samantha :)'s Reviews > Wanting Mr. Cane

Wow. I--wow.

Please don't mistake my speechlessness with astonishment, but rather interpret it as anger, confusion, and hilarity. This book was exceptionally bad. So bad in fact, that while I was reading it I craved to start my homework. And for that, I must award it with a standing ovation. It’s not everyday I read a book that is as astronomically awful as this one.

I initially began this book a few months ago, having thought the heroine was annoying and that the book lacked a plot that interested me. So, I stopped at the 50% mark thinking that I had endured the worst of it, under the impression that the rest of the story would be an ongoing repeat of what I had already read. Boy was I wrong. Boy did I wish I was right! I decided that I was going to give it a second chance, as the synopsis sounded promising, and I hadn't found many good books that delivered on this trope (age-gap). Now believe me when I say, you should almost always trust your initial reaction to books. Please, save yourself some time. Don't get me wrong, I didn't go into this book thinking it was going to be anything revolutionary. But, I did go into it thinking it would be a nice “forbidden” romance with smut and intriguing characters (preferably a strong heroine and a swoon-worthy Hero). I subsequently left the book thinking that I had barely been delivered one of those things. Now, let's get into it shall we!

*I would like to preface this rant/review by saying that this in no way intended to be an attack on the author, I am simply separating art from artist here

Kandy (heroine)
Wow did I hate this girl. Kandy is an 18 year old that was apparently 11 in 2007 and 18 in 2018. Now, I’m not great at math, in fact it’s one of my weaknesses, but something just isn't adding up. I digress. Kandy has been in love with Cane, her father’s best friend and our Hero, since she was 9 and he was 26. Now, I know you might be wondering, “What did she expect when reading an age-gap romance?” That was not my problem, my problem was the heroine; she was bratty, whiny, bland, immature, manipulative and annoying. I will admit, that book starts off kind of interesting. I loved the perspective of her younger self (9+) and the character build up, I also liked Cane, he seemed worthy of my lust. Little did I know, the maturity that this “perspective” consisted of, lasted the entire book. I have a very hard time believing that the heroine is 18. I know people who are in middle school, and the lot of them are more mature than Kandy. The present starts off with some small talk and time jumps in conjunction with some angst, we learn that the Hero has a girlfriend and, thanks to the time jump, has had one for months. We know this because they come to the heroine’s parents house for dinner on Saturdays. With this in mind, Kandy’s crush is still intact. But, don't worry she wouldn’t do anything about it, I mean he’s spoken for. At least not until her father gets shot twice and is having life altering surgery--then she decides to make a move, because who wouldn't? The timing is perfect! Not.

The entire story is Kandy attempting to seduce Cane. She does this with complete disregard of the relationships she would be ruining. All she cares about is getting her rocks off, and she doesn't care who she has to step on to do so. Including the person she is using in order to fulfill her horny desires, for example:

(This is when Kandy is at Cane’s house because her Dad had just been shot. He is attempting to comfort her and she is trying to kiss him. He does not want her advances, so he tells her no, in which she proceeds to disregard until she has made him horny enough to comply.)

“Kandy” he warned.
“What?”
“No.” A solid command that couldn’t be mistaken. I never liked being told no, though. Maybe he was right about the whole brat thing. I could act like a spoiled little girl when I wanted to. I liked things to go my way, and sometimes that made me pesky and infuriating.”

….Wtf?

Sorry, but the last time I checked, that was sexual assault. And this is a recurring theme throughout the story. Every time he tells her to stop, she does the exact opposite. This is one of the first glimpses we get at the heroine’s entitlement, manipulation, selfishness, and immaturity. Here is a quote we get after that whole ordeal:

(By this time, Cane has entered a state of shame and confusion. He tells the heroine that what happened was a mistake, and shares his worries of being condemned and left by his best friend (her Dad.))

I guess I couldn’t blame him, but when I said I wanted to make him sin again, I meant it. I was bad--so damn bad--and blinded by so much lust.

If this doesn't perfectly encapsulate her selfishness, I don't know what does.

Oh wait, here’s two last quotes to make you squirm:

(This is when Cane has come to the house to pick up Kandy’s Dad for a basketball game. He is sitting in the living room watching television with Kandy, she is trying to get on his lap and initiate in no no behavior. This is also after everything that just occurred.)

I knew what I was about to do was going to piss him off. I knew it was going to make him frustrated and annoyed, but what I also knew was that he was going to react to it. My actions would turn him on. He would most likely tell me to stop, but his body would be screaming for me to keep going.

“You’re a fucking kid, and not just any kid, you’re Derek’s kid, so get the hell off my lap.”
“No,” I snapped, staring him in the eyes. “I know that’s not what you want.”

Girl, consent matters. No means no believe it or not. I would seriously be scared to be alone in a room with this crazy chick.

Not only is she a creepy rapist that should be put on the sex offender registry, but she is also very manipulative. She would allude to doing things with other guys if Cane didn’t conform to what she was asking of him, she would sprinkle bad comments about his girlfriend into conversation despite not knowing if it was true or not, and she would seduce him when she knew he didn’t want to engage in any form of a romantic relationship with her.

(Here is her and her friend talking about how Kandy will seduce him while he is on a beach trip with them...and his girlfriend and his best friend.)

“I wouldn't mind it, but I know he won't do it”
“You never know. Maybe there will be another time where you two are alone. You took what you wanted twice before. Why not do it again? From what you’ve told me, he doesn't seem to be able to resist you.”

(This is after she insinuated that if he didn’t take her virginity, someone else would.)

He was jealous. That much was clear. Maybe my little backstabbing trick did work.

Cane was torn. I couldn’t believe I’d forced him into bringing me here and having us get to this point. Though I didn't exactly make it an ultimatum, I implied it by making it known that if he left me with my virginity while I was in college, I would probably give it to someone else.

All of this boils down to immaturity and selfishness. Kandy is a spoiled brat who has no character development. She is constantly bitchy to Kelly (the Hero’s girlfriend) when she does nothing wrong, she is whiny when things don't go her way, and she is told by literally everyone how pretty she is and sometimes it is too dramatic for me to stomach. Now I’m not saying it’s her fault she is pretty, but when the dialogue is this hyperbolic, I can't help but audibly laugh.

(This is when she is at Cane’s house going for a swim and there is a man that is apparently infatuated with her fixing his chandelier. The next quote is Cane speaking to her.)

Cane nodded, and then he looked at the man. That's when I realized he was ogling me--literally staring at me like a dog would a piece of meat.

You’re young and attractive, you can have any guy you want

(This is when she is leaving Cane’s house and her Mom is talking about how Kandy has to drive her home. Mind you, Kandy is 18 and can legally work most places, it is also summer so she doesn’t have school holding her back.)

I was still waiting on the day they’d give me a car. Mom and Dad had well-paying jobs, Mom in particular, but I was still carless at eighteen. It didn't make any sense to me why they weren’t spoiling me with a Maserati or a Tesla. Okay...that was a bit much, but still.

Um, I don't know, why don't you get a job? But, she shouldn't have to do that, so one chapter later her parents gift her with a brand new car! Yay! Ugh. She is a weak heroine that is poorly attempted to be written as strong. She would give into Cane’s demands despite being angry with him because she was so desperate, and I hated it. Anyways, I hate her.


Literally Everything Else
I won't go into too much detail about my disdain for literally everything else, but just know: I didn't like it. The Hero was awful. Despite being the CEO of a “million-dollar company” (which everyone brings up and I don't understand--if his company is only a million dollars, how does he have multiple houses, private planes, and luxurious cars? I would think that the company is at least worth several million dollars) and “harsh” while covered in tattoos and having a tragic past, he is spineless and a little creepy. He reminds me of a small little tiny kitten dressed up as a tiger. He complains about the “choice” he has to make all of the time:

Why do I have to choose between my best friend and what my heart and mind really desires

Not only did I think this was cowardly, I thought it was random too. At this point in time, he would be saying things in his mind along the lines of, “I can't give in...That was the last time” but wouldn’t show any of that through his actions. He always gave in to Kandy and her advances despite having a girlfriend that loved him a lot. He strung Kelly (his girlfriend) along for months, his inner dialogue often expressed his acknowledgement of her effort she was putting into the relationship like cuddling him in bed, buying them dinners, and wanting to spend more time with him. He typically commented that her trying to do these things was hopeless and pathetic but continued to use her for weeks after, agreeing to take her on a trip with his best friend’s family. He had no problem using her as a pawn in his relationship with Kandy. It’s not like Kelly even deserved his disdain either, she was sweet and nice. She understood that he had a traumatic past and that it’s difficult for him to love, but she still loved him anyway and continued to try to get to know him better. When she turned out to be the evil, stereotypical villain at the end, I cheered for her.

The writing in the book is pretty bad too. The words and tangents were repetitive, the theme of not showing and more telling happened consistently throughout the story, the plot was boring, none of the scenes with other characters were used as a progressive plot device and felt like a waste of my time, and the characters were annoyingly bad and two-dimensional. Here is a great example of how dry the dialogue was:

(This is when Kandy is on the phone with her mother and father who is telling her why she is quitting her job. Kandy learns that her boss tried to sexually assault her, and not only is her reaction drier than the Sahara Desert, but it’s also ironic considering she literally partakes in sexually assaulting others.)

“He tried to come onto your mother. He tried to kiss her! He’s lucky she calmed me down!” I gasped. “What? That jerk!”

Consistency is notably a huge problem in this book. Characters would often contradict themselves in order to create contrived plot twists and practical circumstances. This tells me that the author didn’t really plan out this book, but rather went with the flow of her writing. This isn’t always a bad thing, but when you create a bunch of discrepancies within your story, it takes away from the value knowing that what I just read doesn't matter, because you can just type in the next chapter that they didn't mean it or it never was how it seemed. Like, yes it was. There was absolutely no evidence of that not being the case.

Lastly, you can tell that the author wrote all of the POV’s. I hate when this happens. The entire time I was reading this book, I imagined the author writing the scenes. I do this usually when the dialogue is dry and lacking any purpose or depth. Words were often recycled and the book’s dialogue felt cyclical. Most of the time in a romance book, men use obscene language and only think about sex. Cane used the words “man” and “fuck” in every conversation with his best friend. EVERY CONVERSATION. It just didn't feel real, hence it did not peak my interest. Oh and look at this, oh my goodness I swear I thought I was reading a Sarah J. Maas book:

“Derek!” I barked.
“Fuck!” He roared.

I honestly might just read the second book to read about Kelly ruining the main characters lives for some series redemption.

But, I must say that the ending was very satisfying:

“Fuck you, Cane,” was the last thing I heard before the back of my head hit concrete and all I saw was black.”

Quite honestly, it almost made everything worth it.

(This was not planned or outlined, so I may have jumped around a lot--sorry about that. Also, as you read on, you can see my writing abilities start to deplete because I was so exasperated with having to write about these characters for way longer than I expected to lmao.)