Monica Murphy (1)

My Review:

This is by far the best one of the trilogy in my opinion. I really had such a fun time with this one and we really see the best things happen for this couple. I also loved how everything gets resolved in the end of this one. I would say this series would feel more contemporary in a dark romance world a bit. Its like the on the edges and not what I would term dark romance but it is connected to a world that has very dark elements to it. But if you are just looking for a contemporary show more arranged marriage, this isn't a bad way to go. I really felt like this book is where our couple really learns to trust in each other and resolve their issues and become a true team which is why for me its the best book of the series. I loved the way in which we see them work together and connect so beautifully. It just wasn't long enough for me. I wasn't a fan though of the ending in how Charlotte's parents get treated....they are just awful and didn't deserve such grace lol I know I should be better about it but seriously how they treated her especially in this book was horrid. But the story and the actual romance that digs deep in this story was phenomenal and despite my issues with some things in the first two books...this book made it all worth it. show less

I'm always up for an arranged marriage trope so I picked my first Monica Murphy book and was blown away with her exquisite character development and her breathtaking slow build of intrigue and attraction.

Perry Constantine is fun and charismatic. A rebel in his serious and ruthless family. His mother's favorite. And now he's a lamb led to an arranged marriage. It's a business deal between two powerful families and he has no say in the matter. Then he meets his future wife, the mysterious and show more beautiful Charlotte Lancaster. Perry is in a hell of a predicament. He's too young to marry and have a family, but he wants this frustrating and vulnerable woman. Is it enough to change his future forever?

Charlotte feels alone and unloved in her prestigious family, but she owes them for the scandal she created a year ago. Being forced to marry a stranger is the last thing she expected and when she meets her handsome, easy-going, and angry husband-to-be she is intrigued. He is the first person to actually pay attention to her and he protects her from her father's wrath. Her heart has been broken in the past. She cannot afford to have that happen again.

I love the slow intrigue and seduction of Charlotte and Perry. From the first time they meet under impossible circumstances, the chemistry is there. There is animosity at first, but the longer they are in each other's company, they cannot deny the attraction. Learning about Charlotte's sad life with her heartless family is painful. Her father and brothers are so nasty and uncaring and her mother is extremely selfish and artificial. All she wants is to be loved and to have someone fight for her. Perry is that man when he learns of her vile father's treatment of her and agrees to get her out of that house to live together before the marriage. Perry is a kind and lonely man who is manipulated by his controlling mother and it is good to see him finally step away from her and stand up for himself. He seems to be winning some respect from at least his older brother, Winston, and he loves his sister, Tinsley, though her fiance is a Morelli which is an arch-enemy of the Constantines. I love Perry's attentiveness and compassion for Charlotte when he stands up to her loathsome father. Perry certainly grows throughout the story as he becomes more invested in the idea of their marriage and grows some backbone. Charlotte is young and sheltered and with Perry as her cheerleader, she becomes more outspoken and confident about what she wants for her own life. Surrounding the arranged marriage is the question of why so quickly and so publicly? In addition, an unlikable person from Charlotte's past shows up and drops a bomb leaving a vexing and infuriating cliffhanger.

The Constantines and Lancasters are not typical loving families. Using their children's lives as a business transaction is par for the course. Money and prestige are more important. The only sibling who seemed genuine is Tinsley who welcomed Charlotte with open arms.

I loved this slow-burn, opposites-attract, emotional romance with memorable characters and a surprising twist that has this reader eager to read the next book in the series.

Thank you to Ms. Murphy for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review. show less

Sweet holy titfire...

Bully romances are hit and miss for me because they generally are always high school. However, the blurb of this one had me putting that aside because my interest was piqued. I am so thankful because this book was everything it hinted at and more. This is how Bully romance should be written.

It comes with the typical entitled behavior of a leading man, the trampled-on but fiery female, and enough angst that it physically hurts. Except, this book took the typical trifecta show more and turned up the oven to broil and had me devouring these words as if they were the air that I needed to breathe. Whit is vile a large portion of this book. The things he says... It reminded me of the Tik Tok Videos, where a girl is shown reading a book, and asks herself if she likes this because I asked myself that several times and each time was a resounding yes. It shouldn't have been hot but sweet holiest of titfires was it ever. Summer was an enigma to me a lot of the story. I would like her and then I would want to shake her. Yet, that did not stop me from looking forward to the interactions between Whit and her because they were intense. Whit was the true standout in this book. And the steamy times? GOOOOOOOD LAWD... The scenes were delicious and always felt fresh and new, something that is often hard to do in romance books because they tend to blend into being the same.

I appreciated the world-building of what being entitled was like for these characters. It put things into perspective of why these characters tended to act the way that they did. This is a relatively new author to me, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this story and am very pleasantly surprised that she exceeded my expectations by giving me an exceptional story, with a plausible storyline, strong characters (I will be thinking about Whit for a very long time), just the right amount of angst, and steamy times which are what I want in a good romance book.

That being said, I do wish that a few things had been fleshed out more, like Sylvie, although that might be because the author intends to create her story so was purposely being vague. In this case, I sure hope so because it feels like there is a definite story there. show less

I was so excited to find out that we would be getting Tony’s story so I was super surprised that his love interest would be a forbidden (my dad hates your dad) kind of way, but what really intrigued me was that Hayden was a little bit older than him and more experienced which we don’t get a lot of in romance stories. Hayden and Tony don’t believe in love because of what they saw their own parents put each other through so they are jaded when it comes to relationships, but as always show more love can blindside the best of us. I loved that they struck up a friendship of sorts then feelings became too much to deny this intense attraction they have. They both come from wealthy parents yet neither of them really wants much to do with it or so they say. At times Hayden was a tad irritating stating one second, she didn’t need a man, her dad’s money, etc. then the next she was bargaining a shopping trip out of him or having to wear/have the best (even just in an uber ride) so that irked me a little, but she admitted to her faults of being spoiled and I could respect that because honestly it is neither one of their faults that they came from wealth. Their story was a fun and sweet read (even with creepy stepmom vibes) that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Tony was sweet, charming, and I honestly loved him the most out of their story, yet I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next book. show less