didn’t date nor had interest in it due to working hard with 2 menial jobs to help her mom out and to save for her private-college tuition. H was her 1st kiss and only lover. She let H de-virginize her during their trial run for their 3-yr-agreed affair (where she would be H’s exclusive lover and date until she graduated in exchange for H paying for her college fees and living expenses/clothes/etc.).
25yo H usually has subs/lovers with similar sex contracts who he keeps for 2-3 years. Once his lover starts wanting more, he ends their affair. He deliberately set it up this way per the advice of his father who had many mistresses after his beloved mom got killed by his father’s rival mafia. He was celibate weeks before he saw h again 1.5 years later since he broke up with his last contract lover coz she wanted more from him....more
Read this last night when I was upset at my husband. This cruel-bully Hero made my husband look like a saint! It actually made me appreciate him more.Read this last night when I was upset at my husband. This cruel-bully Hero made my husband look like a saint! It actually made me appreciate him more...my husband, not the Hero.
**SPOILERS** 2-stars OFF for: 1.) H’s malicious cruelty towards h due to his hurt pride and his overall malicious character (i.e., he got his kicks in high school by charming virgin teens to let him smex them and then promptly leaving them after he was done)
2.) H’s too-sudden ILY-ing and declarations (including apologies) towards h and their daughter hours after he cruelly accused her of betraying him for keeping their child a secret, if not for his younger sister making him see things from h’s POV (given how he rejected her after sex in h.s. and continuing on with her forced-affair or else he’ll hurt people she loved like he hurt her 1st male dance partner due to his jealousy and vengefulness for her continued resistance to him)
Half-star OFF for: 1.) h’s char did grow some but not enough—didn’t like h’s passivity and letting H get away with a lot of things especially in the end when he said he loved her and wanted her and their daughter in his life.
2.) H’s char growth was not enough and h still had to compromise a lot in order to prevent his violent and vengeful anger if she doesn’t give him what he wanted.
3.) HFN due to H’s moodiness and immaturity.
BUT: 1. Good emotionally-involving read. Angsty from:
#1. h’s secret pain over popular H not remembering her at all 4 years later, after that night he charmed her to let him de-virginize her.
#2. the resulting pregnancy which made her leave their high school and struggle with her aunt's help to raise her daughter and try to get into a top ballet college.
#3. H being a very cruel bully to h due to her repeated rejection of him and his prejudice against her for being poor.
2. Liked h’s wrestling with her conflicting emotions of physically desiring H and disgust/guilt/shame at wanting him when he’d been so cruel to her and threatening to her and completely forgetting her with no recollection that he knew her in high school and slept with her that 1 night.
3. Liked H’s uncontrolled and growing obsession jealous-possessiveness towards h and gave some balance to his deliberate cruelty towards h. He couldn't muster a physical desire for other women, when he saw h again (even though he didn't remember meeting her 4 years ago).
4. Really liked how H softened towards h after she was abducted for about an hour during their date night and actually became sweet/gentle/gentlemantly with her until he accidentally found out about their daughter & he said such cruel things to her with their 4yo child nearby.
Sexual History: 16yo virgin h had her 1st kiss and 1st sex experience with 17yo h.s.-senior H, who then told her to leave after he orgasmed on her face and chest. She left their high school after she found out she got preggo from that 1 time coz he wanted nothing to do with her even the day after having sex. She didn’t date anyone during their 4 years apart due to raising her daughter and working to perfect her ballet to get to a premier arts school.
21yo H de-virginized many of the virgin teen girls at their school as a challenge. He’d moved on from virgins in college and got into BDSM and wilder willing women. He had subs but seemed like no one he was exclusive with but part of an exclusive sex club. He didn’t tend to his subs after but, like all his other lovers, coldly left them right after he orgasmed or he’d tell them to leave. H has never had a GF but just a slew of lovers. When he saw h again 4 years later, he tried to 3-some with 2 sexy willing women but he couldn’t get it up because thoughts of h kept distracting him. Same thing happened all other times he thought of having his usual casual sex with other women. He only wanted h...more
Book 2: Good plot/emo/char dev/sex scenes/char development
Good exciting continuation of Book1, with 18y4-stars (this book & overall Duet) **SPOILERS**
Book 2: Good plot/emo/char dev/sex scenes/char development
Good exciting continuation of Book1, with 18yo popular senior H desperate to find 18yo senior h after her identical twin-sister (OW) told him that h left their house after a confrontation with their parents. When he found h & saw her bruises and scars, it was the moment of his great humility and grovel. Loved that big part of book2 was H's long grovel towards the wrong he'd done h and proving that he'd become a changed man because of her. Loved that h didn't mince word but told him that he was partly responsible for her getting physically abused by her parents. Also liked that h wasn't easily impressed by H's promises and actions. She was wise to be wary of his turnaround, given that they've only known each other for a couple weeks. She made him prove his worth without demand. h's character as brave/candid/simple/carefree/quiet became solidified in Book2.
Good character development for H too. Loved how he became OTT alpha-dominant with h and jealous-possessive & protective over her and he wanted to repeatedly show his claim on her publicly. Loved & thought it funny yet sweet how hurt & bothered he'd be whenever h called their romance “fake” and diminished their sex as a hookup or a friends-with-benefits thing. Their detailed bareback Sex scenes were hot, even the awkward yet rough de-virginizing of h. Their sex scenes showed H's increasing obsession with h and h's openness as well as their increasing closeness.
By 50%, their romance was quite solid and was only a matter of either 1 saying their ILYs.
By 60%, OW made more appearances with H&h and their group of friends, as she becomes their accomplice and trying to get out from their parents' inheritance greed.
By 94%, we get OW's POV as a prologue/teaser for her own book.
At the end, H told h ILY and proposed marriage at whichever date she'd marry him.
Sexual History: 18yo virgin h was homeschooled with her twin sister before they began attending their private high school 3.5 years ago. She didn't have any friend nor had she ever dated or been kissed by another than H since she isolated herself when she wasn't in classes pretending to be her sister. H was a player with casual hookups among the girls in their private school. He'd never had a GF until h. He'd de-virginized other girls before h but never took the care he did as he did with h during and after sex. He's never been as sexually voracious as he was with h....more
3.5-stars (for this book but 4-stars overall for whole Duet)
For the Duet/both books: overall good pacing/writing/emo/S chem/S scenes/char dev but 1st 3.5-stars (for this book but 4-stars overall for whole Duet)
For the Duet/both books: overall good pacing/writing/emo/S chem/S scenes/char dev but 1st 25% of book1 was meandering & unfocused but better after
For this book (Book1): meh start but better after 25%
1st 25%: Meh & meandering. I didn't care much for either H&h. Before 25%, h seemed pathetic & really passive to pretend to be her snotty identical twin-sister (OW) for the last 3.5 years per their greedy parents' demands to fulfill the inheritance conditions required for OW.
After 25%: Writing became more focused & the plot/chars/emo/S chem more exciting. I began to like loner 18yo h.s.-senior h's character more. After 25%, h's own character began to come out & be separated from OW. And she was likable in her mix of quiet yet frank & open. She was finally sick & tired of being a pawn in her family's inheritance game. Especially after her parents and twin sister made it more obvious that they didn't care for her & only wanted to keep using her. 18yo popular senior H's character also got better. He hated h's twin sister and was a jerk towards h for awhile, thinking she was OW and later, thinking she was similar to OW. But, as he got to know h, he began to feel softer towards her but fighting it since he didn't trust her and was more interested in looking into his own interest. By the end of book1, H's goal was to make sure he'll never be MOC-ed to OW and wanted to continue his fake engagement with h for 6 more months until they all graduate from their high school. Loved that h told H that he was using her like her family was. Which made him stop & feel some guilt but not enough to stop their fake engagement.
Good S tension but no S scenes. H kisses h a few times but mostly for show.
Cliffhanger ending with both h's parents beating her up for ruining OW's chances to marry H since H publicly announced his (fake) engagement to h.
More lust-based with a side of mental game-playing. Romance was meh. Characters were roughly-hewn. Lacked emotional i**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
More lust-based with a side of mental game-playing. Romance was meh. Characters were roughly-hewn. Lacked emotional involvement. As a result, what sounded like it would be sexy and romantic ended up not being so. Such as:
#1. H may be stalker-obsessed with h BUT he ended up just acting/acting like a creep. Even h kept telling him he was being "creepy" and asking if he just had a thing for young girls. His sexual demands of h could've been sexier but the lack of emotional-sexual chemistry just them sound rough and kinky. But h's response to him was a big part of why this was so.
#2. h said "yes" to all of H's demands BUT she liked the "hot" teen guy (OM) at her school more h's was too emotionally-distant from H for most of the book except for sex. She was into H when it came to sex but didn't really like him unlike OM. Even when she found out OM was a drug-dealer after % 60% mark, she still seemed more comfortable and vulnerable with him than with H. She even wished that she met OM, after she was done with her secret affair with H after she was done with her class with him. Things only changed for her when she met H's large Italian family since having a family was important to her.
#3. many potentially-dramatic info BUT most skipped re: how it affected h and/or H Lots of dramatic teasers from just being mentioned (i.e., h's stalker @ age 13, h's wildness @ age 13, H being an undercover narc, how h's mom's death 1.5 years ago affected her & her sister, what situations made her sister moved them to 3 different CA towns in the last year) but no follow-through. So, caused major plotholes, under-developed characters, and emotional shallowness.
Sexual History: 18yo h had BFs before 28yo H. No info on how many lovers she’d had but that they were in her age group and that she started being “wild” @ age 13. Her being wild included smoking pot, skipping class, and underage drinking. She had stalkers before H, including a serious stalker @ age 13 which ended up in court. But no other info aside from that. No info on how long she’d been celibate since H. But she did mention how 1 month ago she didn’t have anyone interested in her and then now she had H and OM vying for her. She seemed to “like” h.s.-senior OM since he was nice and attractive. But she kept giving in to H’s sexual demands and threats.
28yo H wanted h @ 1st sight and got her to have sex with him their 2nd day of tutoring. No info on his previous Gfs or lovers, except for his mom telling h that he’s never brought any other girl to their family restaurant until h....more
Glad I read this 6-series book in its whole-book format coz I don't like cliffhanger endings.
A good read because it: **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Glad I read this 6-series book in its whole-book format coz I don't like cliffhanger endings.
A good read because it: #1. was unpredictable and well-paced It started with a fun & sexy challenge to get h to agree to sign H’s dom-sub hush-contract (NDA) and became a deeper emotional connection as h’s past unraveled later. The addition of the mystery-suspense of h’s kidnapping past & how she got kidnapped again by the same man towards the end provided some unpredictability and kept my interest overall.
#2. was emotional involving with good sexual tension Funny, sexy, and had some angsty moments too. Hot detailed bareback S scenes but wished that h discussed condom-use before smexxing H coz he knew about her birth-control but she didn’t know about his sex-safety.
#3. had likable chars and good character development Liked h’s combo of sass and caution/sexy online Tweets but tight-lipped in person/realistic yet liked to fantasize. Also liked her candid introspection and ability to laugh and let go of her issues once she’s figured things out. Her character growth came from having major denial issues re: being kidnapped & brainwashed for 8 months by her family’s unknown masked killer as a kid.
Liked H’s mix of kinky controlling lover and his kindness/generosity with his family. His character growth was linked to their romance progress. At first, he tried to control h like he did with his other subs. But became deeply in love with h, despite her emotionally distancing from him. Love how he persisted with her--unwilling to take her rejections of his love and her self-denials re: her traumatic past.
Sexual History: 23yo h was celibate for 8 months before she and H 1st smexxed. She’s had casual lovers since high school or college. But no emotional attachments and no desire to get married due to her traumatic past (She was abducted when she was 13 by a masked stranger, after he shot her parents and brother in their farm home. He mostly kept her in a closet for 8 months and brainwashed her to eventually believe that she was his wife and belonged to him and would get rewarded some freedoms (i.e., be out of the closet, able to talk to him) if she obeyed his demands. He never touched her sexually but let it be known that he was going to sexually claim her when she’s legal age. She was upset when he suddenly freed her 1 day and wouldn’t talk to anybody for weeks after she was rescued.).
32yo H has a voracious sex appetite and likes to have various submissives, whom he requires to sign a NDA to protect his actor image. Many are 1-time only and others are longer but always ends their dom-sub relationship when he tires of them. He’s had 15 subs within the past 4 years. He never takes them on a public date. Public dates are reserved for his public girlfriends who he never sleeps with since they’re strictly business-only set up by his manager. He’s only had 2 real girlfriends ever—1 with his Disney teen-movie co-star when he was 16 and the other with a party girl he broke up with when he was 18....more
I thought I wouldn't like 20yo college track-star h as much (due to her irascible & aggressive **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
What a wishy-washy H!
I thought I wouldn't like 20yo college track-star h as much (due to her irascible & aggressive tough-talking exterior). But she was more mature and more responsible than her mid-20s coach H. H seemed like a nice guy but he was actually quite passive-aggressive. He swung between pleasing others (i.e., his dead father, his mom, his GF, his head coach, school officials) and resenting them for their expectations/demands on him. He couldn't make up his mind and made it sound like he was self-sacrificial in the choices he was considering. When really he was just a hot-looking wimp! He didn't want to make adult decisions so he ran away, backed away, lied, and deceived others instead. It took him a very long time to break up from his GF (who he wasn’t in love with and who he’d been clear about not marrying) for really no reason than resentfully following what his dead father wished for him. So, he lied to her re: h who he led on by acting jealous and possessive when he’d see her with another guy.
Meh romance/romance dev/emotions. Lacked angst that should've been there due to the story but H’s flip-flopping got in the way. Sex scenes were hot but didn’t like that h just let H smex her bareback without detailed info if he practiced safe sex with his recent ex-GF and when last he smexxed his ex.
Sexual History: 20yo h only had sex with guys when she wanted to “hook up”. She's never been on a date since she doesn’t think any guy would actually like her due to her tough irascible exterior and distant demeanor. No info on when she started having sex but she was pretty much on her own since she was a pre-teen due to her grandma’s increasing Alzheimers. She was on birth control but no info if she always uses condoms with her hookups or if H was her 1st bareback experience.
H had GFs since dating was a big thing for him. He’d been dating his GF of 1 year since his drunken bout of sex with her at a party 1 night soon after his father passed away. He wasn’t interested in his GF until the guilt of his father’s unexpected death coz his dad wished for him to date her. No info re: when H stopped refusing sex with his GF when he met h. He did spend the night at her place a few times during the 2-3 month period since meeting h and having her stay at his mom’s place....more
Michelle Reid's 1st HP ever, back in 1988. And it's not a comfortable romance due to:
#1. Lots of turbulent emot**Major SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Michelle Reid's 1st HP ever, back in 1988. And it's not a comfortable romance due to:
#1. Lots of turbulent emotion, sexual tension, and secrets. The book starts right away with h breaking up her secret affair with her boss H, who's both clueless and upset about it. The whole book felt dramatic and messy, as reflected by H and h's emotional mess. Definitely not a boring read.
#2. Both characters were not the most likable but weren’t totally horrible either. h was understandably bitter and resentful over her unrequited love for H. Yet accepted responsibility for her choices (including messing up on her birth control pills) since H was clear about keeping their affair limited to after-work and a secret.
Interesting character progression for h to start out as a shy quiet virgin to becoming more passive-aggressive about being a secret mistress to her boss H. Then, to progress even more to her being frank and cutting to H about being his dirty little secret/his lack of interest in her aside from sex/and his emotional cheating on her by dating another woman the weekend h couldn’t make their date.
H was harder to get to know for most of the book, aside from his obvious clueless-ness when it came to h and romance in general. He was a player who was frank re: his sex-only interest in women he dated. So, his keeping h for 5 months and even him hiring her knowing he was very attracted to her made h different than other women. But this wasn’t obvious until his ending confession. As a result, H just appeared cold, controlling, and even potentially abusive when he got mad enough (I.e., he almost slapped/hit h after she told him about her accidental pregnancy but she was saved by fainting). Wished that H showed his vulnerable side much earlier than his confession @ the end.
#3. H's cheating on h was ambiguous. His dating another woman before their breakup made H look worse, despite him saying he never touched her. Wished his reasons for dating OW was made apparent or hinted at way before the ending.
#4. Romance progression was iffy. Their romance was iffy until H finally opened up @ the end. Liked that h didn’t pursue him and made him work for their relationship and confronted him on his lack of care for her/interest in getting to know her/cheating on her by taking out another woman for dinner/wanting to marry her only for their baby’s sake.
Sexual History: 20yo h was de-virginized by her boss H, when she agreed to have an affair with him a few weeks after he upgraded her to be his secretary. Their affair occurred in her apartment since H kept firm boundaries about their workplace and his apartment. In their 5-month affair, he never invited her to his apartment nor offered to drive her to work with him since both came from her apartment or date her publicly.
]34yo H was known as a workaholic womanizer who liked to keep things in order. He’s known to never mix business with pleasure. So, him hiring h as his secretary with the intention of having an affair with her was a 1st for him. As well as his maintaining an exclusive relationship with her for 5 months until his dinner date with another woman. He told h that he dated OW to keep himself back under control since he began realizing that h meant a lot to him than just a usual sexual affair. Very possible that during the 6-7 months after he’d been trying to get resistant h back that he went out with 4 other women per h’s casual mention of it to try to move on from h. But H said that he “(hasn't) touched any other woman with any intimacy since (h). (He didn't) even want them—which was a shock to (his) system”:...more
See, this is why I have to write a review after reading a book. I forget most of the book's details and whether**Major SPOILERS under Sexual History**
See, this is why I have to write a review after reading a book. I forget most of the book's details and whether or not I liked it, if I don't note it down ASAP. I read this book for the 1st time about 1 month ago but forgot to write my notes down. So, when I re-read this last night, the fuzz in my brain connected and I began remembering the gist of the book.
The emotional and sexual chemistry was explosive. And the 2nd-change romance angsty and well-developed, I re-read the whole book. I didn't even skip any pages. I must've liked it too the 1st time!
Due to: #1. Angsty and emotional Lots of angst from h’s pain due to: #1. being constantly left by H for his studies/work while preggo @ his disapproving Greek family’s mansion and esp after their 3yo son’s funeral
#2. not hearing from him until they see each other by accident 5 years later
#3. catching him asleep in bed half-naked with another woman
Also angsty from H's pain from being told 5 years ago that h didn’t want to talk to him by phone nor see him, when he went after her a couple weeks after the funeral.
#2. Likable characters and good character growth Liked h's somewhat-funny and sometimes self-deprecating POV. Liked that their character weaknesses were shown and some progress made in the last 5 years but neither were perfect. h grew from being shy and quiet 5 years before to now having some gumption to call H a "low-down faithless rat".
H showed some maturity too to now admit to being a wimp of a husband before. Loved how now-dominating H showed his vulnerable side, when he confessed about his irresponsibility as a husband and father and how he's undeserving of h.
#3. romantic Loved that both privately showed their loyalty and love for each other in the past 5 years, despite each thinking the other had moved in with others. Liked that h was kinda clueless to flaunt her attractive boss in public as her unconscious passive-aggressiveness towards H. As hurt & angry as she was with H during their separation, her heart was still loyal to him.
Sexual History: h was 17yo virgin when 22yo H smexxed her a few weeks, after they 1st saw each other & H started pursuing her.
NO info on H’s other previous GFs/lovers.
Both got married coz h got preggo soon after they started smexxing but separated 3 years later, after both left the island @ different times after their 2yo son’s funeral from his accidental fall from a cliff. 22yo H blamed himself for their son's accidental death coz he failed to fulfill his promise to spend time with h and their son that day due to over-working. So, he left h and his family right after the funeral.
After 2 weeks of being left alone with his still-disapproving family who encouraged her even more to leave H, she went to her parents' home in London. Unbeknownst to H, h's parents soon had her admitted to a mental facility due to her overwhelming grief but refused to let H know about h. Around that time, H went to h's parents house to see her. But her parents told him h wanted nothing to do with him and didn't want to see him or talk to him on the phone, after his numerous phone calls to her. So, he started drinking to drown his sorrows. Six weeks after their son's funeral, h came back to their apartment to see H and work things out with him. But instead h found him sleeping in their apt bed half-naked next to another woman (OW) so she quietly left. When h finally confronts H about OW, H later tells her OW was his tough cousin who was only there to help sober him up and forced him to wash up. However, OW ended up having to help drunk H out of the bathroom into his bed, when he started crying about h and their deceased son. H cried himself to sleep with his cousin OW hugging him and falling asleep this way too.
The fact is both H and h were celibate since they last smexxed 5 years ago. They both publicly appeared with other people—h with her good-looking boss @ who’s estate she lived in & who she often was seen accompanying @ parties dressed in slinky dresses and H with different celeb women @ social events. H confessed that he couldn’t muster any sexual interest in any other woman since he still loved h, despite him thinking she'd moved on with her boss. H was only sexually voracious with her then and now....more
Such funny sex scenes! This is my 2nd Huss read (I count her Bully King duet as 1 complete read). So far, she seems to write awkward-funny romance betSuch funny sex scenes! This is my 2nd Huss read (I count her Bully King duet as 1 complete read). So far, she seems to write awkward-funny romance better than NA/teen bully romance.
The GOOD: #1. H&h's banter & interactions were humorous. Especially their sex scenes (i.e., h trying to remember BJ sex-tips while BJ-ing H, H’s peen accidentally poking h on her naked butt, h’s wide-mouth orgasm turns to a hacking cough due to swallowing rainwater). Helped with the book's pacing and S chemistry.
#2. Likable chars Overall, I liked buxomy sexy but awkward & chatty 26/27yo social-media asst h and her new neighbor & boss’ BFF casual artist and app-creator 27yo H. They're both nice, friendly, and well-meaning people. They were also both on the geeky-nerdy side of sexy, which I found different and refreshing.
MEH or the BAD: #1. Average romance & rom development.
#2. H’s California-speak In the 1st few pages, his CA-surfer lingo (i.e., “stoked”, “dude”, and “y’know”) was off-putting & frequent. But soon improved as he spoke it less and his caring and flirty-sexy side came out.
#3. disliked h repeatedly lying to H re: being the Sexpert vlogger She chose to keep lying to H, even though he gave her many outs and offers of help from possible name-patent lawsuit from her boss/his BFF and her reasons to keep lying to him @ the end were weak and her apology was lame, she needed to grovel to H but he ended up apologizing more when it was completely her fault since he’d been honest and supportive of her.
Sexual History: No info on how many previous BFs and lovers h had before H, except that her last lover was a 1-time lover who she didn’t hear from again after she finally “put out” for him. No detail on how long ago that was.
27yo H was celibate for awhile but no specific time on how many months that’s been. He didn’t seem to do ONS and was a serial monogamist but chose “mean” women like his mom. His last lover was his ex-fiance who he was with for 3 years and found himself agreeing to her marriage proposal due to being used to her until she broke it off when she confessed on cheating on him....more
Skimmed this also since the same lack of focus and emotional/romantic substance as Book1.
But I wanted to know exactl**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Skimmed this also since the same lack of focus and emotional/romantic substance as Book1.
But I wanted to know exactly what happened to h and H and his friends 3 years ago. This book had even more characters than Book1 and the crazy cult-like features of their elite school structure became apparent (i.e., rites, sex rituals, initations). It became this BDSM-y secret cult book. It was devoid of romance/emotion/sexual tension. It didn't even give any hot sex description from their 4-some 3 years ago. Not even that! The only redeeming part is that H owned up to his stupidity and selfishness to encourage h to get an abortion and then immediately cruelly reject her from his life, after her abortion procedure. He did show that h mattered to him more now. But the busy-ness of all the cult stuff and h’s switching from being a poor victim to this special-Maiden got in the way. It's a fictional mess. HFN at best.
Sexual History: No info on who and how many lovers h had by the time she was 15 and starting smexxing 18yo h.s.-senior H and his friends. They started out bullying h to do their homework and then watching/stalking her to touching to eventually smexxing in about a 6-month span. She considered them as becoming her “best friends” that year until H ended things. Not sure if they ever all smexxed her at the same time. H liked to watch her being touched and kissed by his 2 BFFs but felt jealous about it. However, he never stopped his friends from touching/smexxing her. Things ended after h was raped by H’s older brother and she got pregnant. No clear info on whether condoms or birth control was used at all at that time by them. When she told h about her pregnancy, H gave her the option re; abortion and she agreed. After he drove her back from the abortion clinic, he ended his relationship with h. He deliberately discouraged h from pressing charges against his rapist brother because he wanted to use the rape info to blackmail his bro later. h went back to just hanging out with her parents after that until her mom died and H’s father proposed for her to go to their college with a scholarship and gave her money. When she reconnected with H again 3 years later, she BJ-ed H publicly and let him touch her publicly too. She also let some of the guys in their initiation group kiss and touch/suck her boobs until H’s friend put a stop to it.
21yo H was a manho but no details on previous girlfriends or lovers. When he started talking to h again 3 years later, he made sure that h could her him kiss his faux-girlfriend and finger her outside her door. However, his faux-girlfriend was a lesbian but not sure why she let him kiss and finger her and she seemed to like it, unless it was just an act. But they didn’t talk about it prior to him just suddenly kissing and touching her by h’s bedroom door. When he and h started smexxing again in current time, no condoms were used and no birth control mentioned. Don't think H was celibate for any length of time before h and he started smexxing since he was a self-professed partier....more
My advice: Just skim up to 85% of this book (Book1). But read the last 15%.
This is my 1st J.A. Hu**Sexual History SPOILERS is on my review of Book2 **
My advice: Just skim up to 85% of this book (Book1). But read the last 15%.
This is my 1st J.A. Huss book and I hope her other books read better than this. Because this book:
#1. lacked substance It's a full-length book plus a 2nd book to complete this Duet. So, it has lots of details about going-ons in the school and the different characters involved. BUT it sorely lacked focus and details of significant information re: 18yo gardener’s daughter h and 21yo elite-college senior H’s past romance/relationship and their current one and exactly how H’s 2 male BFFs were involved. Significant details from 3 years ago glossed over (i.e., h’s 4-some with H and his friends when she was only 15yo and they 18, how their r/s progressed from non-existing to bullying ad stalking to smexxing then to nothing for 3 years despite them being in the same school location). Lots of head-scratching from me. And that's never a good sign.
#2. lacked emotion and romance Everything felt even-keeled, even when the details were sad, upsetting, or shocking. It wasn't h's numbness to her mom's sudden death 2 weeks earlier. I can handle numb but I have to understand it and feel why she's numb from grief. So many things in this book were glossed-over. Including h's abortion 3 years ago. Even after reading the details of it in Book2, there was still a lack of emotion over it (i.e., was that a hard decision for her? did she regret it? did she feel guilty over it or glad? was she more upset about getting an abortion or H leaving her after?). I still don't know.
#3. Lots of telling and not showing. And the telling wasn’t consistent (i.e., h’s POV says that she liked being a loner to being socially dependent and needing social approval from the elite people @ the school, h and H hating and worse, disregarding each other for the past 3 years to suddenly being in love and what not).
#4. inconsistent characterization of h and H’ For example, h described as innocent and a shy loner who was sheltered via homeschooling by her parents. Then, we get some fuzzy details about her already being a non-virgin when she was 15yo, when she and H and his friends started making out and eventually smexxing. If she was homeschooled and only had her parents as her friends, who was/were her previous lover/lovers? How did she meet them, when her POV showed that she was a loner and didn't have friends? If also didn't make sense re: how comfortable she was with public sexual activities in front of strangers. She's supposedly shy and socially inexperienced before she 4-somed with H and his friends.
She was also described as a simple girl who didn’t aspire for wealth and fame yet that’s the very thing she ended up doing due to her lack of escaping the cult-like elite school when she had the freedom to do so for and was consistently encouraged to do so (even given $200+k to do as she wished). Instead, she allowed herself to be humiliated by literally made to kiss H and others’ toes and crawl around and be sexually touched by others based on the elite-students’ orders. It just didn’t make sense why she stayed and subjected herself to all of that, when her POV and such showed that she was sick of being bullied and didn’t like the students and hierarchical structure there and could’ve freely moved anywhere.
At least, H’s character as an irresponsible/selfish/immature and mostly-clueless bully was consistent. But I can't take 21yo H seriously since he still acts like a spoiled teen and says things like "As if!", like Cher in the teen movie "Clueless". They both acted immature 3 years ago when they were younger teens. And they continued to act immature while playing adult games as young adults....more
If not for H's love for her, this would be a chick-lit book.
Wasted time showing and prolonging 29yo h’s imm2.5-star **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
If not for H's love for her, this would be a chick-lit book.
Wasted time showing and prolonging 29yo h’s immaturity and social-climbing in Hollywood. Pages would've been better spent on her romance with 30s investor H.
First 70% of book: Read more like chick-lit re: h’s crazy life between being a new physician and living a high-life in Hollywood. About 70% of the book was about h’s spending habits/promiscuous life with various rich and famous men/reality-TV watching/junk-food eating/self-sabotaging her life. Her career as a new physician and 8 years of medical school seemed very unbelievable, given her high living, frequent drunkeness, and spontaneous trips to Cabo/etc. Her time spent at residency seemed to be highlighted by gossiping with the medical staff.
Last 20-30%: Only around 80% that we’re given details of how they got married in Vegas and why he chose to marry her. These details should’ve been given way earlier or at least segments of them dropped here and there from 15% of the book onwards.
What made this book palatable and why I kept reading was because of H. How somebody serious and responsible like him would fall for this h, given how she kept pushing him away and diminished his value whether as a drunken-marriage husband or father of her child. She swung from rejecting H and accusing him of trying to control her like her parents and stepmom did and then wishing he stayed with her, when she just told him to leave her alone.
Around 80%, we really see how H's patience and love for h impacted their romance and her character growth. h begins to change due to H’s unconditional love and support of her. Without that, h would remain a wild promiscuous teenager in a 29yo body. h wasn’t that unlikable but she was just emotionally-stunted and confused. She was trying to please her dead mom, distant father, and critical stepmother and sabotaged her life to try to please such different people. She was a hot mess! And only H’s presence and love for her stabilized her. Having an accidental baby just helped speed things along.
Aside from H, the only other good in this book was the hot detailed sex scenes. But, again, it was due to H’s intensity for h.
Sexual History: 29yo h was a player who boasted about her many sexual conquests with millionaires, athletes, musicians, and hot men. She was aggressive and open about her sexual history and interest. She was aiming to have sex with her friend’s rockstar brother but ended up having sex and then later marrying H in Vegas while she was drunk. She had very little recollection about that night she married H. H had to re-enact it @ the end @ the location he proposed to her 1 year before and give her all the details (most of which she didn’t remember still) of how they went from insulting each other @ a party in LA to getting married in Vegas hours later.
No info on 30s investor H’s sex history except for him dating a woman who was serious and responsible like him. But he broke it off with her after he 1st talked to h on the phone since he became smitten with h since. Both H and h became celibate and sober after their drunken wedding night together in Vegas. When h was about 7 months preggo, H and h’s celibacy ended when they smexxed each other again....more
Funny and romantic with a secretly-obsessed manwhore Hero.
#1. I loved how H loved her: a.) how he fell in lo4.5-star **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Funny and romantic with a secretly-obsessed manwhore Hero.
#1. I loved how H loved her: a.) how he fell in love with h's character. It wasn't lust-centered, although their sex chemistry was obvious.
b.) how secretly obsessed he was with her @ 1st sight. But couldn’t act on it due to her friend’s warning re: her current life situation.
c.) his somewhat-secretive jealous-possessiveness over her so he showed up on her date with OM and joined them the whole time,
d.) how he made time for her to do things she liked to do without her knowing that he was doing it just to spend time with her.
#2. Good romance/rom dev and emotion with bits of angst and humor. Some LOL-snickering moments due to h’s wit and snark.
#3. Likable chars with good char dev. Loved h’s char with her combo of realism and hope/frankness and secrecy/sexiness and sweetness/kindness and limit-setting. Loved how she handled life crises with practicality and general good attitude.
Loved how usually-controlled and -distant manwhore H became celibate and vulnerable with h because she mattered more and more to him. And, as used to sexual sharing as he was, he was adamant about not wanting to ever sexually-share h, whether it be with another man or woman.
Sexual History: 25yo temp-PA h had 2 lovers before H. Her 1st lover was her BF since high school who she was with for 10 years (lived with him in college and moved to LA from NYC with him for his acting career). Her 2nd lover was a ONS with her ex-BF’s friend as revenge sex and then ghosted him after. H was her 3rd lover and her first received-oral.
Popular 30s British plastic-surgeon H had some previous Gfs including his last GF who he was with for a couple years and who he was kinda engaged to when he agreed with her that it was “time” for them to be engaged when she dragged him to a jewelry store for an engagement ring. However, she cheated on him with his father when he was on a business trip and told him their relationship wouldn’t have worked out anyway since H didn’t have enough love for her since he only loved himself. She ended up marrying H’s father and having a daughter with him. After their breakup, H became a manwhore who smexxed a woman once with full disclosure of sex-only and then moved to the next. In the first week or so when h became his temporary PA, she had to shoo about 4 women out of his bedroom at different times except for the 2 women he had a 3some with one night. He became celibate for the next 2 months, after the 3some since he became only interested in h....more
#1. became tedious and boring Just a bunch more unnecessary plotlines that kept on keeping h and H apart. I gave it a good shot due to Silver Devil. But nothing much changed up to 80%. It actually worsened around 60% due to H's cheating on h. I finally DNF-ed @ 80% but skipped to the end. And glad I did because I didn't miss much.
#2. lacked romance/emotion/S chemistry Even up to 80%, H and h were still emotionally distant from each other. The only vivid emotions were un-romantic. h frequently felt disgusted by H’s disfigured face, when she wasn’t kissed and touched by him. She hated him. And he took it as a challenge to his manhood/pride and raped/dub-conned her. It wasn't out of love. So, @49% when her POV said she loved him it was unbelievable and sudden. Same with his ILY to her @ the end. There was no emotional/romantic build-up or preamble from her hating him for forcing & blackmailing her to have sex with him and marry him and to suddenly hiding her love from him.
#3. had inconsistent characterization @22%, strong-willed and mouthy h started acting helpless and found herself agreeing to a priest-officiated betrothal to a gruesome & mentally-ill 20yo Duke. As if she was hypnotized or something. It just seemed contrived, as if the author couldn’t find a better reason for h to suddenly agree to this official betrothal, when for days she’d been actively and openly resisting her arranged marriage.
#4. unlikable characters H and h were both impulsive, quick to misunderstand and hurl insults at each other. Then, they'd have sex. Afterwards, they're at it again with their misunderstandings and insults.
Sexual History: 18yo virgin h was de-virginized via rape by H, who was encouraged to get h pregnant by the uncle of the Duke so the uncle can claim the baby as the Duke’s. H was h’s 1st kiss/boob-touching/sex. A couple other lecherous men including the Duke’s uncle snuck h a kiss and boob grab.
34yo H was a renowned lover with many willing women who overlook his disfigured face for his sex skills. He cheated with 2 different women while he was already married to H. The 1st one was his married older ex-mistress from 14 years ago whose brothers disfigured his face for her honor. He basically became her whore to get money to buy back his sword and to afford passage from Spain for him and possibly h, who left him about 1 week prior and was staying at some rich woman’s house who she didn’t know was going to pimp her out to some rich men in the area. After h told him again that she was done with their marriage, he had unsatisfying sex with a prostitute....more
The GOOD: #1. captivating writing Evoked a here-and-now experience (i.e., sword-fighting scene with Hero and another D**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
The GOOD: #1. captivating writing Evoked a here-and-now experience (i.e., sword-fighting scene with Hero and another Duke towards the end). Advanced in its theme/content since reads like a currently-written dark romance with a cruel but obsessed anti-Hero and virginal heroine with quiet strength and smarts.
#2. good char and character development Liked how h started speaking up more and fighting for what she wanted instead of being passive. Also liked how it was obvious to everyone that indiscriminate manho H became solely focused on h and spurned potential lovers (both men & women), even when he thought h was dead.
#3. H groveled Liked that H humbled himself and showed his vulnerability to h @ the end, when he confessed his love for her and how much she meant to him.
MEH or the BAD #1. H’s grovel @ the end seemed so sudden. Wished there was more of a lead-in or bridge between H being demanding and distant towards h and H groveling to h @ the end.
#2. Good-enough emo with some angst. Wished there were more details/explanation given on what it was about h he fell for @ 1st sight and why he became so obsessed/in love with her when it's only been about sex with all others. These skipped details would've strengthened the emotional involvement in this book.
Sexual History: 18yo sheltered h was a virgin in everything with 29yo new-Duke H (i.e., kiss, boob-touching, sex). She was kissed and boob-groped by the crazy Duke who won her @ a chess game with H towards the end, with H being forced to watch them. But H was able to stop him from smexxing h.
29yo H was an indiscriminate manwhore who had sex with men and women, no matter what age or social status. He impregnated his 1st stepmother’s serving girl and had sex with this stepmother at a church altar, after she told him she’d been secretly desiring him. He mostly had sex with time with someone. But he had some return lovers, including 1 of h’s maidservants. Since he 1st smexxed h, he’d only been with h....more
The BAD: #1. 18yo college-freshman virgin h's out-of-character behavior It didn't fit h's character to let her BFF talk her into se3.5-star **SPOILERS**
The BAD: #1. 18yo college-freshman virgin h's out-of-character behavior It didn't fit h's character to let her BFF talk her into selling her virginity to afford school and dorm. Her BFF talked to her about it and, in ONLY a few minutes, h agreed to sell her body for school money. It didn't make sense to go against her usual caution and reservations and make such a huge decision like this without giving up much thought or time.
The GOOD: #1. liked h's character for the most part (serious about school, quiet, reserved)
#2. liked that h reverted back to her usual character after her ONS with 30yo stranger H When she realized that H was her new art professor, she avoided him as much as possible because she didn’t want to jeopardize his job or her schooling.
#3. Good emotionality/S tension/detailed S scenes Her avoidance helped give some tension in their romance and give her more character depth. It also drove H to stalk her from a distance since he wanted to see her and protect her despite her avoiding him. Liked how this created a more even power play in their relationship so their epilogue 5 years later made sense—with h finishing college and H&h now married with their 1st baby on the way and both becoming successful in their art.
#4. loved H’s stalkery-obsession with his student h
#5. liked that H wasn’t a sleaze or a manho He had strong reservations about smexxing an escort despite his friend gifting it to him to break his celibacy streak and even more so when he sees shy escort h. He kept giving her a clear “out” to just leave and not be obligated to smex him, despite her already being paid to do so. He did eventually give in and smexxed her, after she told him she felt hurt and embarrassed that he didn't want her.
Sexual History: 18yo h had never been kissed or dated any guy due to being shifted in various foster homes and busy with school. 30yo H was her 1st and only everything (i.e., kiss, oral, sex). No info on H’s past Gfs or lovers. Only that he’d been celibate awhile when his friend asked him, which shows that he wasn’t so sex-led....more
My 3rd novella by this author. Definitely getting a mix of Jessa Kane and Jordan Silver vibes...the writing style (straightforw**SPOILERS under Plot**
My 3rd novella by this author. Definitely getting a mix of Jessa Kane and Jordan Silver vibes...the writing style (straightforward smut, questionable morality due to pseudo-incest/incest relationship) and content (OTT ridiculous that it makes me laugh, exaggerated sexuality and dumbness with unapologetic aggressive Heroes and shy/kinda-dumb/willing sheltered-virgin heroines).
What makes AR’s novellas different than Jessa Kane and Jordan Silver though are the lack of details re: pertinent character and relationship information. For example in this book, not knowing H’s previous relationship to h (is H blood-related to h? Or a step-family related by marriage?), his and h's ages, and H's dating/sexual history provided me enough emotional-sexual tension to keep me awake. Not knowing if their relationship was ok--consensual? legal? moral?--kept me on my toes for its 34 pages. It's also what made it not seem like straight-up porn.
PLOT: 18yo virgin h being sheltered at their mansion by her wealthy parents was actually a biding of time until h turned 18 per the debt-repayment orders of the 30s/40s mafia-boss H who her father owed money to. While biding time, h was video-surveillanced in her bedroom and other parts of the mansion per H’s orders to keep her safe from h’s lecherous father and for H’s voyeuristic desires. When H came to claim her when she turned 18, it was with his OTT alpha-demanding possessiveness with a twist. He made h’s father watch him touch/kiss/oral and eventually smex h as his way of claiming ultimate possession of h since he knew her father would’ve raped her if not for H’s blackmail demands. Good thing that h had a yen for exhibitionism.
I didn't mind the DD/LG exhibitionism since H made sure others only watched them but no touching of h. h’s exhibitionism only extended to men watching her and H smexxing. But she didn't want women watching H. She was possessive of H in this way. Hot detailed S scenes. Iffy romance/characters. Meh emotion but good enough sexual tension....more
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