me to misha and ryen when they're out here writing handwritten letters to each other, while im here stuck with the likes of tindreread — 4.5 stars
me to misha and ryen when they're out here writing handwritten letters to each other, while im here stuck with the likes of tinder boys who thinks texting "dtf" or "u down 2 netflix n chill" is romantic
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must be nice.
anywho. i LOVE rereading this. i just felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me because these were good times.
honestly, im just gonna come out and say it but i miss this kind of new adult romance where the characters have so much depth and the story is unique and it isn't ruined by unnecessary threesome/sharing/orgies that ruin character/romantic development... too soon? oops.
✧ plot
↳ Misha Lare (H) and Ryen Trevarrow (h) have been pen pals since they were 4th grade and has been exchanging letters for 7 years until suddenly, after they unknowingly meet each other (Misha knowing what Ryen looks like while Ryen doesn't know what he looks like), he stops writing her.
three months later, Misha goes to Ryen's school to solve unfinished business but he also gets to see who Ryen really is. she's not the dorky, nerdy girl he knows from the letters. she's the popular, mean girl bully.
➵ characters can i just say that i absolutely love the depth and complexity of Ryen's character?? she became a bully because of kids making fun of her and she felt alone when she only wanted to belong ughhh it was so sad. it may seem like a small thing but it really isn't.
"My eyes burn with tears, and I'm so tired. So tired of holding back everything I feel and want to say. So tired of being someone I'm not and making mistakes that I didn't have any fun making."
and her character development is so nice to read about. obviously, i lowkey hated her in the beginning because she was a bItCh but i just wanted to hug her and be her friend by the end. and that scene with Manny? where they hugged each other and told him it was gonna get better? kinda bawled my eyes out in that scene too to be honest with y'all.
and Misha... my god. what a man. tattoos? lip piercing? writes songs?? is in a band? aaand he's mature?! AND RESPECTFUL??!?!
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✨ perfection ✨
➵ romance of course, there was a bit of hate to love in the beginning but the scenes filled with sexual tension which then added to their romantic development? love that.
"She can be a nightmare, but this still feels better than any dream."
and the quotes? iconic.
➵ Misha's "cousin" (spoilers) i actually really loved the cameo of the four (well, three this time) horsemen in this book. i remember the first time i read this i was hoping Misha's "cousin" would be Jared or Madoc or something but now that i've read devil's night series.. ehh. i kinda got excited that his cousin is the one and only, Will mo'fuckin Grayson but my excitement was kinda surpressed just cuz my mans Damon wasn't here. and that- that is a CRIME.
______________________________
i wish i forgot everything that happened in this book because i really did enjoy this more the first time i read it because i already knew all the plot twists ughhh.
but that said, i think this is my second favorite out of all pen douglas books?? i don't really know i can't choose between this, birthday girl, or until you. however, i think Ryen and Misha are superior af and dont @ me on this.
* * *
original rating (may 2018) — 5 stars
Merged review:
reread — 4.5 stars
me to misha and ryen when they're out here writing handwritten letters to each other, while im here stuck with the likes of tinder boys who thinks texting "dtf" or "u down 2 netflix n chill" is romantic
[image]
must be nice.
anywho. i LOVE rereading this. i just felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me because these were good times.
honestly, im just gonna come out and say it but i miss this kind of new adult romance where the characters have so much depth and the story is unique and it isn't ruined by unnecessary threesome/sharing/orgies that ruin character/romantic development... too soon? oops.
✧ plot
↳ Misha Lare (H) and Ryen Trevarrow (h) have been pen pals since they were 4th grade and has been exchanging letters for 7 years until suddenly, after they unknowingly meet each other (Misha knowing what Ryen looks like while Ryen doesn't know what he looks like), he stops writing her.
three months later, Misha goes to Ryen's school to solve unfinished business but he also gets to see who Ryen really is. she's not the dorky, nerdy girl he knows from the letters. she's the popular, mean girl bully.
➵ characters can i just say that i absolutely love the depth and complexity of Ryen's character?? she became a bully because of kids making fun of her and she felt alone when she only wanted to belong ughhh it was so sad. it may seem like a small thing but it really isn't.
"My eyes burn with tears, and I'm so tired. So tired of holding back everything I feel and want to say. So tired of being someone I'm not and making mistakes that I didn't have any fun making."
and her character development is so nice to read about. obviously, i lowkey hated her in the beginning because she was a bItCh but i just wanted to hug her and be her friend by the end. and that scene with Manny? where they hugged each other and told him it was gonna get better? kinda bawled my eyes out in that scene too to be honest with y'all.
and Misha... my god. what a man. tattoos? lip piercing? writes songs?? is in a band? aaand he's mature?! AND RESPECTFUL??!?!
[image]
✨ perfection ✨
➵ romance of course, there was a bit of hate to love in the beginning but the scenes filled with sexual tension which then added to their romantic development? love that.
"She can be a nightmare, but this still feels better than any dream."
and the quotes? iconic.
➵ Misha's "cousin" (spoilers) i actually really loved the cameo of the four (well, three this time) horsemen in this book. i remember the first time i read this i was hoping Misha's "cousin" would be Jared or Madoc or something but now that i've read devil's night series.. ehh. i kinda got excited that his cousin is the one and only, Will mo'fuckin Grayson but my excitement was kinda surpressed just cuz my mans Damon wasn't here. and that- that is a CRIME.
______________________________
i wish i forgot everything that happened in this book because i really did enjoy this more the first time i read it because i already knew all the plot twists ughhh.
but that said, i think this is my second favorite out of all pen douglas books?? i don't really know i can't choose between this, birthday girl, or until you. however, i think Ryen and Misha are superior af and dont @ me on this.
age gap, father’s friend, forbidden, a little enemies to lovers, push and pull, fwb, grumpy and semi reclusive H who is NOT a man ho, likeabl3.5 stars
age gap, father’s friend, forbidden, a little enemies to lovers, push and pull, fwb, grumpy and semi reclusive H who is NOT a man ho, likeable h who has abandonment issues and cares deeply, semi slow burn in the first half, LOTS of sexual tension and cute and sweet moments...
what’s not to love?
BUT...
last half was just meh for me. they were so cute and sweet but too much fade to black scenes and time jumps for me and not a lot happening so i ended up skimming it.
Merged review:
3.5 stars
age gap, father’s friend, forbidden, a little enemies to lovers, push and pull, fwb, grumpy and semi reclusive H who is NOT a man ho, likeable h who has abandonment issues and cares deeply, semi slow burn in the first half, LOTS of sexual tension and cute and sweet moments...
what’s not to love?
BUT...
last half was just meh for me. they were so cute and sweet but too much fade to black scenes and time jumps for me and not a lot happening so i ended up skimming it....more
this book really made me wanna get out of my bed, stop reading till 4 am, and instead wake up at 4 am, go on 5 hour hikes, go camping a3.75-4 stars ✩⋆
this book really made me wanna get out of my bed, stop reading till 4 am, and instead wake up at 4 am, go on 5 hour hikes, go camping and generally just go outside...
... but am i gonna do all this?
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there's just something so peaceful about the outdoors and small town in fiction. like, it just makes me feel so comfy, just- soo at peace, ya know? i don't know why. is it maybe because it reminds me of twilight aka one of my comfort movies? yes, of fucking course.
and the fact that this book has found family/home trope, small town, a dilf and his cute adorable teenage kid, slowburn (no, like, this is VERY slowburn guys), grumpy/sunshine trope? just- I M M A C U L A T E.
but anyways a little backstory,
⤷ this book is about Aurora De La Torre (h) who just got dumped recently by her famous dickhead boyfriend. a year later, she decides to move back to her childhood home and do many of the things her mother used to do. and lo and behold, her landlord, Tobias Rhodes (H), at the new place she was staying at? yeah, he didn't want her there because his son, Amos secretly allowed her to rent their garage apartment. but as y'all know, sunshine characters always win over the grumpy assholes over time.
this gave me KA vibes, mainly the gamble and sweet dreams and the feelings i felt while reading this were close to what i felt when i read my favorite MZ books (kulti, wall of winnipeg and wait for it) so if you like any of these, im pretty sure you'll like this book.
➳ characters aight let's talk about Aurora first kay? yeah, i love this bish. i really do. she reminds me of Diana with a little bit of Sal mainly because they all annoy the grumpy H's all the damn time with their sunshine, optimistic personality which i love to see in MZ heroines. i just love reading about her journey when it comes to grief, honoring her mom, and just overall realizing that the "love" she had was shit and she now knows what she...more
this book has the biggest "you wish that was you huh" energy.
do i wish that i have a coworker who looks like clark kent wh**spoiler alert** 4 stars ✩⋆
this book has the biggest "you wish that was you huh" energy.
do i wish that i have a coworker who looks like clark kent who is secretly in love with me and is willing to be my fake boyfriend at my sister's wedding in Spain because my ex is engaged and i don't want my relatives to feel pity, who would buy me 5 fish tacos even though i asked for 4 fish tacos, smuggles doughnut for me, whose favorite movie is Up, and is the definition of ride-or-die?
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yes. yes i do.
✧ p l o t & t r o p e s
⭒ fake relationship ⭒ office romance // similar to the the hating game ⭒ banter + slowburn // almost mariana zapata type of slowburn if you know what i mean ⭒ one-sided enemies to rivals to semi-friends to lovers ⭒ grumpy/sunshine trope ⭒ unrequited love // the dude was in love with the oblivious girl
↳ ok so Catalina Fernandez (h) needs a fake date to her sisters wedding because, as it turns out, the groom's brother is her ex, 6 years before she moved to nyc, and that relationship is the reason why she has trust/commitment issues. so, she lied to her family and told them she has a boyfriend and lo and behold, her rival coworker, Aaron Blackford (H), offers himself up as her fake date for her sister's wedding.
so yeah, this was a cute slowburn book and honestly? it made me feel single so if a book makes you feel like this, you know it's cute.
BEWARE OF SPOILERS AHEAD
╭⋟─────── *.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.* ───────╮
first and foremost, we're gonna talk about the most important thing in this book:
✧ C A T A L I N A
↳ "Exactly. In the same way that I haven't forgotten David Benioff and D.B. Weiss did to us on May 19, 2019... Didn't Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name deserve better than that?"
ugh. love it when fictional characters telekinetically share the same brainwave as me when it comes to my nonfictional opinions.
why is this the most important thing in this book you ask? because KHALEESI DOES DESERVE BETTER!! but anywho.
i knew from the very first page that Aaron was in love with her. i mean, the first line of this book was Aaron saying, "i'll be your date to the wedding" and i KNEW- i just knew this man is simping. and honestly, from the very beginning it's definitely obvious that the dude is in to her but Catalina is too oblivious to know because she's blinded by her one-sided hatred and unfortunately, this annoyed the hell out of me not gonna lie.
because first of all, i have one question for the heroine: HOW ARE YOU NOT IN LOVE HUH???
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no seriously im confused. because for me, if a grumpy, ex football player, who looks like clark fucking kent did all the things that aaron did to catalina do to me where he bought her not 1, not 4, but 5 fish tacos, knows all about you because he listens, not a ho- i repeat NOT A HO because he's "saving it for someone who's worth it", tries to learn spanish for you and your family, and is willing to travel across the world with you just to pretend to be your fake boyfriend without expecting anything back?
back arched. knees bent. throat open. I. AM. READY.
and this is saying a lot because i'm a picky bitch with high standards. and to be honest, this book really made me realize that the bar is set so low for men because when Aaron bought her 5 fish tacos (yes, im stuck with the fish tacos. it's food, what about it?) i swooned. unashamedly. and then he looks like this sexy ass man?
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... ??? one more:
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... *screams* *punches air* *cries in the corner*
also, let's talk about Catalina pushing Aaron away till the very end of the book for a second though because usually, if you know me, i'm more likely to be annoyed with the male main character because, well, they're dumbasses 99.9% of the time but i was more annoyed with the female main character in this one- not that she's a dumbass by the way, but the fact that she was so oblivious when it was so obvious that Aaron is in love with her for the most part.
i was just screaming at Catalina 85% of the time, GIRL ARE YOU DENSE?! THAT MAN IS IN LOVE WITH YOU AND WANTS TO RAIL YOU 24/7 HOW CAN YOU NOT- *sigh* anyways.
i think the fact that i already knew he was in love with her from the very beginning made me more annoyed because sometimes, she was just being so unfairly rude to him and im like?? girl?? it's so obvious?? and the fact that i know this is supposed to be enemies to lovers, but again, the enemies part was more one-sided so honestly, i just felt bad for the dude. i usually don't mind when the girl pushes the guy away, i actually LOVE when this happens because i love reading the "chase" but again, when the "hate" is one-sided, it's just less exciting and more frustrating especially when she's hesitant until the very end.
(spoilers) and especially with the drama at the end?? when she broke things off so easily just like that? ugh. i was so annoyed y'all. but again, i do understand where she was coming from and how her past trauma can make her more hesitant. but still.
it also doesn't help that Aaron is literally perfect. this was me in the last half:
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what am i doing you ask? well, obviously, i'm looking for flaws because i'm a judgemental bitch when it comes to fictional characters and i saw none. NONE. no seriously i'm not joking. this fictional man is perfect. especially in the last half when they finally went to the wedding. this man...? no flaws whatsoever. well actually, he does have one and it's just him not telling Catalina his feelings from the very beginning. but that's it!! seriously!!
i even wish he was more of an asshole because he was scarily too perfect for me. but you know what? with perfection comes with a little... i won't say boredom buuut... something close to that. i just wish he had more depth honestly but that's it.
➵ ex drama (spoilers) for those who want to know, there's a little bit of OM/ex drama here since again, one of the main reasons why Catalina needs a fake date is because her ex, Daniel, is engaged. he was Catalina's old professor and first love. but when students were suddenly slut shaming her just because she was dating her former professor, Daniel did nothing to protect her and he broke things off. after all this, she then moved to NYC and 4 years later she meets Aaron and 1.5 years after that, that's where the book begins. there's no OW drama.
╰─────── *.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.* ───────⋞╯
i actually dont mind that the dynamic is similar to the hating game because i love the whole dude is in love with the girl but girl is oblivious and thinks the dude hates them trope. because that... that's the one. it reminds me of old KA and MZ books and ugh it's just nostalgic. i have been looking for a book with similar THG vibes so im glad this book exists.
so if you like your typical slowburn book where it's emotional connection >>> smut, sexual tension through cute mundane scenes (y'all know what i'm talking about), bed sharing trope (!!!), and the male main character implicitly showing that he's in love with the female main character but doesn't explicitly say he's in love with her till the end, then i recommend this.
can't wait to read more books by this author ♡...more
so we’re all collectively suffering again this time of year by reading dramione fics huh?
* * *
first read (2021) — 4.75 reread — upgraded to 5 stars ✩⋆
so we’re all collectively suffering again this time of year by reading dramione fics huh?
* * *
first read (2021) — 4.75 stars ✩⋆
this ✨dramione✨ fic is one of the most depressing things i've ever read and i fucking love it.
everyone- and i mean everyone was raving about this on tiktok so i was like ehh okay i'll read this. it's dark? depressing? soul-crushing? everyone died? voldy and the death eaters won the war? hell yes.
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my shipping status is a mess okay? bear with me. ➵ movies: harry x hermione // there's a reason why PoA is my favorite. ➵ books: ron x hermione // that slowburn, friends to lovers, bicker like an old married couple dynamic? fuuuuck yes. ➵ fanon: DRAMIONE ALL THE FUCKING WAY // the enemies to lovers, complex anti-heroes that only have a soft spot for the person they love and has a grey moral background just hits different.
✧ p l o t
↳ it has been at least 2 years since Voldy won the war and killed Harry Potter and tortured everyone from the Order. after 16 months of being in solitary confinement Voldy discovered that Hermione is hiding something from her memories.
he decides to put her in the breeding program where the surviving females of the Order act as a "surrogate" for his death eaters because the fertility rates are low amongst the purebloods. Hermione is assigned to Voldy's right-hand man who is none other than Draco-fucking-Malfoy aka the High Reeve aka Voldy's General.
so yeah anyways, i fucking loved this. there's no point in sugar coating anything. this was, as Ronald would say, bloody brilliant. this didn't even feel like a fanfic because the writing is that good. and @SenLinYu and @AVENDELL bishhhh i fucking love y'all thank you for creating this masterpiece and the most beautiful, yet haunting fanfic/fanart i've ever seen.
➵ TW: rape, attempted rape, violence, torture, mass murder, war, physical and mental abuse, just- EVERYTHING. this book is really dark right off the bat so keep that in mind.
p.s. this is gonna be a long ass review because i have so much emotions and i need to let it out so thx for listening to my ted talk in advance ♡
\\ WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD AND MY INNER NERD IS GONNA COME OUT IN THIS REVIEW DON'T JUDGE ME //
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ PART I: HANDMAIDS TALE 2.0 ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･．
➵ November 2004 - March 2005
of-fucking-course this book starts with Umbridge "accidentally" leaving Hermione in solitary confinement for 16 months. that bitch. you know, i've always wondered what it was like if Voldy won the war. like what would happen ya know? but then-
"Then [Lucius Malfoy] cast a curse that turned Ron's blood gradually into molten lead. Hermione watched as the curse slowly crept through Ron's body, destroying him from the inside out... They had left Molly for last. So she'd watch all her children die... Remus had lasted hours longer than anyone else. His lycanthropy kept healing him until he just hung there, unresponsive. Finally, someone shot the Killing Curse at him out of boredom."
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i aLwaYS WoNDereD whAT wOulD HapPEN iF voLdY WoN okaaaayy well shit. i never imagined it that way sheesh. and apparently Voldy avada kedavra'd Harry 6 times, hung his body up the Astronomy Tower so the Order survivors can see his rotten corpse, all the surviving females are forced to be a part of this "breeding" programs as "surrogates" for the Death Eaters because most of the pureblood females are infertile or barren and they need to procreate more purebloods so...
... yeah. this book is d-a-r-k, DARK.
my girl Hermione was so broken in this part. she lost some of her memories from the war, she was sold to Draco, had depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, ptsd, and survivor's guilt. she's also raped by Draco for 6 months (5 times a month because of the breeding program) and is being tortured by Legilimency (where someone invades your memories and apparently it hurts like a bitch), almost raped by Graham Montague, and had her eye gouged out by Draco's wife, Astoria (don't worry, he and Astoria never did anything they hated each other).
yeah... our girl has been through a lot here. and Malfoy? hated him (calm down i only hated him in this part when i didn't know wtf was going on). i just wanted to-
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but also... not because High Reeve Draco is scary af.
listen. i knew something was up with him because we get glimpses of the real Draco. and his reaction when he needs to "breed"? yeah not a normal reaction. i can tell he was in pain and he was just holding it in. i knew something was up. and i was right!! when i found out what i found out- THE PAIN OH MY GOD.
anywho this part ends with Hermione getting pregnant and she gets into a coma and her memories start coming back.
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･PART II: DRAMIONE >>> THE ORDER･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･．
➵ flashback; March 2002 - July 2003
ok ok. this is where shit really begins. so this is the part where EVERY. TEA. IS. SPILLED. we finally find out what the fuck happened and why she lost certain parts of her memories.
so we find out that Hermione is one of the main healers and dark curse specialist, so she's in charge of healing practically everybody. she's a "nOn ACtiVe MEmBer" of the Order who "doesn't fight" (lol). this begins with Kingsley and Moody secretly selling her to Draco because he offered to be their spy and he wanted her for some reason.
honestly this was my mood the whole time:
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everyone was my hurting my babies and that is unacceptable.
Harry, Ron, Dumbledore's Army and the rest of the Order GOT...more
does anyone else automatically picture henry cavill aka superman aka the witcher aka daddy whenever there's a CEO romance? because same. 3.25 stars ✩⋆
does anyone else automatically picture henry cavill aka superman aka the witcher aka daddy whenever there's a CEO romance? because same.
ok so first and foremost, um, this took me two weeks to finish...
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HA ha ha oops. but the tropes though...
↬ marriage of convenience and fake relationship ↬ H is the boss and h is his personal assisstant ↬ slowburn // and when i mean slowburn- i really do mean SLOW-fuckin'-BURN ↬ chaotic family AND ex drama, many people trying to break them up ↬ connecting over trauma ✨ ↬ cold grumpy H, sunshine h // this dude was cold af lemme tell you ↬ sexual tension (??)
so naturally, with all the tropes above ⤴ i gravitated towards this book like the typical slowburn, marriage of convenience ho that i am. and now you're probably asking, mel why did it take you two weeks to finish?? well y/n imma answer that later. sorry. BUT ANYWAYS-
『 p l o t 』↠ so this book is about Dane Davenport (H) asking Vienna (h) to be his fake wife for a year because he has to get married before the age of 38 to access his trust fund. so they get married, live together, people creating dramas and trying to break them up, both Dane and Vienna being stubborn af and not doing anything till like 60% of the book y'all know the drill.
// SPOILERS AHEAD //
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ characters ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･
— Vienna (h)
"I'd tried to make use of every room in the oversized house-even the gym, though I had a genuine allergy to exercise."
first and foremost this girl is a bad bitch. i loved her. she didn't take ANY shit from anyone. when people were trying to sabotage her, being mean and calling her a gold digger, my girl was like
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love that energy. she calls people out and not sugar coat anything when people are being annoying. and i love that she grew to be this independent woman with a lot of backbone even when she had a traumatic past.
— Dane Davenport (H)
"Never think I'm a man who ever settles for anything less than exactly what he wants. I never have, I never will. I know how to get what I want, and I know how to keep it."
cold and ruthless? an asshole? 'baby girl' kink? yes, yes, and fuuuuck yes.
not gonna lie, i don't really know Dane that much and had a hard time connecting with him since there's barely interaction/dialogue with him with Vienna in the beginning (especially since this whole book is only in h's pov) but ummmmm once he pulled this move:
"That's it, baby girl, stay nice and quiet while I fuck you."
... **baby girl kink intensifies**
and suddenly forgot all my nonexistent feelings for Dane because once he called Vienna baby girl it was GAME OVER for me folks. i felt that ...more
you know, i read this whole damn series for Rose and Connor but i ended up still reading it for Daisy and Ryke. i didn't even know they exist3.5 stars
you know, i read this whole damn series for Rose and Connor but i ended up still reading it for Daisy and Ryke. i didn't even know they existed before i started this series but now this book was my most anticipated read for the series because i mean-
the age gap? mutual pining? forbidden romance?? the angst? sunshine/grumpy asshole trope?? two characters FINALLY being together after impatiently watching them be a couple even though they're not a couple for 4 books??
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and does anyone else see the resemblance between AelinRowan and DaisyRyke dynamic?? because i do.
↳Exhibit A: Daisy/Aelin both flirt with Rowan/Ryke just to annoy the shit out of them even though they shouldn't flirt with them because it's ~forbidden~
↳Exhibit B: Daisy/Aelin are both crazy (respectfully) and Ryke/Rowan both have sticks up their asses and just lets their women do whatever the f they want while smiling proudly at them.
see?? do y'all see the resemblance? no, just me? ok moving on.
i have been waiting- WAITING for this book since i read Ricochet because, well, i have a weakness for the whole sunshine, happy-go-lucky heroine and broody asshole Hero trope. plus i'm a little biased because Ryke and Daisy became my favorites but did i like this tho? ehhh.. mostly, about 75% of it??
✧ plot
↳so this is Ryke (H) and Daisy's (h) story (a year or so after Kiss the Sky). these two have been circling each other for YEARS but they can't do anything because of the 7-year age gap and Daisy was only 15 when they first met. 3 years later, Ryke is still a bit hesitant because of Lo (his brother) being overprotective when it comes to Daisy, and of course her problematic mother. but then they realized that they just wanna be together and they were like ehh fuck it. consequences be damned.
again, this story is more character driven so there's no "plot" BUT this does have the whole road trip storyline for the most part.
*∘✧WHAT I LIKED✧∘* ➵ Connor & Ryke bromance y'all know i love the whole enemies to lovers trope right? well these two do it PERFECTLY. they hated each other back then (don't really know why) and now Connor is all like,
"... Your brother's existence caused your parent's divorce, and yet, you gave up most of your time and energy to help him through his sobriety. How can you possibly think you're a pain in their life? What you've done for them, it's nothing short of heroic, and if you can't see that, then you're blind my friend."
oooooohhhh my god. he said "my friend" awww. these two are so cute. i love the development of their friendship because you can just see their respect for each other grow throughout the whole book. and honestly... i liked reading their bromance more than the main romance of this book (because of my pre-existing salty mood of course but we'll talk about that later).
➵ road trip timeeee anything that has a storyline where road trip is a big thing, well, i fucking love that. i don't know, i guess it just reminds me of The Lightning Thief and that book was my childhood so im pretty sure i associate road trips to that book hence why i love this trope... but ANYWAYS. my favorite part in this road trip is the bromance and can we talk about the bonding time this group had when the girls swam in a lake full of leeches? *sigh* good times.
after overcoming trials and tribulations of school after withering a brewing storm of papers and assignments after vanquishing the horrendous 3.5 stars
after overcoming trials and tribulations of school after withering a brewing storm of papers and assignments after vanquishing the horrendous ordeal known as "midterms"
I FINALLY FINISHED THIS.
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honestly this book feels more like a very very long prologue to Calloway Sisters series so i'm not complaining.
so this is the continuation of Lo and Lily's story when they reunite after 3 months of Lo being in rehab. there is a bit of drama here where someone is blackmailing Lily and threatening her that they'll out her as being a sex addict and then... that's it.
↬ Lo & Lily ↫ okay ya know what...? there IS character development/growth here and i really appreciate that. they were so toxic in the first book, always enabling each other, being selfish and unlikeable, not seeking help, etc. but these two characters are genuinely trying their best. Lo helping Lily with her sex addiction and how he's even scheduling their intimacy and supporting her? it was very sweet actually. im genuinely proud.
↬ Daisy & Ryke ↫ let's talk about these two for a sec because imma need to rant a little bit okay? okay.
FIRST OF ALL. these two had more drama (mainly OW drama) than the main leads. SECOND, i'm Melissa, the OW's name is Melissa... i- i don't want my name to be associated with an OW especially if that OW is with Ryke tf?? the one time i finally see my name in a book and im an OW?
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no thanks. why can't i be a main character for once ...more
ever since i read the epilogue in logan i have been waiting- WAITING for this book for.. 2 years?? what am i talking about you ask??
✧ LOG3.5 stars
ever since i read the epilogue in logan i have been waiting- WAITING for this book for.. 2 years?? what am i talking about you ask??
✧ LOGAN epilogue
↳ Mia shows up unexpectedly in Lucy and Cameron's kids' 1st bday and apparently when she was 13 years old, she was this "brace-faced" girl with acne, who allegedly went to "fat camp", and who was sooo in love and obsessed with Leo that she made a cake with her face on it.
because of the epilogue i thought this book was gonna have the unrequited love, ugly duckling trope where the guy finally realizes that the girl who has been in love with him since they were kids is all that, so color me surprised when that DEFINITELY wasn't case.
me to ms. mclean:
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please blame my wattpad/romance novel mind. im used to thinking in a tropey way oops.
and after reading 4 parts with 91 chapters and all 600+ pages of this (holy shit right?), i finally fucking finished this book. and did i like it?? yess of course i did. though at times, it was slow and dragging and there was some annoying shit that was happening but it was still cute and filled with drama that i never wanted to put the book down so yes, thank you book for not making me study for my final...
... oh well. it was open book. i'll just do the gen z thing and ✨manifest✨ good grades.
but anywho, i'll probably rant in this review but just know that this book takes place for 10 years and each 4 parts are based on Mia and Leo spending their summers together and most important of all, THIS IS THE LEAST TRIGGERING BOOK IN THE SERIES. so enjoy.
but before we get to the spoiler part, TW: spoilers: bulimia, unexpected pregnancy, and bullying (hurtful words from the Preston brothers)
— SPOILERS BELOW!! —
➳ part 1: when i realized the Prestons were the "bad guys" here ...more
the banter and slowburn in this was frustratingly ~ immaculate ~
also, the tropes here are chef's kiss material because, well, i'll list them4.5 stars
the banter and slowburn in this was frustratingly ~ immaculate ~
also, the tropes here are chef's kiss material because, well, i'll list them out:
→ slowburn (mariana zapata type of slowburn if you know what i mean) → great banter // heroine is the funny, playful and carefree type of character while Hero is the grumpy, stay tf outta my way or i'll beat your ass type of character → age-gap (10 years i think??) → NO OW/orgy scene. halle-fucking-lujah !!! → soulmate trope // there is a little bit of insta love here from the heroine but i didn't mind it because it made the banter so funny → "unrequited" love → forced proximity trope (Gavin is Ginny's "bodyguard" and all that) → found family trope // Hero bonds with heroine's brothers (aww) → and a little bit of a road trip and "bed-sharing" trope
you do have to read the first book before reading this because this starts right after the end of the first one. also, you won't understand Ginny and Gavin's soulmate connection in the previous book. but a little backstory,
⤷ Ginny (h) and Gavin (H) are soulmates but they haven't met until Ginny's secret blood sister's wedding, singing her song about losing her soulmate and lo and behold she finally sees him. after 10 years of being raped and tortured, and when he was rescued 2 years before, Gavin no longer exists, thus, Reaper is introduced. in this book, Gavin/Reaper protects Ginny from her stalker while also finding out who her stalker is.
Ginny always believed in "soulmates" and once she saw Gavin, she had no qualms in letting him know that they are meant to be together but because of what happened to him in the past, he was all like ha ha ha. no... ˡᵒˡ ʲᵏ ⁱ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵒᵒ ᵇᵇ ᵍⁱʳˡ..
— tw (spoilers): Gavin/Reaper is Viper's (viper's run // 2nd book) younger brother and from his book, we all know that everyone thought he "died" until he was rescued in train's clash // 9th book. He was raped, drugged and tortured the whole 9 years or so, and there's also suicidal thoughts and attempt.
// characters // i really liked both Ginny and Gavin. them and this trilogy is probably my favorite out of ALL the last riders books because i have a weakness for the soulmate trope, plus, their connection is more on the emotional side than physical side. also, even though Ginny has characteristics found in a last rider heroine (she's an innocent virgin), she actually has a lot of backbone and gives Gavin shit when he's being mean, though, she is a little forgiving and she spoils him a lot BUT i could understand why because of what he went through and all that.
// "OW/ex" drama (spoilers) // first of all, i never thought i'd see the day when a last riders book does NOT have OW/orgy scene. thank fucking god for that.
OW drama in the first book
⤷ since the first book is about Ginny and Gavin's story before they even meet and Gavin was 25 and Ginny was 15 before he was kidnapped, he was "in love" with Taylor and asked her to marry him. there were 2 intimate scenes between them there and he used her image and their future plans as a way to survive his torture (don't worry about this little tid bit. he'll explain in this book why that's a mistake. trust the process y'all). he even begged her to stay with him once he was rescued but it was not about love, it was more about Gavin trying to hold on to a piece of himself before he was kidnapped.
in this book, there is a bit of this drama but the ex never even shows up and it's more of Ginny (h) thinking that he still loves the ex (but he really doesn't, he even admitted that he won't get back with her). Gavin/Reaper (H) thinks he still loves her but really, he's just using the idea of the ex to protect himself. he was never pining after her (even though Ginny thinks he is) but his comparisons of the ex and Ginny were annoying tho.
his comparisons were like backhanded compliments where Ginny was the innocent looking girl who you bring home to your parents but also friendzone, while Taylor (the ex) had that oomph aka sex appeal that every man wants and you'll feel like you did a touchdown during a super bowl once you had sex with her (yes, this is what Gavin said). but whatever. at least with his comparisons, it always ends in a bad note when it comes to Taylor. also i felt more tolerable about this just because i liked how extreme his emotions are whenever Ginny smiles at him or when she tells him she'll give him space soo oh well.
this book does end in a cliffhanger so if you're impatient like me, it's best to wait for the third book but im a dumbass so i didn't wait and now i feel empty ughhh
so basically, this is like the Target version to twisted hearts' Walmart version- a little better, but... it's not Costco.
ever since i read twisted pride (remofina) i was salivating for this book. boy was i READYYYY. like- are you kidding me???
⤷ Sofia (h) being infatuated with her older sister, Serafina's, ex fiance, Danilo (H) (before she got kidnapped by Remo of course), then Sofia becoming Danilo's new fiance making her feel like the consolation prize/second best but of course nothing happens for years because they were betrothed when she was only 11 years old but Sofia is still pining over Danilo while he's still hung up on his failure??
yes, yes, and YES.
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though while i was expecting ✨ flavor ✨, all i got was an unseasoned romance. the whole time i was wondering, where was the spice? the flavor?? why is it unseasoned??? this needs more paprika or maybe even sriracha. the first half kinda annoyed/pissed me off because, well, nothing happened.
— SOFIA MIONE (h)
"I'd tried to imitate her, but an imitation would never be the original. I was an echo of the perfect melody. A shadow of an immaculate image. Always less. Never enough."
my girl needed a hug, like, yesterday. listen, i felt bad for her in the beginning as she felt insecure the whole time because of not only Danilo but also her family and she felt like second best and the consolation prize. though, as the story progressed... uhh... she did some fucked up things- to put it lightly - which was honestly kinda annoying to me.
— DANILO MANCINI (H)
"I wished I could turn back time. I'd spent so much time regretting the past and what was lost that I hadn't focused on what fate had given me."
*cough* yes you should've you lil bishh *cough*. anywho, straight up, just wanted to punch this dude in the first half and i would've if i could've, but i couldn't so i shouldn't. when he was doing what he was doing, you know... with all the blondies, i was just like
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im sorry but i couldn't. i cannot for the life of me like this dude because he was just so BLAND. i don't even know what to say about his character because that's how uninterested i am of him. i just know this dude likes blondes and didn't have any genuine feelings towards Sofia until the wedding which happens at 50% mark by the way.
☞︎ SPOILERS AHEAD ☜︎
➳ WHAT I LIKED can we appreciate the friendship between Sofia and Anna please and thanks?? the way Anna would be on Sofia's side no matter what, being her ride or die and being her biggest hype man is just so sweet and cuuute.
"Be selfish for once, Sofia. In this world, we women get so few choices, so little freedom. We have to grasp happiness by the collar and drag it with us. We can't hope for happiness to jump into our lap. Be selfish. You deserve it."
AWWWW STOP
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so cute.
Danilo and Emma were cute too. love seeing sibling relationships in books and the only time i could appreciate Danilo's character was him being protective towards Emma but i wish there's more scenes of them tho. aaannd the last few chapters where there's actually romance. i thought FINALLY Danilo and Sofia are fucking cute. maybe. i don't know. though, was i convinced with Danilo's feelings? nahhh.
oh and let's not forget about Santino and Anna of course. they're the ones who made this book at least bearable. aaaand Remo pointing a gun at Danilo while protecting Serafina ...more
but can i please be adopted into the Falcone family?? ... PLEASE?
okay nothing really happened here but also a lot of things happened?? it was just chabut can i please be adopted into the Falcone family?? ... PLEASE?
okay nothing really happened here but also a lot of things happened?? it was just chaotic goodness and i was living for it.
in the first half, it's just pov of Nino and Kiara during twisted pride and then the last half is just them being a big family, Kiara and Nino trying to get pregnant, Adamo struggling from his torture, and drama with the Falcone bros' estranged, evil mother.
➵ FALCONE BROS AND KIARA ˗ˏˋ Adamo, Savio & Kiara ˎˊ˗ ok gotta be honest, i liked Adamo and Kiara's relationship more in twisted emotions just cuz Adamo teaching Kiara how to play video games and being such a softie to her will forever stay in my heart but they were still very cute here tho!! i... think. hmm idk. but Kiara being a mother/older sister figure to both of them and baking them cookies and her banter with Savio??
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and i awww'ed at least 198493 times. also, WE MUST PROTECT ADAMO AT ALL COSTS. i don't care what i need to do but my bb needs protection asap. i mean, he did some things that kinda, high key annoyed me but still. poor Adamo.
also me actually liking Savio?? for once?? wooow. who would've thought huh? certainly not this bishh. however, im currently reading his book right now and wtf SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THIS MESS. I HATE IT HERE. help meeee.
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im sorry but Savio in his own book is just a no for me and i just started reading. ugh it's ruining my mood.
˗ˏˋ Remo & Kiara ˎˊ˗ ok now these two are my favorite in this book i mean look at this ✧ ...more
first of all just wanna get this out of the way and tell y'all: tw — rape and paedophelia in chapter 3.75 stars
okaaay. but this kinda cute or whateva.
first of all just wanna get this out of the way and tell y'all: tw — rape and paedophelia in chapter 3, OW scene also in the same chapter and "cheating" (but we'll get into this later).
i thought Nino and Kiara were really cute. Nino is supposed to be this "emotionless" robot (thank you cora for telling me this 58397x) but he was just- he was very sweet to Kiara and also very considerate since he knows about her past and does everything to make her comfortable, even standing up for her to her brothers. he just does everything she says without hesitation and i think that's cute.
some might say Kiara is weak and fragile but in a way she was. she was so scared of everything and would always cower whenever Remo gives her attention but i don't know. i did not NOT like her. i thought she was fine and im a momma bear so obviously with her history, all i wanted to do was protect her. i like her coming out of her shell by the end tho. love it when she wasn't scared of Remo anymore.
also, her relationships with the Falcone bros got me like [image] THEY WERE SO CUTE. especially when she was playing video games with Adamo. i wanted to punch Savio and Remo sometimes cuz they were being dickheads but im glad they weren't treating Kiara like she's fragile.
aaaalright. now let's get on with the "cheating" (spoiler).
↳ first, there's a OW scene in the beginning before Nino and Kiara meet. it was a little bit descriptive but it felt clinical. but right after Nino and Kiara get married, Kiara allowed Nino to "look elsewhere to satisfy his needs" since she's a rape victim and she's still not comfortable with men. There were no descriptive scenes here and it was barely even mentioned. after 4 weeks of knowing each other, Kiara told Nino to stop.
it wasn't mentioned how often the cheating occurred but there was one scene where Nino "pulled out of the whore's ass" but that was it for the cheating. obviously i didn't like that because eww.
a part of me was thankful there's little to no details of the cheating because ✨ ignorance is bliss ✨ but the other part of me was like whowhatwherewhenwhyhow????? is this cheating in normal standards? yes. is this cheating in mafia standards? ehh no, maybe so? i don't know. but once Kiara told him to stop he did because he does whatever Kiara tells him to do. to be honest, i don't know how i feel about this because it was just unnecessary.
i would've given this a higher rating if this book was longer and if we had more Nino chapters/pov's because i wanted to see the parts where he's falling in love with her but he doesn't know he's falling with her but we all know he's falling in love with her. if that makes sense.
his revelation was too little too late for my taste, thus, he seemed too nonchalant in the beginning. i know there's a second book for this couple but personally, i like reading about the relationship moments before they say their 'i love you's' cuz that's where development and sexual tension happens the most and i needed more of that. im spoiled when it comes to these scenes i just wasn't satisfied/convinced with Nino's love. but do i do doubt it tho? no.
the best part in this book was Kiara's relationship to the Falcone bros so here's my reaction to them in this book: — Nino: okaaay. we get it. you're emotionless af no need to remind us every other page. — Remo: is fucking crazy so i can't wait to read his book. — Savio: needs to be taken down a notch with his ho-ness cuz damn boy chill. also, he needs to stop being a dick to Adamo. — Adamo: he's so precious and innocent. HE'S SO ADORABLE. he doesn't want to kill and be a ho so i just- can we all just protect this precious bean please and thanks.
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ Camorra Chronicles ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ #1:twisted loyalties — fabiano x leona ↠ 3.25 stars #2: twisted emotions — nino x kiara ↠ 3.75 stars #3:twisted pride — remo x serafina ↠ 4.25 stars #4:twisted bonds — nino x kiara ↠ 4 stars #5:twisted hearts — savio x gemma ↠ 1.5 stars #6:twisted cravings — adamo x dinara ↠ 2 stars...more
this took me waaaaay too long to finish but i don't care cuz it gave me 2000s rom com flashbacks and I. LOVED. IT.
➝ heroine working at a fas
3.5 stars
this took me waaaaay too long to finish but i don't care cuz it gave me 2000s rom com flashbacks and I. LOVED. IT.
➝ heroine working at a fashion magazine company? ✓ ➝ hero is the grumpy boss of the heroine? ✓ ➝ hate to love and cute banter where the MCs are seconds away from either killing each other or taking each others clothes off? ✓ ➝ NYC setting? ✓ ➝ cute scenes filled with sexual tension?? ✓✓✓
this honestly just gave me nostalgia cuz i watched a lot of rom-com movies when i was a kid and this reminded me of 13 going on 30, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Devil Wears Prada, etc. and now after reading this, I JUST WANNA WORK AT A FASHION MAGAZINE COMPANY AND HAVE A HOT BOSS!! [image]
so this book starts with Dominic Russo (H) going to a pizza restaurant where he's supposed to meet his mother (owner of the magazine company he works at) and a waitress told him that there were no phones allowed but he's an asshole so he ignores her then proceeds to be rude to her. the waitress, who is none other than our heroine Ally Morales, isn't taking any of his shit so obviously, she's rude too and she makes him a pizza where the pepperonis are written in "FU". he gets her fired cuz again, he's an asshole, plus all his frustration from the past year finally blew up and he took it out on her. his mother was having none of his attitude and chased after Ally and then proceeded to hire her.
then obviously after that there was a ton of push and pull, cute situations with sexual tension and the MCs "fighting" but its just foreplay, the whole "i want you but i can't be with you" trope from the H, etc.
Dominic annoyed the hell out of me in the first half. it just seemed like he wanted Ally just for sex cuz his inner monologue is him whining over and over and over about sex and how much he wants her but can't have her cuz his dad used to sexually harass female employees before he got hired and he didn't wanna be like him. ↳ D O M I N I C
"I've never not wanted you. I only want you. I'm no better than that dickhead you went out with. I don't want a relationship with you. I want a quick, dirty fuck to get you out of my system. But we both know it won't be enough. You'll get your hooks into my soul and-"
see what i mean? i don't mind this in other books but it was just sooo excessive here since 95% of his inner monologue in the first half revolved around him wanting to have sex with Ally but can't do anything about it so he just "uses" his hand every night. [image] like, ok?? thank you for not sleeping with OWs while thinking about the h i guess. plus, he kept rejecting her and kept giving her mixed signals which made me wanna smack him in the head a couple times.
honestly, if you're planning on reading this, this would be a great drinking game where you take a shot every time he lusts after Ally and only talks about her physical description cuz y'all would 100% blackout. fun right??
he does get better after their first kiss tho which was around 60% so yup, this was also a slowburn. he was sweet and started to become the alpha possessive asshole we all know and like BUT he does have idiot moments in the last 20%, though, there is GROVELLING and i was all for that.
as for Ally, i LOVE her. she didn't take any shit from Dominic and even called him out for playing games with her. ↳ A L L Y
"You say you care about me. You're obviously attracted to me. And as much as you bitch and moan about me ruining you life, I think you actually like me. But not enough to want to be with me. And because of that, I can't trust you, Dominic. I'm not going to open up and share my life story with you. You haven't earned that access."
like yess bish THANK YOU. i have another one ↳ A L L Y
"You showed up on my date. You showed up at the club. You say you don't want to want me, yet it was your idea to get to know each other better. You wear vests just to mess with me. Then you tell me to quit the job that I desperately need so you can feel better about wanting to fuck me."
so yup. Dominic told her to quit just so he could fuck her. granted, he didn't know her situation where she's literally working 4 jobs so he could take care of her dad who has dementia but since he's obsessed with her and read all her files, doesn't he think that there's something fishy?? working 4 jobs is A LOT. but did he think about that? nooo because all he ever did was lust after her. ANYWAYS, im glad he felt bad once he realized what's happening and tried to help her.
as for the drama (spoilers), there were a few OM drama here but nothing too serious. Ally went on a date, Dominic showed up and ruined that cuz he was jealous. Ally "flirting" with this hot designer, Dominic got drunk cuz he was jealous. this is actually my favorite part in the book cuz Drunk Dominic was adorable!! i wish he was drunk all the time honestly. and Dominic accusing Ally of cheating on him with said designer and also accused her for basically using him for his money.
i mainly liked this but even as a slowburn lover, i was impatient as hell. the cute moments filled with sexual tension? loved them but also disliked them cuz there was just too much. it's a perfect contradiction really....more
WAIT. guys... this is- this is actually so cute?? don't get me wrong, i wanted to smack Lou & Wren 99.9% of the time but still... they were j4 stars ✧
WAIT. guys... this is- this is actually so cute?? don't get me wrong, i wanted to smack Lou & Wren 99.9% of the time but still... they were just *chef's kiss*.
so to get a little backstory, this book goes along with the timeline in the first book and there are 2 parts of this book. the parts are NOT separated by past and present. the only flashback here is in the prologue and one chapter about this past OW. Lou (h) was homeless when she was 15 cuz her parents abandoned her and one night, Wren (H) and her meet and after that he basically becomes her bodyguard/best friend/protector for 2-3 years. Lou is an orphan runaway, and Wren is part of a gang called, Exiled where Ever was a part of in his book. if y'all are into:
〚 best friends to lovers trope, crazy h where she does ridiculous things to get H's attention, slow burn but with tons of cute and sexual tension moments that would make you so frustrated you scream at your kindle for them to FINALLY DO IT. 〛
then i recommend this.
« l i k e s » ⇢ Lou & Wren are fucking crazy and i love it. Lou is just- well, she's plain crazy, super spoiled, but innocent at the same time. she runs away from her foster home whenever Wren ignores her and she did that a lot. not even exaggerating.
"I'm the moth to your flame, Lou. I'd rather be burned a thousand times than be free of you."
Wren is the most stubborn dude i've ever read and i wanted to smack him most of the time. he literally rejects the h all the time, for a reason, that i don't wanna spoil right now but let's just say he did something in the past that revolves around Lou. their dynamic is just so cute cuz he's the grumpy protector while she's the crazy one who does ridiculous things just to get his attention.
⇢ there was just so many cute/sexual tension scenes here. for me, i usually like it when the H does all the chasing but Lou's possessiveness is SO funny.
"My best friend might be a big bad gangster, but I had him wrapped around my finger. Now if only I could get him wrapped around the rest of me."
don't get me wrong, both of them are extremely possessive of one another but her antics and "seduction" to make him crazy so that he could finally pull his head out of his stubborn ass was one of the highlights here especially in part 1 but in part 2? meh it kinda got annoying not gonna lie.
⇢ for slowburn lovers im pretty sure y'all will like this one too cuz they don't get intimate until like 60% and before that it was all push and pull, and situations where there's a lot of sexual tension. but the slowburn in part 1 made me so frustrated (in a good way) that i just wanted to [image] SERIOUSLY. it was so frustrating ugh.
⇢ also, Wren has an Impala!! WHERE MY SUPERNATURAL FANS AT?
⇢ the friendship moments in part 2 was also fun to read especially Jamie and Lou's friendship. also, Ever, Jamie, and Vaughn made Wren a part of the bros and i love that.
⇢ all The 100 references. Lou and Jamie are fans of this show and let's just say i can definitely relate to Lou's love when it comes to Bellamy.
« d i s l i k e s » ⇢ yeah, yeah i know i said i liked the slow burn but i only liked in part 1 but in part 2? it started to get really annoying. Wren's rejections were starting to annoy the hell outta me and he was just a plain asshole to Lou by then. Lou's insistence and "chasing" almost made her look like a doormat and i aint about that life.
⇢ there is a little bit of OW drama in the beginning. apparently Wren was mostly celibate when he met Lou. he was not celibate the first year or so they know each other and i don't mind this cuz Lou was like 15-16 and Wren was 17-18. i don't think Wren had any romantic feelings towards her at that time but lustful thoughts? yeah definitely. there's also this one chapter in the past about Wren trying to get it on with Lou's neighbor and he made her think that he slept with her but he didn't and from then on, he was definitely celibate. i don't know sometimes i think he was celibate from the moment he met Lou cuz he says stuff that make me think he is but then he tells Lou something that completely contradicts his statement so yeah. let's just pretend he was celibate the whole time okay?
⇢ also, when they finally got together in part 2, i didn't really feel the explosiveness?? like the "holy shit we're finally kissing" kind of feeling? i don't know, i guess it was the way it was written or something. there were some fade to black scenes especially when they started to become intimate and i don't like that. nuh uh. i was tortured with all these sexual tension from the beginning and you're gonna pull that on me? nahh. i wanna know EVERYTHING.
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am i the only one who reads purposely slow with the books they like?? cuz that was me here. this literally took me 4 days to finish just cuz i don't want this to end.
i think this is my favorite so far and i know it'll just go down from here so i am mentally and physically preparing myself cuz I KNOW my stress level will go up with the last 2 books. am i masochist for knowing that the next books will frustrate me? hell yeah but im prepared for the battle im about to face [image] wish me luck guys!
"Our stories stemmed from the same place, intertwined, and wouldn't be what they are if it weren't for each other."
OH MY GOD. that epilogue. wow. j"Our stories stemmed from the same place, intertwined, and wouldn't be what they are if it weren't for each other."
OH MY GOD. that epilogue. wow. just, wow. it made me so sentimental and sad at the same time because i need more from these characters. but honestly? that epilogue (especially Theo's pov) was the perfect ending for this series that i couldn't be happier.
i've been waiting for Lance's story since Theo's book mainly because he was the silent, brooding type of H and that personality trait is one of my number one weaknesses in books but Lance didn't really give that vibe here. BUT i can 100% tell y'all that this is tied with Theo's book as my #1 fave in this series mainly because of round 3 (there's 3 parts in this book).
i loved Lance for, like, 60% of the book (round 1 & 2) he was just so swoony and i just loved reading his inner monologue about how much he loves and pines for Harper. but honestly, i just wanted to smack the douchbaggery out of him in round 3. and as for Harper... weeelll. i really couldn't connect with her in round 1 & 2 and it's because i was biased as hell when it came to Lance and the fact that she just left him so suddenly? nahh. but when i found out why she left i just wanted to HUG HER. i fell in love with this girl in round 3 and she became my favorite.
why not 5 stars? now, i really did love this but the only reason why i didn't give this 5 stars is because round 1 & 2 were so hard to get into and the only character i connected with was Lance. i didn't like the time jumps and i didn't really like the 2-year-separation and the fact that Lance slept with OW (rarely tho! at least he wasn't a ho thank god). but honestly, i didn't really care about Lance not being celibate cuz, again, i barely cared about Harper at that time and there's not much details about it.
another reason is that i just wish round 3 was longer! this part of the book was the best part because of the angsty drama and a lot of the push and pull that i was looking for in the first 60% of the book. i was also low key annoyed that i only got to see ONE grovelling scene from Lance and then BOOM. epilogue time. but yeah, i just wish we get to see more of Lance being Lance in this round because he was just too mean.
overall thoughts: again, the angsty drama in round 3 is what made me love this because the book became a page-turner for me at that point but i also loved the sweet and genuine romance in rounds 1 & 2 because the banter there was just *chef's kiss*.
and the epilogue made me cry! like, it wasn't even sad or anything. it was just PERFECT. the Theo and Laney ending made me so happy.
anyways, please, PLEASE for the love of god let there be a book about Trevor.