DNF @ 21% but skipped pages to find out what h's big secret was.
Lacked S chem/emo/romance. Telling My 2nd book by this author and this is it for me.
DNF @ 21% but skipped pages to find out what h's big secret was.
Lacked S chem/emo/romance. Telling with no showing.
Quickly went from no chemistry or any relationship really (they didn't even talk or share some kind of non-verbal understanding since H was mostly out of the house working) to suddenly having sex, after their 1st dining experience out. The next chapter summarized their being together for 1 year now and H proposes. Skips 1 or 2 years later in the next chapter (chapter 8), with both lovey-dovey with each other and H pampering her with his rich lifestyle and insisting she not work.
**SPOILERS** There's no emotional or romantic development. We're just told the status of their relationship. @25% by chapter 10, about 5 years have gone by and H suddenly slaps her, after she lets the waiter help wipe off some spill on her dress when she & H were dining out. H all of sudden becomes this jealous-possessive psycopath. Skipping more--h runs back home later and H abducts her and rapes her with his now full-blown psycopathy. So glad I skipped & didn’t read through this. Not going to read the rest of this series.
No emotional connection but mostly focused on H financial pampering of h without any explanation of why. Lots of repeated teasers all through the book of h trying to forget her traumatic meeting with H. Which is basically H saving her after she may have killed a man, who may be her client. Since this book cliffhangered @ the big reveal that h worked as a prostitute. That wasn't surprising....more
DNF @ 13% coz h sounds stupid. I couldn't even get through the 1st book of the series. What a waste of this boxed set!
23yo virgin ex-supermodel & nowDNF @ 13% coz h sounds stupid. I couldn't even get through the 1st book of the series. What a waste of this boxed set!
23yo virgin ex-supermodel & now college-student h was stupid to chase after a possible-murderer mid-30s art professor H--who she’s never met and who she’s only known/became intrigued by from reading the letters he wrote to his ex-lover OW (who was the last occupant of her dorm room and left her letters under the dorm bed h is now occupying).
Even after finding out that he had an affair with his students (OW) and he may have possibly murdered-by-castration the guy he caught OW smexxing, h is still ga-ga over H due to his passionate letters to OW and began writing him letters. He starts responding back briefly. After h told him she won’t write to him anymore (@ their 4th letter correspondence), H starts spouting off similar passion-filled stuff with h who he’s never met. And she buys his 2nd-hand love! Unbelievable.
More lust-based with a side of mental game-playing. Romance was meh. Characters were roughly-hewn. Lacked emotional i**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
More lust-based with a side of mental game-playing. Romance was meh. Characters were roughly-hewn. Lacked emotional involvement. As a result, what sounded like it would be sexy and romantic ended up not being so. Such as:
#1. H may be stalker-obsessed with h BUT he ended up just acting/acting like a creep. Even h kept telling him he was being "creepy" and asking if he just had a thing for young girls. His sexual demands of h could've been sexier but the lack of emotional-sexual chemistry just them sound rough and kinky. But h's response to him was a big part of why this was so.
#2. h said "yes" to all of H's demands BUT she liked the "hot" teen guy (OM) at her school more h's was too emotionally-distant from H for most of the book except for sex. She was into H when it came to sex but didn't really like him unlike OM. Even when she found out OM was a drug-dealer after % 60% mark, she still seemed more comfortable and vulnerable with him than with H. She even wished that she met OM, after she was done with her secret affair with H after she was done with her class with him. Things only changed for her when she met H's large Italian family since having a family was important to her.
#3. many potentially-dramatic info BUT most skipped re: how it affected h and/or H Lots of dramatic teasers from just being mentioned (i.e., h's stalker @ age 13, h's wildness @ age 13, H being an undercover narc, how h's mom's death 1.5 years ago affected her & her sister, what situations made her sister moved them to 3 different CA towns in the last year) but no follow-through. So, caused major plotholes, under-developed characters, and emotional shallowness.
Sexual History: 18yo h had BFs before 28yo H. No info on how many lovers she’d had but that they were in her age group and that she started being “wild” @ age 13. Her being wild included smoking pot, skipping class, and underage drinking. She had stalkers before H, including a serious stalker @ age 13 which ended up in court. But no other info aside from that. No info on how long she’d been celibate since H. But she did mention how 1 month ago she didn’t have anyone interested in her and then now she had H and OM vying for her. She seemed to “like” h.s.-senior OM since he was nice and attractive. But she kept giving in to H’s sexual demands and threats.
28yo H wanted h @ 1st sight and got her to have sex with him their 2nd day of tutoring. No info on his previous Gfs or lovers, except for his mom telling h that he’s never brought any other girl to their family restaurant until h....more
I thought I wouldn't like 20yo college track-star h as much (due to her irascible & aggressive **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
What a wishy-washy H!
I thought I wouldn't like 20yo college track-star h as much (due to her irascible & aggressive tough-talking exterior). But she was more mature and more responsible than her mid-20s coach H. H seemed like a nice guy but he was actually quite passive-aggressive. He swung between pleasing others (i.e., his dead father, his mom, his GF, his head coach, school officials) and resenting them for their expectations/demands on him. He couldn't make up his mind and made it sound like he was self-sacrificial in the choices he was considering. When really he was just a hot-looking wimp! He didn't want to make adult decisions so he ran away, backed away, lied, and deceived others instead. It took him a very long time to break up from his GF (who he wasn’t in love with and who he’d been clear about not marrying) for really no reason than resentfully following what his dead father wished for him. So, he lied to her re: h who he led on by acting jealous and possessive when he’d see her with another guy.
Meh romance/romance dev/emotions. Lacked angst that should've been there due to the story but H’s flip-flopping got in the way. Sex scenes were hot but didn’t like that h just let H smex her bareback without detailed info if he practiced safe sex with his recent ex-GF and when last he smexxed his ex.
Sexual History: 20yo h only had sex with guys when she wanted to “hook up”. She's never been on a date since she doesn’t think any guy would actually like her due to her tough irascible exterior and distant demeanor. No info on when she started having sex but she was pretty much on her own since she was a pre-teen due to her grandma’s increasing Alzheimers. She was on birth control but no info if she always uses condoms with her hookups or if H was her 1st bareback experience.
H had GFs since dating was a big thing for him. He’d been dating his GF of 1 year since his drunken bout of sex with her at a party 1 night soon after his father passed away. He wasn’t interested in his GF until the guilt of his father’s unexpected death coz his dad wished for him to date her. No info re: when H stopped refusing sex with his GF when he met h. He did spend the night at her place a few times during the 2-3 month period since meeting h and having her stay at his mom’s place....more
Skimmed this also since the same lack of focus and emotional/romantic substance as Book1.
But I wanted to know exactl**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
Skimmed this also since the same lack of focus and emotional/romantic substance as Book1.
But I wanted to know exactly what happened to h and H and his friends 3 years ago. This book had even more characters than Book1 and the crazy cult-like features of their elite school structure became apparent (i.e., rites, sex rituals, initations). It became this BDSM-y secret cult book. It was devoid of romance/emotion/sexual tension. It didn't even give any hot sex description from their 4-some 3 years ago. Not even that! The only redeeming part is that H owned up to his stupidity and selfishness to encourage h to get an abortion and then immediately cruelly reject her from his life, after her abortion procedure. He did show that h mattered to him more now. But the busy-ness of all the cult stuff and h’s switching from being a poor victim to this special-Maiden got in the way. It's a fictional mess. HFN at best.
Sexual History: No info on who and how many lovers h had by the time she was 15 and starting smexxing 18yo h.s.-senior H and his friends. They started out bullying h to do their homework and then watching/stalking her to touching to eventually smexxing in about a 6-month span. She considered them as becoming her “best friends” that year until H ended things. Not sure if they ever all smexxed her at the same time. H liked to watch her being touched and kissed by his 2 BFFs but felt jealous about it. However, he never stopped his friends from touching/smexxing her. Things ended after h was raped by H’s older brother and she got pregnant. No clear info on whether condoms or birth control was used at all at that time by them. When she told h about her pregnancy, H gave her the option re; abortion and she agreed. After he drove her back from the abortion clinic, he ended his relationship with h. He deliberately discouraged h from pressing charges against his rapist brother because he wanted to use the rape info to blackmail his bro later. h went back to just hanging out with her parents after that until her mom died and H’s father proposed for her to go to their college with a scholarship and gave her money. When she reconnected with H again 3 years later, she BJ-ed H publicly and let him touch her publicly too. She also let some of the guys in their initiation group kiss and touch/suck her boobs until H’s friend put a stop to it.
21yo H was a manho but no details on previous girlfriends or lovers. When he started talking to h again 3 years later, he made sure that h could her him kiss his faux-girlfriend and finger her outside her door. However, his faux-girlfriend was a lesbian but not sure why she let him kiss and finger her and she seemed to like it, unless it was just an act. But they didn’t talk about it prior to him just suddenly kissing and touching her by h’s bedroom door. When he and h started smexxing again in current time, no condoms were used and no birth control mentioned. Don't think H was celibate for any length of time before h and he started smexxing since he was a self-professed partier....more
My advice: Just skim up to 85% of this book (Book1). But read the last 15%.
This is my 1st J.A. Hu**Sexual History SPOILERS is on my review of Book2 **
My advice: Just skim up to 85% of this book (Book1). But read the last 15%.
This is my 1st J.A. Huss book and I hope her other books read better than this. Because this book:
#1. lacked substance It's a full-length book plus a 2nd book to complete this Duet. So, it has lots of details about going-ons in the school and the different characters involved. BUT it sorely lacked focus and details of significant information re: 18yo gardener’s daughter h and 21yo elite-college senior H’s past romance/relationship and their current one and exactly how H’s 2 male BFFs were involved. Significant details from 3 years ago glossed over (i.e., h’s 4-some with H and his friends when she was only 15yo and they 18, how their r/s progressed from non-existing to bullying ad stalking to smexxing then to nothing for 3 years despite them being in the same school location). Lots of head-scratching from me. And that's never a good sign.
#2. lacked emotion and romance Everything felt even-keeled, even when the details were sad, upsetting, or shocking. It wasn't h's numbness to her mom's sudden death 2 weeks earlier. I can handle numb but I have to understand it and feel why she's numb from grief. So many things in this book were glossed-over. Including h's abortion 3 years ago. Even after reading the details of it in Book2, there was still a lack of emotion over it (i.e., was that a hard decision for her? did she regret it? did she feel guilty over it or glad? was she more upset about getting an abortion or H leaving her after?). I still don't know.
#3. Lots of telling and not showing. And the telling wasn’t consistent (i.e., h’s POV says that she liked being a loner to being socially dependent and needing social approval from the elite people @ the school, h and H hating and worse, disregarding each other for the past 3 years to suddenly being in love and what not).
#4. inconsistent characterization of h and H’ For example, h described as innocent and a shy loner who was sheltered via homeschooling by her parents. Then, we get some fuzzy details about her already being a non-virgin when she was 15yo, when she and H and his friends started making out and eventually smexxing. If she was homeschooled and only had her parents as her friends, who was/were her previous lover/lovers? How did she meet them, when her POV showed that she was a loner and didn't have friends? If also didn't make sense re: how comfortable she was with public sexual activities in front of strangers. She's supposedly shy and socially inexperienced before she 4-somed with H and his friends.
She was also described as a simple girl who didn’t aspire for wealth and fame yet that’s the very thing she ended up doing due to her lack of escaping the cult-like elite school when she had the freedom to do so for and was consistently encouraged to do so (even given $200+k to do as she wished). Instead, she allowed herself to be humiliated by literally made to kiss H and others’ toes and crawl around and be sexually touched by others based on the elite-students’ orders. It just didn’t make sense why she stayed and subjected herself to all of that, when her POV and such showed that she was sick of being bullied and didn’t like the students and hierarchical structure there and could’ve freely moved anywhere.
At least, H’s character as an irresponsible/selfish/immature and mostly-clueless bully was consistent. But I can't take 21yo H seriously since he still acts like a spoiled teen and says things like "As if!", like Cher in the teen movie "Clueless". They both acted immature 3 years ago when they were younger teens. And they continued to act immature while playing adult games as young adults....more
#1. became tedious and boring Just a bunch more unnecessary plotlines that kept on keeping h and H apart. I gave it a good shot due to Silver Devil. But nothing much changed up to 80%. It actually worsened around 60% due to H's cheating on h. I finally DNF-ed @ 80% but skipped to the end. And glad I did because I didn't miss much.
#2. lacked romance/emotion/S chemistry Even up to 80%, H and h were still emotionally distant from each other. The only vivid emotions were un-romantic. h frequently felt disgusted by H’s disfigured face, when she wasn’t kissed and touched by him. She hated him. And he took it as a challenge to his manhood/pride and raped/dub-conned her. It wasn't out of love. So, @49% when her POV said she loved him it was unbelievable and sudden. Same with his ILY to her @ the end. There was no emotional/romantic build-up or preamble from her hating him for forcing & blackmailing her to have sex with him and marry him and to suddenly hiding her love from him.
#3. had inconsistent characterization @22%, strong-willed and mouthy h started acting helpless and found herself agreeing to a priest-officiated betrothal to a gruesome & mentally-ill 20yo Duke. As if she was hypnotized or something. It just seemed contrived, as if the author couldn’t find a better reason for h to suddenly agree to this official betrothal, when for days she’d been actively and openly resisting her arranged marriage.
#4. unlikable characters H and h were both impulsive, quick to misunderstand and hurl insults at each other. Then, they'd have sex. Afterwards, they're at it again with their misunderstandings and insults.
Sexual History: 18yo virgin h was de-virginized via rape by H, who was encouraged to get h pregnant by the uncle of the Duke so the uncle can claim the baby as the Duke’s. H was h’s 1st kiss/boob-touching/sex. A couple other lecherous men including the Duke’s uncle snuck h a kiss and boob grab.
34yo H was a renowned lover with many willing women who overlook his disfigured face for his sex skills. He cheated with 2 different women while he was already married to H. The 1st one was his married older ex-mistress from 14 years ago whose brothers disfigured his face for her honor. He basically became her whore to get money to buy back his sword and to afford passage from Spain for him and possibly h, who left him about 1 week prior and was staying at some rich woman’s house who she didn’t know was going to pimp her out to some rich men in the area. After h told him again that she was done with their marriage, he had unsatisfying sex with a prostitute....more
Originally, a 2-star. But downgraded to a 1.5-star, after reading its original 2014 version (Bloom).
Skimmed from 13% til the end coz boring & predictOriginally, a 2-star. But downgraded to a 1.5-star, after reading its original 2014 version (Bloom).
Skimmed from 13% til the end coz boring & predictable.
#1. Lacked emotion and was stilted Showed no continuity of how h could claim that she'd always thought of H and been crushing on him since childhood yet she had a college BF she was really into and had good sex with until they broke up just weeks prior to seeing H again. Transition not smooth.
#2. Shallow two-dimensional characters Both 25yo law-student H and 19yo freshman intern h were immature and spoiled. They were both still financially-tied to their parents’ purse strings. So, struggled with being told what career/major to have as as result. Quite a bit of content re: their iffy career goals. But the central character focus was on H&h's sexy good looks and their uber-confidence from knowing they were attractive to others.
They're into the typical college scene of partying, drinking, and hooking up. That’s why it didn’t make sense that H was stressing about h being 6 years younger than him since she’s in college like him and interning like him and has quite a bit of life experiences already.
#3. Lust-focused and lacked touching romance Sexual tension was good due to their resisting their attraction while living in the same house and working the same bar. But too much focus on body parts (i.e., h's boobs, h's figure from her sexy clothes, H's muscles). Very meh romance and emotion so neither characters seemed truly into each other despite what some of their POV stated.
#.4 lacked emotional depth
Sexual History: 19yo freshman h celibate for 6 weeks since breaking up with her musician ex-BF coz he couldn’t guarantee to stay faithful to her when he was on tour. She let her ex-BF visit her @ her BFF’s & H’s house and let him kiss her neck and worried that she may smex him if she sees him perform with his band coz that usually turns her on (“You’ll change your mind after you see me play,” he says .He’s right. I already know this. His hands are still on my hips, his mouth on my neck, and I know that seeing him play is all it would take to sway me.“). No other info on how many other previous lovers h had but her ex-BF taught her sexual things and they both seemed quite sexually active together.
H celibate for 2 months since he 1st broke up with his GF who wanted him to wait a few weeks to give their relationship a chance. But when she came to visit H, he told her they were completely done & turned down her sex offer and he slept on the floor in his room while she slept in his bed....more
What happened Lauren Rowe? These main characters are pathetic!
DNF @ 68% but started skimming by 9% coz:
1.) disliked both H a1.5-star ***SPOILERS***
What happened Lauren Rowe? These main characters are pathetic!
DNF @ 68% but started skimming by 9% coz:
1.) disliked both H and h Both 23yo production-asst h and 27yo drummer wanna-be actor H were 2nd-rate characters. Obvious that they were side-kicks of main characters from previous books.
I especially disliked h. She was a sycophant who indulged in self-pity and pandering for sympathy from others via telling stories about her awkward and unpopular childhood and why no one from the band crew hit on on her after her open confession re: her paltry sexual experience with her college boyfriend. She was so pathetic that she “thank(ed)” H for mistakenly believing that her rockstar boss would deign to have sex with her.
H was a hanger-on who was lucky enough to be included in a rock band, which later became popular. He had similar stories about being a nobody and chubby as a kid until he started drumming. Without his band, he wouldn't have made it. His current trial as an actor is due to his famous connections and not really because he's such a skilled actor. Even his sexual skills aren't inherent like the other Rowe heroes in this series, he's had to watch videos and study things online to learn how to please his ex-GF (who ended up dumping him before he could demonstrate the new sex toy he just bought for her after some online study of it).
2.) lacked romance and emotion h's feelings for H was 1-sided even up to 68%. Her feelings were immature and based on her childhood crush on him. She didn't seem to have difficulty jumping from her long crush on H to her college boyfriend. Her feelings for H didn't seem to be a factor in her quest in the last 9 months to get hit on by somebody/anybody in the band crew she worked with. When she blurted out ILY during sex with H, he backtracked after that. His mom had to talk to him to open up his eyes to a possible romantic relationship with h.
3.) sex chemistry was very meh. Sex scenes read more like a sex manual. Their sex chemistry was awkward, mostly because the attraction was mostly 1-sided and based on h's childhood crush on H. She chased after H and kept begging him him to smex her: ”Amy whimpers and babbles an incoherent string of words, before desperately gripping my forearm and whisper-shouting, “I’ve got a room upstairs! Take me there and give me an orgasm, so I know I’m not defective. Give me one, so I know the problem isn’t me.”
She would never have been under his radar if it wasn't for her now-grown-up boobs and his mom telling him that he MUST feel something for this h. I don't think he was THAT clueless. He just wasn't THAT into her. He put more effort into his ex-GF who he was with off and on for 5 years than with h. He seemed to be more hung up on another woman he dated (wanted to date?) if not for her choosing his friend instead. h was really a 2nd-best pick for him.
Sex scenes were unsexy to me. H approached sex with h like he had something to prove. He's not an alpha dominant Hero and it showed even in their sex scenes. Yeah, he made her orgasm but it seemed more technical than romantic or even smutty.
4.) dialogue was immature H and h’s dialogue was very immature-sounding with lots of name-dropping (h kept telling him about band members she worked with despite her Non-Disclosure Contract with them in order to keep H’s interest in their conversation). Lots of repetitions of “Swoon”/guffawing/giggling/squealing, not impressed with these two. I couldn't take them seriously. I kept wondering why Rowe would dedicate a whole book about these 2.
Sexual History: h had kissed other buys but was de-virginized by her 1-yr long BF in college who only did oral on her once and neither liked it. @26% H&h kiss the 1st time after h blurted out of nowhere that she’d never had an orgasm with her ex-BF and he took it as a challenge. @45% H&h smex with agreement that it’s a temporary thing to help h achieve O in sex. H was with his GF for 5 years before she dumped him. He did research to max out her pleasure and bought her sex toys but she dumped him anyway. @59% h blurts out ILY to H after her last massive O during the planned orgasm-fest he gave her.
No info on other lovers/GFs he had before his ex-GF. No info on lovers he's had after they broke up either. He did have a lot of fan offers to smex him but not sure if he ever took 1 up....more
DNF@ 11% coz boring. My 1st book by this author so not sure if this is typical of how she writes.
20s ex-Boy Band member H & 20s elementary-school teacDNF@ 11% coz boring. My 1st book by this author so not sure if this is typical of how she writes.
20s ex-Boy Band member H & 20s elementary-school teacher h were meh characters. So was the overall writing. Not that it was bad per se but it failed to invoke excitement/tension/emotion. Even the attempts at humor to setup H and h’s love-hate neighbor relationship weren’t that funny. I could appreciate the humor but it didn't make me laugh out loud.
Sexual History: No info on h’s dating & sexual history so far. H had girls throwing themselves at him as a popular popstar. No info on serious relationships....more
Meh for a Madison Faye novella. Lacked romance and emotion.
Lust-based attraction but distant, with both just fantasizing about each other with neitheMeh for a Madison Faye novella. Lacked romance and emotion.
Lust-based attraction but distant, with both just fantasizing about each other with neither really attempting to make a move. It changed 1 day, when h caught her yoga-instructor H self-pleasuring @ the gym shower 1 night & heard him groan her name. She happened to fall off while secretly watching him with literally her hands in her pants from self-pleasuring. Then boom chicka wow wow...And that's pretty much it. Ending just hinted at them continuing a r/s but not sure if only for sex or actual dating.
The only good thing about this book are the hot detailed sex scenes that's Faye's specialty. Both h&H had previous lovers. Didn't care that h was the chaser. Don't think H would've pursued her....more
Writing lacked emotion and failed to make characters come alive. Didn’t like that late-30s/40s? H was onlyDNF @ 20% coz boring writing/romance/chars.
Writing lacked emotion and failed to make characters come alive. Didn’t like that late-30s/40s? H was only attracted to 21yo h 3 years ago, when she at age 19 came home to see his nephew (who was her BFF since childhood). There was no sexual or emotional build-up to his switching from viewing h as his nephew's friend to being attracted to her.
Both h&H were meh. Neither were driven or motivated to do much to rise above their situations. H had same job & same old property in their rundown town now as he did for years since h knew him & his nephew as kids. h had a lackluster & unmotivated mentality too. She came back to town homeless from the city she moved to & practically living in her car. She had no job prospects and nowhere else to go so why not put some closure on her long-held attraction to H?...more
2.) H and h lacked romance and emotional chemistry.
3.) Even the**SPOILERS under Sexual History**
DNF @ 24% coz a mess of:
1.) contrived romance/dialogue
2.) H and h lacked romance and emotional chemistry.
3.) Even the sex was awkward since jerk H would pull out as soon as he got his fill and would leave h unsatisfied. Yet he'd leave her some money and/or jewelry next to her body like she's the prostitutes he's used to.
4.) Still no clue why H had focused on h to be his wife and I didn’t care anymore at this point.
5.) Both H and h became less likable.
Sexual History: 24yo h not a virgin with h. She’s had other lovers including her last ex-BF she was with for 6 months.
30s(?) software-programmer H had never taken anyone out on a date until h. He frequented prostitutes while he lived and traveled around South Africa and Africa. Some of the prostitutes he saw for longer terms than 1-pay usual. With these longer term ones, he’d pamper (i.e., learn what makes them orgasm, shop with them at high-end stores). No info when he’d last slept with anyone before h....more
Meh characters and romance. Gross that H is only used to prostitutes so he kept leaving h wads of cash a2.5-star **Sexual History SPOILERS are here.**
Meh characters and romance. Gross that H is only used to prostitutes so he kept leaving h wads of cash after their sex dealings--whether she’d refuse him or agree. But will give Book2 a chance.
Lacked emotional and romantic involvement that Dubious-Consent had in spades. No feels/no angst.
h’s limb disability was interesting. But her POV and character were too remote and neutral to make me feel sorry for her plight.
Pacing is average and not really a boring book but not gripping. After about 20%, I started skimming the book until the end to find out what H’s true intentions with h are.
But @ the end: 1.) H’s interest in h is still a mystery (aside from some physical attraction but even that's not clear).
2.) I’m not at all convinced that he’s in love with h nor that she’s that physically attractive to him to marry despite her stealing his valuable software creation to give to her evil stepbrother (who's blackmailing her with photos of her mother cheating with some other man who's not his father)....more
DNF @ 10% coz two-dimensional characters and lacked realistic build-up as well as chemistry. Yet I’m alThis doesn't read like Paul's Dubious/Consent.
DNF @ 10% coz two-dimensional characters and lacked realistic build-up as well as chemistry. Yet I’m already supposed to buy that:
#1.) rich stranger H is instantly captivated by h, when he & his 2 thugs captured her as she’s about to enter her old apartment. After asking her questions about her imprisoned brother (which she replies with "f* off") and checking out her bare and decrepit apartment, he then tells her to go out to dinner with him while “reminding (her) of her place”. That was within 5 minutes of their 1st meeting.
MY RESPONSE: *eye roll*
#2. ) captive h’s character maybe scared but she's sassy strong. What can 3 armed and physically stronger men really do to her? Well, not much compared to the strength of her defensive feistiness! Her mouthing off at them should scare them off and save her and other's lives. Right?
MY RESPONSE: *eye roll*
#3.) h was finally forced to answer H's questions about her imprisoned brother in order to save her next-door neighbor who we know nothing about (except for a brief mention that he plays video games). Why was her neighbor so important to her? Was h just a compassionate and caring person? Was her neighbor a good friend of hers? There was no story, explanation, or justification for it.
MY RESPONSE: right-click on Book and then "Move to Trash"
Moving on to another Pauls book. Hoping this was just a one-off....more
First 50% of the book is the main romance. Last 50% starts overlapping with 2 epilogue-type romance stories of 2 other related couples (including Ehh.
First 50% of the book is the main romance. Last 50% starts overlapping with 2 epilogue-type romance stories of 2 other related couples (including h’s parents) from previous books and 1 mini-romance of h’s younger bro.
Liked the 20-yr epilogue of h’s parents & another couple more than h&H’s romance. The main romance only had average romance development/characters/S chem/S scenes between 18yo college student h & 33yo lawyer H (who her parents knew & had some hand in raising since before she was born). Liked how H was so into h but due to her age he had to get away from her so he left NYC for LA 2 years ago and she followed him few months later for college. Didn’t like that she had a serious BF her senior year if she professed to have always loved H since she was very young. There was no mention of why she got a boyfriend then (i.e., to get over her love for H?, to try out being in a relationship?). Just did she did and it lasted for 1 year until OM suddenly backed out of their prom date. The 2ndary characters (namely, h’s parents) made a big impact on their relationship resolution. I liked how their story was weaved in to the main H&h's romance. But, once it did, the main romance took a backseat in the book.
Sexual History: 18yo h is a virgin but have kissed other boys, specifically her BF in high school. Not sure if it was a joke that she planned on getting de-virginized by him on their prom night or not. But her prom plans didn’t happen since H secretly scared her BF to back out last minute from their prom date. She & H engaged in foreplay including oral in the book. Her de-virginizing by H was hinted at from their 3-yrs-later epilogue. They’ve been living together while she went to college & H proposed they get married 2 weeks after her college finals got done. No info of H’s former relationships. No info either if then-31yo H dated or smexxed anyone in the past 2 years since he moved to LA to get away from his forbidden attraction to then-16yo h....more
The Good: Liked the drama. Liked the mix storylines of Cinderella and Ugly Duckling.
MEH or the BAD: Dyfunctional romance thus iffy HEA.**Some SPOILERS**
The Good: Liked the drama. Liked the mix storylines of Cinderella and Ugly Duckling.
MEH or the BAD: Dyfunctional romance thus iffy HEA. Too much focus on 19yo virgin h’s plain & skinny look. 35yo Barbados plantation-owner H kept making comments on h’s plain looks & how it must be something else (namely, her sexual experience) that’s attracting other men.
Their love declarations were superficial since they hardly knew each other--with H mostly insulting her looks & h fighting with him. their 7-week separation a couple days after their wedding didn't help. Her love feelings for H was her mistaking her hormones & physical attraction for romantic love. H’s love for h seemed borne out of his feelings of competition with other men who are now vying for prettier-h’s affections. Their attraction was lust-based coupled with their own personal issues (her with her loneliness & insecurities from being an orphan to a Cinderella-type maid to her mean Aunt & model cousin and H with his control-power issues).
Hated that H seemed to only look at h 2x after she gained curves & improved her looks via salon treatments while he was away for 7 weeks. He was just a cruel bully and was never really endearing.
Lacked emotionality & romance. Sexual tension was awkward.
Sexual History: 19yo h had never dated or been kissed before until H. She got devirginized by 35yo H via rape (but she kinda stopped towards the end & then orgasmed so 90% rape) 7 weeks after their wedding coz he got jealous & possessive after he heard news re: h’s popularity with some men in the island. No direct apologies for raping her but some indirect apologies for previously misjudging her as a “slut”. He did soften up to her after but still made sure she knew her limits with him.
H was engaged to h’s model cousin (OW) for months before he pushed h towards an arranged marriage with him as his revenge against OW cheating on him with another man. He was attracted to OW and enjoyed a sexual relationship with her and was a convenient pick to have kids with until he caught her cheating on him. He told h he hadn’t been with any other woman since he married her, including the 7 weeks he was away from her. Could be true....more
DNF @ 37% due to poor writing & the story didn’t sound anything like the book blurb.
Picked this up because I thought it was written by Vanessa James wDNF @ 37% due to poor writing & the story didn’t sound anything like the book blurb.
Picked this up because I thought it was written by Vanessa James who wrote HPs in the 1980s, especially Try To Remember. According to fictiondb.com website, this book was supposedly written by the same '80s Vanessa James. But it's clearly not, as I learned from reading a few pages of this novella:
-stilted dialogue/POV -lacks flow of characters & scenes -lacks emotionality -filled with contrived scenes & lots of sudden explanations that were lame & seemed focused on making h appear strong & the savior of her dysfunctional family -has no romantic feels & just lacked romance overall -dialogue in modern language with lots of unnecessary cussing -characters are unlikable, especially aggressive/complainy/judgmental h and H was ho-hum -boring...more
1.5-star **Major SPOILERS under Plot and Sexual History**
Should've DNFed @ 11% but skimmed until the end since it picked up @ 33%. But then it went ba1.5-star **Major SPOILERS under Plot and Sexual History**
Should've DNFed @ 11% but skimmed until the end since it picked up @ 33%. But then it went back down after 58%.
The GOOD: 1.) Good-enough emotionality with some angst 2.) Hot detailed bareback S scenes
The BAD: 1.) Weak & shallow characters Due to 18yo H leaving town after their secret summer fling, 16yo h drowned her sorrows with sex & alcohol. She had no ambitions to pursue anything other than her just-to-pay-the-bills waitressing job she got via her aunt. Eight years later, she's still doing the same thing.
H cowered under his wealthy parents’ pressure & rebelled by leaving town instead of going to Yale. He didn't communicate his travel plans to h. Nor his plan to come back for her 2 years later, when she became legal. He slept with her, knowing she was underage and that he was going to leave town soon. Neither did that much to fight to stay together or be reunited soon or have a long-distance relationship since they could've easily been in contact secretly through H's many friends and h's aunt-boss. Or text/phone/Skype (This was written in 2014). Instead, they slept with other people to get over each other and h's pregnancy loss. And never reached out 1 year, 2 years, or more to discuss what happened. H had a bike so he could've come back to meet up with her at a secret location, if he really wanted to.
2.) H's inconsistent persistence & obsession with h One day (or 6 months), he's all possessive & stalkery obssessive. But then, with a little rejection from h or threat from his dad, he deflates and soon dates other women. He also lacked responsibility and was ok not working and just traveling around with his bike and golfing while being funded by his family funding. If it wasn't for h's frank talk about his joblessness and her worry about their future, he would've just kept golfing & puttering around. He was like a rich loser.
3.) Immature romance & unsure HEA
PLOT Highlights: @11% h's POV revealed that she slept around with “whatever wealthy hot guy hit on (her)” at bars to drown her sorrows after H left her 8 years ago & that included his close cousin OM who she 1st smexxed coz he looked like H but ended up falling in love with him and dating him the next few years until recently when OM died from an accidental drowning.
Skimmed until about 30% when I felt some angst & interest from the major tidbits dropped re: what else was involved in H&h’s breakup & subsequent heartache were dropped including a baby they lost.
@33% h finally let H talk to her re: the baby she thought she aborted (her aunt later corrects her that she miscarried the baby at the clinic but h was knocked out so she didn't know & just assumed they aborted her baby all those years) & her sleeping with other guys to get over her & H took the blame for leaving her to deal with the fallback of her aunt & his dad finding out about their affair when h was still a teen.
@40% they called a truce to be friends but both jealous when the other is with another potential date. @46% H declared his plan to talk with h about all that happened 8 years ago when h was ready so they can both heal.
@58% h let H finger her to orgasm & he soon after told her ILY but she said it was too late.
@63% 3 months later H dates his ex-GF (OW) from high school to get over h since she rejected him but seeing h again when she was serving him & his date at the restaurant & she seemed jealous of OW confused him. It wasn’t until his friend told him to not just give up on h but fight for her that he told OW he couldn’t date her anymore & then pursued h again.
@89% H&h’s 1st sex scene after he agreed with her plan to date each other casually although he wanted to be exclusive. But after they smexxed he got all possessive claimy & wanted to be exclusive but she frankly told him that she couldn’t without a firm commitment from him since he can just walk away again from her again since he didn’t have a job and she didn’t want to move out of town.
@96% h hadn’t heard from H in 5 days & thought they were done until he ask her to go with him to show her the actual locations of the hotel and their future home that he recently purchased with his inheritance money & then proposed marriage.
Sexual History: 16yo trailer-park h was devirginzed by 18yo wealthy college-bound H during their short & secret summer fling before he was forced to go to Yale after his dad found about his fling with poor h & blackmailed H into leaving her. Both of them slept with other people to get over each other over the next 8 years. Since her BF's death 2 years ago, h had been celibate until H.
H had 4 previous lovers before h, including his recent ex-GF of 2 years who his parents wanted him to date. After h, he slept with bunch of other women to get over h but it didn’t work. When he came back to town 2 years ago, he was single and silently watching h dating his cousin. He left town again for awhile & no info on whether he dated or slept with anyone. When he came back again 6 months ago, he silently stalked h to give her support over losing her BF and due to his obsession with her. He seemed to have been celibate for that 6-month period. He didn't smex his ex-GF during the 1-2 week period he dated her after h rejected his ILY. Not sure if he kissed or touched her but he was willing to date her since he felt rejected by h and wanted to be with someone who wanted him and she was a good lover in the past....more
DNF @ 34% after H&h's 1st sex scene. I was ready to DNF around 13% but I continued on to see if it'd get better. But **SPOILERS under Sexual History**
DNF @ 34% after H&h's 1st sex scene. I was ready to DNF around 13% but I continued on to see if it'd get better. But found myself getting sleepy and bored every time I'd pick it back up.
First 2 chapters were promising but didn't like h's character and H was only meh. Wealthy Scottish virgin h was a know-it-all virago/harridan type of heroine I don't like. Chapters 3 & on goes back & forth from present to 3.5 years ago, when H&h first met. h was a little general who managed her Scottish properties with acumen and organization. She was very much a business woman in their 19th-century UK world. She was much wealthier and more alpha than H.
H was beta when he met h 3.5 years ago and not quite as beta in the present time and more mysterious. However, he secretly blamed h for part of his torturous years of being kidnapped in a convict ship to Australia. He kept secretly whining & complaining in his POV that h should've reported him missing to the authorities and not have gone back to Scotland, even though he acknowledged that she had no way of knowing that he was abducted. She thought that he abandoned her to travel the world (due to the huge withdrawals from her bank account & her witnessing him walking out of their honeymoon ship after their wedding) or dead (as H's cousin insisted H was). He was miffed that she didn't search the world for him but instead went back to Scotland.
Overall writing was ok. I've enjoyed most Duran books I've read, such as The Duke of Shadows, Fool Me Twice, and A Lady's Lesson in Scandal. But the S chemistry, emotional chemistry, and romance was just lacking in this one. The only sex scene I read was awkward and unexciting and summed up my overall reading experience of this book. So, I stopped.
Sexual History: No idea if early-20s virgin h was kissed by any OM before meeting H. She was attracted to H and was turned on by him and looked forward to their wedding night. But he disappeared before then, after she saw him walking out of their honeymoon ship and never contacted her by letter or messenger the next 3.5 years. When she found out he was back in London the last 8 months, she stormed into the London house he bought with her money and insisted he get her pregnant with an heir since she didn't want her family inheritance to pass on to some relative. H wanted them to have separate residences and lives in general since he secretly wanted to spare her the knowledge of his kidnapping & torture. He did agree to having sex with her to give her the baby she wanted. But H insisted that they have sex with her blindfolded and her hands bound since he didn't want her seeing the scars concealed with his clothing. She agreed and H devirginized her in that manner. He only lasted a few pumps before he orgasmed since he was still very attracted to her and he'd been celibate since meeting her.
H was sexually experienced and likely with prostitutes. No mention of mistresses. When he came back to London, there were plenty of willing women (prostitutes?) around but he coudln't stand being touched by them and had no sexual desires due to his PTSD from his kidnapping-torture. But seeing her again revived his sexuality....more