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Beneath The Wildflower
Sareena Nahar was never meant to fall in love. Being distracted by the flirty yet charming antics of new found coworker, Emilia Romano, who happens to be the heir to the Aristavon Design Company, has set her plans into a fiery spiral and what can only be described as true love. But when her infatuation with Emilia keeps her away from a family that needs her protection so dearly, will it be enough to break two lovelorn lovers? Beneath The Wildflower is a sapphic romance novel about heartbreak, loss and change resulting all because of love, join me in Lockesville Grove to read book one of The Aristavon Billionaires series.
713 pages, Paperback
Published July 16, 2024
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July 25, 2024
Unfortunately, this is a DNF. I was practically looking forward to reading it but got disappointed along the way.
I’m not sure if that was because I was in a difficult phase (I did read a lot of books and got a little overwhelmed and took a break) or it was just the writing.
I was searching for something to ignite the reader in me again, so I tried this one. It wasn’t a good idea.
Where to begin? I think I’m going to put a general summary:
• Sweet but cliché.
• Cute but unrealistic and somehow cringe.
• The opposite of slow burn; it was too fast despite the length of the novel.
• The writing.
• Monologue. The character kind of talks like a book character, too many words (especially Emilia) -> we’ll get into that, just wait.
• The nicknames.
[Hear me out. I had these remarks at only 20% of the book. This review might contain spoilers, so I suggest you stop here and just read the conclusion at the end.]
1. Sweet but cliché: If you are into the love cliché, it’s for you. Sareena is the sweetest and the oldest of her siblings, with an abusive and asshole father. She is the one who sort of takes care of her siblings and beaten mother, so family it is. On the other hand, there’s Emilia, the fling non-relationship lesbian with a perfect life, family, and all, who falls in love at first sight (they both kind of fall at first sight, to be honest). Alright, you know what it is. Sareena will be selfless and all, and Emilia is going to be protective of her, possessive, and so on. (The “I’ll kill for you and die for you” vibe. I mean, Emilia even cracks a boy’s fingers for 7 minutes because he talked badly to Sareena.)
2. Cute but unrealistic and somehow cringe: They’re cute, I’m not going to deny it, but the scenario is so unrealistic, so unbelievable. Not in the way that it was amazing, but in the way that it was not believable, like a fictional delusional romance book. It was set and forced to be cute. Some readers may not relate to anything in the dialogue. Lack of tension, not gonna lie. So, it was cringe. I got embarrassed reading some parts. I rolled my eyes a lot too.
3. The opposite of slow burn; it was too fast: OKAY FIRST, WTF WAS THAT on the first not-date date, and WHO TF LET OR EVEN DARE TO GIVE A NICKNAME (A LOT ACTUALLY) on the first meeting, BASICALLY A STRANGER, HELLOOOOO? And WHAT WAS THAT THOUGHTFUL THOUGHT OF EMILIA ABOUT SAREENA FORCING HERSELF NOT TO EAT? I mean, she can also just not want to eat. Let her be. It’s rude to even dare to give advice she didn’t ask for. YOU DON’T KNOW HER. But of course, Emilia was right, and of course, Sareena was on cloud nine. AND SORRY, BUT AFTER A FEW CHAPTERS THEY’RE LIKE YOURS AND MINE. So did I forget or skip by accident to read the “CAN I BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND?” or “WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND?” I mean the ask-out stuff? Or y’all don’t do that but just “Hey Honey” and “Hey Baby, I’ll do anything for you,” so yeah, that settles it, we’re a couple????
4. THE WRITING: Too many words when necessary and a lack of words in some parts. Punctuation wasn’t very good either, so it was difficult to read and hard to relate to the characters. It just didn’t do it for me.
5. Monologue, or should I say Emilia’s Monologue: The way she reassures Sareena, she talks in one long paragraph from a book because, yep, she’s a book character, not a person. Ugh, so she talks like that. Just try to take her place; you can’t really say those many things in one breath (should have put some transitions there). Maybe in a text, yes, but they weren’t chatting. Voilà, the many words when necessary. You can actually take some essentials from what she said and make it into three sentences.
6. The nicknames: I probably should have put this first, but I did it last because, well, it’s not so important, I guess? I don’t know if some people are like them, but not those I know. So this is it: WHY NOT JUST TAKE ONE NICKNAME THAT WILL BE SPECIAL FOR THEM, Emilia? Why not just “Baby” because that kind of has an effect. “Dimples”? (Please, someone tell me who else calls their partner “Dimples?”) “Sugarbun”? “Sweet girl”? And what else? Oh, and for Sareena, “Casanova”? Let me be honest; it’s my personal opinion, ugh, but I can’t relate, can’t even try to call my girlfriend that even if she’s a flirty queen. But okay, it’s probably their thing. I mean, a couple I know even call each other “Pumpkin.” Just not for me.
By the way, I was too eager to find Emilia, so I speed-read the first chapter—because of the writing again, boring.
Conclusion:
The main character was a real book character. I don’t know if you can understand me on this point, but when I read a book, I picture them as human, someone I might or can know. A real person. And I didn’t feel it. Emilia was created to be flirtatious, obsessive, and so on. Sareena was little Miss Sunshine who laughed at anything, a little silly and intense but very gentle. She is probably a Cancer. I didn’t feel the tension, and that made me sad.
The conversation was unrealistic, created to be perfect, and when something is too perfect, it gives an unnatural effect. The way they just met 20 minutes ago, and Emilia being Emilia, caring about how Sareena ate her lunch—just leave her be, ma’am. She’s probably not really comfortable eating with someone she just met (alone). But commenting on her body and it being the truth made me MAD and kind of made me roll my eyes.
The hetero couple vibe: if you read the book and change Emilia to Emilio, haha, you wouldn’t have any difficulty, and that’s the ick for me when I read a sapphic book. I need the special little things when two women are together. I’m a lesbian who reads sapphic books, so of course, I’m needy and not really sorry about that.
Their relationship was probably what was worth reading. Emilia was the standard, and Sareena really needed her. They are cute.
I’m not sure if that was because I was in a difficult phase (I did read a lot of books and got a little overwhelmed and took a break) or it was just the writing.
I was searching for something to ignite the reader in me again, so I tried this one. It wasn’t a good idea.
Where to begin? I think I’m going to put a general summary:
• Sweet but cliché.
• Cute but unrealistic and somehow cringe.
• The opposite of slow burn; it was too fast despite the length of the novel.
• The writing.
• Monologue. The character kind of talks like a book character, too many words (especially Emilia) -> we’ll get into that, just wait.
• The nicknames.
[Hear me out. I had these remarks at only 20% of the book. This review might contain spoilers, so I suggest you stop here and just read the conclusion at the end.]
1. Sweet but cliché: If you are into the love cliché, it’s for you. Sareena is the sweetest and the oldest of her siblings, with an abusive and asshole father. She is the one who sort of takes care of her siblings and beaten mother, so family it is. On the other hand, there’s Emilia, the fling non-relationship lesbian with a perfect life, family, and all, who falls in love at first sight (they both kind of fall at first sight, to be honest). Alright, you know what it is. Sareena will be selfless and all, and Emilia is going to be protective of her, possessive, and so on. (The “I’ll kill for you and die for you” vibe. I mean, Emilia even cracks a boy’s fingers for 7 minutes because he talked badly to Sareena.)
2. Cute but unrealistic and somehow cringe: They’re cute, I’m not going to deny it, but the scenario is so unrealistic, so unbelievable. Not in the way that it was amazing, but in the way that it was not believable, like a fictional delusional romance book. It was set and forced to be cute. Some readers may not relate to anything in the dialogue. Lack of tension, not gonna lie. So, it was cringe. I got embarrassed reading some parts. I rolled my eyes a lot too.
3. The opposite of slow burn; it was too fast: OKAY FIRST, WTF WAS THAT on the first not-date date, and WHO TF LET OR EVEN DARE TO GIVE A NICKNAME (A LOT ACTUALLY) on the first meeting, BASICALLY A STRANGER, HELLOOOOO? And WHAT WAS THAT THOUGHTFUL THOUGHT OF EMILIA ABOUT SAREENA FORCING HERSELF NOT TO EAT? I mean, she can also just not want to eat. Let her be. It’s rude to even dare to give advice she didn’t ask for. YOU DON’T KNOW HER. But of course, Emilia was right, and of course, Sareena was on cloud nine. AND SORRY, BUT AFTER A FEW CHAPTERS THEY’RE LIKE YOURS AND MINE. So did I forget or skip by accident to read the “CAN I BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND?” or “WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND?” I mean the ask-out stuff? Or y’all don’t do that but just “Hey Honey” and “Hey Baby, I’ll do anything for you,” so yeah, that settles it, we’re a couple????
4. THE WRITING: Too many words when necessary and a lack of words in some parts. Punctuation wasn’t very good either, so it was difficult to read and hard to relate to the characters. It just didn’t do it for me.
5. Monologue, or should I say Emilia’s Monologue: The way she reassures Sareena, she talks in one long paragraph from a book because, yep, she’s a book character, not a person. Ugh, so she talks like that. Just try to take her place; you can’t really say those many things in one breath (should have put some transitions there). Maybe in a text, yes, but they weren’t chatting. Voilà, the many words when necessary. You can actually take some essentials from what she said and make it into three sentences.
6. The nicknames: I probably should have put this first, but I did it last because, well, it’s not so important, I guess? I don’t know if some people are like them, but not those I know. So this is it: WHY NOT JUST TAKE ONE NICKNAME THAT WILL BE SPECIAL FOR THEM, Emilia? Why not just “Baby” because that kind of has an effect. “Dimples”? (Please, someone tell me who else calls their partner “Dimples?”) “Sugarbun”? “Sweet girl”? And what else? Oh, and for Sareena, “Casanova”? Let me be honest; it’s my personal opinion, ugh, but I can’t relate, can’t even try to call my girlfriend that even if she’s a flirty queen. But okay, it’s probably their thing. I mean, a couple I know even call each other “Pumpkin.” Just not for me.
By the way, I was too eager to find Emilia, so I speed-read the first chapter—because of the writing again, boring.
Conclusion:
The main character was a real book character. I don’t know if you can understand me on this point, but when I read a book, I picture them as human, someone I might or can know. A real person. And I didn’t feel it. Emilia was created to be flirtatious, obsessive, and so on. Sareena was little Miss Sunshine who laughed at anything, a little silly and intense but very gentle. She is probably a Cancer. I didn’t feel the tension, and that made me sad.
The conversation was unrealistic, created to be perfect, and when something is too perfect, it gives an unnatural effect. The way they just met 20 minutes ago, and Emilia being Emilia, caring about how Sareena ate her lunch—just leave her be, ma’am. She’s probably not really comfortable eating with someone she just met (alone). But commenting on her body and it being the truth made me MAD and kind of made me roll my eyes.
The hetero couple vibe: if you read the book and change Emilia to Emilio, haha, you wouldn’t have any difficulty, and that’s the ick for me when I read a sapphic book. I need the special little things when two women are together. I’m a lesbian who reads sapphic books, so of course, I’m needy and not really sorry about that.
Their relationship was probably what was worth reading. Emilia was the standard, and Sareena really needed her. They are cute.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2024
"Love does exist; it’s a treasure that only a few can find, but when you do, you’ll never want to let it go."
This book isn't the type of book you can set down and not think about. Honestly, once I started reading it I only wished to finish it.
The writing for a debut novel is well accomplished, even though in some scenes you're thrown into a completely different setting that if you're not reading carefully, it gets lost on you. There are also words that get used too often, such as "whilst".
The characters are complex in their own ways, and I gotta admit I loved Emilia and her morally gray personality.
The struggles of Sareena were so real, were so relatable I even got a little triggered at times. The fear the family felt for the father, the way Sareena would believe all of the things the old man told her throughout her life... It was just too relatable and I loved that too.
I think this book needs a little work, but who cares. It's entertaining, leaves you with a sweet taste, and makes you forget about the world around you. What more can I ask?
I'll be waiting to see more of this author as well as Emilia and Sareena.
This book isn't the type of book you can set down and not think about. Honestly, once I started reading it I only wished to finish it.
The writing for a debut novel is well accomplished, even though in some scenes you're thrown into a completely different setting that if you're not reading carefully, it gets lost on you. There are also words that get used too often, such as "whilst".
The characters are complex in their own ways, and I gotta admit I loved Emilia and her morally gray personality.
The struggles of Sareena were so real, were so relatable I even got a little triggered at times. The fear the family felt for the father, the way Sareena would believe all of the things the old man told her throughout her life... It was just too relatable and I loved that too.
I think this book needs a little work, but who cares. It's entertaining, leaves you with a sweet taste, and makes you forget about the world around you. What more can I ask?
I'll be waiting to see more of this author as well as Emilia and Sareena.
August 2, 2024
i was convinced to read this because i kept seeing insta reels abt it, but I had to DNF 5% in. it was so poorly written it pained me. don’t believe everything you see on the internet folks 😔😔
July 17, 2024
3.5⭐️
first and foremost i want to thank rosie and her team for allowing me an ARC for this gorgeous book, i am so so thankful that i got this incredible chance💗
"𝗦𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗶𝘁."
sareena, this woman was everything i expected her to be and more, oh so much more🥹she is such a strong character, after everything she has been through she keeps on fighting🫶 it's unbelievable how rosie was able to write a character that is somewhat me coded it was sus the entire time😭all in all, sareena is one of the best characters ive ever been able to read, and im so happy i got to read her!!
"𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲. 𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂."
*dreamy eyes* emiliaaaaaa🤭she single handedly has me so so very obsessed with everything she is😫this woman could murder me and id still want her, no regrets. i love love her and the way she so gently took care of sareena and showed her what true love actually looks like. she was always so thoughtful and caring to the people she loved, but she could be one vicious woman when necessary!!
“𝘄𝗲’𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹?"
guys when i tell you these two had a kind of love i wish to have, i mean every single word of it! theire love was so so tender and gentle, and the way they took care of each other was entirely too beautiful🥹ive said it many times before, and i will keep saying it because i have no cares, but i want these two to adopt me😭i know im an adult, but can't they adopt me and raise me as their own??? i think they can😌
"𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲: 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲."
this book was truly an emotional rollercoaster, and while i think it might have been a bit too long, i still enjoyed it very very much and i hope yall lovelies get to read it on july 17th😉
first and foremost i want to thank rosie and her team for allowing me an ARC for this gorgeous book, i am so so thankful that i got this incredible chance💗
"𝗦𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗶𝘁."
sareena, this woman was everything i expected her to be and more, oh so much more🥹she is such a strong character, after everything she has been through she keeps on fighting🫶 it's unbelievable how rosie was able to write a character that is somewhat me coded it was sus the entire time😭all in all, sareena is one of the best characters ive ever been able to read, and im so happy i got to read her!!
"𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲. 𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂."
*dreamy eyes* emiliaaaaaa🤭she single handedly has me so so very obsessed with everything she is😫this woman could murder me and id still want her, no regrets. i love love her and the way she so gently took care of sareena and showed her what true love actually looks like. she was always so thoughtful and caring to the people she loved, but she could be one vicious woman when necessary!!
“𝘄𝗲’𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹?"
guys when i tell you these two had a kind of love i wish to have, i mean every single word of it! theire love was so so tender and gentle, and the way they took care of each other was entirely too beautiful🥹ive said it many times before, and i will keep saying it because i have no cares, but i want these two to adopt me😭i know im an adult, but can't they adopt me and raise me as their own??? i think they can😌
"𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲: 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲."
this book was truly an emotional rollercoaster, and while i think it might have been a bit too long, i still enjoyed it very very much and i hope yall lovelies get to read it on july 17th😉
September 22, 2024
"Emilia is my galaxy and the only galaxy I truly exist in."
"Loving you has been the best thing that's ever been mine."
"When someone asks me what I think about when I think of love, it's her. It's always her."
"To love someone is to know someone. Anyone can love the idea of me, but only you know how to truly love me."
"Love does exist; it's a treasure only a few can find, but when you do, you'll never want to let it go."
TROPES:
• sapphic romance
• grumpy x sunshine
• billionaire romance
• strangers to friends to lovers
• forbidden romance
• found family
• touch her and die
This is my second wlw romance and I'm honestly speechless. I was a bit scared to read this one because it's 700 pages but the pages fly by quick. I giggled, smiled, blushed and cried while reading this. I have SO many parts highlighted! This book was so wholesome, and a bit spicy... I loved all the nicknames they had for each other and I loved the found family trope with their families.
Thank you, Rosaline K. Jackson for the ARC 🤍
"Loving you has been the best thing that's ever been mine."
"When someone asks me what I think about when I think of love, it's her. It's always her."
"To love someone is to know someone. Anyone can love the idea of me, but only you know how to truly love me."
"Love does exist; it's a treasure only a few can find, but when you do, you'll never want to let it go."
TROPES:
• sapphic romance
• grumpy x sunshine
• billionaire romance
• strangers to friends to lovers
• forbidden romance
• found family
• touch her and die
This is my second wlw romance and I'm honestly speechless. I was a bit scared to read this one because it's 700 pages but the pages fly by quick. I giggled, smiled, blushed and cried while reading this. I have SO many parts highlighted! This book was so wholesome, and a bit spicy... I loved all the nicknames they had for each other and I loved the found family trope with their families.
Thank you, Rosaline K. Jackson for the ARC 🤍
October 16, 2024
ARC REVIEW:
Rating: ★★★★
Spice: ♡
The story was beautiful, intense, and heartbreaking. It was a long journey that took me a month, but I am glad I took my time. I got to appreciate the beauty of their love and empathize with their struggles. My heart broke for all the characters. It wasn't just a love story; it was about these incredible people whom the world was never kind to. It was about healing and moving on. It was about accepting themselves and appreciating the love they received.
Thank you, Rosaline, for the e-ARC.❤️
If you need an emotional and heart-breaking story that shatters your heart, picks up the pieces, puts them back together, and tells you everything is fine, read this one.
Check TW!
TROPES:
FF Romance
Strangers to lovers
Billionaire Romance
Grumpy x sunshine
Morally grey x Cinnamon roll
Found family
Soulmates
Cute nicknames
"Who did this to you"
Overcoming long-term trauma
Rating: ★★★★
Spice: ♡
The story was beautiful, intense, and heartbreaking. It was a long journey that took me a month, but I am glad I took my time. I got to appreciate the beauty of their love and empathize with their struggles. My heart broke for all the characters. It wasn't just a love story; it was about these incredible people whom the world was never kind to. It was about healing and moving on. It was about accepting themselves and appreciating the love they received.
Thank you, Rosaline, for the e-ARC.❤️
If you need an emotional and heart-breaking story that shatters your heart, picks up the pieces, puts them back together, and tells you everything is fine, read this one.
Check TW!
TROPES:
FF Romance
Strangers to lovers
Billionaire Romance
Grumpy x sunshine
Morally grey x Cinnamon roll
Found family
Soulmates
Cute nicknames
"Who did this to you"
Overcoming long-term trauma
May 31, 2024
i want to read it as soon as possible 🤭
July 31, 2024
2,75 ☆
first of all i would like to thank the author, Rosaline K. Jackson, for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
i also apologize for being so late but what can i say, life happens. anyway, even if i should’ve posted this 2 weeks ago, it’s here now.
i apologize in advance for what i think is a messy review, i tried my best and i’m tired.
i had really high expectations but it took me a lot to get into the story and even though me being in a reading slump is obviously one of the reasons why, i felt like there were a lot of details at the beginning of the book. what i’m trying to say is that the story was telling us rather than showing us. maybe it’s because i’m used to reading fantasy or mystery books, but it did feel like nothing was actually going on and that everything was happening so quickly at the same time which left me confused but it got better the more i kept reading.
i absolutely loved the found family trope. it’s gotta be one of my favorites. i also loved the desi and italian cultures mix.
thankfully, the “omg she likes girls??” situation was skipped. so many sapphic books include it and i’m tired. my girl sareena was already going through it so this would’ve ruined her even more.
sareena a sweetheart who deserves to be protected at all costs i hope nothing bad happens to her ever again. i felt a lot for her.
emilia is… well… i can understand why everyone likes her, but since i’m not a fan of the billionaire romance genre i can’t fully like her. i love how protective she’s of sareena (even if i think there are stuff she could’ve handled better and with sareena’s approval), she’s a badass but i just can’t.
i would say this book has just the right amount of spice? i personally prefer books that don’t contain smut at all but this wasn’t excessive to the point i wanted to gouge my eyes out and erase my memory, so i approve.
if i’m being completely honest here i wouldn’t have finished this if it wasn’t a lesbian romance since i don’t like the billionaire romance genre. yes, i said lesbian romance. because for some weird reason everyone seems to be scared to call it that when both characters are lesbians… lesbian is a beautiful word by the way. it’s always “ff” “wlw” “sapphic”… like ok pookie i see you avoiding the word.
SPOILERS BELOW!
i didn’t like how they explained sareena’s sexuality. what do you mean “i know that i don’t necessarily like men in a romantic way” i mean i sure hope so you don’t want to sleep with men either since you’re a lesbian. and what do you mean by “but after seeing how a man could be”. this can mean a lot of things and at first i thought she was trying to explain how men traumatized her so bad she turned gay which almost made me drop the book like please. don’t scare me like that. i think this could’ve been handled better.
emilia thinking of sareena as “food porn” when she barely even knew her was icky. there are better ways of putting into words (or internal monologue) your attraction. there was no need to mention porn here.
at some point of the story the word “narcissist” was thrown around as a synonym of emotional and verbal abuser. we need to end the stigma and stop using trauma induced mental disorders that are not inherently abusive as adjectives to describe abusers. a disorder doesn’t abuse you, an abuser does.
ignoring that, i would say that the actual mental health representation is rather accurate and well written.
~~~~~~
some of my favorite quotes:
"When someone asks me what I think about when I think of love, it's her. It's always her."
“This hell you live in doesn't have to be eternal”
"I promise I'll love you so hard that you never feel overwhelmed at love again. I swear, Kharri-bug, you'll never go a day without feeling loved."
this isn’t really my kind of book but overall, i did enjoy sareena & emilia’s love story. i loved most of the characters too.
i may or may not check out the next books the author decides to publish, who knows?
i wanna thank Rosaline again for providing me with this e-arc and i apologize again for being so late.
first of all i would like to thank the author, Rosaline K. Jackson, for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
i also apologize for being so late but what can i say, life happens. anyway, even if i should’ve posted this 2 weeks ago, it’s here now.
i apologize in advance for what i think is a messy review, i tried my best and i’m tired.
i had really high expectations but it took me a lot to get into the story and even though me being in a reading slump is obviously one of the reasons why, i felt like there were a lot of details at the beginning of the book. what i’m trying to say is that the story was telling us rather than showing us. maybe it’s because i’m used to reading fantasy or mystery books, but it did feel like nothing was actually going on and that everything was happening so quickly at the same time which left me confused but it got better the more i kept reading.
i absolutely loved the found family trope. it’s gotta be one of my favorites. i also loved the desi and italian cultures mix.
thankfully, the “omg she likes girls??” situation was skipped. so many sapphic books include it and i’m tired. my girl sareena was already going through it so this would’ve ruined her even more.
sareena a sweetheart who deserves to be protected at all costs i hope nothing bad happens to her ever again. i felt a lot for her.
emilia is… well… i can understand why everyone likes her, but since i’m not a fan of the billionaire romance genre i can’t fully like her. i love how protective she’s of sareena (even if i think there are stuff she could’ve handled better and with sareena’s approval), she’s a badass but i just can’t.
i would say this book has just the right amount of spice? i personally prefer books that don’t contain smut at all but this wasn’t excessive to the point i wanted to gouge my eyes out and erase my memory, so i approve.
if i’m being completely honest here i wouldn’t have finished this if it wasn’t a lesbian romance since i don’t like the billionaire romance genre. yes, i said lesbian romance. because for some weird reason everyone seems to be scared to call it that when both characters are lesbians… lesbian is a beautiful word by the way. it’s always “ff” “wlw” “sapphic”… like ok pookie i see you avoiding the word.
SPOILERS BELOW!
i didn’t like how they explained sareena’s sexuality. what do you mean “i know that i don’t necessarily like men in a romantic way” i mean i sure hope so you don’t want to sleep with men either since you’re a lesbian. and what do you mean by “but after seeing how a man could be”. this can mean a lot of things and at first i thought she was trying to explain how men traumatized her so bad she turned gay which almost made me drop the book like please. don’t scare me like that. i think this could’ve been handled better.
emilia thinking of sareena as “food porn” when she barely even knew her was icky. there are better ways of putting into words (or internal monologue) your attraction. there was no need to mention porn here.
at some point of the story the word “narcissist” was thrown around as a synonym of emotional and verbal abuser. we need to end the stigma and stop using trauma induced mental disorders that are not inherently abusive as adjectives to describe abusers. a disorder doesn’t abuse you, an abuser does.
ignoring that, i would say that the actual mental health representation is rather accurate and well written.
~~~~~~
some of my favorite quotes:
"When someone asks me what I think about when I think of love, it's her. It's always her."
“This hell you live in doesn't have to be eternal”
"I promise I'll love you so hard that you never feel overwhelmed at love again. I swear, Kharri-bug, you'll never go a day without feeling loved."
this isn’t really my kind of book but overall, i did enjoy sareena & emilia’s love story. i loved most of the characters too.
i may or may not check out the next books the author decides to publish, who knows?
i wanna thank Rosaline again for providing me with this e-arc and i apologize again for being so late.
July 13, 2024
This book has made it to my very short list of 5 ⭐️ reads. Starting with how Sareena is a heart of gold and something God blessed earth with. The plot of her father’s abuse and all the plot twists with it… had me wanting to cut a bitch. The writing of even the “bad guys” made you really feel something. But luckily the badass Ms.Emilia, the partner every girl dreams of having, is ready to defend her loves honor at any moment.
THE FAMILY PLOT TWIST AT THE END… will make you cry. My eyes were definitely damp and oh how that one hurt me too. Especially after all the abuse and grief…. Jeeze give this family a break. But it made me have such an emotional connection to the plot and I ate it up.
What other authors do wrong so often is writing sapphic romance with one FMC that is so masculine that it ruins the point of wlw books. I mean this in the way where authors describe them using terms that confuse their gender in the readers heads. As a lesbian reading lesbian romance, I want to read about 2 girlie girls. NOT a femme and a girl with the exact same description as a man. This book was giving everything that those types of authors need to take notes from. Because both FMC’s embrace their femininity and brought to light how actual lesbian relationships are. This book made me feel represented and like there is a world where wlw is the norm.
From the found family, “touch her and you die” energy, the genuine love both characters experienced not lust. I recommend this book to anyone. Not just queers, but people who want to know, and get an ACCURATE representation of queer relationships, and conflicts that come about.
Side note: thank GOD the whole “Is she gay?” Dilemma was skipped. ALSO enjoy the TVD, Taylor Swift, Criminal Minds references! I loved them ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
THE FAMILY PLOT TWIST AT THE END… will make you cry. My eyes were definitely damp and oh how that one hurt me too. Especially after all the abuse and grief…. Jeeze give this family a break. But it made me have such an emotional connection to the plot and I ate it up.
What other authors do wrong so often is writing sapphic romance with one FMC that is so masculine that it ruins the point of wlw books. I mean this in the way where authors describe them using terms that confuse their gender in the readers heads. As a lesbian reading lesbian romance, I want to read about 2 girlie girls. NOT a femme and a girl with the exact same description as a man. This book was giving everything that those types of authors need to take notes from. Because both FMC’s embrace their femininity and brought to light how actual lesbian relationships are. This book made me feel represented and like there is a world where wlw is the norm.
From the found family, “touch her and you die” energy, the genuine love both characters experienced not lust. I recommend this book to anyone. Not just queers, but people who want to know, and get an ACCURATE representation of queer relationships, and conflicts that come about.
Side note: thank GOD the whole “Is she gay?” Dilemma was skipped. ALSO enjoy the TVD, Taylor Swift, Criminal Minds references! I loved them ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2024
rosie truly crafted something so unbelievably beautiful with beneath the wildflower!!!
i've been looking forward to emilia and sareenas story for a while now and it did not disappoint! i've always loved sapphic romances, yet they are such a minority in the romance book space. when rosie so kindly sent me an e-arc- believe me i was jumping for joy at the chance to not only read a sapphic romance book but also because its mf rosaline. k. jacksons. FREAKING DEBUT!!!!! and she did a hell of a good job with it.
i think my favorite part about this book was the characters. they were all so well developed and there was never a moment in this book where i wasn't interested and excited for what was next. sareena is the sweetest of sweets and oh so strong. she was so well written and i was truly touched by her character. now, perfectly contrasting her is emilia. badass, hot asf, the grumpy to sareenas sunshine. i literally dropped my kindle on my fave upon meeting her, she is to DIE for. and even more to die for? their chemistry. WOW they go together perfectly!!!
this book is probably one of the most annotated books i have on my kindle. seriously, every page i was highlighting, adding notes, freaking tf out!!! this book has me crying, laughing, blushing, and more!! if i get my hands on a physical copy of this i'd be SCARED of how eagerly i'd start to annotate it. it would be 95% tabs and highlights to 5% of the book itself!!
this book was truly a joy to read, i can't wait to see what else rosie has in store for us because if this masterpiece is only her debut????? i can't even begin to imagine whats to come!!
ILY ROSIE💗💗
i've been looking forward to emilia and sareenas story for a while now and it did not disappoint! i've always loved sapphic romances, yet they are such a minority in the romance book space. when rosie so kindly sent me an e-arc- believe me i was jumping for joy at the chance to not only read a sapphic romance book but also because its mf rosaline. k. jacksons. FREAKING DEBUT!!!!! and she did a hell of a good job with it.
i think my favorite part about this book was the characters. they were all so well developed and there was never a moment in this book where i wasn't interested and excited for what was next. sareena is the sweetest of sweets and oh so strong. she was so well written and i was truly touched by her character. now, perfectly contrasting her is emilia. badass, hot asf, the grumpy to sareenas sunshine. i literally dropped my kindle on my fave upon meeting her, she is to DIE for. and even more to die for? their chemistry. WOW they go together perfectly!!!
this book is probably one of the most annotated books i have on my kindle. seriously, every page i was highlighting, adding notes, freaking tf out!!! this book has me crying, laughing, blushing, and more!! if i get my hands on a physical copy of this i'd be SCARED of how eagerly i'd start to annotate it. it would be 95% tabs and highlights to 5% of the book itself!!
this book was truly a joy to read, i can't wait to see what else rosie has in store for us because if this masterpiece is only her debut????? i can't even begin to imagine whats to come!!
ILY ROSIE💗💗
January 12, 2025
Like many others leaving reviews, I found this author and book through Instagram reels. I was excited to read the story and excited for these characters because Instagram did a great job in selling it. However, after 702 pages of these characters, I can say that the storyline and the characters were a bust. There were several problems I had when trying to read through this book:
(1) There are A LOT of punctuation and grammatical errors in the printing. Names are misspelled from one page to another and the quotations are all screwed up. I sometimes got lost on who was even talking. A conversation between 2 people would go on in the same paragraph and I wouldn't be able to follow who said what.
(2) While I get that many wlw relationships move fast and can have a strong connection in a short period of time, this was the most accelerated timeline I've ever come across. So much so, that with the poor character development and writing style, the emotional connection just came across as fake and cringe-y.
(3) The nicknames... cute nicknames are great and can be very effective when placed properly or when they are cleverly created based on a character's personality. The nicknames in this book seemed forced and were overly used from Sareena's character.
(4) Emilia was a hot/cold character. She seemed really sweet and endearing in one chapter and then manic and extremely hostile in another. It was really hard to get a read on her and while her anger was usually provoked on behalf of defending Sareena, it was just really hard to picture her as a long-term, stable and caring girlfriend. I wanted to like her a lot, but it just didn't get through to me.
(5) There is a lot of jumping in the plotline. There seems to be a lot of background interactions or conversations that the reader is not given and it becomes confusing when characters suddenly know information that was not previously shared. Or some characters suddenly know the name of one another without a precious mention or interaction. It was very hard to follow, initially, but if you just assume that everyone is aware of everyone, it's slightly easier to digest...
Overall the take from me was - I read it, it was another book to add to my yearly count, but it would not be a book to read again. I am not going to read the other books in the series either. It would also not be a book that I recommend to others.
(1) There are A LOT of punctuation and grammatical errors in the printing. Names are misspelled from one page to another and the quotations are all screwed up. I sometimes got lost on who was even talking. A conversation between 2 people would go on in the same paragraph and I wouldn't be able to follow who said what.
(2) While I get that many wlw relationships move fast and can have a strong connection in a short period of time, this was the most accelerated timeline I've ever come across. So much so, that with the poor character development and writing style, the emotional connection just came across as fake and cringe-y.
(3) The nicknames... cute nicknames are great and can be very effective when placed properly or when they are cleverly created based on a character's personality. The nicknames in this book seemed forced and were overly used from Sareena's character.
(4) Emilia was a hot/cold character. She seemed really sweet and endearing in one chapter and then manic and extremely hostile in another. It was really hard to get a read on her and while her anger was usually provoked on behalf of defending Sareena, it was just really hard to picture her as a long-term, stable and caring girlfriend. I wanted to like her a lot, but it just didn't get through to me.
(5) There is a lot of jumping in the plotline. There seems to be a lot of background interactions or conversations that the reader is not given and it becomes confusing when characters suddenly know information that was not previously shared. Or some characters suddenly know the name of one another without a precious mention or interaction. It was very hard to follow, initially, but if you just assume that everyone is aware of everyone, it's slightly easier to digest...
Overall the take from me was - I read it, it was another book to add to my yearly count, but it would not be a book to read again. I am not going to read the other books in the series either. It would also not be a book that I recommend to others.
July 18, 2024
arc review 💙
how can i recover from this masterpiece? how do i move on from emilia and sareena? 😔 well actually i will never move on!! i don’t think anyone can really understand how much i love this book!
emilia had me screaming and kicking my feet 😆 she’s literally who i would consider to be my first fictional girlfriend 🤭 sareena is just a sweetheart that deserves every bit of happiness that goes her way and i know for a fact that emilia is behind it all 😌
their story is one that is full of love. the instant connection these two have is just 😙🤌🏼 we get to see how emilia likes to spoil sareena rotten 🫠 how emilia will literally do anything and i mean anything for sareena. their story also has some heartache. reading about sareena and her home life was very sad. this results in always tearing herself down and never feeling enough. emilia was able to not only tell sareena but show her that she is everything. that she will always stay with sareena through the good and the bad ☺️
this book is such an emotional roller coaster. i was giddy, i was laughing but i was also crying (a lot) 😭😭 it’s heartbreaking, like i don’t think i’ve fully recovered from the last few chapters. one of the things that stood out to me in this book was the found family!! the way everyone, well except one person 😒, had an instant connection. you wouldn’t believe that they had just met. the love and care they had grown for each other was just so natural. it was really nice to see 💗
emilia & sareena’s story definitely has a special place in my heart 🤍🤍
how can i recover from this masterpiece? how do i move on from emilia and sareena? 😔 well actually i will never move on!! i don’t think anyone can really understand how much i love this book!
emilia had me screaming and kicking my feet 😆 she’s literally who i would consider to be my first fictional girlfriend 🤭 sareena is just a sweetheart that deserves every bit of happiness that goes her way and i know for a fact that emilia is behind it all 😌
their story is one that is full of love. the instant connection these two have is just 😙🤌🏼 we get to see how emilia likes to spoil sareena rotten 🫠 how emilia will literally do anything and i mean anything for sareena. their story also has some heartache. reading about sareena and her home life was very sad. this results in always tearing herself down and never feeling enough. emilia was able to not only tell sareena but show her that she is everything. that she will always stay with sareena through the good and the bad ☺️
this book is such an emotional roller coaster. i was giddy, i was laughing but i was also crying (a lot) 😭😭 it’s heartbreaking, like i don’t think i’ve fully recovered from the last few chapters. one of the things that stood out to me in this book was the found family!! the way everyone, well except one person 😒, had an instant connection. you wouldn’t believe that they had just met. the love and care they had grown for each other was just so natural. it was really nice to see 💗
emilia & sareena’s story definitely has a special place in my heart 🤍🤍
July 18, 2024
I’m literally sobbing rn 😭
I bought this book as soon as I woke up yesterday. After about 15 hours of reading and finally finished the book, all I can say that this is a very great book. Even though I only learned about it when I saw reels on my IG around mid June, I was waiting for it publish date, and it wasn’t a wrong choice at all. Keep up the good work Rosaline! I will wait for the next book’s publication to be one of the first to buy it!
I bought this book as soon as I woke up yesterday. After about 15 hours of reading and finally finished the book, all I can say that this is a very great book. Even though I only learned about it when I saw reels on my IG around mid June, I was waiting for it publish date, and it wasn’t a wrong choice at all. Keep up the good work Rosaline! I will wait for the next book’s publication to be one of the first to buy it!
July 20, 2024
this book is very long, but I wish it'd never end. every word written is so so so worthy of your time. go read it immediately!!
thank you ros for the arc!! 💜
full review soon :)
thank you ros for the arc!! 💜
full review soon :)
August 9, 2024
I don't think her brother's death was necessary. I was really enjoying the story until that moment, and it made it hard to appreciate the ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
on-hold
June 9, 2024YES I GOT THE ARC 🥳🥳
July 19, 2024
I was intrigued by this book the moment I saw it floating around on Instagram and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to read it because I really love it!
I love the characters, their backstory and growth throughout the book and I especially love the relationship between Sareena and Emilia. I was surprised by how morally gray Emilia was, especially when it comes to Sareena but I was def here for it! I also enjoyed getting all the domestic moments between the two and all the scenes with their friends and family. I really enjoyed that we got to see these characters grow throughout their story; both individually and as a couple.
The reason for 4 stars and not 5 is that while I loved getting to spend all this time with the characters and getting to know them, some scenes honestly could have been cut or edited out. I am a huge lover of long books (I always say the longer the better) but in this instance, I just felt like it could have been just a tiny bit shorter and take some of the more minor scenes out that almost took me out of the story because they made some parts drag a bit. I also found some of the scenes to be a bit too cheesy and almost bordering unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for reality in my romance books but some scenes were just next level haha.
Overall, this was a great read and I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next!
I love the characters, their backstory and growth throughout the book and I especially love the relationship between Sareena and Emilia. I was surprised by how morally gray Emilia was, especially when it comes to Sareena but I was def here for it! I also enjoyed getting all the domestic moments between the two and all the scenes with their friends and family. I really enjoyed that we got to see these characters grow throughout their story; both individually and as a couple.
The reason for 4 stars and not 5 is that while I loved getting to spend all this time with the characters and getting to know them, some scenes honestly could have been cut or edited out. I am a huge lover of long books (I always say the longer the better) but in this instance, I just felt like it could have been just a tiny bit shorter and take some of the more minor scenes out that almost took me out of the story because they made some parts drag a bit. I also found some of the scenes to be a bit too cheesy and almost bordering unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for reality in my romance books but some scenes were just next level haha.
Overall, this was a great read and I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next!
August 31, 2024
It was a cute story, however idk if it needed to be 700 pages long, it was good but sometimes a bit repetitive, llike how many times did they suprise each other with food??? but yeah i liked the characters, very cute. However it's kinda weird how things end with the father. Like one minute he's being tortured by emilia and then nothing. Did he die? is he still being tortured? why aren't sereena and her family wondering what happened to him? SO yeah, otherwise i loved the taylor swift references. Also idk if it was me the problem or the book, but i bought it on kindle and when i tried to open it on my kindle it wouldn't open because of the format of the book. So I had to read it on my phone which was really annoying. Idk if it was me or my kindle the problem , but i've never had that problem before. Even whilst i was reading it on my phone i could see that it was a very different format than other books i've read. Also, this is just personal preference, but i don't like when someone's love language is spending exuberant amounts of money on their lover, like we get it you're rich. Sereena will be like OMG I CANT BELIEVE YOU BOUGHT ME A HOUSE, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE but like for emilia money wise it would be the equivalent of a normal person buying a bouquet of flowers so it's not that crazy. Otherwise i'm quite excited about reading Andre's story.
September 7, 2024
4.5 ⭐️ Read this on wattpad literally downloaded the app to read this and OH MY GOSH I loved it Emilia is so sweet as well as protective and I love that about her she was willing to do anything for sareena and waited a whole month for her to come back RIP sareena’s father hope he rests in pieces probably died of starvation or lack of blood but oh well he won’t be missed. Sereena made a crochet frog I’m pretty sure it was called Martin and that was a running joke about her leaving Emilia for him hope he got his mrs Martin.
The book was really long but it made it much more better since you got all the details and stuff but I feel like if that was put into dialogue in the present in the book would be so much better because it was like reading a flashback which got a bit boring since there was quite a few when it was just not talking to anyone and was plain descriptive backstory.other than that I loved the book and hope anyone else who reads it likes it just as much
Rosaline if you read this I can’t wait to know about fran and Andre’s story about collage and when/if they both recognised each other because I’m pretty sure fran did early on when she met sareena and then Andre at the dinner they all had together when he kept going into the kitchen
The book was really long but it made it much more better since you got all the details and stuff but I feel like if that was put into dialogue in the present in the book would be so much better because it was like reading a flashback which got a bit boring since there was quite a few when it was just not talking to anyone and was plain descriptive backstory.other than that I loved the book and hope anyone else who reads it likes it just as much
Rosaline if you read this I can’t wait to know about fran and Andre’s story about collage and when/if they both recognised each other because I’m pretty sure fran did early on when she met sareena and then Andre at the dinner they all had together when he kept going into the kitchen
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2024
These were the most one dimensional characters I have ever encountered. For me it was like a sinking ship of sentences that were mashed together.
I cringed at most parts of this book, tell me why people who met an hour ago already have nicknames for each other. Also going on a not so date date was on the first day was diabolical.
Argh the way Emelia just already understands the other woman is beyond me.
Sugarbun? Casanova? Seriously! What in the world of nicknames is that. It feels forced and most of the book is just these nicknames, it got me irritated.
The book is too fast paced, I actually thought I'd skipped some pages. It was like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. I didn't see the build up and there was an extreme lack of real tension. I know it's fiction but wr are supposed to relate to the books we read, I did not!
Kind of lacked some creativity as most things were just clichè. I didn't feel the character build up to what led them to be that way or behave in certain manners,especially for Emilia. There was no tangible backstory that made me actually relate to the characters in most parts. Everything seemed to be just jumbled up. I was underwhelmed and unimpressed.
I stopped at about 30% when I realized I would rather read a phone book.
I cringed at most parts of this book, tell me why people who met an hour ago already have nicknames for each other. Also going on a not so date date was on the first day was diabolical.
Argh the way Emelia just already understands the other woman is beyond me.
Sugarbun? Casanova? Seriously! What in the world of nicknames is that. It feels forced and most of the book is just these nicknames, it got me irritated.
The book is too fast paced, I actually thought I'd skipped some pages. It was like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. I didn't see the build up and there was an extreme lack of real tension. I know it's fiction but wr are supposed to relate to the books we read, I did not!
Kind of lacked some creativity as most things were just clichè. I didn't feel the character build up to what led them to be that way or behave in certain manners,especially for Emilia. There was no tangible backstory that made me actually relate to the characters in most parts. Everything seemed to be just jumbled up. I was underwhelmed and unimpressed.
I stopped at about 30% when I realized I would rather read a phone book.
July 25, 2024
Arc review: I rated this book 4.2 stars!!...I absolutely love and adore this book 🥹...I guarantee you that you will either be giggling/ blushing or bawling your eyes out while reading this book, there's no in between 😭.. I've highlighted so many pages in this book cuz it was so cute (also super emotional ) 🤧 ...This book will literally make you cry that you don't have a relationship similar to Emilia and Sareena ( were some scenes a bit unrealistic? Yes ! Do I still believe it might happen somehow ? Also yes ! , cuz delulu is the solulu baybayy 😂).. They're so adorable and hopelessly in love to the point it makes you depressed that you don't have what they have 😭( Dear Universe, all I'm asking for is a relationship like theirs ,is that too much to ask for? 🤧(It is) )...EMILIA ROMANO IS THE NEW FUCKING STANDARD ! Lemme tell you that, she's giving a tough competition to all the other book boyfriends out there now 🤌🏻..This was my first sapphic romance and I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much 🥹. Author Rosaline Jackson did an amazing job with this debut novel 💗, would definitely recommend if you guys love cute/cheesy romance novels that also has a bit of a dark side to it .
dnf
November 14, 2024ugh i really wanted to like this but unfortunately it is a dnf… the grammatical and structural issues (the run on sentences were INSANE) + the cliche of it all just made it feel like i was on wattpad..
for example,
- “but after seeing how a man could be, having a failed secret high school relationship with a boy who I didn’t even like for the sake of my classmates, at a solid 23 years old.” this sentence literally doesn’t make sense.
- “but as long as I can call you, you’re heart, you’re spirit, and you’re body mine, I’ll be happy. I’m all yours”
PLEASE use the right type of your 😭
- “My record is 4 minutes without shaving, but it’s my first day back teaching at Lockesville Elementary School. After completing my training there two and a half years ago, Sanders offered me a job on the last day of our training, and I’ve been there since. In that same old place for almost three whole years now” the topic change is crazy cuz we were just talking about u showering…
- this was just me but who actually types out haha in the dialogue…
- each paragraph was literally one giant run on sentence i fear
for example,
- “but after seeing how a man could be, having a failed secret high school relationship with a boy who I didn’t even like for the sake of my classmates, at a solid 23 years old.” this sentence literally doesn’t make sense.
- “but as long as I can call you, you’re heart, you’re spirit, and you’re body mine, I’ll be happy. I’m all yours”
PLEASE use the right type of your 😭
- “My record is 4 minutes without shaving, but it’s my first day back teaching at Lockesville Elementary School. After completing my training there two and a half years ago, Sanders offered me a job on the last day of our training, and I’ve been there since. In that same old place for almost three whole years now” the topic change is crazy cuz we were just talking about u showering…
- this was just me but who actually types out haha in the dialogue…
- each paragraph was literally one giant run on sentence i fear
July 12, 2024
ARC REVIEW:
Okay, so lets talk about this beauty,
Firstly loved this for various reasons:
The representation, oh baby the representation- mental rep and sapphic rep and grey by choice fmc and the characters.
I can't tell you how much I love Emilia Romano, she's literally my fictional girlfriend. You want her and you wanna be her. And my sweet Sareena Nahar, you'll love her and you'll only wish happiness to her.
The plot was great and it was all cutesy and romantic. But at times it will make you cry like you've never had. And it'll hit you like a truck honestly.
Another thing I like about this story, is how much of love and care all the characters share, even if they're a brother or a sister or a friend or friend's mom. Seriously this has the best found family trope. Except for the Daddy issues obviously.
I would recommend it to the people who are fairly new to sapphic romance and I would recommend it to people who are like PhD in sapphic romance.
This book's a need for you to know to never settle for less than the world sweeties.
Okay, so lets talk about this beauty,
Firstly loved this for various reasons:
The representation, oh baby the representation- mental rep and sapphic rep and grey by choice fmc and the characters.
I can't tell you how much I love Emilia Romano, she's literally my fictional girlfriend. You want her and you wanna be her. And my sweet Sareena Nahar, you'll love her and you'll only wish happiness to her.
The plot was great and it was all cutesy and romantic. But at times it will make you cry like you've never had. And it'll hit you like a truck honestly.
Another thing I like about this story, is how much of love and care all the characters share, even if they're a brother or a sister or a friend or friend's mom. Seriously this has the best found family trope. Except for the Daddy issues obviously.
I would recommend it to the people who are fairly new to sapphic romance and I would recommend it to people who are like PhD in sapphic romance.
This book's a need for you to know to never settle for less than the world sweeties.
July 17, 2024
First of all, i want to thank Ms. Rosaline and her team for choosing me as a winner for the arc giveaway. I am truly grateful to them! 🩷
This book byfar is my favourite one, it has an actual storyline with smut (in moderation) which is something I really like about this book. BtWf had me experiencing all sorts of emotions, happiness, sadness and ofc anger.
All the characters are so well written, even the side ones. Emilia is literally the defination of a green flag, the way she took everything so slowly and didn't force herself upon Sareena, the way she embraced all of her scars and helped her heal, and how she was there in her lowest times. Sareena is also an amazing character. The realism of her character is amazing, her strength yet vulnerability and the way she cares for her family so much.
(Spoiler ‼️) Also their breakup and the part where Sareena's dad threatened her and Aseem's death (Sareena's brother) had me crying all night.
Overall I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to read a good romance novel with a plot. I can never stop recommending it!! 🩷
This book byfar is my favourite one, it has an actual storyline with smut (in moderation) which is something I really like about this book. BtWf had me experiencing all sorts of emotions, happiness, sadness and ofc anger.
All the characters are so well written, even the side ones. Emilia is literally the defination of a green flag, the way she took everything so slowly and didn't force herself upon Sareena, the way she embraced all of her scars and helped her heal, and how she was there in her lowest times. Sareena is also an amazing character. The realism of her character is amazing, her strength yet vulnerability and the way she cares for her family so much.
(Spoiler ‼️) Also their breakup and the part where Sareena's dad threatened her and Aseem's death (Sareena's brother) had me crying all night.
Overall I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to read a good romance novel with a plot. I can never stop recommending it!! 🩷
August 13, 2024
Emilia Romano is such a gentlewoman! I usually do not read e-books but thanks to Rosaline for making it available on wattpad on our special request. It was hard for me to keep this book down. This book took me to so many familiar paths of South Asian households. Thankfully, I never witnessed any of it but I have known people who have had an abusive father like Serena and reading this story helped me to connect with the fictional characters.
Both the characters had their own charm but boy how smitten I am with Emilia’s character. Such chivalry, such gentleness, such a badass, bold and a tough woman. Also, she just has much love for Serena? Like, excuse me? She makes people have hope that love does exists. The only reason why I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because I thought that there were some parts in which Emilia got too sweet and it was simply hard for me to digest. As in, it seemed a bit unrealistic.
Nevertheless, I absolutely had a good time reading this book. Thank you, Rosaline for listening to our request! 😊
Both the characters had their own charm but boy how smitten I am with Emilia’s character. Such chivalry, such gentleness, such a badass, bold and a tough woman. Also, she just has much love for Serena? Like, excuse me? She makes people have hope that love does exists. The only reason why I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because I thought that there were some parts in which Emilia got too sweet and it was simply hard for me to digest. As in, it seemed a bit unrealistic.
Nevertheless, I absolutely had a good time reading this book. Thank you, Rosaline for listening to our request! 😊
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2024
it started cute but quickly fell into the cliché trap. sareena’s the selfless, responsible sister with a rough family situation, and emilia is the perfect girl who falls for her instantly. cute? sure. realistic? not really. the pacing was way too fast, especially for a supposed romance like, we skipped all the build-up and just jumped straight to "hey baby." also, emilia’s over-the-top protective moments and the random nicknames just made me cringe. it felt forced and too much at times. the writing didn't help either, a bit messy and hard to connect with the characters.
December 28, 2024
RTC
⭐️ 3
⭐️ 3
June 5, 2025
This book is like if the worst fanfiction you've ever read had an evil twin
June 21, 2025
DNF @ 9%
The writing is just not good at all. I wouldn’t normally rate a book unless I’d read more, but this book was a mess.
The writing is just not good at all. I wouldn’t normally rate a book unless I’d read more, but this book was a mess.
August 6, 2024
🌹 Work Colleagues to Lovers
🌹 Sapphic Romance
🌹 Insta Love
*~*~*~*~*
To know you is my new wish. I wish to know you forever, Sareena, and to see you, and to be with you and to come to bed with you for the rest of my life."
This book was beautifully written by Rosaline Jackson and it was a pleasure to read it as an ARC, I can only begin to imagine the amount of time and effort that has gone into this book, and I hope that my review does it a little bit of justice.
Sareena Nahar is someone who's had to grow up way too quickly and become an adult when she should've been allowed to have a different life experience. In all honesty, I can understand why and it's unfortunate that she did, but I also feel that others who love her have the tendency to occasionally treat her like a child because of this.
Emilia Romano is the definition of powerful, if you looked the word up in the dictionary, you'd find her picture there. I love how she constantly exuded power and never failed to make anyone think otherwise. I love that she sometimes came across as someone with a masculine personality but still showed her feminine side in a way that left everyone woman wanting to be her, and every man wanting to know her.
Emilia and Sareena are complete polar opposites and yet they attract one another like a moth to a flame and I really love that they mellow one another out while also making them stronger. Their relationship is beautiful and I was constantly rooting for them to end up with a happily ever after.
For anyone who wants to read this book, I would recommend making sure you are in the right headspace as this book was a very emotional ride and often focused on situations relating to the mental health and areas of self harm. There were days when I was reading this book and struggled because of how intense things were. The trigger warnings are something that need to be taken very seriously as it could leave you in a bad place if you are struggling with your mental health.
In addition to the mental health, I really love how Rosaline focused on a topic that isn't often focused upon in books. It was nice to see a focus of Sareena's culture and the beliefs and traditions that are followed. Diversity is such an important thing and I enjoyed learning about things that were important to Sareena, even if she didn't follow everything completely. With this however, showed a darker side that you don't often here about and at times I was stressing out trying to figure out why Sareena's mother stayed when she saw and went through what she did, but I also appreciate that the author didn't leave any loopholes there. I may not understand things to the degree that had taken place within the book, but I felt every emotion that Sareena did, and my heart broke for her.
The plot twist that took place over half way really through me and left me tearing up. It wasn't something I was expecting and was one of the reasons I kept reading despite the feeling that the story was dragging on a little. Rosaline touches on so many important topics and moments that you can't help but want to appreciate every word she's written.
Now for why I rated the book a little lower: my first reason is due to the length of the book; before I even started reading this book, I couldn't understand WHY it was over 700 pages long and while I do appreciate the amount of detail that was put into this book, I do think it could've been shortened to less than 500 pages and still achieve the same effect that was achieved in the end. Sometimes less is more. The second reason was for the way Emilia is this powerful business woman, but she almost acted as though she was the head of a mafia and did numerous things that don't seem normal for a 'business woman'. I know the mafia was joked about, but I also can't remember it out right saying her family were the mafia? It just felt a little weird for me and I could've done without it. It also took away from Sareena being able to grow and become more confident which was a let down for me.
All in all, this was a brilliant book to read and I would recommend it to anyone, but I would certainly be mindful of the mental health aspect as I was in a bad place when reading this and sometimes it hit a little hard. I loved the amount of love that Sareena has to give, I love the way Emilia really would do anything for Sareena, and I loved the relationships with it. It's the relationships that really made this book beautiful alongside the writing.
🌹 Sapphic Romance
🌹 Insta Love
*~*~*~*~*
To know you is my new wish. I wish to know you forever, Sareena, and to see you, and to be with you and to come to bed with you for the rest of my life."
This book was beautifully written by Rosaline Jackson and it was a pleasure to read it as an ARC, I can only begin to imagine the amount of time and effort that has gone into this book, and I hope that my review does it a little bit of justice.
Sareena Nahar is someone who's had to grow up way too quickly and become an adult when she should've been allowed to have a different life experience. In all honesty, I can understand why and it's unfortunate that she did, but I also feel that others who love her have the tendency to occasionally treat her like a child because of this.
Emilia Romano is the definition of powerful, if you looked the word up in the dictionary, you'd find her picture there. I love how she constantly exuded power and never failed to make anyone think otherwise. I love that she sometimes came across as someone with a masculine personality but still showed her feminine side in a way that left everyone woman wanting to be her, and every man wanting to know her.
Emilia and Sareena are complete polar opposites and yet they attract one another like a moth to a flame and I really love that they mellow one another out while also making them stronger. Their relationship is beautiful and I was constantly rooting for them to end up with a happily ever after.
For anyone who wants to read this book, I would recommend making sure you are in the right headspace as this book was a very emotional ride and often focused on situations relating to the mental health and areas of self harm. There were days when I was reading this book and struggled because of how intense things were. The trigger warnings are something that need to be taken very seriously as it could leave you in a bad place if you are struggling with your mental health.
In addition to the mental health, I really love how Rosaline focused on a topic that isn't often focused upon in books. It was nice to see a focus of Sareena's culture and the beliefs and traditions that are followed. Diversity is such an important thing and I enjoyed learning about things that were important to Sareena, even if she didn't follow everything completely. With this however, showed a darker side that you don't often here about and at times I was stressing out trying to figure out why Sareena's mother stayed when she saw and went through what she did, but I also appreciate that the author didn't leave any loopholes there. I may not understand things to the degree that had taken place within the book, but I felt every emotion that Sareena did, and my heart broke for her.
The plot twist that took place over half way really through me and left me tearing up. It wasn't something I was expecting and was one of the reasons I kept reading despite the feeling that the story was dragging on a little. Rosaline touches on so many important topics and moments that you can't help but want to appreciate every word she's written.
Now for why I rated the book a little lower: my first reason is due to the length of the book; before I even started reading this book, I couldn't understand WHY it was over 700 pages long and while I do appreciate the amount of detail that was put into this book, I do think it could've been shortened to less than 500 pages and still achieve the same effect that was achieved in the end. Sometimes less is more. The second reason was for the way Emilia is this powerful business woman, but she almost acted as though she was the head of a mafia and did numerous things that don't seem normal for a 'business woman'. I know the mafia was joked about, but I also can't remember it out right saying her family were the mafia? It just felt a little weird for me and I could've done without it. It also took away from Sareena being able to grow and become more confident which was a let down for me.
All in all, this was a brilliant book to read and I would recommend it to anyone, but I would certainly be mindful of the mental health aspect as I was in a bad place when reading this and sometimes it hit a little hard. I loved the amount of love that Sareena has to give, I love the way Emilia really would do anything for Sareena, and I loved the relationships with it. It's the relationships that really made this book beautiful alongside the writing.
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