Eva is a single mother struggling to make ends meet and raise her daughter right. She doesn’t have time for dating, but Seth manages to waltz into her life and sweep her off her feet with his smoldering good looks and effortless charm. Yet Seth isn’t what he seems (he’s secretly an alien, for one) and they’ll have to hope like hell they can make it work—because walking away might not be an option.
Content transphobia, bullying of a minor, assault of a trans minor, graphic descriptions of a skin condition that causes boils and lesions, discussion of human trafficking, hypothetical child abduction, sexual harassment, panic attacks happening on-page, graphic sex scenes, adult language.
MF, fated mates, single mother, short king, ND FMC, reformed bad boy who is actually a cinnamon roll, aliens among us, found family.
I don’t even know where to begin with how amazing this book was! I feel like nothing I say will be adequate. But I’ll try my best 😤🫡
First off- the HUMOR in this book had me literally loling. I have a hard time crying with books, but this one got me GOOD, it was just so beautiful! It moved me to tears in the way my heart hurt for all of them at times, and then in a way that was just pure tears of joy. It was so beautiful to see these 3 different people choose and make space for each other as they got their happily ever after together.
Seph was a straight up panty melting cinnamon roll dream. He was dealt a rough hand early in life, and though he had to do a lot of things he didn’t want to, being indebted to a crime syndicate, he had the best heart, and was fiercely protective of innocents and of those he loves.
Omg Eva! My ND twin! I truly felt like Eva and I were one at times. I felt so seen by her- her autistic-like ND, her autoimmune disease (fuck YES Miranda thank you for giving us a character with a chronic illness and the alien that doesn’t blink and eye, or three!🥹💚). I loved her strength and vulnerability, she was truly such an amazing mom, and doing her best for her trans teen daughter Magdalena in a world that actively is a threat to her. While there was definitely an emotional scenes with Maggie, it was incredibly real and I feel it was important to see that realness, and to see the beauty and power that Trans people and their supportive loved ones have in spite of the world we live in. Also- seeing Seph come to bat for Eva and Maggie so many times just GAH I LOVED IT.
Their HEA at the end was absolutely a perfect conclusion to such a fun and beautiful journey. To see Seph just completely accept and fiercely love both Maggie and Eva, two ND with different challenges in their lives, and then to see them choose him right back, two see them all fight for each other and their little family? Just, all the yes! Omg I don’t want it to be over! I have such a book hang over I can’t even tell you.🥹 This is getting added to my top reads of 2023 list for sure.
Ok down to the deets, this is a medium slow burn, I believe about 2-3 full intimate scenes that are HOTT AF, robust, and lengthy. Seriously Seph can GET IT. That peen was definitely alien, with its suction protrusion in a very advantageous location.
Content Warnings: transphobia, bullying of a minor, assault of a trans minor, graphic descriptions of a skin condition that causes boils and lesions, discussion of human trafficking, hypothetical child abduction, sexual harassment, panic attacks happening on-page, graphic sex scenes, adult language.
Tropes: MF, fated mates, single mother, short king, ND FMC, reformed bad boy who is actually a cinnamon roll, aliens among us, found family.
Levels: Alien-ness: 👽👽👽👽🔘 (Ridges and differently shaped, plus a suction protrusion at the base. YES PLEASE.) MCs Together: 🫂🫂🫂🫂🔘 (The MCs meet around 7% and are pretty much together after that, with little moments apart. Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔘🔘: (First intimate encounter around 34%, they don’t fully seal the deal until around 70%ish I believe) Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🔘🔘 (About 3 spicy scenes at least from what I remember! They were lengthy and detailed to perfection for me!) Humor: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🔘(FREAKING HILARIOUS.) Sweet: 🧁🧁🧁🧁🔘 (Omg full melt, so sweet!) Angst: 😈😈🔘🔘🔘 (A little dash of angst from some characters, nothing overly angsty though.) Action: 💥🔘🔘🔘🔘 (A little bit of action or risk at different moments, but mostly slice of life vibes.)
>>>>>>SPOILER:>>>>>>>>>>There is a third act break up but basically Eva doesn’t let him 🤣)>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Seth/Seph was dreamy AF with his tender acceptance of everything about Eva and Maggie. He was a lil bit insecure, but so was Eva, and they were able to lift each other up. I liked that Eva wasn’t solely responsible for his personal growth though. It kept their relationship from being codependent. Maggie was a good example of a kid being a kid rather than emotionally responsible for the emotions of her parent. Sure, she tried to take on more than she should, but Eva was always quick to reassure that she shouldn’t. I enjoyed the chronic illness, ND, and trans rep in the book!
Spice: 4/5
Mild (kinda) spoilers in trigger warnings
Triggers: transphobia, imprisonment (brief), sexual harassment (brief), physical assault (off page), parent loss (off page), flashbacks
I fell in love with these characters so fast! Gosh the rep in this book is so amazing. Had me feeling all the feels. I really related to Eva as a parent. That fear about being unsure if what you're doing is totally going to ruin your kids' lives....yeah felt that hard. Had me tearing up a bit.
Seph is so swoony and an amazing parnter. Loved reading him go all papa bear with anything involving Mags. It's great that we not only get the romance developing between Seph and Eva but also the family dynamic with them all together and seeing how well Seph just fits in. And their humor was great. Had me giggling the entire book!
The ending was like a warm hug. So happy they all got the perfect life together.
Hope Like Hell was a more emotional read for me than All or Nothing (always check TW!) but just as good! I thought since the previous book took place in space and this one was set on Earth that this book would be fluffier - I was wrong. Don’t know what I expected though because Earth sucks, lol… Miranda’s characters are all so lovable - The MMC, Sephyr, might be my favorite character so far. I loved how quickly he accepted not only FMC Eva, but her daughter Maggie too. The whole dynamic was adorable. And Sephyr’s Earth name being Seth Meyers just… too damn cute. There are lots of other things sprinkled throughout that are very satisfying as a reader (especially if you read All or Nothing) that are best to be discovered organically, I love her sense of humor. I hope we get to lots more stories in this series, I love what we’ve seen so far!
Hope is heartwarming, sweet, and often funny. Definitely read the trigger warnings; the sex scenes are well-written but extremely graphic. I enjoyed the story, although I skimmed the sex scenes. Eva, Maggie, and Seph are so cute and loveable. I'm looking forward to another book in this series.
I adore these characters! They gave me ALL the feels!! Seth and Eva AND Maggie!! The author always finds something to represent and I love that! It was a great mixture of sweet and spicy!!