Cute book. She’s on a cleanse for 6 months and meets him about halfway through. I’m not sure I would have continued listening if it hadn’t been one ofCute book. She’s on a cleanse for 6 months and meets him about halfway through. I’m not sure I would have continued listening if it hadn’t been one of my limited hoopla borrows. Not because the book wasn’t good - although at times the heroine got too caught up in her self help book inspired quest, and at other times the entire book went a little too series instead of story - no, because the reader was like a drunk chipmunk for the first few chapters. It was lilting in the middle of sentences that shouldn’t have been…highlighted and words that should have been stressed or accented weren’t. Hard to describe but it was annoying.
Other than that the hero was very sweet and goofy. And he heroine was only slightly damaged by a prior relationship. That guy belonged in jail. Just saying.
Too much toward the end was about other couples and the typical ***series reunion*** instead of the main characters. So the romance of the book of course got lost in all of that. Even the epilogue wasn’t the couple, it was the bro business partners. Probably won’t read others in this series because of that lack of focus....more
Like an extended epilogue of the Storm and Evie story. Well done. Readers were good - female sounded like a chipmunk at times. Nice revisit. Would havLike an extended epilogue of the Storm and Evie story. Well done. Readers were good - female sounded like a chipmunk at times. Nice revisit. Would have liked a comeuppance for jugs but maybe that’ll be in next book.
The dot over the I in “loving” lands n an odd place. Kept thinking it was something it wasn’t.
Not what I expected. For one thing, I expected all the characters who were American to have American accents. So it was jarring to have various BritisNot what I expected. For one thing, I expected all the characters who were American to have American accents. So it was jarring to have various British accents for all the characters in NYC and Maine, including even Indian accents. Not that you can’t have an Indian accent in Maine but it’s more prevalent in…say, the UK. So I have to wonder if this book was reestablished to America. Not only the accents but other things. Like “electrics” and too many others to point out.
In any case it also wasn’t really a romance. Oh there was a girl. And there was a guy. But there was also a mystery about her past and that was really the main focus.
Her memory of her childhood really sucked. Was she a teenager there in Maine? Or a younger girl? Because at times it was both.
At first she was really bitchy, too. Like being put out at people in a small town for being interested in her and remembering her family. Duh. Of course they would be.
She leaves NYC with a single suitcase and evidently no coat. People wear boots and coats in NYC in winter. They really do. There are photos of this. And women who live in NYC who have cars in “storage” have more than one suitcase of clothes. Especially if they have and live with their boyfriends.
The hero was sort of a shadow in the entire book. Her father who wasn’t even present had a stronger presence. But suddenly she and Daniel are sleeping together. No romance, mind you. Just like for convenience?
It was a free hoopla borrow but I doubt I’ll continue. I do want to visit that Victorian with all the outbuildings including an indoor pool. Amazing how a chick with a broken down car and one suitcase had the funds to restore a huge estate like that.
PS It doesn’t end. It continues in next book....more
Both readers were fine. The book was a slow sweet burn. She’s beautiful princess daughter of legend hockey player dad. He’s a super scorer player. TheBoth readers were fine. The book was a slow sweet burn. She’s beautiful princess daughter of legend hockey player dad. He’s a super scorer player. The reason they get together isn’t the comeuppance I would have liked but it’s not the point of the romance. Still, her ex could have slipped on a banana on the way out at least!
There is a pretty huge cast that gets in the way but as far as these things go at least everyone was given a distinct voice. The author took her time here.
I would have given it a fourth star but the epilogue features neither principal. It’s the set up for the next book. Blech. ...more
Cute to listen to but there were questions I had throughout. Like what was his actual title? What was his father? If this was in the book, I missed itCute to listen to but there were questions I had throughout. Like what was his actual title? What was his father? If this was in the book, I missed it. But it seems like something she would have researched since she was such an historian.
It’s run the gamut not not the gambit.
“Not a wrinkle or laugh line dotted her angular face, probably because the only emotion she ever displayed was annoyance.”
That was funny.
Also, I thought it odd that she was working so hard at this job to pay her mom’s cancer bills but neither her mom nor sister were in the epilogue.
Cute but could have been better.
The readers were not as good. He sounded like Sean Bean so that was weird. She sounded like she was quite distressed the entire time. And a bit whiny. And her reading of the Brit characters often sounded American snooty and sometimes Spanish. Get it together.
ETA The cover at a quick glance looks like a navy officer in dress whites. Lol...more
Story about Emma and her three cats and a billionaire hedge fund manager who needs to get out more. What these two have in common is that neither of tStory about Emma and her three cats and a billionaire hedge fund manager who needs to get out more. What these two have in common is that neither of them live in a very large world.
But I like it. As he gets to know her he has to shift his goals. She’s the typical cutesy round redhead we see in so many books. At least here she isn’t his straight out of college assistant. Aliens landing on my house today after lunch is more believable than that crap. No, here there’s a dating app mix up.
It’s continued to a next book. Leaves you hanging.
The readers are two of my favorites, Ava Erickson and Sebastian York. ...more
First half hour was brutal. But once they get to Not Hoth, it picks up in a really good way. World building really interesting. Sweet hero. Plucky herFirst half hour was brutal. But once they get to Not Hoth, it picks up in a really good way. World building really interesting. Sweet hero. Plucky heroine. My feet were cold listening. ...more
Really need to check GR before checking out on Hoopla. But this was short. I said I was done with this series after the last installment. Really am noReally need to check GR before checking out on Hoopla. But this was short. I said I was done with this series after the last installment. Really am now. This one was sweet and fluffy. Anyone who likes the first couple of stories can skip to this one....more
Fourteen hours of I loved this book. It took a while to get into the voices, as the hero is slightly British and upper class at that.
Couple of bookmarFourteen hours of I loved this book. It took a while to get into the voices, as the hero is slightly British and upper class at that.
Couple of bookmarks I caught while listening.
Chapter 4, “perfidity” - I don’t know if this was the reader mispronouncing or if it’s in the actual text. But the word should be perfidy. Even so it’s a weird word choice for the scene. Evasion or just lie would have been a better fit.
Chapter 16, “who gives me a wane smile” - another example this time with the male reader. Word should be wan.
I really liked the characters. They had depth without it detracting from the action. Stella keeps John on his toes. She keeps him engaged and it showed in the details. Usually with these rocker stories the heroine is a wide eyed ingenue type who suddenly turns slut when the sex starts. That can be jarring to turn the character into someone else so suddenly. Not here. Stella is the same character throughout. Kind of a kook, she’s a “professional friend,” but with the appropriate experience of a 30 year old who’s lived in NYC pretty much alone her entire life.
By contrast, John is a rock star from an upper class background. He’s a jaded and still shaky suicide attempt survivor. He is also a man with a narrow view of the world. As have we all in our own lanes - but isn’t this why we gravitate toward others? So they can add to our travel through life? That’s what John finds in Stella. Light in the darkness.
And the funny:
Chapter 12 “”I’ll feed the pets,” I tell her. Stevens narrows his devil eyes at me as if to say: “You better fucking do it or I’ll gut you.” I believe it.”
Chapter 16 “”And we both know that’s not true, Stella Button. Need I mention the—“ “Utter another word and I will bite you like a rabid ferret.” John gapes at me for a second and bursts out laughing.”
These two fit. She’s been alone and doesn’t like it, afraid of trusting. He’s also alone by choice, and doesn’t trust himself after his recent past.
Chapter 16 “Not a single one of them acknowledges me anymore. I’m an embarrassment. First for being a rocker. Second for publicly exposing my mental health issues. For them decorum trumps everything. One does not gyrate on stage, singing songs about fucking. And one definitely does not try to take one’s own life in a public manner. Apparently you do that shit behind closed doors and wait for the family to properly cover it up.”
The scene where they go further than kissing was sweetly overshadowed by a father figure’s warning not to touch upon pain of death. It added a layer of innocence to them coming together.
There were little touches like this throughout that looking back really added layers to the story. Even as part of a series I think this would be very not annoying if read alone. I tend to read books out of order based on other things than “series!” But this was 14 hours and a hoopla borrow. I didn’t even realize I’d already read the preceding book until I started listening. But I laughed…I cried!
Readers did a great job. Nothing annoying at all. The title is a bit misleading because he never really does “talk British” to her. It’s a secret idenReaders did a great job. Nothing annoying at all. The title is a bit misleading because he never really does “talk British” to her. It’s a secret identity for his part time gig on a radio show.
They are both essentially trust fund babies in their mid to late twenties who meet and have issues with not wanting to give up singledom (well, him) until they realize this is the one. Really nice slow falling. The surrounding cast adds to the story.
Enjoyed this one even though I left it in the middle for about 4 other books. But it was solid. ...more
I have no idea how this book has such a high rating.
The review that starts “fuck this book” is spot on. But I’ll add to it.
I liked the previous two boI have no idea how this book has such a high rating.
The review that starts “fuck this book” is spot on. But I’ll add to it.
I liked the previous two books. They weren’t the usual alien books. A bit grittier with an overarching mythology that was different. So I could appreciate that the girl who was afraid of everything would be the next heroine. And that she’d be paired with the happy go lucky but a bit lacking in sense warrior.
There was a lack of logic in this story. Beyond the usual disbelief suspension. She’s a librarian who changes her name when abducted. Because that’s a super great time to try on a new persona, when everything in your reality suddenly changes. I’m sure that’s how all timid self loathing librarian types react. Sure. But despite the awareness that she can be someone different, she’s *still* scared of her own shadow. Those two things - a will to build something new and a paralysis preventing her from reeeaaally doing it - don’t go together. Yes, we are all contrarians - but the author doesn’t explore this. There’s no 3D here. These two opposites are presented as twins, not mirrors.
There was a point where this could have been a story of growth with a sort of romantic sweetness. She could even have kept and developed her independence and strength. But her one free choice of how to behave - pole dancing on a bar in a crowded room - becomes her death sentence. And it was here that I started to think the author hates this character.
Whether the goal was to illustrate how we become that which we fear the most (and I don’t think this book is that deep despite what the heroine says) or that the author simply despised her characters, it was a major fail.
As for the hero, why he stole her off the planet was a lost opportunity for a ROMANCE as soon as the author decided to separate the two for MONTHS. She came along with him so easily because he kidnapped her. The scene where the two come together after the heroine is permanently dyed orange, tattooed full body, shaved, and implanted with body altering prosthetics is where I knew the author hated her characters - both of them.
This book would have benefited from a covered cutting room floor and a new direction. Pro tip: it’s difficult to care about characters who don’t care about themselves. It’s difficult to care about characters who experience zero growth. Prudence/Vivian is a coward at the beginning, middle, and end. I pitied her, her inability to make a proactive decision, and how that impacted Dax.
Even the 4 and 5 star reviewers didn’t like the heroine. They too point out that the hero and heroine are separated. That it’s weird.
But I started laughing when after months chained to the wall, Dax finally times the weakening of his chains to snapping them off and breaking out of his cell. That’s when I started laughing. Because…sure. :::eyeroll::: Yeah, now Vivian needs him and he’s coming. Right. But that’s explained later by the villain “letting” them all go. Unhuh. After implanting Vivian with an expensive defensive system and training her to be an “elite guard”…laughing as I type that.
“There isn’t much time we have to save Vi!!”
Dude it’s been months. She’s orange now.
I laughed even harder when her big assassination attempt was poisoning a drink in a pantry. So the body dye and full tattoo and prosthetics and shaved head disguise were for POISONING FROM A PANTRY. When her target ignores the drinks, she - now looking like a well known race of WARRIORS - basically gives him a fucking scarf swinging lap dance in a brothel. As if.
ALL the torture and screaming and body disfigurement was completely unnecessary AND illogical.
I also laughed when normal human Allison puts Vivian the big bad modified cyborg’s ass on the ground.
I’m sorry. When you’ve been dyed orange, tattooed from bald skull to feet and implanted with bumpy prosthetics, you ARE your appearance. Let’s get real. Should have stopped with Dax braiding her hair. That’s when this book should have ended.
All her inside ugly ends up on the outside? Is that what we are supposed to conclude? But I didn’t think she was ugly inside. She was insecure. Frightened. Panic stricken. Focused on her own survival to the exclusion of others. How is any of that ugly?! Honestly I didn’t even find it that irritating - unlike the 4 and 5 star reviewers!
“I can’t help but consider all the ways we have grown together.”
Saying it doesn’t make it so, buddy.
They leave her altered and she is suddenly okay with it. The girl who’s still scared. And all the other human girls act like it’s completely normal their friend is a tattooed orange pop. That would never happen. Nobody suggested they help her regain a normal appearance after being barbarically altered.
Plus, the epilogue was retarded.
Bottom line: This isn’t a romance. It’s a horror story. If I could give it negative stars, I would. I gave it one because I’m pretty sure no stars doesn’t get added to the average. And that average deserves to come down. The only reason I didn’t DNF is because it was a Hoopla borrow. But fuck this book.
PS I think what I really hated about this story was there was no hope. All adventures should have hope. But no. They didn’t grow, sure. But there was no hope for them to save themselves. Even the epilogue makes sure you know they - all four at that point - were only released because the villain let them go. And that’s just illogical bullshit....more
Been a while since I read an historical. This was really outstanding. One reader, male, with a gruff voice. Did a fine job. Nice to see the villain - Been a while since I read an historical. This was really outstanding. One reader, male, with a gruff voice. Did a fine job. Nice to see the villain - her self - get vanquished....more
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