Where to start with this one... where to start....
I'm gonna start with an analogy.
In my professional life I'm an art direc**spoiler alert** 2 stars.
Where to start with this one... where to start....
I'm gonna start with an analogy.
In my professional life I'm an art director at an advertising agency, so I make and critique creative work for a living. Exactly like the characters in this book. If I came to work with the same thing day after day, used the same old ideas, and brought nothing new to the table I would be f.i.r.e.d. Simple as that.
To be blunt... if Vi Keeland were my employee I would fire her. Sorry if I sound elitist, but that’s the best way I can put it. I'm sick and tired of the same one dimensional characters and the predictable tropes time after time. Its why my first few reads of hers was 5-4 stars, and as time goes on where we all become less impressed with whats already been done to death, to then rate the last few books 2-3 stars or not even bothering to give it my time at all.
For example:
Heroine: "God, you're such an insensitive asshole." *blushes* Hero: 'sexy' arrogant smirk "Thanks, I cant argue with the truth."
AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT IS SO GODDAM TIRED OF THIS DIALOGUE THAT IS USED
IN
EVERY
SINGLE
BOOK!!!
I honestly feel like im going insane. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Let me just air the rest of my grievances and y'all can be on your way.
The hero: What a fucking bitch. The worst type of male protagonist in this day and age. Entitled, egotistic, misognist at times... OH! and he constantly made side comments about the heroine how she was a whore and only got clients because she slept with them. Lets also throw in a bunch of random women names throughout the story to let us know he was, in fact, the slut. He gets to have a great sex life without judgement while also being at the top of his career. Does he need a pent house? Sure why not. Cause thats apparently how real men live.
The heroine: She was a deep dive in a shallow pool. Lets list off the top 3 things we need in a heroine
1. Bad past relationship that lasted yeaaarrssssss and she never enjoyed the sex or received oral sex. Oh, and of course ex-boyfirend cheated on her for years 2. Always comes in second place to the hero, career wise. 3. Betraying body alert, so when the hero says something nasty to her while also making a sexual advance, she just becomes a puddle of estrogen. Hero gets to win every single argument in this 'love and hate romance.' Bonus round!!! She needs to make a complete fool of herself when she first meets the hero.
Can we at least give the heroine a fighting chance? Is it so goddam hard to write a female character that doesnt have a bad past sex life?!?! Youre telling me 28 year old woman living in San Fran couldn't bother to find anybody else in a city of millions?!?! Well the hero can apparently. Why cant the heroine?
And last but not least... the heroine has to have her life in mortal peril for the hero to realize he loves her and he wants a committed relationship with her.
Fuck this. Ya fired Ms Keeland. This book does not spark joy.
Why did it deserve 2 stars? Well, at least Miss Keeland knows proper grammar an punctuation.
Safe I guess: Author hints that hero might have gone to an ex hook up after he started to have feelings for the heroine but it was never confirmed or denied. Heroine was of course celibate for months after her breakup. No OW drama. Ex boyfriend comes back a few times to bother the h. No seperation....more
2 stars for turning a perceived strong heroine into a pathetic mess.
This book had two elements to it: 1. Time where the hero and heroine were apart 22 stars for turning a perceived strong heroine into a pathetic mess.
This book had two elements to it: 1. Time where the hero and heroine were apart 2. Sex scenes
This relationship turned extremely abusive. In a nutshell, the hero puts the h "on ice" and doesnt commit to being with her until the very end of the book. He would enter and exit her life with weeks or months in between. And in between that time, the h would act like a kicked puppy and claim that she hated the H but when he would come back around she would get on her knees and give him a blowjob in the first 5 minutes. The H's attitude to the whole situation was really concerning. He would ridicule the heroine for feeling betrayed and he was always chuckling at her distress. Fuck that. On top of that, there were zero tender moments in the story. Every scene was either with a crying heroine or the MC's having sex. Nothing about their story made me believe they would get a HEA.
And after allllll the shitty and terrible things the H did the h, like: -Abandoning her for months at a time -Uses her for sex -Tells her she's not good enough for his mafia family -stopping her from leaving the state to live with her mother who has cancer -Attempts to buy her business without her knowing. -GETS ENGAGED TO ANOTHER WOMAN
.... we get ZERO GOVEL.
NONE.
ZILCH.
One more thing that annoyed me was the previous generation of heroines that are parents to the current hero/heroine spinoffs. They turned into really boring and supremely ignorant and oblivious house wives. I read Lucian, Gio and Dante's books and I was really disappointed that these once strong heroines of this series became into everything-is-always-happy do-gooder housewarmers.
Fuck this. Nobody would be with this piece of shit. The heroine needed to stomp on his nuts....more
Consider this reader pissed off. At herself and at the author.
I'm pissed at myself because I didnt do my homework. I read a review that sai2.5 Stars
Consider this reader pissed off. At herself and at the author.
I'm pissed at myself because I didnt do my homework. I read a review that said this book was safe when it in fact it was the complete opposite.
And now I'm pissed at this author for writing what made this book unsafe.
So lets start with the fact that the hero of the story has been raped over and over again by the main villainess of the story. Fine. If thats how you want to bring drama to this story then whatever. What I am not fine with is reading a very detailed scene of this at around the 40% mark and then the hero has to continuously go back to her until the 90% MARK OF THE DANG BOOK WHILE ALSO HAVING SEX FOR THE HEROINE WHILE TELLING HER NOTHING. Thankfully alot of this happens off page (small blessings) but it still really upsetting that the hero is having forced sex with another woman. Also the fact that the heroine sees evidence of the assault after it happens.
And another thing, I think ill always have issues with villains that are women who also are sadistic rapists in romance, and for some fucked up reason theres ALOT of them. It just feels... cheap and lazy? I don't know how to describe it properly without me coming off as an insensitive asshole. Yes, women can be rapists, but in this story it felt like it wasnt handled properly. Starting with the fact that none of the characters even say the word 'rape' even though thats exactly what it is. If youre going to have a rape of a character in your book then fucking say the word. Dont beat around the bush. I don't know.... I was really thrown off by the events in this book as it was extremely upsetting to read about.
The rest of my issues with this book - and with the series in general- is the complete lack of world building and the endless plot holes. Theres alot to be desired with the characters and their actions. It felt like the author kept making up new rules as she went.
I will not be continuing with this series, for now, as the next book will feature Brent the sex demon who parades an endless stream of women in front of his future h even though he has feelings for her. Fuck. That. ...more
DNF when the heroine gets randomly upset at... nothing. Is this was 2011 I would have loved this book, but my tastes are older and wiser, which means DNF when the heroine gets randomly upset at... nothing. Is this was 2011 I would have loved this book, but my tastes are older and wiser, which means I cant tolerate the "beautifully damaged heroine that doesnt know shes beautiful" trope. Heroine also reminded me of a kicked puppy. Hero wasnt anything to write home about either. ...more
I believe I’ve said this before, but this time I think I’m officially done with AR books. This book stars: A whimpy-ass heroine who *shocker* is a nauI believe I’ve said this before, but this time I think I’m officially done with AR books. This book stars: A whimpy-ass heroine who *shocker* is a naughty virgin who just discovered her vagina for the first time A creepy pervy villain And a creepy pervy hero that has a hard dick 100% of the book.
I get that this author likes over the top characters but the writing is so bad that it literally makes my teeth hurt. ...more
While engaging and steamy, this just didnt meet its full potential. I really thought this would break the mol**spoiler alert** 3 underwhelming stars.
While engaging and steamy, this just didnt meet its full potential. I really thought this would break the mold of scary hero saves damsel in distress heroine, but it didnt even try.
Let me break it down for you: -Heroine discovers she has super powers and hero comes in to save her -Hero knows right away that heroine is his destined mate -chooses not to mate with her, but can still have sex with her, because he doesnt know how to love -hero makes choices for the heroine for the sake of her feelings -heroine gets captured by bad guy -hero saves heroine -Hero: "Now that you've almost been raped and abused I realize ive been in love with you the entire time! Silly me." Heroine: "Even though you've pushed me away 90% of the book and made me believe you only want me out of convince, I realize I love you too!" -The end.
The chemistry was there, but the "I love you"s felt extremely manufactured considering the hero continuously leaves the heroine alone for most of the book.
Safe I guess. Lots of pushing away by H. No OW/OM drama or other people after meeting Hero isnt a manwhore and heroine isnt a virgin Threat of rape/abuse to the heroine ...more
Are there two Layla Frosts? because I either love her books or loathe them entirely. One one side, she writes these deep charac1 puny star and DNF@50%
Are there two Layla Frosts? because I either love her books or loathe them entirely. One one side, she writes these deep characters like With Us or Give in, and the other has these annoying caricatures that think theyre in a rom com.
Lets start off that the first 25% of the book; it's the heroine going out on badly written dates with caricature-esque type wimpy/clueless men. And then for the next ten or so pages you get to hear a very long recap of the date *you just read about 3 pages before* with her annoying fairy godmother best friend. And OF COURSE the BFF's advice is "you just need to get laid, silly." The hero of the story has yet to make an appearance, and when he finally does come into the story, you have to sit through pages and pages and PAGES of the heroines inner turmoil/best friend gossip.
Everything was just bad. The description makes you think youre going into a darker book but its all just fluff and sad rainbows, because the heroine is 'cursed' but shes cutely optimistic and stubborn as an ox. *said with sarcasm*
I would read three pages, get cringed out by something weird the heroine would say that would come out of left field, and then put it down again. Im sure other people will love this, but I just hate this type of writing, where actions and personalities are over exaggerated and theres no development to the romance part of the story. Adding this to the growing pile of 2018 romance. ...more
**spoiler alert** I usually love Cara Dee's books, and this one had the potential to be one of my favorites, but it fell flat on its face at around th**spoiler alert** I usually love Cara Dee's books, and this one had the potential to be one of my favorites, but it fell flat on its face at around the 50% mark. There was no story except for the MC's sexual chemistry, and even that kept getting pushed back with no real payoff. I thought I was going to get this really emotional story of dealing with Bipolar personality disorder with a lil BDSM kink mixed in, but was disappointed when I got a nervous Nelly beta hero who just started stuttering all over the place the typical heroine.
Also to note something reallyyyyy gross. The alpha hero mentions to the beta hero that he hooked up with the beta hero's father in the past (and the father is now dead from cancer). UMMMM GROSS?!?!?!?!?!?! WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU NEED TO PUT THAT IN YOUR ROMANCE BOOK?!?!?! ...more
2.5 stars Had a solid begging but got more and more frustrating; both characters and plot. 1 reason being that there were too many outside sources that2.5 stars Had a solid begging but got more and more frustrating; both characters and plot. 1 reason being that there were too many outside sources that were getting in the way of the romance. 2nd reason being the heroine, while great at times, could not get her shit together to save her life. The hero deserved so much better.
Will not be reading the next two books about the h's sisters. Nicole is a wet blanket that continues to stay engaged to a man that continuously cheats on her. And Tabby comes off as annoying, erratic, white trash that also freeloads of her family and friends. Not people I route for. ...more
I was so looking forward to Sirius and Malins book, but the couple completely drained me of energy. The pushing and pulling and repeating the same angI was so looking forward to Sirius and Malins book, but the couple completely drained me of energy. The pushing and pulling and repeating the same angsty conversations just put me right to sleep. ...more
This book had alot of ups and downs, mainly ups though so thats how it gets a 4 star review. In the beginning I LOATHED the heroine. Maybe one of the This book had alot of ups and downs, mainly ups though so thats how it gets a 4 star review. In the beginning I LOATHED the heroine. Maybe one of the worst characters ive ever read, but the author managed to give her enough character development to make me change my opinion of her. In the beginning she was selfish, irresponsible, and an entitled princess. And for the first time EVER I was even hoping the hero would do something with another women to wake up the heroine, but it also speaks to how much I loved the hero because he stayed true to the heroine no matter how much she pushed him away. By the end you could see how much her character had grown so it was slightly redeemed.
Safety: 100% safe. Both Virgins when they both meet and there are no other people after meeting. No OW/OM drama except that the heroine is betrothed to the hero of book 3 and hes already in love with someone else. ...more
Enjoyed every minute of this! The dialogue between the MC's was smart and refreshing.Enjoyed every minute of this! The dialogue between the MC's was smart and refreshing....more
I’m marking this as one of the worst endings to a book I’ve ever read. Seriously bad. The author opens up this giant can of worm---Initial thoughts---
I’m marking this as one of the worst endings to a book I’ve ever read. Seriously bad. The author opens up this giant can of worms and then ends the book without any explanation, closure, or epilogue. I feel like I wasted hours of my precious time for a cheap HEA; if I can even call it that.
Up until 90% I was willing to give this 4 stars and I thought I knew what the big reason was for the heros push-pull act... but again, I got absolutely nothing.
---More ranting review below---
So I'm not really a fan of love triangles because someone always gets heart broken OR ends in a MFM relationship *which I am a fan of* and this book proved why I dont read triangles. The guy that didnt get to be the heroines Hero; not only was he "in love" with the heroine but he also wanted the main hero! So double whammy of heart brokenness for the third wheel guy. The author opens up this can of worms that the two men might secretly be in love with each other. I felt like this never was resolved, especially because the author dropped hint after hint that this was going to end in a poly relationship, and it didnt.
The main hero that got the girl pushed SO MUCH for no reason at all. We never got a reason why he did the things he did, not even a half assed excuse of "because I dont deserve you." He was giving the reader the run around for no reason, and because of this, their "HEA" felt incomplete and lackluster.
The heroine; of course she had to be an irresistable virgin. OF COURSE. Because then she wouldn't have been worthy of either men. At first, I liked her character, but with each chapter I got more annoyed with her 'why dont they love me' act. And her whole thing about being a famous artist and how everything she painted turned into a fortune was total horse shit. I think the author was trying to play off the famous street artist Banksy, but it just didnt jive at all.
First book was 4 stars for interesting characters and story development. Second book gets 1 because everything started to fall flat and repetitive. ...more
**spoiler alert** The author dedicates her book to Shonda Rhimes saying "to Shonda, the goddess of take-no-shit women, thank you."
Funny, because this **spoiler alert** The author dedicates her book to Shonda Rhimes saying "to Shonda, the goddess of take-no-shit women, thank you."
Funny, because this heroine was the exact opposite. She stayed with a cheating husband and then cheats herself with the "hero" of the book that wont commit to her and keeps pushing her away for her own good. Yeah, bye.
The writing and flow of the story was also deeply confusing and frustrating. It was like trying to watch tv with beer goggles and ear plugs. ...more
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