Hi friends! Since some ARCs are starting to go out in the world, I thought it’d be a good time to share some content warnings for this one, which I doHi friends! Since some ARCs are starting to go out in the world, I thought it’d be a good time to share some content warnings for this one, which I do not consider a rom-com, even though I still hope these serious topics are balanced with a healthy amount of lightness (and of course, romance):
- PTSD from a random act of violence, including triggers on page - grief from recent death of a close friend - malicious property damage - mentions of past cheating - illness of a parent, but no parent dies on page (nor is any dog harmed)
This book also discusses polyamory, if for any reason that is a tricky subject for you.
I love this book very much. While I do plan on writing more in this world (you can likely guess, after reading this one, who I plan to write more about in the next two books), this will likely be the last adult romance I publish for quite some time, so I hope you enjoy Mae and Dell’s story. Thank you for your support <3...more
**spoiler alert** Okay I have so many thoughts about this one!!
I hear it is one of Kleypas’s least favored, and I can see a few reasons why. Honestly **spoiler alert** Okay I have so many thoughts about this one!!
I hear it is one of Kleypas’s least favored, and I can see a few reasons why. Honestly I think me reading this out of order (having read Winterborne’s book first) helped me out, because I had already fallen so in love with the Ravenels that getting to see more of their beginnings here was a continued delight for me, although a lot about this one did surprise me in its unconventionality (at least, it was an unconventional histrom to me).
I think this probably isn’t ranked high on people’s favorites because the central romance…isn’t super central? I LOVED Kathleen, and I liked her and Devon’s fiery-ness, but there’s also quite a chunk that’s just Kathleen and West becoming friends, while Devon Devons away in London, and a good portion of the last half is simply setting up Helen and Winterborne’s book. It sort of reads at points like Kleypas became more attached to Helen and Winterborne at some point and just went with it lol. (As evidenced by the fact that Kathleen and Devon don’t even make an appearance in the epilogue??) And part of me kind of loves all of that because I also just sensed throughout this one that Lisa Kleypas can do whatever the hell she wants. And good for her!!
I will say though that both Devon and Rhys are often complete dicks in this one, and there’s one critical scene with Kathleen and Devon where the consent is blurry at best, and the one with Rhys at the end definitely veers rather closely toward assault (which was tough to read, as a big Winterborne fan!!). The consent scene did not bother me nearly as much as, say, the rape in The Duke and I—this one almost felt like…both sides were confused, making it more messy than anything?—but I can see that those who are sensitive to consent issues, or toxic masculinity as a whole, might not love this one. I also readily admit that my love of the Ravenels in general might have influenced me to give more things a pass.
Overall, I thought this was an incredible foundation for the rest of the series—we meet so many characters, if even briefly, that will play a part in the rest of the lengthy series, and each one is vibrant and intriguing. That alone made this an impressive and fascinating read to me. Okay I think I’m done (for now!)...more
What an absolute gut punch of a book. Joyce goes HARD with the second chance of it all, and I love how vulnerable and open Georgia was (at least to thWhat an absolute gut punch of a book. Joyce goes HARD with the second chance of it all, and I love how vulnerable and open Georgia was (at least to the reader) with her neediness—for love, for praise, for belonging, because isn't that most of us, really, at our most honest? And don't get me started with the paper rings. What a treasure to have Jessica Joyce writing romance for us...more
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