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Aisle and Error #1
Contractual Obligations
When Lily is offered a ticket out of the career and life she hates, she takes it. Even if it means signing a contract to marry the attractive but aloof Sebastian Miller for five years.
Her job is simple: play the happy house wife in person and on social media and she will get awarded a million dollars of her inheritance. That money is more than enough for her to start a life on her own and away from her controlling parents. It should be easy.
But four years in, she’s more than ready to be done with this marriage. She’s pretty sure her husband hates her, and she longs for the freedom the end of their contract will bring—a freedom that is threatened when she’s called to meet Sebastian’s father, the orchestrator of this whole sham. She worries he will try to extend their contractual marriage.
What he does is worse.
Forced to move across the country due to a promotion for Sebastian is her worst nightmare, but her only choice is to pretend to be fine.
She prepares for the last year of their marriage to be more cold indifference, but being stuck in a new city shows a sweeter side of Sebastian that Lily never thought possible. Gone is the indifferent man she knows. In his place is the kind and patient man of her dreams.
But their clock is ticking—only one year of their marriage remains. Will they find love or will contractual obligations get in the way?
Contractual Obligations is a full length, standalone novel written in first person. If you like heartwarming romance, protective husbands, and spicy action, then this is the novel for you!
Her job is simple: play the happy house wife in person and on social media and she will get awarded a million dollars of her inheritance. That money is more than enough for her to start a life on her own and away from her controlling parents. It should be easy.
But four years in, she’s more than ready to be done with this marriage. She’s pretty sure her husband hates her, and she longs for the freedom the end of their contract will bring—a freedom that is threatened when she’s called to meet Sebastian’s father, the orchestrator of this whole sham. She worries he will try to extend their contractual marriage.
What he does is worse.
Forced to move across the country due to a promotion for Sebastian is her worst nightmare, but her only choice is to pretend to be fine.
She prepares for the last year of their marriage to be more cold indifference, but being stuck in a new city shows a sweeter side of Sebastian that Lily never thought possible. Gone is the indifferent man she knows. In his place is the kind and patient man of her dreams.
But their clock is ticking—only one year of their marriage remains. Will they find love or will contractual obligations get in the way?
Contractual Obligations is a full length, standalone novel written in first person. If you like heartwarming romance, protective husbands, and spicy action, then this is the novel for you!
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First published April 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,551 reviews
September 5, 2023
The girl was so unbearable during at least half the book, when she used a « smart » word she was like « oh no omg I grilled my cover » when this bitch just said the word achromatic like girl be for real
June 26, 2023
bestie was sleeping with makeup on every night 😭
December 3, 2025
I could not with this book. It felt childish and both MC just didn’t develop at all. How come they couldn’t stand up for themselves sooner? Both of them are whole ass adults and they couldn’t even talk back to their parents????? Somebody hold me back because I wanted to smack some sense into them both
The whole book went around in circles with their relationship and the contract. With the FMC always having the excuse of “I can’t do this because of the contract.” “The contract says this/that” Bitch, please.
You’re telling me this woman is a best selling world record author who is getting movies and tv shows adaptations OF HER BOOKS AND SHE CAN’T EVEN STAND UP FOR HERSELF?????? “MOM IM DONE GOODBYE” so easy to say. she even says multiple times that she has her own money from the books so she wouldn’t really need the inheritance.
She just felt so immature. Also, our girly here was sleeping WITH A FULL FACE OF MAKEUP EVERY NIGHT. dear husband had no idea what her face looked like bare AFTER FOUR YEARS OF BEING MARRIED. AND SLEEPING NEXT TO EACH OTHER. AND BEING IN THE SAME HOUSE. make it make sense.
Let’s not even get started on the husband, why couldn’t he do anything? Isn’t he the CFO of the company? He can’t say back to his mommy and daddy “sorry parents, from now on, I’m done. You don’t control me anymore” omg he felt so stale in the plot and really didn’t contribute anything to it. He was just a mannequin in the story.
The ending felt anticlimactic because why after the “progress” that we had are you throwing in a major ass miscommunication just to drag on the agony uselessly and just suddenly it’s all sunny and rainbows?? It felt so rushed.
The whole book went around in circles with their relationship and the contract. With the FMC always having the excuse of “I can’t do this because of the contract.” “The contract says this/that” Bitch, please.
You’re telling me this woman is a best selling world record author who is getting movies and tv shows adaptations OF HER BOOKS AND SHE CAN’T EVEN STAND UP FOR HERSELF?????? “MOM IM DONE GOODBYE” so easy to say. she even says multiple times that she has her own money from the books so she wouldn’t really need the inheritance.
She just felt so immature. Also, our girly here was sleeping WITH A FULL FACE OF MAKEUP EVERY NIGHT. dear husband had no idea what her face looked like bare AFTER FOUR YEARS OF BEING MARRIED. AND SLEEPING NEXT TO EACH OTHER. AND BEING IN THE SAME HOUSE. make it make sense.
Let’s not even get started on the husband, why couldn’t he do anything? Isn’t he the CFO of the company? He can’t say back to his mommy and daddy “sorry parents, from now on, I’m done. You don’t control me anymore” omg he felt so stale in the plot and really didn’t contribute anything to it. He was just a mannequin in the story.
The ending felt anticlimactic because why after the “progress” that we had are you throwing in a major ass miscommunication just to drag on the agony uselessly and just suddenly it’s all sunny and rainbows?? It felt so rushed.
February 6, 2025
💥 1 STAR—THIS BOOK MADE ME WANT TO BANG MY HEAD AGAINST THE WALL 💥
Oh, the betrayal. The deception. The absolute scam. I picked this up thinking I was diving into an angsty, marriage-in-crisis romance because Instagram ads sold me a dream. But ohhh nooo, I got a contract marriage mess with zero tension, zero stakes, and zero personality. Why do I do this to myself? Why don’t I read reviews first?? I need an intervention.
So Lily (our FMC) is stuck in a five-year marriage contract with Sebastian (our MMC, whose entire personality is “man standing in a room”). She plays happy influencer wife for her inheritance, but by year four, she’s so over it. Problem? She has the spine of a cooked noodle and makes her entire existence about this contract. THEN—PLOT TWIST—she has to move for his job, and suddenly Sebastian starts acting like a human being. What follows is miscommunication hell, an identity crisis, and a rushed, underwhelming ending that made me question my life choices.
🔥 THE PROBLEMS 🔥
📌 Lily is unbearable. She’s supposed to be smart but literally panics every time she uses a big word like she’s about to get arrested for intelligence.
📌 The makeup. Bestie was sleeping with a full face of makeup EVERY NIGHT like it’s 2014 Tumblr. My pores are screaming.
📌 The dialogue is straight out of Wattpad. 90% of the book is talking, no real plot. If you asked me to describe these characters without mentioning the contract, I would have nothing to say.
📌 The miscommunication made me want to throw my phone. They’re grown adults but act like confused high schoolers.
📌 Sebastian = wallpaper. He was just… there. No depth, no personality. If you replaced him with an AI-generated husband, I wouldn’t have noticed.
📌 The ending was a joke. Like, what do you mean he suddenly can’t afford a mortgage?? He’s a CFO. Make it make sense.
📌 Did an editor even touch this? Plot holes everywhere. Basic contract law ignored. My brain was fighting for its life.
📌 Who thought this should be published??? Because I have questions.
╰┈➤ FINAL VERDICT: This book played me like a fool. If I wanted circular, frustrating dialogue with no real development, I’d argue with myself in the mirror. 1 star and a headache.
Y’ALL PLS PRAY MY NEXT READS ARE BETTER, BECAUSE IF I HAVE ONE MORE BAD READ, IMMA GONNA CRY. 😭
Oh, the betrayal. The deception. The absolute scam. I picked this up thinking I was diving into an angsty, marriage-in-crisis romance because Instagram ads sold me a dream. But ohhh nooo, I got a contract marriage mess with zero tension, zero stakes, and zero personality. Why do I do this to myself? Why don’t I read reviews first?? I need an intervention.
So Lily (our FMC) is stuck in a five-year marriage contract with Sebastian (our MMC, whose entire personality is “man standing in a room”). She plays happy influencer wife for her inheritance, but by year four, she’s so over it. Problem? She has the spine of a cooked noodle and makes her entire existence about this contract. THEN—PLOT TWIST—she has to move for his job, and suddenly Sebastian starts acting like a human being. What follows is miscommunication hell, an identity crisis, and a rushed, underwhelming ending that made me question my life choices.
🔥 THE PROBLEMS 🔥
📌 Lily is unbearable. She’s supposed to be smart but literally panics every time she uses a big word like she’s about to get arrested for intelligence.
📌 The makeup. Bestie was sleeping with a full face of makeup EVERY NIGHT like it’s 2014 Tumblr. My pores are screaming.
📌 The dialogue is straight out of Wattpad. 90% of the book is talking, no real plot. If you asked me to describe these characters without mentioning the contract, I would have nothing to say.
📌 The miscommunication made me want to throw my phone. They’re grown adults but act like confused high schoolers.
📌 Sebastian = wallpaper. He was just… there. No depth, no personality. If you replaced him with an AI-generated husband, I wouldn’t have noticed.
📌 The ending was a joke. Like, what do you mean he suddenly can’t afford a mortgage?? He’s a CFO. Make it make sense.
📌 Did an editor even touch this? Plot holes everywhere. Basic contract law ignored. My brain was fighting for its life.
📌 Who thought this should be published??? Because I have questions.
╰┈➤ FINAL VERDICT: This book played me like a fool. If I wanted circular, frustrating dialogue with no real development, I’d argue with myself in the mirror. 1 star and a headache.
Y’ALL PLS PRAY MY NEXT READS ARE BETTER, BECAUSE IF I HAVE ONE MORE BAD READ, IMMA GONNA CRY. 😭
July 5, 2023
major wattpad vibes. all dialogue no real plot. i couldn’t give you a solid description of the characters but i can easily describe the kitchen because it is the one image that was clearly painted.
June 18, 2023
chatgpt writes better than this
August 7, 2023
Sometimes a book doesn’t need to be a literature masterpiece to be 5 stars
I devoured this in under 24 hours
I devoured this in under 24 hours
November 25, 2023
Who told them it’s was a good idea to published the book??
October 28, 2024
╰┈➤ 1 star!
i read this book because of tiktok, and i guess it's my fault for expecting too much from it. i really could not with this book. i didn't understand both of their characters because at one point they would seem in love, but then they'll pull away from each other as if they haven't tied the knot already? it felt as if everything was in circles because i couldn't really see where the story was heading.
i read this book because of tiktok, and i guess it's my fault for expecting too much from it. i really could not with this book. i didn't understand both of their characters because at one point they would seem in love, but then they'll pull away from each other as if they haven't tied the knot already? it felt as if everything was in circles because i couldn't really see where the story was heading.
June 26, 2023
What even is this
May 23, 2023
Cringey and Shallow
The main character might seem like the perfect woman, but she’s not like other girls- she watches Game of Thrones and likes to read (how disgusting!!).
The narrator has absolutely zero complexity and her narration does not reflect her upbringing in any way aside from the random comments the author includes to remind us that her mom is a bitch. I honest to god could not read this book longer than five minutes because of the awful writing and how jaw droppingly cringey Lilly was. I am by no means a writer and I love a good guilty read but this was so bad I couldn’t enjoy an ounce of it.
The main character might seem like the perfect woman, but she’s not like other girls- she watches Game of Thrones and likes to read (how disgusting!!).
The narrator has absolutely zero complexity and her narration does not reflect her upbringing in any way aside from the random comments the author includes to remind us that her mom is a bitch. I honest to god could not read this book longer than five minutes because of the awful writing and how jaw droppingly cringey Lilly was. I am by no means a writer and I love a good guilty read but this was so bad I couldn’t enjoy an ounce of it.
June 29, 2023
If I have to read one more time about how Lily is slipping accidentally into writer Lily, I’m gonna hurl myself off of a cliff.
This had potential. I LOOOOVE the arranged marriage trope. You know what made this so bad aside from the poor writing and annoying as hell characters? The miscommunication trope.
Over and over and over again, the central conflict within this book is the fact that these two dimwits DON’T TALK. God, this was such a frustrating read.
Lily is spineless, she’s a literal invertebrate and the scene that annoyed me SO MUCH is that the moment she stands up to her poor excuse of a “friend”, she decides to forgiver her??? Like girl, get a grip and learn to set boundaries and actually hold a grudge damn.
The issue on parental pressure and body image and everything could have been emphasized and written SOOOO much better as well but ugh I feel like these issues weren’t handled as best? I feel like there could have been a greater focus and struggle especially since Lily was a model ugh.
I had so many highlights from this book that were due to the sheer ridiculousness of the dialogue.
Exhibit A: “Every crack in your old persona was a wakeup call for me, illuminating the real you and not the person you had to be.” LIKE SURE, NICE BUT YOU’RE TELLING ME THIS WAS SAID OUT LOUD? IN REAL LIFE???
Exhibit B:
“That is… a very eloquent way to put it.”
“Ugh my filter is gone. Please forget I said any of this.”
ELOQUENT EVEN THOUGH IT’S LITERALLY JUST NORMAL WORDS?
Exhibit C:
“You just seem… entranced.”
“I am. I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s the amber of the streetlights, illuminating everyone in a softness that filters out their hard edges….”
AGAIN, YOU WANT ME TO BELIEVE SOMEONE SAYS AMBER OF THE STREETLIGHTS OUT LOUD? Just terrible, terrible flat characters and terrible conversation.
Another thing, this book really said wham bam thank you Ma’am. Zero tension. Zero. If you want a good smut romance read go away and pick up something else. The characters had zero sexual tension and I’m pretty sure there’s more static going on between me and a metal pole.
I read this right after a good fantasy read as a nice “cleanser” but after reading this I think I’ll stick with fantasy. I wish I liked this but I really didn’t.
This had potential. I LOOOOVE the arranged marriage trope. You know what made this so bad aside from the poor writing and annoying as hell characters? The miscommunication trope.
Over and over and over again, the central conflict within this book is the fact that these two dimwits DON’T TALK. God, this was such a frustrating read.
Lily is spineless, she’s a literal invertebrate and the scene that annoyed me SO MUCH is that the moment she stands up to her poor excuse of a “friend”, she decides to forgiver her??? Like girl, get a grip and learn to set boundaries and actually hold a grudge damn.
The issue on parental pressure and body image and everything could have been emphasized and written SOOOO much better as well but ugh I feel like these issues weren’t handled as best? I feel like there could have been a greater focus and struggle especially since Lily was a model ugh.
I had so many highlights from this book that were due to the sheer ridiculousness of the dialogue.
Exhibit A: “Every crack in your old persona was a wakeup call for me, illuminating the real you and not the person you had to be.” LIKE SURE, NICE BUT YOU’RE TELLING ME THIS WAS SAID OUT LOUD? IN REAL LIFE???
Exhibit B:
“That is… a very eloquent way to put it.”
“Ugh my filter is gone. Please forget I said any of this.”
ELOQUENT EVEN THOUGH IT’S LITERALLY JUST NORMAL WORDS?
Exhibit C:
“You just seem… entranced.”
“I am. I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s the amber of the streetlights, illuminating everyone in a softness that filters out their hard edges….”
AGAIN, YOU WANT ME TO BELIEVE SOMEONE SAYS AMBER OF THE STREETLIGHTS OUT LOUD? Just terrible, terrible flat characters and terrible conversation.
Another thing, this book really said wham bam thank you Ma’am. Zero tension. Zero. If you want a good smut romance read go away and pick up something else. The characters had zero sexual tension and I’m pretty sure there’s more static going on between me and a metal pole.
I read this right after a good fantasy read as a nice “cleanser” but after reading this I think I’ll stick with fantasy. I wish I liked this but I really didn’t.
August 27, 2023
Do yourself a favour and stay far away from this monstrosity. I feel personally victimised by this book and the people recommended it.
This started as a solid three star read and maintained itself at that for a good 60% of the book. It then rapidly devolved into one of the dumbest books I’ve ever read. By the 80% mark I was questioning why I’d even picked it up in the first place and by 90% I realised it was too late to dnf. Honestly felt like throwing up reading the epilogue. What a disaster.
I can’t believe this is so highly recommended, it actually has no redeemable qualities. Both the FMC and love interest suck and are as interesting as a piece of cardboar. The plot is ridiculous. The family are awful (they’re intended to be so but the way it’s written just made me roll my eyes).
I wasted 3 hours reading this, I’ll never get that time back.
I have nothing good to say about this and what I want to say isn’t for polite company so I’ll leave it at that.
This started as a solid three star read and maintained itself at that for a good 60% of the book. It then rapidly devolved into one of the dumbest books I’ve ever read. By the 80% mark I was questioning why I’d even picked it up in the first place and by 90% I realised it was too late to dnf. Honestly felt like throwing up reading the epilogue. What a disaster.
I can’t believe this is so highly recommended, it actually has no redeemable qualities. Both the FMC and love interest suck and are as interesting as a piece of cardboar. The plot is ridiculous. The family are awful (they’re intended to be so but the way it’s written just made me roll my eyes).
I wasted 3 hours reading this, I’ll never get that time back.
I have nothing good to say about this and what I want to say isn’t for polite company so I’ll leave it at that.
April 2, 2023
**I received this book as an ARC - thank you Elle for allowing me an early peek at Lily and Sebastian’s story. Please look up potential trigger warnings for this story**
*may contain spoilers, I tried to be as vague as possible*
If there’s one thing I enjoy reading it’s an arranged marriage/marriage of convenience trope. So this intrigued me right from the beginning.
It definitely is a slow-burn book, but I didn’t mind at all. There was a continuous flow to the story that made me want to keep reading.
The influence of toxic parents plays a big role. I can only praise the author for using such a problematic topic and writing about it in a respectful way without romanticizing the troublesome aspect of it. As a reader you can only appreciate that, because it’s not used to be a conflict filler, but actually used to build a story and a stronger character.
The way my stomach twisted the way Lily’s mother spoke to her and set rules and restrictions in place to know this used to be Lily’s normal, was just heartbreaking.
Both Lily and Sebastian have their likes and dislikes as characters, but when they finally decide to start coming/working together it actually becomes a beautiful story with a deeper meaning. I loved reading about them both growing closer together as they moved to a new city. Trying to find common grounds to talk about and open up to one another. I liked that Sebastian kept pushing conversations when possible and actually wanting to get to know her once her constant state of “online persona” fades away in front of him.
As the book moves forward, Sebastian helps Lily understand that the circumstances she’s lived under aren’t ordinary and Lily shows Sebastian that she’s more than just an online influencer.
The smut kept happening organically without it being a fill-up or overused method to fill the pages.
I found myself holding my breath the closer I got to the end, but luckily there was no third-act break-up and I’m glad they talked things out like adults. The communication was strong there.
What did I miss in this book? POVs from Sebastian. There were certain points in the book where I was finding myself wondering what Sebastian was thinking and why he acted the way he did in certain situations. It would’ve created more depth for both characters.
Unhinged Lily in the final act was definitely my favourite Lily. She’s finally able to stand up for what she wants and not afraid to hold back by standing up to herself.
The only two minor things for me were, that are personal preferences than it being dislikes.
1) The mention/usage of Instagram. With the internet moving so fast, it takes away from it being a timeless story. I would’ve preferred reading about a fake online platform or just the picture posts she does without instagram having been mentioned by name.
2) The duration of the contract (5 years) and the 4 years they spend not talking to one another. It’s such a long time to go without getting to know one another or at least talk a little. I felt like it could’ve been a shorter term of contract rather than having it been 5 years.
Overall I still enjoyed this book very much.
*may contain spoilers, I tried to be as vague as possible*
If there’s one thing I enjoy reading it’s an arranged marriage/marriage of convenience trope. So this intrigued me right from the beginning.
It definitely is a slow-burn book, but I didn’t mind at all. There was a continuous flow to the story that made me want to keep reading.
The influence of toxic parents plays a big role. I can only praise the author for using such a problematic topic and writing about it in a respectful way without romanticizing the troublesome aspect of it. As a reader you can only appreciate that, because it’s not used to be a conflict filler, but actually used to build a story and a stronger character.
The way my stomach twisted the way Lily’s mother spoke to her and set rules and restrictions in place to know this used to be Lily’s normal, was just heartbreaking.
Both Lily and Sebastian have their likes and dislikes as characters, but when they finally decide to start coming/working together it actually becomes a beautiful story with a deeper meaning. I loved reading about them both growing closer together as they moved to a new city. Trying to find common grounds to talk about and open up to one another. I liked that Sebastian kept pushing conversations when possible and actually wanting to get to know her once her constant state of “online persona” fades away in front of him.
As the book moves forward, Sebastian helps Lily understand that the circumstances she’s lived under aren’t ordinary and Lily shows Sebastian that she’s more than just an online influencer.
The smut kept happening organically without it being a fill-up or overused method to fill the pages.
I found myself holding my breath the closer I got to the end, but luckily there was no third-act break-up and I’m glad they talked things out like adults. The communication was strong there.
What did I miss in this book? POVs from Sebastian. There were certain points in the book where I was finding myself wondering what Sebastian was thinking and why he acted the way he did in certain situations. It would’ve created more depth for both characters.
Unhinged Lily in the final act was definitely my favourite Lily. She’s finally able to stand up for what she wants and not afraid to hold back by standing up to herself.
The only two minor things for me were, that are personal preferences than it being dislikes.
1) The mention/usage of Instagram. With the internet moving so fast, it takes away from it being a timeless story. I would’ve preferred reading about a fake online platform or just the picture posts she does without instagram having been mentioned by name.
2) The duration of the contract (5 years) and the 4 years they spend not talking to one another. It’s such a long time to go without getting to know one another or at least talk a little. I felt like it could’ve been a shorter term of contract rather than having it been 5 years.
Overall I still enjoyed this book very much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 8, 2024ChatGPT has more of a personality than both of them.
June 1, 2023
I'm sorry but I'm really confused. It was really hard for me to read this book. It's the first but I felt disgusted by the parents of both main characters.
The plot of the book was very great but unfortunately it was unsuccessful. The whole book the main characters were puppets of their parents. If I found solace in the books then this time I wanted to run away from it. I have so many questions in my head. Like, they're adults but they're still submissive to their deceased parents. Just for the money or the inheritance? When they knew how awful their parents were. The first action in general should have been running away. But they just got insulted by their parents.
There was very little interaction between the main characters. Sebastian no matter how much I felt sorry for him I still feel like the character was dry.
The only positive thing is Lily of course she did stupid things too but that's the only character I got into.
The plot of the book was very great but unfortunately it was unsuccessful. The whole book the main characters were puppets of their parents. If I found solace in the books then this time I wanted to run away from it. I have so many questions in my head. Like, they're adults but they're still submissive to their deceased parents. Just for the money or the inheritance? When they knew how awful their parents were. The first action in general should have been running away. But they just got insulted by their parents.
There was very little interaction between the main characters. Sebastian no matter how much I felt sorry for him I still feel like the character was dry.
The only positive thing is Lily of course she did stupid things too but that's the only character I got into.
March 28, 2024
If this book can get published, maybe I should write a book on 'The Art of Napping'! 💤
This book was a tough slog. The story had potential, but the writing was weak. The characters were annoying, and the main ones felt like they were just puppets controlled by their parents. There was zero chemistry or spark between them...... It was like listening to a story told by toddlers, except it was coming from two fully grown adults. The author relied heavily on the miscommunication trope throughout the story.
I seriously can't understand what is going on with Lily.. she is a forced child model and has to marry someone to get the money she earned from modeling 😐. Then she is a famous writer (with a pen name so nobody knows her) and is getting films/show for her book series which means she has money but she is going with the contract marriage to get her freedom back. She slept with makeup on every night! There is no depth to her character and her upbringing except a random comment on how her mother is a bad person😒.
And Don't even get me started on Sebastian. Uhgggg....😮💨
This book was a tough slog. The story had potential, but the writing was weak. The characters were annoying, and the main ones felt like they were just puppets controlled by their parents. There was zero chemistry or spark between them...... It was like listening to a story told by toddlers, except it was coming from two fully grown adults. The author relied heavily on the miscommunication trope throughout the story.
I seriously can't understand what is going on with Lily.. she is a forced child model and has to marry someone to get the money she earned from modeling 😐. Then she is a famous writer (with a pen name so nobody knows her) and is getting films/show for her book series which means she has money but she is going with the contract marriage to get her freedom back. She slept with makeup on every night! There is no depth to her character and her upbringing except a random comment on how her mother is a bad person😒.
And Don't even get me started on Sebastian. Uhgggg....😮💨
September 22, 2023
3 ☆
It pains me to say this, especially to a book from such a talented author, but this was wasted potential :/
I finished “to make matters worse” two days ago and the contrast in quality is astonishing.
The book overall isn’t bad, the premise is great and the entire idea of a contractual marriage where both of them have to play a role is fantastic, but sadly it lacked substance and character dimension.
the thing that bothered me the most was the lack of a real threat.
We are told they (the hero and heroine) have to be in this contractual marriage for 5 years so she can be free and get her inheritance (money she earned by being forced to child model) and he gets to…keep his job?? Tbh i cant say much about his side because i didn’t get what his bargain was. But both of them are stuck and hate their parents because they are abusive (his physicality and emotional, and her emotional like Yolanda hadid bully style)
But the thing is, she is a famous writer that is getting film/show for her books series (she has a pen name so no one knows) so she has money, and he has a good resume, has money saved up and idk. So the entire ‘threat’ that keeps them so tied to this contract and sham marriage doesn’t make sense at all.
(This isn’t spoilers, its mentioned early on)
all of the plot without that is just miscommunication or lack of communication. they’ve never talked properly and she acts like a doll. And get she was conditioned to act that way and think she has to but idk it just felt very immature.
Plus they are both grown adults, it just doesn’t make sense.
From a more positive note, i do have to say I really like the social media posts and that type of writing, it really added more to the story, it made sense for the plot, heroine and it was realistic too, like people online, specially on instagram and TikTok are mad nosy. Its crazy how it may sound exaggerated but if you check any influencer couple’s comments you will she the same thing as in this book.
Also the portrayal of a toxic almond mom was on point, i said it a few paragraphs ago but she really does give yolanda hadid vibes, or like one from dance moms.
So yeah, i love how elle rivers writes and i still like her other books, its just a pity this one was lacking that BANG.
Ps. Also the ml doesn’t know how to grovel, like he only actually fr fcked up one time and bro didn’t properly apologise, it was forgotten in LESS THAN TWI OAGES BRUH.
It pains me to say this, especially to a book from such a talented author, but this was wasted potential :/
I finished “to make matters worse” two days ago and the contrast in quality is astonishing.
The book overall isn’t bad, the premise is great and the entire idea of a contractual marriage where both of them have to play a role is fantastic, but sadly it lacked substance and character dimension.
the thing that bothered me the most was the lack of a real threat.
We are told they (the hero and heroine) have to be in this contractual marriage for 5 years so she can be free and get her inheritance (money she earned by being forced to child model) and he gets to…keep his job?? Tbh i cant say much about his side because i didn’t get what his bargain was. But both of them are stuck and hate their parents because they are abusive (his physicality and emotional, and her emotional like Yolanda hadid bully style)
But the thing is, she is a famous writer that is getting film/show for her books series (she has a pen name so no one knows) so she has money, and he has a good resume, has money saved up and idk. So the entire ‘threat’ that keeps them so tied to this contract and sham marriage doesn’t make sense at all.
(This isn’t spoilers, its mentioned early on)
all of the plot without that is just miscommunication or lack of communication. they’ve never talked properly and she acts like a doll. And get she was conditioned to act that way and think she has to but idk it just felt very immature.
Plus they are both grown adults, it just doesn’t make sense.
From a more positive note, i do have to say I really like the social media posts and that type of writing, it really added more to the story, it made sense for the plot, heroine and it was realistic too, like people online, specially on instagram and TikTok are mad nosy. Its crazy how it may sound exaggerated but if you check any influencer couple’s comments you will she the same thing as in this book.
Also the portrayal of a toxic almond mom was on point, i said it a few paragraphs ago but she really does give yolanda hadid vibes, or like one from dance moms.
So yeah, i love how elle rivers writes and i still like her other books, its just a pity this one was lacking that BANG.
Ps. Also the ml doesn’t know how to grovel, like he only actually fr fcked up one time and bro didn’t properly apologise, it was forgotten in LESS THAN TWI OAGES BRUH.
November 17, 2024
By no means is this the best book ever written, but it did what I wanted it to do so yeah 🤷🏽♀️
June 26, 2023
While reading I just kept reiterating this is so bad.
June 3, 2023
it was ok
If we’re being honest, I thought I was going to enjoy this book I really did. I was hooked on the premise based off a Instagram ad, I think the author herself posted, that being said, I was highly disappointed here are my reasons:
One, not only was the miscommunication trope used, It was used consistently by the author as a plot device to continue the story which was really annoying, and honestly just kind of felt immature and childish coming from these two grown adult characters, like the fact that they could not communicate about simple things just irritated my nerves, for example, the Fmc, Lily, would constantly get mad about Things that have happened between her and the MMC, Sebastion , but these things easily could’ve been solved if she did not unfairly draw her own conclusions and just asked him what was wrong or just “why?”
Lily is also insanely insecure and she let her insecurities get in the way of her relationship with Sebastion and often projected her insecurities onto the relationship with which got on my nerves because of you’re insecure you need to work on focusing on trying to find self worth for yourself, self love, and learn to appreciate yourself more instead of trying to find it yourself in other people because at that point it doesn’t really feel like the relationship is genuine. And I’m not saying her and Sebastion‘s relationship isn’t genuine but it was times where I felt like maybe they both need a break after this contract was over, Lily most definitely needs some therapy…
I also hated how Lily centered her life around the contract and made it only seem she can do certain things as long as it complied with the contract like the contract only restricts you from doing certain things, you had to stay married to this dude for five years, you can’t cheat on him you have to post on social media etc. etc. but notice how pretending or putting on this front acting like an airhead isn’t one of them. Lily chose to do that under the impression of wanting to essentially make her mother proud (I guess?) but she didn’t have to do that in front of Sebastion she chose to do it and in the end made herself miserable(?). Plus they were obligated to stay married anyway whether she was “airhead, Lily” or “writer Lily”. It didn’t matter if he liked one of the other, because he had to marry her anyway to fulfill the contract so it doesn’t matter if she was herself or not, so if it didn’t matter, why not choose to be yourself?
I’m doing a lot of talk about Lily but let’s get into Sebastion let me say this about Sebastion he was just there. Sebastion was a very static character. It just didn’t feel like he had any purpose other than being the main character’s love interest. Which I guess is his purpose but it was just it was very questionable his role in the story. When his attitude changed so quickly it was kind of weird because how can you say that you cared about this person all the four years you’ve technically been together but never actually had a genuine conversation with her for all four years like make it make sense..
but I really enjoyed Sebastion ‘s character a lot more than Lily’s, I felt like he was a bit more logical and rational when it came to making some decisions in this book, were as Lily sometimes came off as completely irrational and illogical when making decisions in this book, so thats something.
Also, the ending felt very rushed and unplanned and also just didn’t make sense contextually wise because what are you saying when saying that Sebastion does not have enough money to pay a mortgage? He literally bought you a whole house in LA with nice views I know that house cost more than $1 million, and he is the CEO or CFO of multi million dollar company. What do you mean he does not have money?? (luckily the author cleared this up at the end) also, a contract is not applicable if you do not sign it. if you do not sign a contract, no matter what it says it does not make it effective. If you did not sign the revised contract of the original contract that revised contract is not applicable either, the only contract that can be applicable is the contract that signed, which is the original contract that does not have the clause that was in the revised contract, so even if she didn’t sign the contract, she still would’ve gotten her inheritance because that was what was promised to her through completion, and nothing in the original contract said she couldn’t get it if she didn’t sign the other.
This review ended up being a rant, but I honestly just wanted to get my thoughts out there, and it just happened to take a negative turn, but I gave this book 2 stars instead of one because the idea of the book was good, the premise of it had like opportunity to be a good book, but the execution just wasn’t for me. I feel like if this book had more time and a bit more planning it could’ve been everything it wanted to be, this however wasn’t that.
(Didn’t proofread and used text-to-speech)
If we’re being honest, I thought I was going to enjoy this book I really did. I was hooked on the premise based off a Instagram ad, I think the author herself posted, that being said, I was highly disappointed here are my reasons:
One, not only was the miscommunication trope used, It was used consistently by the author as a plot device to continue the story which was really annoying, and honestly just kind of felt immature and childish coming from these two grown adult characters, like the fact that they could not communicate about simple things just irritated my nerves, for example, the Fmc, Lily, would constantly get mad about Things that have happened between her and the MMC, Sebastion , but these things easily could’ve been solved if she did not unfairly draw her own conclusions and just asked him what was wrong or just “why?”
Lily is also insanely insecure and she let her insecurities get in the way of her relationship with Sebastion and often projected her insecurities onto the relationship with which got on my nerves because of you’re insecure you need to work on focusing on trying to find self worth for yourself, self love, and learn to appreciate yourself more instead of trying to find it yourself in other people because at that point it doesn’t really feel like the relationship is genuine. And I’m not saying her and Sebastion‘s relationship isn’t genuine but it was times where I felt like maybe they both need a break after this contract was over, Lily most definitely needs some therapy…
I also hated how Lily centered her life around the contract and made it only seem she can do certain things as long as it complied with the contract like the contract only restricts you from doing certain things, you had to stay married to this dude for five years, you can’t cheat on him you have to post on social media etc. etc. but notice how pretending or putting on this front acting like an airhead isn’t one of them. Lily chose to do that under the impression of wanting to essentially make her mother proud (I guess?) but she didn’t have to do that in front of Sebastion she chose to do it and in the end made herself miserable(?). Plus they were obligated to stay married anyway whether she was “airhead, Lily” or “writer Lily”. It didn’t matter if he liked one of the other, because he had to marry her anyway to fulfill the contract so it doesn’t matter if she was herself or not, so if it didn’t matter, why not choose to be yourself?
I’m doing a lot of talk about Lily but let’s get into Sebastion let me say this about Sebastion he was just there. Sebastion was a very static character. It just didn’t feel like he had any purpose other than being the main character’s love interest. Which I guess is his purpose but it was just it was very questionable his role in the story. When his attitude changed so quickly it was kind of weird because how can you say that you cared about this person all the four years you’ve technically been together but never actually had a genuine conversation with her for all four years like make it make sense..
but I really enjoyed Sebastion ‘s character a lot more than Lily’s, I felt like he was a bit more logical and rational when it came to making some decisions in this book, were as Lily sometimes came off as completely irrational and illogical when making decisions in this book, so thats something.
Also, the ending felt very rushed and unplanned and also just didn’t make sense contextually wise because what are you saying when saying that Sebastion does not have enough money to pay a mortgage? He literally bought you a whole house in LA with nice views I know that house cost more than $1 million, and he is the CEO or CFO of multi million dollar company. What do you mean he does not have money?? (luckily the author cleared this up at the end) also, a contract is not applicable if you do not sign it. if you do not sign a contract, no matter what it says it does not make it effective. If you did not sign the revised contract of the original contract that revised contract is not applicable either, the only contract that can be applicable is the contract that signed, which is the original contract that does not have the clause that was in the revised contract, so even if she didn’t sign the contract, she still would’ve gotten her inheritance because that was what was promised to her through completion, and nothing in the original contract said she couldn’t get it if she didn’t sign the other.
This review ended up being a rant, but I honestly just wanted to get my thoughts out there, and it just happened to take a negative turn, but I gave this book 2 stars instead of one because the idea of the book was good, the premise of it had like opportunity to be a good book, but the execution just wasn’t for me. I feel like if this book had more time and a bit more planning it could’ve been everything it wanted to be, this however wasn’t that.
(Didn’t proofread and used text-to-speech)
May 15, 2023
I was not expecting this but I loved every second of it!
~Lily only needed to be married for five years to finally to be free. Four years later and she’s convinced her husband hates her.. Until their unexpected move across the country shows her a side of Sebastian she’s never seen before.~
This book had me feeling so many things. Between the forced marriage, toxic family, and the contract.. wowza! The growth in Lily and Sebastian was amazing to witness. But Lily though.. I LOVED her growth and determination. The way she chose to express her emotions is EPIC!! And I adored that revelation so much. IYKYK. 😍
I honestly can’t even think of the words to sum up how good this was. Highly recommend!
~Lily only needed to be married for five years to finally to be free. Four years later and she’s convinced her husband hates her.. Until their unexpected move across the country shows her a side of Sebastian she’s never seen before.~
This book had me feeling so many things. Between the forced marriage, toxic family, and the contract.. wowza! The growth in Lily and Sebastian was amazing to witness. But Lily though.. I LOVED her growth and determination. The way she chose to express her emotions is EPIC!! And I adored that revelation so much. IYKYK. 😍
I honestly can’t even think of the words to sum up how good this was. Highly recommend!
May 28, 2023
twisted goodness!
4.5 stars.
This is the most twisted arranged marriage story with two abused young people semi forced into a marriage.
It's a lot. And i may have to think for a while.
4.5 stars.
This is the most twisted arranged marriage story with two abused young people semi forced into a marriage.
It's a lot. And i may have to think for a while.
January 6, 2024
horrible horrible horrible! the fact he believed what her mom said after everything??? the fact he thought she was happy for the first four years???? both of the characters were so unbearable and the random miscommunication at the end was just the cherry on top bc wtf???
February 24, 2025
2.75⭐️ I enjoyed this book here and there. However there were also many things I could say that I didn't like about it. There didn't seem to be much character growth other than them finally talking to each other. The one good thing I got out of this was that I really LOVED Amy. She was the only thing that made me laugh. As for the main characters, they didn't seem to have much of a connection, their scenes together were cute though...sometimes. I DID however love reading the chapters from his POV but you have to scan the QR code at the end of the book to read it. I will say though that this book would have been way better if it was dual POV. While there was a lot going on, I would have loved to get his perspective on everything.
May 17, 2023
2 stars ( 1.5 was my first choice though).
Usually, I always try and understand the FMC because it's easy to label someone as difficult when we aren't in their shoes. But by God, Lily Millers is one of the worst FMC I have ever read ( not mentioning the MMC here because the story is from the woman's pov, and the guy has zero personality, insight or any thing remotely intresting to be talked about. He existed because a romance book needs a hero :p).
“I’d told Jessie as well, and while she was proud of me, she still lived in LA, which wasn’t a place I wanted to visit. We remained friends, but her distance when I’d moved to Nashville wore on me. I was happy we could talk, but I found myself always seeking out Amy when I needed advice”
This is the FMC about her ex best friend - and it's absolutely okay for the FMC to grow apart from her best friend, but when the said best friend did this, she was "judgemental" and "awful" and so much more negative. I don't know how was it wrong for Jessie (the best friend) to say Lily sabotages her life when Lily was hiding everything from her and "pretending to be shallow" with her. Just to highlight another character as a friend, this book made an existing friend the wrong one when nobody was worse than Lily herself was.
I understand the whole "contract" bullshit, but God, it was so frustrating to read Lily. She only victimized herself while repeating "I know my problems are less than others". At some points, I really felt bad for her. Her parents were emotionally abusive and manipulative and it was definitely hard on her, and yet it's so much effort to like Lily at all.
The last “twist” was worse than the whole book. Lily blackmailed her dad and got the deed of the house she was living in with her husband, in exchange of her silence wrt everything she and her husband was put through - because she thought she or her husband didn't have enough money to buy her house. Five minutes later, her husband tells her he has enough money to buy the house, but again, "I don't need anything anymoreand I will keep my silence" for God knows what reason.
The book makes less and less sense as the page count increased. I don't know why I decided to read this ( well I do, I love marriage of conveniences) but this book is not worth it. If you wanna save yourself, this is your reminder to do so:)
Usually, I always try and understand the FMC because it's easy to label someone as difficult when we aren't in their shoes. But by God, Lily Millers is one of the worst FMC I have ever read ( not mentioning the MMC here because the story is from the woman's pov, and the guy has zero personality, insight or any thing remotely intresting to be talked about. He existed because a romance book needs a hero :p).
“I’d told Jessie as well, and while she was proud of me, she still lived in LA, which wasn’t a place I wanted to visit. We remained friends, but her distance when I’d moved to Nashville wore on me. I was happy we could talk, but I found myself always seeking out Amy when I needed advice”
This is the FMC about her ex best friend - and it's absolutely okay for the FMC to grow apart from her best friend, but when the said best friend did this, she was "judgemental" and "awful" and so much more negative. I don't know how was it wrong for Jessie (the best friend) to say Lily sabotages her life when Lily was hiding everything from her and "pretending to be shallow" with her. Just to highlight another character as a friend, this book made an existing friend the wrong one when nobody was worse than Lily herself was.
I understand the whole "contract" bullshit, but God, it was so frustrating to read Lily. She only victimized herself while repeating "I know my problems are less than others". At some points, I really felt bad for her. Her parents were emotionally abusive and manipulative and it was definitely hard on her, and yet it's so much effort to like Lily at all.
The last “twist” was worse than the whole book. Lily blackmailed her dad and got the deed of the house she was living in with her husband, in exchange of her silence wrt everything she and her husband was put through - because she thought she or her husband didn't have enough money to buy her house. Five minutes later, her husband tells her he has enough money to buy the house, but again, "I don't need anything anymoreand I will keep my silence" for God knows what reason.
The book makes less and less sense as the page count increased. I don't know why I decided to read this ( well I do, I love marriage of conveniences) but this book is not worth it. If you wanna save yourself, this is your reminder to do so:)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2023
4.5⭐️
Im rounding up bc y’all got this sitting way lower than it should be for its over all rating. I’m a super harsh reviewer, yet for whatever reason I rated this higher than it’s average. Y’all are always over rating tiktok hyped up books and underrating actual good ones, istg.
This book was good, I stayed up til like 2am reading to finish it. The only reasons I didn’t rate it 5 stars was bc there was multiple typos and it annoyed me. I also do not like games of thrones and there was a ton of references to that and I just didn’t like that part of it. I did prefer it though, to when the author makes the female mc obsessed with spicy romance books lol
Im rounding up bc y’all got this sitting way lower than it should be for its over all rating. I’m a super harsh reviewer, yet for whatever reason I rated this higher than it’s average. Y’all are always over rating tiktok hyped up books and underrating actual good ones, istg.
This book was good, I stayed up til like 2am reading to finish it. The only reasons I didn’t rate it 5 stars was bc there was multiple typos and it annoyed me. I also do not like games of thrones and there was a ton of references to that and I just didn’t like that part of it. I did prefer it though, to when the author makes the female mc obsessed with spicy romance books lol
July 16, 2023
so cringe but so so entertaining
July 17, 2024
I haven’t read in like 6 months and i literally finished this book in like 4 hours
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