romancereadinglist's Reviews (417)

This is a really excellent debut.

It’s a friends-to-lovers story, with some fake dating, told in first-person single POV. Usually I am not a fan of any of these things, so it’s a testament to the author that I liked this book so much! It’s really tender and swoony, and there is great chronic illness rep. 

What didn’t work so well for me:
- the 3rd act conflict felt a bit forced 
- the MMC (Isaac) was a bit too perfect; a bit of a manic pixie dream boy? I prefer my MMCs with more flaws :-)

But overall I highly recommend and can’t wait to read whatever Neilson writes next. 

This was a really satisfying conclusion to the excellent Las Leonas trilogy. I'm so happy these books exist - I think they are really helping to change the paradigm for what historical romance can be.

Aurora was one of the best female main characters I've read in a while - a Black doctor who dedicates herself to women's reproductive health, including abortion care. She navigates prejudice (based on her race and gender) and tries to balance her internal feelings of rage, low self-worth and passion for her cause. She's prickly and serious and self-sufficient because she needs to be. In general, the topic of women's reproductive rights in the Americas and in Europe during this time period were portrayed so compellingly - we hear about the prevailing (nonsensical, sexist) views of the medical establishment, and get an insight into the work of pioneers like Aurora who do what's right at great personal risk.

I also loved that we got plenty of scenes with the MCs of the previous books - these were a delight. The intimate scenes were super hot and well-written; the MCs have great chemistry and Apollo learns a totally different side of Aurora in the bedroom.

It was not quite a 5-star read for me, for two main reasons. 
1. The male main character (Apollo) was a bit two-dimensional to me; all we really understood about him was his desire for revenge against his father, and his passion for Aurora (which was pretty much there from the get-go). Character-wise, he seemed to have two modes: seductive and charming; or fiercely protective. I felt his character could have had more nuance and depth.
2. The pacing in the last 20% didn't really work for me - it felt a bit all over the place and I found myself wishing for another round of edits there. So that slightly took the book down in my estimation. 

Still, there was a lot I loved about this book and I will definitely be recommending it (and the whole series) far and wide!

Thank you Harlequin/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book is beloved by many but didn’t really work for me. The use of hashtags made me want to scream, and the MMC was a bland cipher. To be fair this was Martin’s debut; her recent book Next Door Nemesis was much better. Read that instead! 

This book is underrated! A satisfying end to the Love by Numbers trilogy. 

Read with 1990s goggles on! Not a top-tier Kleypas, but there was still a lot to like for me. If you like It Happened One Autumn, you’ll likely enjoy this too.

Loved this book! A Classic rake-wallflower setup, executed super well. Sarah Maclean is a bit hit or miss for me, but this one is one of her best in my opinion.