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cozysabie 's review for:
Bargains with Benefits
by Jillian Witt
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
”Luna was fae and human. Half of each, and wholly perfect. I wished she’d had more people in her life who made her feel that way.”
“My gaze met his, and those deep brown eyes were my calm in the storm. I knew he was trying to communicate with me.”
GENRE: Cozy Romantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Would I recommend to others?: I definitely would, especially if you need a tale to make your heart feel lighter and brighten up your day, if you need some hope that you can find a partner to love you the way you are and stand by your side
Long Review:
Bargains with Benefit takes us on an adventure of finding love despite previous betrayals. It takes on a journey of building a new community with people that appreciate us for who we are.
This is a take where humans and Fae live side by side but are at odds. Of course, the in-betweeners are the half-fae and our FMC, Luna, is one! Our MC, Vincent, is Old Fae. Despite being part of a group that wasn’t sure of their footing, when Vincent saw Luna, he thought:
”She seemed so sure of her place in that moment. My wind surged with longing, like a squall in my chest. It must be nice. I might be old fae, but I no longer knew where I fit in this city.”
The fact that Vincent did not know where he fit in is something he will then find he has in common with Luna AND Luna will show him how it is for someone to be so sure of themselves in a world where they do not fit in anywhere perfectly
“I was decidedly uncomfortable, but I liked that about her. She didn’t hide herself from the world like I did. She was unapologetically her in everything she did. Her curiosity was intoxicating. How she spoke whatever was on her mind had me hanging on her every word. And her energy—the confidence she exuded simply by being herself—was more attractive than I was prepared to ignore.”
Luna is a colorful, strong personality, in which the fire shines behind her eyes. The first time Vincent sees her, she is wearing a sweater that allows her to “fit in” and Vincent immediately could tell it wasn’t her and saw her for who she is:
“Seeing the top on the bartender, I regretted it further. The sweater was all wrong on her. It seemed too timid, too reserved for someone whose eyes still raged like a summer storm.”
“My heart beat rapidly as I watched her go. She was the sea retreating from the shore it bore down on, and I feared she took a piece of me with her when she left.”
Not only is Vincent slowly becoming obsessed with Luna but his magic, which is Wind, is also becoming obsessed with her and comes out unprovoked in relation to Luna and (A BIT OF A SPOILER AHEAD:
We find out that Luna and Vincent’s magic goes hand in hand:
“Wind wrapped around me as I did. It was lovely how well the wind and water worked together. Some might think they were constantly competing for control, but I thought they had more of a partnership than we realized. The wind circled tighter, bringing an uncommon warmth that took me a moment to recognize. When I did, I glanced over my shoulder to see Vincent standing at the bottom of the steps.”
And in regards to magic, in this magic based Fae community, each Fae family has their own elemental magic and in recent years, there have been developments to incorporate Half-Fae & humans together. Luna moved to this town after losing her mother, as her dad lives in the area. BwB deals with building a relationship with a parent that was never around:
“I’d like to think the city taught me how to deal with all manner of people, those who liked me and those who believed me not worth their time. The one person I never learned how to deal with was my father.”
As we go through the story, we start to learn more about Luna’s human mother and Fae father. Luna’s mother being human pushed Luna away from her dad and she didn’t know the whole truth. Now, her dad (Darius) is trying to fix their relationship:
“Part of me wanted to hear his side of the story. The pain of his absence wouldn’t disappear, but we could only start fresh once I understood his perspective of these childhood events.”
In the end, Benefit with Bargains shows the importance of every relationship in our life. Not only that, it shows how we are whole as a person and our partner is someone who stands with us, beside us, rather than someone who completes us as we are not lacking in anything.
“When everything I knew collapsed like a house of cards, Vincent refused to let it fall—his wind would hold every piece in place until I was ready for my next move. He was solid ground, even as the continent tilted beneath my feet. Maybe he made me feel safe, too.”
“The image of a partner with whom to share my burdens. A friend with whom to share my joys. And a lover with whom to share my heart.”
“I knew Vincent was with me. We may have started this relationship with our own goals and desires, but they’d merged somewhere along the way. A joint desire to stand with each other. To support each other. To partner together through whatever life brought. It was intoxicating to know someone was as focused on my pleasure as I was on theirs.”
This is a story of two beings with a scent of: Moonflower x Juniper with Leather x mint with Vincent’s Wind loving Luna just as much as Vincent does:
“You are magic to me. It has nothing to do with your element.” His wind swept in and wrapped around us even as he said it.
“Your element might have something to say about that.” He glanced over his shoulder like his magic was a physical thing perched there.
“We’re still in a heated debate about which of us brings you more pleasure.” He winked.”
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.