Isabella rolled her eyes and smiled, "Never had a one-night stand,"
"A one-night stand huh?" Giovanni smirked, "And what makes you think this would be a one-time thing?" ______________________________________________________________
Set in the beautiful streets of Barcelona comes a story of love, passion, drama and self-discovery.
Isabella Avery thought she had it all. The perfect job, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect life. Until she got dumped and everything changed. After moving from London to Barcelona to live with her best friend, Reyna, Isabella is forced to pick up the pieces of her life. This is no easy task for someone who grew up with a control freak of a mother planning out her every move.
After much convincing, she finally joins Reyna for a night out on the town that would change her life forever. She meets the sexy and confident club-owner, Giovanni Velázquez who introduces her to a world of passion and excitement that was previously undiscovered.
She set out to have just a one-night stand with Giovanni but what will happen when she's with him more than once?
I wanted to like this so badly, but I couldn’t tell you the plot even if you held a gun to my head. The writing was too robotic and clunky for my taste!
Adoro, adoro, adoro ler livros que ainda estão “nas sombras”.
Agarrei neste livro porque adoro a Dominique e achei que seria engraçado ler a série dela. Embora tenha começado a ler por gostar dela, continuei por adorar o que ela escreveu. Com o cenário de Barcelona como fundo, acompanhamos a Isabella a apaixonar-se, aos poucos e poucos, pelo Giovanni e, a convencer-se a ela própria que não havia nada mais que um caso casual entre os dois. O desenvolvimento dos personagens está super bom, onde vimos as camadas que o Giovanni vai perdendo e quando descobrimos cada vez mais sobre como é, na realidade, viver na pele dele. Pelo lado da Isabella, o melhor da personagem é o amor próprio que ela tem - vimos tanta vez protagonistas a “sujeitarem-se” a aceitar tudo apenas por um homem bonito e com poder, mas Isabella não é NADA assim. Ela sabe o que quer, é confiante sem ser arrogante e uma pessoa do caraças - independente dos problemas que deixou em Londres.
Acaba com um grande cliffhanger, por isso que recomendo que se preparem para uma maratonar a trilogia inteirinha.
What A Great Read😍,,I enjoyed reading This!! The Character Development😍😍😍 Giovanni And Isabella Is My Favorite Relationship and can someone say RELATIONSHIP GOALS!!🤩🤩❤
Read both books on Wattpad because it kept popping on my FYP on TikTok and I was not disappointed. Both books were amazing, the banter, the back and forth. Makes me want to go to Spain and find me a Giovanni of my own. Can't wait for the third book.
This book brought me back to the times when I used to read fanfictions and imagines on Tumblr and wattpad it felt so nostalgic I loved it! This is the first book in the More Than Triology and it is mainly character development and the start of Isabella’s and Giovanni’s relationship. There is a lot of back and forth banter between these two, he said, she said and petty pre relationship bickering which had me wanting to scream at them and tell them they were both being stupid. I was not expecting this book to have the little plot twists and drama that was thrown in there but it really added too the the story lines. This book does have some spice too it which is always a plus in my book! Since this is the first book in the trilogy I was not expected a whole lot to happen, I figured it would be more focused on building the relationship between these two so just know that going in. Overall I loved this book and when I read the last page yesterday I just sat there in shock needing to start the second one!
firstly, I am literally DYING because I've ordered the 2nd book (More Than This) on Amazon, & now I have to wait 😭! I really enjoyed the read. There was so much depth & relatability to the characters that made me fall in love with them. Granted, Giovanni was a little frustrating at times.
It also made me want to jet off to Spain.. because wow it sounds AMAZING!
Where to start with this book? This book has the right amount of everything from, romance, passion, handsome tattooed club owner, strong minded female character, story set in the beautiful city of Barcelona, and more!
Funny story, similar to how Isabella said it was “only a one-time thing” in regards to Giovanni, that’s kind of how I initially was when I first discovered this book through TikTok. I thought 💭 to myself, “I probably won’t like it, but I’ll give it a chance”. Cut to me reading intensely all through the night, and losing track of time. Boy was I totally wrong! This hooked me right away! I needed to know what was going to happen!
I initially read “More Than Once”, when it was on Wattpad, and I couldn’t stop myself from reading it. I fell in love with Isabella and Giovanni! Isabella had qualities that I found myself relating to, and I enjoyed her sense of rediscovery through out the story. Now… Giovanni 😍 I’d agree with Isabella that at first I was never really into tattoos on guys, but… OH MA GAWD! GIOVANNI MAKES IT WORK! I also loved that while Giovanni had this amazing sex appeal to him, I also loved seeing his softer/romantic side when he was with Isabella 🥺💕
Reading this story made me feel like I was in Barcelona, and I feel immersed in the storyline. In addition, can we all agree that we all need a Reyna in our lives! That friend that pushes us out of our comfort zones, and is always there to support us no matter what! (Friendship goals 💘).
This book (series) has become one of my favorites and stories I can go back and read again because it gives me a sense of comfort due to the characters I’ve fallen in love with. That being said…. THAT CLIFFHANGER THOUGH! AHHHHHHHH! Dominique I love you girl, but….. WTF?! That ending gave me an emotional book hangover 😵 like… I didn’t know how to function for the rest of the day 🥲
Anyways, I would highly recommend checking this book out if you’re in the mood for romance, spicy scenes 😏, lovable characters, sweet endearing moments, and more 💕
It's hard to put the words down even after a few days since I've finished this book and that's because it gave me a lot of feelings reading it and even after it. This is what I call a well-written one-night-stand trope book.
I loved every single word from this book and I wish I could read it again without knowing the plot. The characters, the plot were all amazing and it was so hard to let the book down when I had to. The story always made me want to see what's gonna happen next.
Giovanni and Isabella were everything I needed. They are couple goals and one of my favorite couple from now on. Their relationship evolved naturally and it wasn't a single moment I thought that the things are moving faster than I want to. The way their pasts were described and presented their consequences in the present and getting to know more about them as people was a big thing for me. Love it🤍
I really appreciated that the author also focused on the secondary characters and they kinda had their own story. I was always gladly to discover something new about them. I'd definitely enjoy to read a spin off series :)
The final was nothing like I expected to be. I was completely shocked by it – Dominique, you did a great job with that😂.It left me with soooo many questions so I had to buy the second book immediately (currently waiting for it😍).
Overall, this has become one of my favorite reads from this year🤍
When Isabella gets dump by her boyfriend of 6 years she picks up her life and moves to Barcelona. Her friend decided she finally needs to go out and have fun ( have a one night stand) where she meets Giovanni. Over time they both start to feel something more and finally decide to be official. OMG Isabella and Giovanni have my heart they are literally perfect together!! I love them so much and I’m RUNNING to the next book. I did originally read More than Once on wattpad and I’m so happy to have read them physically. The way the are literally perfect for each other. Also the smut AHHH it’s literally so good I kid you not. The way they slowly realize they love each and the way the are always there for each other!! They literally deserve the world. I definitely recommend you pick up this series it’s just so good!! I love the authors writing and her in general, can’t wait to read more of her books <3
Love it. Giovanni and Isabella Story is amazing. It made me want to have the same connection they have in real life. They are soulmates that always have a way to find each other. Even if they both deny their feelings at the beginning. BTW Casey is a real bitch.
This book will always hold a special place in my heart.... Giovanni is chefs kiss 👌✨...he is the best and will forever be the best 💕100% recommend read ...and don't get me started on the spicy scene 😅😅🤭
I went into reading this book extremely excited, from what I had heard it truly seemed like a promising and enjoyable romance with spicy scenes in it (one of my favourite tropes) although I found myself really disappointed, I really struggled to get through this book and often found myself laughing at scenes that I shouldn’t of been because of the cringe-y writing.
Here’s a few points I disliked:
1) I had no idea the author was South African when I started reading the book but I very very quickly realised it due to the manner in which the characters spoke to one another, the South African lingo was so adamant in how they spoke that it completely threw me off due to the fact that none of the characters were from/situated-in South Africa. A person who comes from London or Spain would not, and I cannot emphasize this enough, use these phrases:
- Chapter 17: “And now?” (Used to ask what has happened) - Chapter 9: “You really think you can always get what you want HEY?” (Specifically pointing to ending the sentence off with the word “hey” as a question word, that’s only commonly used in South African lingo.)
This made the book feel unrealistic and yes, I acknowledge that it’s fiction obviously but I cannot connect with characters if they don’t make sense.
2) There were so many repetitions😭 adding the emoji to emphasise my frustration, I picked up on a habit the author has in their writing in which they give the reader information in the form of Isabella’s thoughts but then proceed to repeat those exact thoughts through Isabella’s conversations with other character for example:
- Chapter 5: Isabella’s thoughts state “I stopped checking in and after the fallout I ended up having with my mother..” - Chapter 16: Isabella explains to Giovanni “My mother and I had a bit of a fallout” - Chapter 18: Isabella explains to Giovanni once again stating “I had a bad fallout with my mother”
This repetition makes the reader feel as though the author was simply trying to fill in as many pages in the book as possible, it takes away from the experience of going on the journey with the character. Instead it would have been better for the reader to find out about the “fallout” for the first time when Isabella tells Giovanni, this then makes the reader feel immersed into the world and more connected to the characters and their experiences. Having the same information repeated throughout the book is a drag. This is only one of many examples.
3) Writing skills. I 100% take into account the fact that this book started off as a wattpad book, and so I didn’t expect it to be perfect but the quality of writing was extremely poor, it felt as though I was reading a novel written by a 16 year old in high school. The word choices and character expressions were poor. And it often felt as though it was more of the authors personal desires splattered on a page, I felt like character development was disregarded due to the author being engulfed by the romance, drama and “risky” scenes instead of picturing these characters as real people and portraying them in a manner that real people might come off. I’m only mentioning this due to the fact that this book is being sold, and when a customer buys a product the producer should ensure that it’s of a high standard.
Overall I truly think this book would be enjoyed more by 14-17 year olds, perhaps that’s the target audience? I’m not sure. I really wished that it was well written and some research behind regions and how the people in these regions act and speak was done before writing about them. The plot had potential. I really wanted to like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
First book that I wanted to continue to read the series, left me on a big cliff hanger that kept me wanting more. The relationship between the two is everything that you would see and want. I loved the book and the author is amazing!!
The beginning was promising, but the story got boring and repetitive pretty quickly. I mostly skimmed through the second half of the book. Now, I'm not sure if I'm going to read the other two books. 😔👀
I really wanted to like this book a lot more, but I felt like it was very repetitive at times and I got bored after reading just a chapter so I couldn’t read more than two at a time. The writing style just wasn’t really for me. It felt very chunky and forced- almost like it didn’t flow?? However when I got to the last few chapters, I just couldn’t put the book down. There was so much happening all at once and the drama was being thrown from all directions.
Also, talk about a cliffhanger! I’m so grateful I bought the entire series at the same time so I can just pick up the second book because that ending left me shocked.
More Than Once follows the story of Isabella Avery and Giovanni Velazquez. After Isabella’s perfect-planned out life falls apart because her boyfriend of six years dumps her, she moves to Barcelona to look for a fresh start. She moves in with her best friend Reyna. One night Reyna suggests they go out clubbing, and after some hesitation Isabella agrees. At the club Isabella meets Giovanni where sparks fly and their chemistry rockets. What starts off as a one-night stand flourishes into something bigger that neither of them saw coming.
My god. I loved this book so much, it was so good, but now I really don't know what to think of Giovanni, cause I've really loved him up until this point and I don't want that to change. I'm sorry but "mi hermosa" just makes me so happy, I love Giovanni and Isabella together.
Also, Isabella is such a strong character, not even just in the writing, but also personality wise. I don't know many people with the strength to leave her family like that and I'm so proud of her for it. She didn't deserve how her sister and mother treat her and I really hope one of these days she slaps them.
Giovanni. Dude. I was rooting for you. And you had to go ruin it. What the hell were you doing with that other woman, there better be a bloody good explanation, that baby better not be yours or I swear to the gods I will actually kill you. And that's if Isabella and Reyna don't get to you first.
All I can say is that I'm far too invested in this ship and series to give up now and I cannot wait to start the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I expected to like this book way more than I actually did. But being that this is the author’s first series and it’s coming off of Wattpad, it’s still really good.
I actually related to Isabella quite a bit in this book. She’s an introvert, doesn’t like confrontation, and hello? She wants to open up her own bookstore and coffee shop! That’s like every bookworms dream. The part that really got to me was her family. There was no room for failure. She was expected to be the best at everything and have the perfect life that her mother had planned out for her. Isabella didn’t want any of that. She wanted to do her own thing and be her own person. Because of this, her relationship with both her sister and mother are very strained. I can’t relate to this part exactly but I know what it feels like when all eyes are on you. I have a judgmental family and if you’re not a straight A student with a high ass paying job then it’s like, what are you even doing? It gets SO exhausting when you spend your whole life trying to please others that you just get fed up and say, “fuck it.”
As for Giovanni, I feel no connection to him yet. He’s an alright character but I’m not in love with him, you know? But there are some parts of the book where he’s vulnerable with Isabella and I love that.
There was some editing issues that made it hard to push through, but as I said before, this is her first series and a Wattpad book. The author has a lot of potential and will grow from here on out.
I regret not getting the rest of the series because it ended on a major cliffhanger!!! So you already know I have to get the rest 😂. Also, am I the only person who really liked Lorenzo? I lowkey wanted something to form between him and Isabella. I’m hoping we see him again in the next book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
un librito hot para retomar la lectura sí bebeeee no leía bien desde marzo porque bueno i guess i was just too busy finishing high school (😭😭😭)
pero bueno ya es verano y eso significa que vamos a leer descontroladamente.
estuvo bueno el libro, cortito y fácil de leer me gustó que está ambientado en barcelona <33 me gustó también isabella, me identifico mucho con su lado overthinker controlador, y btw, UGHHH que mal me cae su madre dios míooooo y bueeeeno qué decir de giovanni.. excepto que uff que tenga barba q sexyy pero la mitad del libro se me olvidó que tenía y me lo imaginé sin pero bueno.
en fiiiin me gustó pero descubrí como a la mitad del libro que es una trilogía 😳 y solo empecé este porque a court of mist and fury estaba pesado aunque tmb ya lo retomé.
y si quiero leer los otros dos porque omg el final wtffff?????? pero no se si ahora, porque por el momento voy a retomar el sarah j. maas universe jiji if u know, u know
This series start Isabelle and Govanni. At first i will admit i hated him he was such a d*ck but around middle of book 2 and book 3 we get to see his true colours and we truly start to fall in love😍. Isabelle knows what she wants and what she deserves even if she doubts herself sometimes.
We have some ex’s getting in the way as well as family drama, dont forget a little sprinkle of jealousy because she feels like she’s behind.
What started as a one night stand ended up as so much more.
Govanni really was a star through the tough times when Isabelle really needed him (even if she didn’t know it yet)
Be warned please check the triggers since there are a few topics that are a bit sensitive but definitely worth the trauma if you ask me.
This book had be laughing, crying, raging and screaming all in one (my kindle almost learned how to fly guys!!!!)Like this was such an emotional rollercoaster.
Dominique i have to say you got me thinking you’ve been writing forever even of it was just your first books/ series