Listen. You can pry the cheating trope out of my cold, dead hands.
The way Gabe and Samira were brought together felt inevitable all the way through the end. I regret to inform you I was cheering on all their toxicity and drama!! Scott, Samira's boyfriend, was a genuinely nice guy, but he was also ill-suited for Samira, caught up in his family's public persona and expectations. I didn't feel like he saw Samira for who she actually was; he more so allowed her to mold and shape herself into what he needed from a wife and partner. So while I do not condone cheating*, I understood Samira's journey and empathized with her.
While Gabe and Samira's affair is prominent in the plot, this is also a story about a biracial Black woman coming into her own and learning who she wants to be and what she wants do. She is messy, at times selfish—but she is also so human that I rooted for her to figure it out even when I felt like she was going with the flow too much. Scott? Thanks for paying the bills, boo. Idk what to say but I do NOT condone cheating*!
I found Samira and Gabe's relationship to be more lust-centered, and wished the more intimate moments were more fleshed out/frequent so that I could feel fully invested in their love story. However, I very much got what I came here for: mess, twists and turns, more mess, drama, chosen family, and a FMC taking charge of her life on multiple levels. The ending and epilogue helped me feel more comfortable with them saying they loved each other lol. Lauren was sus and is NOT slick—I will have my eye on her for the rest of this series!
Overall, I really enjoyed Sia Morgan's writing style and will be reading more from her!
*I very much do support the cheating in this book.
Thank you so much to BookBuzzPR and Sia Morgan for sending me an ARC!
5 ⭐️s
3 🌶️