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emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, so in the previous novel, my dude kidnaps a woman and threatens to r^pe her to force her into marrying him to he can maintain the lavish lifestyle to which he's accustomed or whatever. And up to that point, from my understanding, he's characterized as an insatiable misogynist and a generally unsavory character.
And then my girl Evie rolls up, what, like a week later? Less? And she's like, I'm so desperate to escape my highly abusive relatives that I'll take a chance on this man because, hey! He wouldn't have Actually r^ped my Best Friend, he was just bluffing! He was desperate! And if he'd known his friend was in love with this woman he wouldn't have kidnapped her! It's all good!
And as soon as they agree to a marriage of convenience, St. Vincent completely pivots. He's tender, he's using terms of endearment, he's giving her massages, he's prioritizing her comfort over his own! What a guy. And Evie, despite her understanding of his character up to this point, and her history of abuse, is immediately at ease with him. Presumably because he shows her a modicum of decency and she's not accustomed to men being nice to her.
And sure, St. Vincent oscillates wildly between being thoughtful and attentive, to a cold, aloof prick who can't handle his own feelings. But there's a good man in there somewhere, there's gotta be, he just needs the love of a Good Woman to redeem him. So maybe if Evie just takes his behavior all in stride, she'll get to his gooey center eventually!
Suffice it to say, I found it hard to buy into these characters truly being in love, given then execution of this premise. But I suppose reformed rake storylines have always been a bit questionable to me.
There's also:
Incredibly fatphobic descriptions of Evie's cousin. I'm so tired of writers deciding the way they want to show and not tell you that a character is bad is by describing them as fat or ugly, or both! Because being fat is shorthand for a variety of moral failings, naturally. It's old, it's played, please just leave fat people alone lol.
The fetishization of Cam. We are constantly reminded how he's Romani, and how exotic and mystical that makes him. And for some reason, characters often refer to him only as "the Rom" instead of calling him by his fucking name.
I'll never get over St. Vincent throwing a fit when Evie told him she would resume a sexual relationship with him when he could demonstrate that he wouldn't cheat on her lol. Like any period of celibacy would be the death of him, because he's a man, and men have needs. Wild.
But! Credit as always to Mary Jane Wells for her skills as an audiobook narrator. Her St. Vincent did charm me at times. And I did finish it, which I've never been able to do with a Kleypas book before (and I've tried quite a few) so I gotta give it a little something.
And then my girl Evie rolls up, what, like a week later? Less? And she's like, I'm so desperate to escape my highly abusive relatives that I'll take a chance on this man because, hey! He wouldn't have Actually r^ped my Best Friend, he was just bluffing! He was desperate! And if he'd known his friend was in love with this woman he wouldn't have kidnapped her! It's all good!
And as soon as they agree to a marriage of convenience, St. Vincent completely pivots. He's tender, he's using terms of endearment, he's giving her massages, he's prioritizing her comfort over his own! What a guy. And Evie, despite her understanding of his character up to this point, and her history of abuse, is immediately at ease with him. Presumably because he shows her a modicum of decency and she's not accustomed to men being nice to her.
And sure, St. Vincent oscillates wildly between being thoughtful and attentive, to a cold, aloof prick who can't handle his own feelings. But there's a good man in there somewhere, there's gotta be, he just needs the love of a Good Woman to redeem him. So maybe if Evie just takes his behavior all in stride, she'll get to his gooey center eventually!
Suffice it to say, I found it hard to buy into these characters truly being in love, given then execution of this premise. But I suppose reformed rake storylines have always been a bit questionable to me.
There's also:
Incredibly fatphobic descriptions of Evie's cousin. I'm so tired of writers deciding the way they want to show and not tell you that a character is bad is by describing them as fat or ugly, or both! Because being fat is shorthand for a variety of moral failings, naturally. It's old, it's played, please just leave fat people alone lol.
The fetishization of Cam. We are constantly reminded how he's Romani, and how exotic and mystical that makes him. And for some reason, characters often refer to him only as "the Rom" instead of calling him by his fucking name.
I'll never get over St. Vincent throwing a fit when Evie told him she would resume a sexual relationship with him when he could demonstrate that he wouldn't cheat on her lol. Like any period of celibacy would be the death of him, because he's a man, and men have needs. Wild.
But! Credit as always to Mary Jane Wells for her skills as an audiobook narrator. Her St. Vincent did charm me at times. And I did finish it, which I've never been able to do with a Kleypas book before (and I've tried quite a few) so I gotta give it a little something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism
lighthearted
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Like Pride & Prejudice, with some of the humor and spice of Bridgerton
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Physical abuse, Pregnancy
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A solid historical romance and I can see why it is one of Lisa Kleypas’ most beloved books. The characters are great and the romance was thoughtful and lovely
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am ignoring the events of the previous book in the series for this review. That Sebastian is irredeemable. Otherwise, this book is perfection and I take no criticism because of the sheer joy this brought me. All the feels were amazing and I instantly searched for spotify playlists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was another fun read, I really enjoy this series (and I’ve read them in an absolutely ridiculous order 😂).
This one is about Evie and she comes off kind of quiet, a bit demure but she really goes for what she wants. She wants to be able to go take care of her father who’s dying but her uncles that she lives with won’t let her, they’re abusive and controlling. So she hatches a plan to ask notorious rake Sebastian to marry her so she can be free to do as she pleases. I honestly feel like he was just bored and curious so he agrees. They had an interesting relationship. She gained a bit more boldness and with her he finally found things to care about (slowly falling in love with her but also managing her father’s club). Lol this man, she asked him if he’d ever thought about getting a job and he was like why the devil would I do that and then proceeded to inspect every inch of her fathers club when he walked in the door and suddenly he had ideas and things.
For the most part I did enjoy his progression. He started out not caring about anything or anyone but developed feelings throughout the book and realized feelings are okay. He did do a couple questionable things at the start like trying to initiate sex while she was sleeping just after they were married (really Sebastian) to which she did end up reciprocating but she was asleep, just cause you’re married doesn’t mean you can take liberties especially when this is a marriage of convenience and then he called her a bitch when she wouldn’t sleep with him again and I was just like well that was rude and uncalled for. But like I said throughout the book he got better.
This one is about Evie and she comes off kind of quiet, a bit demure but she really goes for what she wants. She wants to be able to go take care of her father who’s dying but her uncles that she lives with won’t let her, they’re abusive and controlling. So she hatches a plan to ask notorious rake Sebastian to marry her so she can be free to do as she pleases. I honestly feel like he was just bored and curious so he agrees. They had an interesting relationship. She gained a bit more boldness and with her he finally found things to care about (slowly falling in love with her but also managing her father’s club). Lol this man, she asked him if he’d ever thought about getting a job and he was like why the devil would I do that and then proceeded to inspect every inch of her fathers club when he walked in the door and suddenly he had ideas and things.
For the most part I did enjoy his progression. He started out not caring about anything or anyone but developed feelings throughout the book and realized feelings are okay. He did do a couple questionable things at the start like trying to initiate sex while she was sleeping just after they were married (really Sebastian) to which she did end up reciprocating but she was asleep, just cause you’re married doesn’t mean you can take liberties especially when this is a marriage of convenience and then he called her a bitch when she wouldn’t sleep with him again and I was just like well that was rude and uncalled for. But like I said throughout the book he got better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Torture
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another book down from my TBR list and I for one am happy to check this off.
Granted had I known it the third of a series, I might have thought about reading the first two but I do love that it worked as a standalone quite well for the most part as the author didn't depend too much in the first two books to tell this story of Sebastian and Evie.
I give it to Sebastian—he is a rake, through and through. He's selfish, overbearing and he knows it and admits it which probably got him into some trouble as this book starts with him already contemplating his last scheme and how the shy and stuttering woman happened in his home.
That in itself was a great setup and had me intrigued because I have no idea how Evie with her gumption and smarts is actually a wallflower...unless her attitude has something to do with Sebastian because, aside from her stuttering which probably lead to her shyness due to being ridiculed, I don't see other wallflower tendencies unless it's more apparent in the previous books.
I wish there was more of Sebastian moments. I feel that really could have helped his character's arc from rake to husband of convenience to caring and loving at the end because while I enjoyed the book, I just didn't really fall for it but I had moments were maybe with a little more something, I could have.
Granted had I known it the third of a series, I might have thought about reading the first two but I do love that it worked as a standalone quite well for the most part as the author didn't depend too much in the first two books to tell this story of Sebastian and Evie.
I give it to Sebastian—he is a rake, through and through. He's selfish, overbearing and he knows it and admits it which probably got him into some trouble as this book starts with him already contemplating his last scheme and how the shy and stuttering woman happened in his home.
That in itself was a great setup and had me intrigued because I have no idea how Evie with her gumption and smarts is actually a wallflower...unless her attitude has something to do with Sebastian because, aside from her stuttering which probably lead to her shyness due to being ridiculed, I don't see other wallflower tendencies unless it's more apparent in the previous books.
I wish there was more of Sebastian moments. I feel that really could have helped his character's arc from rake to husband of convenience to caring and loving at the end because while I enjoyed the book, I just didn't really fall for it but I had moments were maybe with a little more something, I could have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent