4 stars ✨
He was an awful human. Period. I was better than this. That was his appeal and the reason to resist him. Somehow, I had to win this lawsuit without having sex with Byron Crowne.
I went into this SUPER excited. Even though I know early reviews are often skewed, I still was very encouraged by them because I usually love CD Reiss. The issue with that is that I have really high expectations and standards when it comes to her books. She has created some of my favorites heroes ever, her heroines are complex but still relatable, and her prose is just plain beautiful. So on that note, I’ll say that I really liked Iron Crowne. It wasn’t my favorite story of hers, nor did it have my favorite characters, but I read it quickly and was definitely invested in it.
”You’re nothing but hunger. Every time you talk. Every move. Every decision you make. Your need soaks through you. You think you have it under control, but all I see is how much you want everything you hate.”
Olivia Monroe is an environmental lawyer. She is also desperate to be a mother. Now, as I’ve said before, I don’t necessarily love storylines that revolve around babies, whether it be infertility or surprise pregnancy. However, I was okay with it here because the whole plot was unlike anything I’d ever read before. I loved Olivia’s independence and the way she decided to go after what she wanted regardless of circumstance. She was a kick-ass female, to say the least. My only complaint is that I thought she softened too quickly, but then again, this was a stand-alone romance novel. I’m not sure it could’ve been done any differently. She definitely was the perfect- and unique- mix of pliant in the bedroom but strong outside of it, and there was little doubt that was exactly what Byron needed. In the end, I was very glad that Olivia didn’t compromise what she wanted just to have Byron. And I believe Byron was too.
“You’re fucked up. You are one fucked up son of a bitch. You’re hard as iron. Sometimes you’re hot. Sometimes you’re cold. But still cast iron through and through.”
Byron Crowne is a real-estate developer that is obsessed with building the biggest and best projects just so he can “leave his mark” on LA. Really, the reader doesn’t get a good handle on who Byron is until well into the book. That being said, I’m not sure Byron himself knows who he is, either. He’s a vintage CDR hero: an emotionally scared, dominant alpha that wants things his way, which makes things difficult when he isn’t entirely sure what he wants. I had trouble with the whole idea of Byron being an asshole, though. He was always very honest about who he was and what he wanted. I didn’t blame Olivia for falling for him anyway, but that wasn’t on Byron, either. That being said, he didn’t seem to quite understand that just because he was honest about what he wanted, didn’t mean Olivia had to give it to him. They were both stubborn and bull-headed, but they had to be to be worthy of each other. They also had to be to make things interesting.
No one had ever spoken to me with the assumption that I’d obey. Especially not a lover, and I knew I didn’t want to ever live without it again.
She was clarity and desire and the only one with the strength to change me. The only one I wanted to make happy. She was hope.
This book didn’t have the kind of crazy suspenseful plot with twists and turns. It was more of a sex-filled romp with an emotional slow-burn, which I enjoyed. As always with this author, the sex is rough with BDSM elements, and while it’s scorching hot, it doesn’t steal the show. It’s more of a detail in a character study. As a side note, I really, really liked Byron’s family. They were like the Drazen’s but with far less dysfunction. Byron’s parents were lovely people that happened to have a lot of money and kids, which should bode well for more stories in this world. Olivia’s friends, family, and coworkers were interesting but far less noteworthy, which was probably by design. All in all, this was an enjoyable, hot, thought-provoking read by an author that can’t seem to go wrong!
”Let me ask you something. Do you do this shit to all the woman lawyers you’re up against?”
“Let me ask you something. Do your hands shake and does your breath get all heavy for every man you take to court?”
“Only the ones I want to destroy.”
“Good,” he said as if we’d decided something. “I only say this shit to women I want to destroy. But I don’t think we mean the same thing.”