3.5⭐️
“You’re right that we’re different. But different doesn’t mean impossible.”
“She will be my strength when I need it and I will be her confidence.”
My Thoughts: The following are my thoughts about this book:
General:
- Trigger warning-none
- Setting: Washington DC
Characters:
- Andre (age:28, mega famous fashion designer): Lately, Andre just feels like something is missing. He is highly successful and working on rebranding his company, but he’s probably on the cusp of just burning out. He is ready to find his “forever” and settle down.
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”Lately, there’s been something angry inside of me, a dissatisfaction that has only spread. It’s like I’m looking for something but I don’t know what it is or how to find it. But I’ve had a growing feeling lately that what I’ve been looking for is connection. I’m surrounded by people constantly who want something from me or want to be me. But rarely anyone who sees beneath the surface”
- Casey (aka Clumsy Girl) (age: 23, receptionist at advertising firm): Casey left her small town due to a scandal (labeled a home-wrecker b/c the man she thought she was going to marry was apparently already married). She’s new to the city and just landed a job with an advertising agency. She’s working on finishing her marketing degree and she’s on a mission to prove everybody from her hometown wrong
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”For the next few years, I’m going to be focused on nothing but work. Climbing the corporate ladder and proving everybody back in Gracewell wrong.”
The story:
I started out excited to pick up where the prequel left off.
The prequel ends on a cliffy, which hooks you into buying this book. But all that excitement vanished when I realized I was basically going to read the prequel all over again in this book. From 1% - 60% this book was pretty much the prequel. There were a few additional scenes and everything from Casey’s POV was new. But, I had already read a lot of it in the prequel so major points off for this. Honestly, I’ve never read a prequel where the entire thing was taken from the "next" book and my first thought was that it was just lazy to do that. So, all the excitement I built in reading the prequel was crushed when I realized I was reading a lot of the same stuff again......word for word. 😏 I paid for a book when half of it was a repeat of something I already read.😡👎👎. Only the last 40% of the book was new.
Other:
- The one night stand, which happens early, is pretty much off page so I had a hard time with their chemistry. They didn’t feel like a very passionate couple to me.
- Ari (roommate) is crazy and I loved her. The first time we meet her she's in he middle of her apartment hall in a wetsuit and a snorkel. That set the tone for her character. 😂
- The foreshadowing of the mother who would certainly cause problems because Casey wasn’t the right type of girl - ended up nowhere. A little “discussion” in the bathroom and nothing else was very anticlimactic.
- Casey leaving because of the tabloid article was stupid. The night before they profess their love and the very next morning she "can't do this anymore". What???? It was their first trial. Geez. It made her seem like a little kid and I didn't like her as much after that.
- Pertaining to above 🖕, I really despise this overused conflict ploy -runaway rather than talk about the issue. No originality there. 👎😏
Overview:
- Do you need to read previous books in series?: It's not necessary because the prequel is pretty much excerpts from this book. Also, characters from other books show up in this one, but this a standalone. However, if you loved the characters in the other books (Beg Me, I think) you will probably be happy to see them show up in this book.
- POV: dual POV
- H likable? Yes
- h likable? In the beginning, but she started to annoy me later on.
- h virgin? no
- First time they kiss: 22%
- First time they sleep together: 25%. First time is off page 😕
- First time they say I Love You 74%
- steamy? It's a little steamy. the loves scenes are pretty short (maybe a page, if even) and some are completely off page
- OW/OM drama? no
- H/h cheat? no
- Did I skip pages? No
- Big secrets? no
- Did I cry? no
- Did I laugh? the roommate made me chuckle a few times
- Cliffhanger? no
- HEA? yes
- Epilogue? A few months later
- Recommend? it was so-so for me. It passed the time, but didn’t blow me away.
Quotes
“you know how they say men won’t buy the cow if they get the milk for free? Well, I say why buy the pig when all you want is a little sausage?”
“I’ve never propositioned anyone in my life and I had to start with a guy who looks like he’s invented a few sexual positions?”
“You are so arrogant! I bet you just can’t imagine any woman not wanting to ride your roller coaster for a second time, huh?”
“I will do many things but I rarely lie. An intelligent man doesn’t need to.”
“I’m sure attempting to be his friend is probably like asking a fox to be a friend to a hen.”
“Every man has a unique relationship with his cock. You have to when dealing with something that has a mind of its own. These things lead us around by the nose quite often and mine has been particularly unhappy with my decisions lately.”
“I want to be the man in your life. The one who won’t let you down.”
“You’ve been dickmatized,” Ari says sagely like she’s imparting some ancient wisdom. “Mesmerized by good dick.”