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romilanfranchi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
girlwithhearteyes's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 stars
I love an angsty “FMC is misjudged by the MMC” storyline, and the deliciousness when he realises how wrong he was.
This book scratched the itch, but I did find it hard to fully connect with the story — possibly because I switched between audiobook to ebook several times. I liked Jillian (the whole time) and Justin (once he realised how wrong he was), and I also liked the storyline itself, so it could have been a mood thing. TW for abuse (not between the main characters).
Maya Banks’s books also do tend to lean soapy, which I personally enjoy, but YMMV.
I love an angsty “FMC is misjudged by the MMC” storyline, and the deliciousness when he realises how wrong he was.
This book scratched the itch, but I did find it hard to fully connect with the story — possibly because I switched between audiobook to ebook several times. I liked Jillian (the whole time) and Justin (once he realised how wrong he was), and I also liked the storyline itself, so it could have been a mood thing. TW for abuse (not between the main characters).
Maya Banks’s books also do tend to lean soapy, which I personally enjoy, but YMMV.
rellimreads's review against another edition
4.0
Note: While this is the first book in the series the books aren’t interconnected, stand alone, and can be read in any order.
I enjoyed this one. This is a bit of enemies to lovers theme as Justin and Jillian are originally at odds and quite a bit of verbal sparring goes on. I liked that Case was still her friend and didn’t choose either his brother or Jillian over the other.
The more Justin & Jillian spend time together the more they realize they’ve made assumptions. It’s a lovely transition to lovers for them. Unfortunately, Jillian isn’t as free from her dead husband as she thought and there’s a mysterious threat. Threatening letters and a shooting. Justin vows to protect her and there’s some really sweet moments for them when they’re in seclusion.
Since they aren’t getting their own books, I would have liked some resolution for Case and even Hawk. Overall a charming listen.
Narration:
I enjoyed Tim Campbell’s narration. He did a good job of giving all the characters unique voices and handled the emotions perfectly. Enjoyable listen.
Content Warnings (spoilers):
Mentions of past rapes and domestic violence, plus a more descriptive assault and attempted rape, and attempted murder against Jillian.
I enjoyed this one. This is a bit of enemies to lovers theme as Justin and Jillian are originally at odds and quite a bit of verbal sparring goes on. I liked that Case was still her friend and didn’t choose either his brother or Jillian over the other.
The more Justin & Jillian spend time together the more they realize they’ve made assumptions. It’s a lovely transition to lovers for them. Unfortunately, Jillian isn’t as free from her dead husband as she thought and there’s a mysterious threat. Threatening letters and a shooting. Justin vows to protect her and there’s some really sweet moments for them when they’re in seclusion.
Since they aren’t getting their own books, I would have liked some resolution for Case and even Hawk. Overall a charming listen.
Narration:
I enjoyed Tim Campbell’s narration. He did a good job of giving all the characters unique voices and handled the emotions perfectly. Enjoyable listen.
Content Warnings (spoilers):
Mentions of past rapes and domestic violence, plus a more descriptive assault and attempted rape, and attempted murder against Jillian.
melarain78's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
fernandame's review against another edition
Same old romance formula - lost interest
fainting_couch's review against another edition
So like the thing abt these books that’s become clearer as I read more of the author, is she puts her heroines through the RINGER but her hero’s are just … chilling? And dgmw I love melodrama so like I’m down for a mess but I would like an equal opportunity mess ya know?
mzdeb's review against another edition
3.0
Upfront: trigger warning for sexual violence and domestic abuse. Like, really uncomfortable in spots for what was implied with Lucas, Jillian's husband, and in one part, as it was actively happening.
I listened to this as an audio book because I was looking for everything Tim Campbell narrated that I was willing to listen to, and he's always great with the various voices he does. I don't think I would've read this otherwise.
I think we all could kinda suspect what an ultimate plot point was going to be, but I didn't like the extreme it reached
I appreciated that Justin wasn't like the cretins around him who, even though he had stances on propriety (which is why he initially takes issue with Jillian dressing and acting provocatively), didn't believe that men had the right to brute force with the women in their lives. There's a heartbreaking moment when Jillian runs out of Justin's house, because she thinks the anger on his face when she tells him what she had endured is aimed at her, and he has to come to her and say God, no, it's at the people who did this to you, I want to kill them. Because even in the 21st century we still have people who think that way, that a woman is in an abusive relationship because she was asking for it or deserved it or likes it. I don't think Justin finding that abhorrent makes him too modern; I think it just makes him a human being.
Also weird was reading enough about other characters that it felt like breadcrumbs were being dropped for other books in the series, and yet turns out each book in this series is with completely different characters and stands alone. (Couldn't we have gotten a book about Justin's brother, Chase?)
I listened to this as an audio book because I was looking for everything Tim Campbell narrated that I was willing to listen to, and he's always great with the various voices he does. I don't think I would've read this otherwise.
I think we all could kinda suspect what an ultimate plot point was going to be
Spoiler
Lucas isn't dead, and has been following Jillian all this time, out to make her life miserableSpoiler
J&J head for Justin's estate, then when she's shot at they come back to town, then they leave and take on secret identities, staying unmarried in Cornwall--but Lucas was like Jason from Friday the 13th, kept coming back, just when they thought they were rid of him. It started breaking the book up into too many parts.I appreciated that Justin wasn't like the cretins around him who, even though he had stances on propriety (which is why he initially takes issue with Jillian dressing and acting provocatively), didn't believe that men had the right to brute force with the women in their lives. There's a heartbreaking moment when Jillian runs out of Justin's house, because she thinks the anger on his face when she tells him what she had endured is aimed at her, and he has to come to her and say God, no, it's at the people who did this to you, I want to kill them. Because even in the 21st century we still have people who think that way, that a woman is in an abusive relationship because she was asking for it or deserved it or likes it. I don't think Justin finding that abhorrent makes him too modern; I think it just makes him a human being.
Also weird was reading enough about other characters that it felt like breadcrumbs were being dropped for other books in the series, and yet turns out each book in this series is with completely different characters and stands alone. (Couldn't we have gotten a book about Justin's brother, Chase?)
pebbletown's review against another edition
3.0
This book was such a pleasant surprise! I picked it up at random but it turned out to be so charming and tropey in the best way—Regency era enemies-to-lovers with a dash of murder mystery. Would have a higher rating except that I liked the first half so much more than the second. The “will they or won’t they?” was very sweet, but it got a little syrupy by the time they actually got together.