Expected publication: September 22nd 2015 by Samhain Publishing
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
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Synopsis On Goodreads:
As a Vegas singer and volunteer counselor, Kate Callender has experienced life on both sides of Sin City’s bright lights. The thrill of performing, and gambling’s devastating effect on the addicts’ families.
Liam Doyle is just the kind of man she despises—a handsome, enigmatic businessman with a knack for seducing customers into his casino hotels. Determined to put a lid on his growing influence, she prepares to picket the opening of his newest casino, Vice.
When Liam spots the lone protestor hassling his customers, annoyance wars with instant attraction. And he quickly discovers the leggy redhead not only can’t be bought, she tempts him the way the sound of a roulette wheel lures a gambler.
They are natural enemies, but when a vile attack sparks Liam’s protective instincts, they begin a sexual odyssey that dances on the edge of addiction. Dangerously close to losing control...and losing themselves.
RATING: 2.5/5 stars
*** REVIEW ***
As you all know- I'm always up for a good enemies-to-lovers romance whether from f/m or m/m genre and that was the main reason I picked this book up. Unfortunately, this ended up not being the right type of a read for me.
Why it didn't work out for me:
~ Insta-love romances and some cheesy content rarely work for me, especially the more books I read. The story must be either pnr romance or really good for me not to be annoyed by it, but this wasn't the case. It took about a week or two for the main couple to develop such strong feelings for each other and do some *pretty unbelievable things* all "in the name of love." Some might find this highly romantic, but for me this is where the story lost its credibility.
~The enemies-to-lovers plot-line felt anticlimatic in my opinion. I wanted sparks, slow-building intensity, passion, a lot of sexy banter, but everything felt so rushed that those things ended up lost somewhere in the story, at least for me.
~ We are all humans and make mistakes every day, but I couldn't not think of Kate's behavior when it comes to her patients and rushed relationship with Liam a bit hypocritical considering her profession.
~ The 2nd half of the book seemed to revolve only around "sex solves everything until it doesn't" plot followed by a fair share of unnecessary drama.
The best plot-line of the story for me were the parts focused on the side-effects of compulsive gambling. Those parts were really touching, emotional and thought-provoking. Kate's dad is a compulsive gambler whose addiction costed her a lot of bad things in her life and made her become volunteer counselor for the near family of gambling addicts later on. My heart was breaking for her while reading about her father's addiction and all the things she went through because of him. Other than that the story and its characters failed to touch me on some deeper level. In the end I just couldn't connect to it and that's why 2.5 stars.
Read it & decide for yourself!
xoxo,
Purple
I don't think this would work for me either. Fast and cheesy is just not my idea of a good time. :/
ReplyDeleteYeah, I still don't get why authors continue to "pursue" this plot-line formula. :/
DeleteInsta-love is a tricky situation and is difficult to pull off unless it's a fantasy/shifter/mating thing. I think enemies to lovers must be played out correctly otherwise as you said it's anticlimactic. Sorry to hear this was mostly a dud for you, Purple. Great honest review! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rachel!Ditto, I think I overgrew this type of stories long time ago.
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