Listen, I know that lots of romances require some suspension of disbelief. I get it, I really do. HOWEVER!!!! I don’t think I should have to remain in a constant state of “what the fuck” throughout the entire book.
First, I love that this is an age gap romance especially with the FMM being older, and I love that Della is whimsical and fun, I love that she’s a curvy girl, but I was frustrated by the fact that a nearly 40 year old woman was written like a teenager. There’s so much amazing nuance to be added to non-20s adult romance, but aside from her worrying that her window for getting married and having kids is closing, there’s nothing about her that would allow the reader to sense that she has more life experience than any 19-year-old FMC. You can make the “young at heart” arguments until you’re blue in the face, but her dialogue is exactly what you’d expect from someone naive and only just emerging into adulthood, which I think is a huge disservice to her character.
And Hayes … don’t get me fucking started. One minute he’s a “fuck-feelings” petulant little kid, then you blink and suddenly he’s the most thoughtful and selfless creature on earth who is ready to dedicate his soul to Della. This is what I mean when I say that suspension of disbelief is a constant requirement to read and enjoy this book. You don’t just flip a switch and become thoughtful and intuitive, and throwing swear words around doesn’t effectively call back to that “bad boy” energy he started the book with, nor does adding the little caveat that he’s a good uncle/brother properly prime to reader for the massive 180 of his attitude toward women. This isn’t character development. There are all these references to growth and moments of “I needed time to become the man you deserve” like I understand that you’ve been lowkey into Della for a little while, but to pretend that there’s been any active character development outside of the three month window in which the majority of the plot takes place is fucking delusional. He was not ~taking the time to become a better man~ when he was slinging dick all over town. Which makes it VERY HARD TO BELIEVE that he had a full conversion of character over the span of a couple months.
Also, “As I released into her, I was giving her more than my cum. I was giving her my heart. My everything.” ????? Give me a fucking gun.
The spice was fine. And I say that with a heavy sigh. I thought as a society we were past the whole “we came at the same time the first time we had penetrative sex” but I guess not. I do have to add that the first spicy scene in the truck made zero logistical sense to me. They’re in a TRUCK. he’s in the drivers seat. How are those angles angling? Was he in the foot space to get between the knees?? Was he leaning over like … perpendicular to her??
Anyway, I gave it two stars because there were some pleasant moments here and there. I’m not going to sit here and rag on it like it’s the worst thing on earth because it’s clearly not. I can see how it would spark joy for some. I just had notes.