Started off really strong. This was cute for what it was and reminded a little bit of Mila Finelli's mafia books. Just wish it had more depth like FinStarted off really strong. This was cute for what it was and reminded a little bit of Mila Finelli's mafia books. Just wish it had more depth like Finelli's work. The world building and character development could have been better. A Mafia Don going into an arranged marriage with a Bratva princess who has a disability and uses a wheelchair. So intriguing right?! I did like the disability representation. The heroine Sofiya has a condition called EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) which causes sensitive skin tissue, joint pain and dislocation frequently. She uses a rollator and wheelchair to move around. What started off great with a marriage of convenience disappointingly crumbled into repetitive cotton candy fluff by the halfway mark. I'm all for fluffy goodness but characters doing the same thing over and over again to fill up pages just starts to wear things down fast. I loved the sweet moments which were many but when nothing else happens in the story I start to mentally check out. The hero was a complete puppy for his "tesoro" wife which was cute. But a mafia don grabbing his wife at every opportunity to have her sit in his lap in every occasion including business dinners with all the mafia families felt a bit like fanfic for me. I love when couples have their own special "things" but when it's done all the time in every scene? Nope. There was also a looooot of giggling and lip biting happening from the heroine which kind of drove me insane.
The mafia action didn't kick in until the last 100 pages which stirred my interest again but parts were ridiculous given some of the questionable stupid stunts the heroine pulls. You want to get away from your husband fine, but why the fuck would you team up with a rival mafia to "rescue" you? ...more
-Weston Belmont made for a sweet hero. Was he memorable though compared to other Silver heroes? No. He's a walking green flJust some random thoughts.
-Weston Belmont made for a sweet hero. Was he memorable though compared to other Silver heroes? No. He's a walking green flag and a sweetie but he felt a *little* too perfect for me that it fell flat and kinda boring. Always throwing winks and cracking jokes felt a little too on the nose. I love nice guy heroes but I need a little something more underneath the surface. He felt way too laid back on some things too. He's supposedly protective of his kids and introducing new women to them but it didn't feel that way with the heroine once they got intimate. The fact that he didn't even bat an eye over his daughter catching them in bed together is an example of that. A lot of conversations seemed to happen off the page. He's a horse trainer but the "cowboy" aspect was nonexistent.
-West's two kids Oliver and Emmy were cute, I especially loved Oliver. But his little girl Emmy who is 6 years old sounded like a 12 year old going on 20 and it kept throwing me off and taking me out of scenes. It was so distracting. Does anyone know a 6 year old who talks this way?...
“I’ll come up with one and show you. If you like it, we’ll need to negotiate a price. I don’t work for free.”
“No, fancy girls don’t drink out of cans, Skylar,” Emmy argues. “What about a champagne glass? I think Dad has one back here somewhere.”
Emmy lets out a little scoff before turning to me dramatically. “It’s amateur hour over here.”
-Skylar Stone made for a sweet heroine. I don't love musician characters/stories, so that didn't really grab my attention and probably why I wasn't as invested as I should be in this story. It certainly didn't help here that Skylar didn't really feel like this big famous musician considering all the details about her music making and lifestyle wasn't really shown. She's supposedly a Taylor Swift-type of famous but it really didn't come off that way. Like her writing her whole new album pretty much happens in small bits and pieces and then boom! skip a few months(?) ahead... album is out. Which made no sense. Your heroine is a superstar shouldn't we see that creative process in real time? Her abusive asshole parents pushed her into stardom at a young age and controlled her whole life so it was nice to see her break free from that and discover what she really wants in life. Just wish the actual plot and chemistry was more exciting. I didn't feel invested/interested until the last 100 or so pages. I especially didn't feel the chemistry and angst till the near end which felt late.
-The standout character for me: The heroine's foul mouthed African Grey parrot, Cherry. ...more
Single dad-nanny books really do it for me. And a Hockey sports romance on top of all that? Yes please. This hit all the right buttons. Gru4.75 stars
Single dad-nanny books really do it for me. And a Hockey sports romance on top of all that? Yes please. This hit all the right buttons. Grumpy Goalie widower Will Perry and kindergarten teacher Chloe Knot were adorable. And his little girl Ava was cuteness overload. I loved that she wanted to play Hockey just like her Daddy. ...more
So so so much better than Hail Mary (Leo sweetie I'm so sorry you were done dirty). Clay and Giana were a treat. Very adorable. I just really4.5 stars
So so so much better than Hail Mary (Leo sweetie I'm so sorry you were done dirty). Clay and Giana were a treat. Very adorable. I just really wish this author would lay off the 3rd act drama in her books that takes up 100 pages. I'm fine with break ups and conflict but why is it always family drama and adults being so fucking awful and toxic to their kids in Steiner's books? Or whatever 3rd act drama there is, it's always dragged out for much too long IMO. And parents getting excused for abusive behavior to their kids cause they "mean well" and need help isn't it. Absolutely not. Don't care if it's his mom who raised him, that shit with Clay's bitchy conniving ex-girlfriend and her interfering father was ridiculous. But shout out to that breakup scene cause a hero crying because he can't stand hurting the heroine and leaving her? THE ANGST. ❤️ Emotional heroes are my kryptonite. Just hits different....more
“Fadat besham, Asal.” Three words paralyzed me. I am willing to sacrifice myself for you, Honey.
Just so wonderful and feel good.4.75 stars
“Fadat besham, Asal.” Three words paralyzed me. I am willing to sacrifice myself for you, Honey.
Just so wonderful and feel good. A persian flight nurse heroine? I mean come on. I knew I had to give this book a try after learning Layla is Persian and her hero is calling her "asal" in Book 2, that had my antennas go up and eager to go back and read this. I was nervous but I have to give Maggie C. Gates her brownie points for really doing her research with all the details as far as language and customs, either she knows someone Persian who helped her out or she really did her homework. Some things were a bit exaggerated as far as customs go and religious practice and how phrases are used in what context but even so, I was very surprised and impressed by her thoroughness and care.
“But I’m most thankful that you spent your life making your soul just as beautiful. Dooset Daaram, hamsar-am.”
I just love and adore bilingual romances, whisper sweet nothings in my ear in another language and it really does things for me. I mean a hero who learns Farsi to tell the heroine how he feels? COME ON. Heart melting. Ovaries gone. He learned how to make her chai with nabat. This book made me want to squeal out loud like a lunatic. GIVE ME A CALLUM FLETCHER PLEASE. ...more
Perfect cozy holiday novella. Just what I was looking for and needed to end the year with. A grumpy Welsh man with a jaded heart and 3.74 stars
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Perfect cozy holiday novella. Just what I was looking for and needed to end the year with. A grumpy Welsh man with a jaded heart and a sunshiny sweet American curvy heroine who live in the same apartment building in Paris and hate each other but get stuck in their tiny elevator lift on Christmas Eve. Colin and Jules were cute. And the body positivity and praise kink in this was nicely done. That nod to Love Actually was sweet. I recommend this for those who love wanderlust romances!
ETA: Ok after reading the bonus epilogue I just have to say Ms. Anders is in need of an editor or a good one at least. The amount of typos in just 20 pages is hard to miss. I noticed this in the initial story too, for some reason she tends to skip over her words a lot and it's really obvious especially during intimate scenes and dialogue. Important words are missing or repeated at odd times so it reads like mistakes. Her writing is a bit hiccupy because of that....more
This started out with strong potential. I loved the concept of single pregnant heroine working for her boss who slowly falls for her and her2.75 stars
This started out with strong potential. I loved the concept of single pregnant heroine working for her boss who slowly falls for her and her baby. I was expecting an office romance with a pregnancy trope that's slow burn but this quickly morphed into insta-lust/love fanfic smut halfway in where the supposedly emotionally detached hero is suddenly pouring out endearments and moving her into his house and buying her a whole new wardrobe and giving her money and fixing all her problems at the drop of a hat. It just didn't work for me. It's a nice fantasy but it's just not interesting or exciting. Especially when it's so instant. Office romance power dynamics usually don't bother me and I normally love that trope but the heroine pretty much going 'okey dokey' and going along with everything just made the whole story collapse like a cheap suitcase. It just became so one dimensional and shallow. Where's the conflict? The tension? When there's no agency or conflict then you lose me. I love a care-taking hero but he gives her everything from the very start and she happily goes along with it. The minute he said "once I put my dick in you, you are mine" I knew where this was heading. The assistant falling for her boss and having sex in his office and nobody raises a brow over it? Really? And I can't tell you how much I hate the endearment "sweetheart". It's like nails on a chalkboard and makes my skin crawl. ...more
So adorable. Surprised me how adorable. Wish this was a full length book given the emotional beats played here. Sumner was a giant love bug h4.5 Stars
So adorable. Surprised me how adorable. Wish this was a full length book given the emotional beats played here. Sumner was a giant love bug hero and Britta (hate these names by the way) kinda drove me up the wall with her hangs up on not doing committed relationships and keeping the hero at arm's length. Girl, this man is crazy in love with you and just wants to take care of you! If you don't want him I'LL TAKE HIM. I'll climb him like a tree and cling like a koala and never let go. Glad her mind, heart and lady parts got with the program eventually....more
This is how it had been in California. One measly lunch had led to months of staring off into space trying to remember the exact sha
3.75 stars
This is how it had been in California. One measly lunch had led to months of staring off into space trying to remember the exact shade of her eyes.
Wavering on the rating. This was cute. I liked it for the most part but to be honest I was really hoping to love it. I was obsessed with Burgess from just a gruff "hello" in the last book so yeah my expectations for this were a little skewed and I'm being harsher. The meet cute set up and tropes at play really had me looking forward to this. But a lot of odd plot choices were made here that felt contrived/forced into the book. I don't know it just felt very sloppy and lackadaisical in places. Some details didn't make sense or explained clearly. And I have never seen a book take such drastic left pivot in the first 30 pages just to introduce a new character to set up the next book in this series. Like...why? That was so clumsy and so unnecessary. You're telling me Chloe couldn't be introduced another way? Chloe whose soon-to-be stepsibling is a teammate and friend of the hero's? Instead you had to have your heroine in the opening scene of the book suddenly get cold feet for her new Au Pair job (that has free boarding) just to randomly go apartment hunting and meeting her new "friend" Chloe to create a new friend circle and set up for the next book?...... M'kay. Felt like a waste of page time for me. Moving on....
“Could you kiss me? One time. I’ll never ask again—” He went into the kiss like a bear being handed a pot of honey after a winter in hibernation.
“Burgess,” she gasped, patting him on the shoulder with a shaky hand. “O-okay. Okay.” “Okay what, gorgeous?” he muttered thickly. She moaned as he licked up the side of her neck. “This is . . . we’re getting c-carried away.” “I’ll carry you anywhere you want to go.”
She wasn’t sure what compelled her to break into a jog, only that she wanted to be in those strong arms as quickly as possible—and he was already opening them for her. She ran, jumped, and was enfolded in the warmest, safest hug of all time. All she had to do was dangle there, surrounded in strength.
He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I guess I want to be important to you. Instead of the man you could . . . maybe fall for someday. When I take you to bed for the first time, I want you looking back at me like you might. Like you could, you know. Fall for me.” He cleared his throat extra hard.
Burgess and Tallulah were very cute and sexy, the sexual chemistry and steam was ...more
He stroked her hair and her back, kissed her temple and her cheek. "When you're gone, half of me is gone. Why do ye suppose the firs
3.75 stars
He stroked her hair and her back, kissed her temple and her cheek. "When you're gone, half of me is gone. Why do ye suppose the first thing I do is find ye?"
I just adore this series so much. So much to sink your teeth into. Adventure, family, humor, lowkey magic, suspense, sexual tension, passion and yearning in spades. No one does yearning anymore like Elisa Braden does. While this wasn't my favorite installment, I still had trouble putting it down. Alexander MacPherson and Sabella Lockhart made quite the pair. I loved the whole forbidden/sworn enemy dynamic here with a bitter hollowed-out jaded angry hero pining over the sister of his family's sworn enemy. Kenneth Lockhart terrorized, tortured, falsely imprisoned and nearly killed Alexander's brother Broderick a year ago and nearly killed Alexander too. So the grudge is deep and for good reason. While the already established "I've wanted you for so long" feelings didn't work for me in Campbell's book it worked well here because we actually got to see it play out in real time in Book 2 when Alexander and Sabella meet and the fallout of him nearly getting killed. So that underlying tension has been simmering in the background for two books so it held weight. You feel that anticipation going into this book already. Was there insta-lust and tripping over things quickly to get to a marriage of convenience? Yes. But the sexual tension, pining and chemistry saved it for me. And yes there was a quite lot of tup, tup, tupping. These two are so insatiable and smitten with each other and while I wish some beats played out differently and paced out better, a fun time was had nonetheless. I just loved how obsessed Alexander was with her. He hates that he's wanted her and couldn't have her and thought he lost her to someone else. His desperation in wanting to keep her and fear of losing her was so great to see. There's just something about lovesick obsessed "I'll do anything to keep her" heroes even if they have to play a little dirty to do it. He starts off mean to her because of a misunderstanding but even underneath that bitterness you see how much he worships her. All bark and no bite is the best kind of brooding hero. I mean the switch mode from broodacious rawr! to losing his shit over her getting hurt? Ugh. INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS RIIIIGHT NOW.
“But first, I want to know why ye call me Duchess. Early on, I assumed ye intended to mock me, but I no longer think that’s true.” “Ye should be a duchess,” he answered. “But as ye’re mine, and I cannae offer lofty titles, I call ye what ye are to me—my wife, the mother of my bairns. A woman too fine for aught that’s ordinary.” He shrugged. “Ye’re my Duchess. That simple.”
The weakest points for me were two things. Their first time having sex I didn't really love. I mean it was hot but felt kind of anticlimactic; I didn't love the whole fucking her against a tree for their first time (after all that build up) and to continue to just go at it after finding out she's a virgin without pause was little WTF for me. Considering he thought she was mistress to a man he loathed for 1 whole year, yeah I wanted the coming together to be little more explosive or meaningful or at least freak the fuck out realizing how wrong he was. That moment just lost something for me and fell a little short. And second, the whole random villain conflict and resolution with the bad guy Cromartie in the end with her brother's mistress wasn't great. Considering Cecilia's role in my baby Broderick's downfall in Book 2 I really didn't care for a revisit of this character. I don't care what a sad tragic life she's had, she nearly got my man unalived and mutilated for it. ...more
The perfect nanny/single dad book does not exist. Liz Tomforde: WANNA BET??!
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“I simply stopped running when the t
⚾️ *5 Golden Stars* ⚾️
The perfect nanny/single dad book does not exist. Liz Tomforde: WANNA BET??!
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“I simply stopped running when the two best boys I know caught me.”
Wowie did I love this. Happy New Year to meeee! This was a complete home run and yes I just used a baseball analogy for a baseball book I don't care. lol I need to sue Liz Tomforde for emotional distress. Her books keep stomping on my ovaries, flambéing, frapeying, just kaboom boom booming them to smithereens. ...more
This was adorable and charming all around and I get the fanfare over this series if4.5 Stars
"Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest."
This was adorable and charming all around and I get the fanfare over this series if this was anything to go by. Ryan Shay and Indy Ivers just melt your heart, two extreme opposites forced to live as roommates who slowly fall for each other was so sweet and satisfying to see. This definitely was one of those books that checks off all kinds of tropes and I personally didn't mind it because it felt like little surprises that popped up and didn't feel forced in.
What I loved: -Hero Ryan Shay is a NBA basketball player who looks like a cross between Stephen Curry & Michael Ealy (in my head at least). -Heroine Indy is the hero's twin sister's best friend who is coming off an awful break up when she caught her fiance cheating on her and now needs a new place to live. She's a flight attendant who is a caretaker by nature and wears her heart on her sleeve and the embodiment of sunshine and firecracker. She's hilarious and adorable in trying to fluster the uptight OCD hero. -Heroine's full name is Indigo so hero gives her the nickname Blue. (it's a recurring joke) -Hero builds heroine a bookcase to hold all her romance books. -Hero learns ASL to communicate with heroine's father who is deaf. -Hero makes sure to bring veggie food to a camping trip with his General Manager's family who didn't know she's vegetarian. -The praise kink. (The way these two hype each other up is really sweet too) -Care taking when heroine is sick. -Fake dating shenanigans including one bed scenario and a jealous hero. (I have never laughed so hard over a guy confusing the craft store Michael's for a real man ...more
Started off great. This had so much potential to be another favorite from Mila Finelli. But it just lost me half way in when all the hero and3.5 stars
Started off great. This had so much potential to be another favorite from Mila Finelli. But it just lost me half way in when all the hero and heroine did was hate fuck and get each other off with zero emotional connection in between. The cat and mouse game took up too much of the book and left me feeling hot and cold. Their feelings just happen out of the blue, it didn't feel gradual. They share maybe 2 meaningful conversations between all the sex and that's it. The heroine Gia suddenly is softening after the hero Enzo (her captor) tells her a story about putting a band-aid on his daughter's knee and she's weak at the knees. That's it. Seriously? That's all we get? We do get a rescue scene before that where she almost drowns trying to escape his yacht but that's pretty much it. They have chemistry but I wasn't entirely sold on them falling in love because we barely see it. She starts to feel things for him because he has a big dick and she loves rough dirty sex. I'm sorry but kinky sex doesn't = love to me. ...more
Highly anticipated 2023 releases have been really disappointing for me overall and that makes me so sad. :(
This booNot really what I was hoping for.
Highly anticipated 2023 releases have been really disappointing for me overall and that makes me so sad. :(
This book frustrated me and underwhelmed me in so many regards.
-Breeding Kink. How are you gonna promote/market a book having breeding kink and not actually show it? I mean we got…some. Just barely. I didn't even realize until I read this book that breeding kink is the thought of impregnating that's the kink and turn on, not the actual act per say. But even so, that barely had much airtime in this either. I’m so confused by the choices Finelli made here. You have an arranged marriage between two people who are from rival mafia families who need to get pregnant in 3 months time or their loved ones will die. What’s more higher stakes and dramatic than that?! But nothing happens. Barely any sex (compared to the other books). No pregnancy in the end, nothing. So much page time was wasted instead on the hero and heroine delaying consummating their marriage, the heroine trying to get out of it and go back to Toronto or the hero pushing her away. The constant flip flopping also confused me and frustrated me.
-Emotional connection. I had the same problem in Mafia Madman and same problem persisted here. There was barely any time or effort shown in letting the characters actually connect and fall in love. It just seems to happen over night and come out of thin air after they have sex. The words are given and they are nice but I didn’t really believe it because of that. You literally have your heroine say at the 70% mark she doesn’t even know anything about her husband. So you just fall in love with someone you barely know? *crickets* How does that even make sense? :/ I mean we finally do get some of the sweet moments we are waiting for but it felt like a blip compared to everything else that happens there. It felt like these 2 barely spent any time together here, the pacing was very odd. I wanted much more than what was given.
-The sister. I’m gonna sound like an epic b*tch saying this but it’s fiction so who cares. But having your hero have a more visceral/urgent reaction and drop everything to run after his runaway 26 year old sister Vivian instead of fighting for his wife who he supposedly loves was a.....choice. It just left a bad aftertaste in my mouth and so underwhelming. Your wife is curled up in a ball sobbing and you just leave her there and tell her to go back home? Seriously?? THAT'S IT? Giacamo coddling his adult sister and his obsession of hiding her got tiring the more it went on. I wanted the heroine Emma to meet Vivian and become friends. Instead we got this nonsense. One conversation with Emma over the phone and that's it.
-Emma. I liked her...sometimes. She's exactly the type of heroine I usually love. Smart, quiet, sweet, selfless, minds her business. I liked her levelheadedness and good heart. That's very easy to like. But this girl really got on my nerves at times. One with the goody two shoes “the dangers of misogyny!” act. For someone so smart studying to become a doctor she would say stuff that would make my eyes roll so hard they almost fell out of their sockets.
Yes, I was a virgin. I knew it was silly. But it wasn’t like I was waiting for marriage. That perpetuated an arcane patriarchal view of a woman’s body and her rights.
“That was fast. Too bad for your wife, eh, Don Buscetta?” A stamina joke. Awesome. I guess we were checking all of the clichéd misogynist boxes today.
“You have no right to yell at me, because I did nothing wrong. I will not perpetuate a backwards society where I’m supposed to be lesser than you just because I’m a woman.”
She pushed a strand of long brown hair behind her ear. “Sex isn’t just vaginal penetration. That’s a very misogynistic way of looking at—”
This was ok but it lost my interest in the last leg of it. The last 100 pages really draaaaaaged for reasons that didn't really make sense. 2.75 stars
This was ok but it lost my interest in the last leg of it. The last 100 pages really draaaaaaged for reasons that didn't really make sense. The conflict felt really silly and forced and dragged on for too long. Being a professional caddie to your boyfriend or running your family's golf shop? Oh. the. suspense. What will she do! ...more
“I’m done pretending to be head over heels in love with you because I’m legitimately head over heels in love with you. And acting lik
4.5 stars
“I’m done pretending to be head over heels in love with you because I’m legitimately head over heels in love with you. And acting like I’m not tears me up.”
I'll be honest I'm a little conflicted on the rating for this. It's between a 4 and 5 stars. Which is still great either way. This was a 5 star for a good chunk of it but the steam factor and the last 20ish% kind of made that last star fall off a bit for me. I've been in a not great head space the past week so reading was a struggle in general. But even so, this grabbed my attention and the distraction I needed from reality. Beau and Bailey were adorable and so sweet. Two lost souls trying to find themselves and their way in life and finding comfort in each other. Bailey was a great combination of innocent, vulnerable yet smart mouth and guarded. I loved the age gap here. Beau is 35 and Bailey is 21. Beau is a special ops soldier who is back home after a rescue mission left him with burned scarred feet and a serious case of PTSD. He's the jovial "goofy" Eaton brother but underneath the bravado is someone who is very weary and lost. Bailey Jansen is the misfit outcast that everyone in Chestnut Springs treats like a pariah given her last name. Her family is a bunch of drug addicts, petty thieves and bullies that the entire town find a nuisance. Bailey has been getting the burnt end of her family name when she's just trying to make her way on her own. I felt for her. Did the conflict in the end feel overblown and a bit silly? Yes. I was expecting it. It was overblown considering the timeline of it. But thankfully it didn't drag on too long and they talked it out. I love how slow burn this felt. Elsie said this was her "least" slow burn book from this series and frankly I disagree. I'm a little confused what she meant by that because this felt pretty slow burn in my book. The amount of pining/yearning/edging that drags on is both delicious and frustrating at the same time. lol
You don’t tell a person you love them with the expectation they’ll say it back. You tell them because you want to. You tell them because it’s true.
I personally love shy virgin heroines who find their own voice and independence. Bailey fit that bill. I just wish the steam was a bit more exciting in this rather than focused solely on "I wanna get rid of my virginity now, a sex toy already got rid of my hymen". It felt heavy handed. I know I'm in the minority when I say this but I absolutely hate when virgin heroines are portrayed like this in romance, specifically CR. Like it's some big shocking annoying thing a young girl in her 20s should be ashamed of? It's a weird gross narrative that I'm seeing more of and I truly don't get it and so tired of seeing it. A woman in her 20s (or any age for that matter) being a virgin is not gross or shocking please stop treating it that way authors, it's insensitive and utterly ridiculous. But that's a rant for another time. Also the porn thing, do all of Elsie Silver's heroines love to watch porn? I'm not knocking porn fanatics and normally don't even care but it feels very disingenuous here because these are women from different lifestyles and backgrounds but all of them just casually watch porn when they are horny or bored, in every. single. book. With uptight "ice queen" Winter it felt weird and very forced and here it felt forced too given how much it was brought up. Like yes, the heroine is a virgin but she's a COOL virgin ya'll! She watches porn and has a box of sex toys to prove it. RME. Please stop. It was doing too much IMO. Also, when you have an experienced hero and a virgin heroine who is eager to try things and discover sex, why not show some of that sexual exploration? *cries into my pillow* That's the part I felt let down the most TBH. This book kinda felt like a big ol' tease in many ways in that regard. And I want to throw my shoe at people who labeled that bathtub scene as "steamy" all over social media because it built up expectations in my head I wasn't aware of until I got to it. (view spoiler)[ Your man helping you shave your pubic hair is sweet but standing in a bathtub full of floating pubic hair (I really didn't need that visual Elsie Silver thanks) while he performs oral sex on you is not my idea of sexy time. But that's just me. (hide spoiler)]...more
Easy sweet read. Low angst and with a sweet cinnamon roll hero. But this did not need to be a 436 page book. A good 100 pages could have been3.5 stars
Easy sweet read. Low angst and with a sweet cinnamon roll hero. But this did not need to be a 436 page book. A good 100 pages could have been cut down. There wasn’t enough tension or conflict to drag it out that much. The last 50 pages especially felt pointless, like a long running epilogue.
The heroine Caroline is a 22 year old kindergarten teacher who has lupus. She had a kidney transplant when she was 11 years old so she's spent most of her young life in and out of hospitals. She's now trying to make up for "lost time" and find her independence and normalcy after living such a sheltered smothered life. I liked the chronic illness representation here. Seeing her deal with her lupus flare-ups was also great to see because you don't normally get that. I learned stuff here I didn't even know about lupus and kidney donors, like a transplant recipient getting similar food cravings from their donor. So interesting! I also liked that the heroine was an artist who paints and sells her work. I just wish her personality was a little more interesting. She's very shy and skittish in the beginning but slowly comes out of her shell with the hero's help. Their first kiss and the hero "teaching" her was quite sexy I have to say. ...more
Really loved this. There's just something about Shupe's writing I really enjoy when the story is right. It's so intelligent, precise, sexy an4.5 stars
Really loved this. There's just something about Shupe's writing I really enjoy when the story is right. It's so intelligent, precise, sexy and well researched. It does take on a bit of a modern tone in some areas as far as female autonomy and independence but it's not distracting. This is the biggest age gap romance I've read and I'll be honest if this was a Contemporary I would not have touched it. There's a 23 age difference here. The hero is 41 and the heroine is 18 and yes it took me some getting used to considering he's known her since she was a baby and he has a teenage son who is 2 years younger than the heroine Violet. I would have liked it more if Violet was 21 at least. But she's very mature for her age (a little too mature at times if I'm being honest lol). It definitely helped that the hero Max tried to put some distance and barriers between him and Violet who is doggedly pursuing him and is freaked out that she wants him. She's hurt that he's put distance between them since her coming out and it turns out he did it for a reason as he found her beautiful but much too young for him and it freaks him out. This also helped because if he had just went along with it easily I would have dropped this in a hot second. He's terrified and tries to scare her off at first which was great character development.
The Duke of Ravensthorpe is Violet's father's best friend and a family friend and Violet's crushed on him from afar since girlhood. He's a widower who enjoys single life after his marriage was a disappointing disaster after his wife died during child birth. He's a rake through and through who loves naughty times in the bedroom and honestly I found him so sexy and delicious. He's so intimidating, commanding, intelligent, earthy, sensual and masculine but also kind and a gentleman. I can't blame Violet for wanting him. A silver fox Duke with a filthy mouth. I wanted to climb him like a jungle gym so I get it. lol He steals the scenes and then some. Violet for her part I thought could have been developed a little more in comparison. The fact that I don't know what she looks like beyond having blonde hair and a curvy body for example did bug me. Her face is a hazy blur in comparison to the Duke who we get every little detailed description on. I liked that Violet's passion was in photography (I didn't even know Kodak camera boxes were a thing in 1895?) and studying photography (were classes available for women back then?). The sex scene involving her taking pictures of him naked was insanely hot and erotic. I thought that was nicely done. (ETA: I just realized the model on the cover is holding a camera. Very clever.) This is a very hot spicy novella and I loved every minute of it. I honestly wish this was a full length book given how quickly these two acted on their attraction and I wish that was dragged out a bit more given the forbidden aspect of it and Max's hang ups over their age difference and his friendship with her father. The hero caves a little too soon for my liking but since this is a novella you kind of just go along with it. I thought the emotions, the connection and tension was nicely done. If this was a full length book I probably would have given this a 5 star TBH. I could not put this down. Maximilian Thomas William Bradley III could absolutely GET IT. ...more
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