lilibetbombshell's Reviews (2.79k)

While The Summer I Ate the Rich did turn out to be a lot of fun to read (which was what I had hoped for), it wasn’t quite what I had hoped for when I requested the book and ended up being kind of scattershot in what worked and what didn’t. 

What worked: The main storyline, told from Brielle’s first-person POV. This is a coming-of-age story told through the lens of a true member of the Haitian-American diaspora. Stuck solidly between two worlds and as she grows older feeling that tug from her mother’s homeland and yet the need to stay where she is. The feeling of being seventeen in America and wanting to grow and expand but also of needing the feel of your mom’s hugs. All of the rage and pain and emotional upheaval that comes with the latter stages of female adolescence. 

What didn’t work (for me): The chapters from the muses’ POV. These were distracting, out of tune with the rest of the book, and no explanation was ever given as to what was going on with them. It was giving Disney’s Hercules cartoon and I didn’t like it. 

What could’ve been done better but didn’t bother me too much: The sections about Brielle’s mom’s life in Haiti. 

I absolutely loved the idea behind the book and I loved the overall plot. The parts I did enjoy were a lot of fun.   

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars and under will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

I was really enjoying this book but then it just suddenly came to a standstill. The pacing became concrete. The characters became predictable and the scenes repetitive. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. 

I just like a little more fact that supposition in my biographies. 

Caution: Contents Under Pressure.

That’s what The Watch is. A whole bunch of psychopaths, their neurodivergent handlers, and their amped-up instructors all forced into intense forced proximity with one another. Some can go with the flow. Waylon Boone and Payton Skinner? Well, neither one was made to stay put. Not without a little incentive anyway. 

The Sin Eater pretty much picks up right where The Bone Collector left off, and you will have to read that book to even understand this book at all. In an attempt to get things back on track and engage the students in something interesting, a timely lesson in disinformation and propaganda is taught. While useful, it doesn’t seem too consequential until the next morning when a deep fake video of one of Payton’s fellow Watch members is shown school-wide, starting a cascade of events that not only take up this book but will lead into the next one. 

The plot’s interesting, but in reality it doesn’t affect Payton too badly until later in the book. Mostly it serves as a vehicle not only for Boone and Payton to work closely and spend more time together, but also for Boone to examine what exactly his job is at The Watch and what his priorities in life are and for Payton to think about where he came from, who he is now, who’s in his life, and what he can’t do without should something horrible happen. Payton has a lot of secrets he’s holding onto, and while Boone knows all of them, no one else does. 

If you think the spice in this book is hot, then you wouldn’t be wrong. The Watch books so far seem to be kinkier and spicier than Jericho’s Boys. I’d venture to say the spice in The Watch is kinkier than the spice in Necessary Evils but there isn’t more spice, if that makes sense. It’s just that the spice that’s happening is more…deviant. I love that. I love the forbidden aspect of the relationship dynamics in these books. The daddy kink in this book combined with a little professor/student roleplay? I mean, say less. A generous sprinkle of pain play? Oh yes. As always, Onley shows us a good time and we come back begging for more. 5⭐️

🩶What to Expect🩶

🍒 Age Gap (10+ years)

💣 Graduate school of hormonal psychopaths

🍒 Forbidden romance

💣 Headmaster/student roleplay

🍒 Daddy kink
💣 Androgynous Payton kink

🍒 Extremism/terrorism discussion

💣 Disinformation/propaganda discussion

🍒 Deep fakes/AI discussion

💣 Forced proximity

🍒 The call is coming from inside the house

I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Age-Gap Romance/Book Series/Contemporary Romance/Forbidden Romance/Gay Romance/Kink Friendly/Kindle Unlimited/LGBTQ Romance/MM Romance/Spice Level 3/Vigilantes/Workplace Romance

Very, very dry. Reads slow and plodding. I wanted to keep going because the all-transgender main characters and the story feel not only important but also compelling; however, the prose and narrative style are just so quotidian.

I just couldn’t get with the FMC’s POV. It’s one of my least favorite PIVs when it’s not the sole POV used.