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ldooten's review
2.0
I couldn't get into this. I haven't read any of the other books in this series, and it made it really hard to start this one. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a story already in progress. The writing didn't really flow well for me either. Maybe it gets better as the story goes on, but honestly I couldn't make it past the first couple of chapters.
I voluntarliy reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
I voluntarliy reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
anabelsbrother's review
Break of Day (book 3) was my first Andie J. Christopher book. It didn't work out so well for me as I couldn't connect with the characters at all,
and unfortunately the same thing happened with Before Daylight. The way the conflict was set up is unbelievable to me (so they got married and didn't know they got married???). I don't know if there's some kind of plot twist along the road--surprise!! turns out you're not married after all!!--but I couldn't suspend my belief to continue past a couple of chapters, so the book already lost me from the beginning.
Plus, Laura irritated me from the start, so I was glad to give up on her, LOL. Sorry Charlie, I know I mentioned in my Break of Day review that I'd read your book, but after multiple restarts I just have to give up and DNF.
E-ARC is received thanks to the publisher via Netgalley.
and unfortunately the same thing happened with Before Daylight. The way the conflict was set up is unbelievable to me (so they got married and didn't know they got married???). I don't know if there's some kind of plot twist along the road--surprise!! turns out you're not married after all!!--but I couldn't suspend my belief to continue past a couple of chapters, so the book already lost me from the beginning.
Plus, Laura irritated me from the start, so I was glad to give up on her, LOL. Sorry Charlie, I know I mentioned in my Break of Day review that I'd read your book, but after multiple restarts I just have to give up and DNF.
E-ARC is received thanks to the publisher via Netgalley.
amandamarieger's review
4.0
I loved this. Ice queen and the nice guy - so good! My only complaint is that the kindle version had SO MANY TYPOS. What is even going on? The story mostly distracted me from that detail though!
kindlelovingmom's review
4.0
This book made me feel so many things. Swoony. Angry. Hurt. Weepy. Aggravated. Heartbroken. Hot. Happy. Though I didn't love or agree with everything the characters did, this book made me FEEL. And that's worth a lot.
Laura Delgado is a prima ballerina in Miami. She's been fully focused on her dance career since she was about 8 years old. It's the only thing she's ever really wanted for herself, and she's kept her life regimented and planned in order to obtain her goals. Her family is a hot mess. She's not close to her 2 older brothers. Her dad is a horrible jerk. Her mom is a pill head. Her grandfather defected from Cuba many years before when her mom was young. But her grandmother refused to leave. Now her abuela, Lola, is in Miami as well, and no one is quite sure how to handle her. Laura's cousin Carla got married in Bali a few months before, and she met a guy there. She let herself drink entirely too much and get carried away with him. And apparently, she ended up married. She doesn't remember anything about it, but she knows she needs it annulled. And fast.
Charlie Laughlin is a TV producer, and the son of a Chicago newspaper magnate. He isn't close to his family. His dad is a nightmare, and his 5 brothers all work for their dad in some capacity. Charlie wanted more from his life. He wanted to strike out on his own, and he has. He moved to Miami a few years before after his failed marriage, which was yet another black mark against him with his family. His best friend since college got married in Bali, and he went to the wedding and met an amazing woman. They had too many drinks and apparently he married her. Though he's shocked to find out he got married, he really doesn't want another failed marriage on his record, and he decides to convince her to give their marriage a real chance.
Charlie and Laura had amazing chemistry from the start, but Laura was so prickly, and really fought him on every inch he managed to gain with her. She had this idea of how her life was going to be, and she clung to that idea so hard. To the detriment of everything else. I get that her life growing up was extremely difficult, and she learned to only rely on herself, but at some point you have to grow up and get it together. She was so brittle, and often was just outright mean to Charlie and it broke my heart every time. He really was willing to do anything to make her happy, and it was so painful when he realized that might not be good enough.
I don't want to be one of those readers who loves everything about the hero, but judges the heroine for being "difficult", but it was really hard not feel that way here. Laura was quite unlikable for the first part of the story. And even later, once I understood her better, she still managed to make me want to smack her around. I hated how much she was hurting Charlie, and ultimately herself too, in her quest for self-preservation and the protection of the life she had convinced herself she needed. It hurt to watch her convince herself over and over that she was doing the right thing.
The side characters here were entertaining, especially Laura's abuela, Lola. And the next book has been set up with Laura's older brother Max as the hero. I'm very curious to know more about him, and how he dealt with his family's dysfunction, especially as it differs from how Laura chose to deal with it. This was a good story, but I had such a hard time connecting with Laura. That's clearly my own issue, and as I said before, this book made me feel so much, that it was still overall a win for me. I'm looking forward to the continuation of the series.
ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Megan from Alpha Book Club
Laura Delgado is a prima ballerina in Miami. She's been fully focused on her dance career since she was about 8 years old. It's the only thing she's ever really wanted for herself, and she's kept her life regimented and planned in order to obtain her goals. Her family is a hot mess. She's not close to her 2 older brothers. Her dad is a horrible jerk. Her mom is a pill head. Her grandfather defected from Cuba many years before when her mom was young. But her grandmother refused to leave. Now her abuela, Lola, is in Miami as well, and no one is quite sure how to handle her. Laura's cousin Carla got married in Bali a few months before, and she met a guy there. She let herself drink entirely too much and get carried away with him. And apparently, she ended up married. She doesn't remember anything about it, but she knows she needs it annulled. And fast.
Charlie Laughlin is a TV producer, and the son of a Chicago newspaper magnate. He isn't close to his family. His dad is a nightmare, and his 5 brothers all work for their dad in some capacity. Charlie wanted more from his life. He wanted to strike out on his own, and he has. He moved to Miami a few years before after his failed marriage, which was yet another black mark against him with his family. His best friend since college got married in Bali, and he went to the wedding and met an amazing woman. They had too many drinks and apparently he married her. Though he's shocked to find out he got married, he really doesn't want another failed marriage on his record, and he decides to convince her to give their marriage a real chance.
Charlie and Laura had amazing chemistry from the start, but Laura was so prickly, and really fought him on every inch he managed to gain with her. She had this idea of how her life was going to be, and she clung to that idea so hard. To the detriment of everything else. I get that her life growing up was extremely difficult, and she learned to only rely on herself, but at some point you have to grow up and get it together. She was so brittle, and often was just outright mean to Charlie and it broke my heart every time. He really was willing to do anything to make her happy, and it was so painful when he realized that might not be good enough.
I don't want to be one of those readers who loves everything about the hero, but judges the heroine for being "difficult", but it was really hard not feel that way here. Laura was quite unlikable for the first part of the story. And even later, once I understood her better, she still managed to make me want to smack her around. I hated how much she was hurting Charlie, and ultimately herself too, in her quest for self-preservation and the protection of the life she had convinced herself she needed. It hurt to watch her convince herself over and over that she was doing the right thing.
The side characters here were entertaining, especially Laura's abuela, Lola. And the next book has been set up with Laura's older brother Max as the hero. I'm very curious to know more about him, and how he dealt with his family's dysfunction, especially as it differs from how Laura chose to deal with it. This was a good story, but I had such a hard time connecting with Laura. That's clearly my own issue, and as I said before, this book made me feel so much, that it was still overall a win for me. I'm looking forward to the continuation of the series.
ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Megan from Alpha Book Club
llamareads's review against another edition
4.0
The “oops we got married!” trope can go either way with me, but the blurb sounded so amazing I had to pick up this book. And I am so glad I did! This is a steamy, feels-filled roller coaster, and is so much fun – just make sure you have tissues! While this is part of a series, this is my first book by the author, and I think it worked fine as a standalone.
I absolutely loved Laura. Yes, sometimes I wanted to smack her upside the head, but even then, it was because I wanted to hurry her up to the HEA she deserved. As a 34-year-old prima ballerina in Miami, she’s feeling her age and injuries, but ballet has been everything to her since she was a child. She’s mostly estranged from her parents and older brothers – her dad is an abusive jerk and her miserable mom copes by popping valium. Her grandma, whom her grandfather left behind when he left Cuba with the rest of the family, is now living with her. She copes with all this upheaval as she always has – by being disciplined and controlled and channeling all her emotions into ballet. Before her inevitable retirement, she wants to work with the New York Ballet corps, so staying in Miami is not in her plans. So the last thing she needs is to find out that she got married at her cousin’s wedding in Bali.
Charlie is in reality TV, producing a travel show for the just-married cousin. He and Laura met at the wedding, got drunk, and… apparently got married? It’s as much a surprise to him as it was to Laura, though not necessarily an unwanted one. They’ve got a crazy chemistry together, and Charlie isn’t ready to just sign an annulment and say goodbye. Laura just wants it all to go away – the hint of being married could be the death knell to her career – but can Charlie convince her to give their “marriage” a chance?
The chemistry between Laura and Charlie is off the charts. From their disastrous first date to the big confrontation in Laura’s dressing room, it’s STEAMY. Like, fanning-myself-with-my-Kindle sort of steamy. Laura’s desperate not to acknowledge that she feels anything for Charlie, so she’s an absolute jerk to him, and Charlie loves it. That was surprising to me, but it’s a core dynamic of first building blocks in their relationship, and it worked so freaking well. The push/pull in the relationship was beautiful, and watching them fumbling to figure out how to make it work made me cry several times.
Overall, this was a steamy, feels-laden roller coaster, and I loved every minute. I will definitely be looking up the rest of the books in this series!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
“She could not fall in love with her husband.”
I absolutely loved Laura. Yes, sometimes I wanted to smack her upside the head, but even then, it was because I wanted to hurry her up to the HEA she deserved. As a 34-year-old prima ballerina in Miami, she’s feeling her age and injuries, but ballet has been everything to her since she was a child. She’s mostly estranged from her parents and older brothers – her dad is an abusive jerk and her miserable mom copes by popping valium. Her grandma, whom her grandfather left behind when he left Cuba with the rest of the family, is now living with her. She copes with all this upheaval as she always has – by being disciplined and controlled and channeling all her emotions into ballet. Before her inevitable retirement, she wants to work with the New York Ballet corps, so staying in Miami is not in her plans. So the last thing she needs is to find out that she got married at her cousin’s wedding in Bali.
“Her entire life up until that point had been about discipline, training, dieting, and taking in criticism. She’d been a changeling at the behest of everyone in her life, and she knew that she could never let anyone know what was underneath her exterior. But there was something about the way he’d looked at her that had penetrated the wall she’d built around herself to avoid the pain of feeling she was never quite good enough, never quite the best. The feeling of his gaze on her skin—the feeling of him really looking at her—lingered along with the imprint of his mouth.”
Charlie is in reality TV, producing a travel show for the just-married cousin. He and Laura met at the wedding, got drunk, and… apparently got married? It’s as much a surprise to him as it was to Laura, though not necessarily an unwanted one. They’ve got a crazy chemistry together, and Charlie isn’t ready to just sign an annulment and say goodbye. Laura just wants it all to go away – the hint of being married could be the death knell to her career – but can Charlie convince her to give their “marriage” a chance?
“’Do you need me to tell you how gorgeous you are?’
She didn’t need that and just raised her eyebrows in response.
‘You don’t need me to tell you that. People tell you how beautiful you are all the time. The issue is that you’re more than beautiful. You’re compelling and a little bit mean. It makes my dick hard when you lift that aristocratic nose at me.’”
The chemistry between Laura and Charlie is off the charts. From their disastrous first date to the big confrontation in Laura’s dressing room, it’s STEAMY. Like, fanning-myself-with-my-Kindle sort of steamy. Laura’s desperate not to acknowledge that she feels anything for Charlie, so she’s an absolute jerk to him, and Charlie loves it. That was surprising to me, but it’s a core dynamic of first building blocks in their relationship, and it worked so freaking well. The push/pull in the relationship was beautiful, and watching them fumbling to figure out how to make it work made me cry several times.
Overall, this was a steamy, feels-laden roller coaster, and I loved every minute. I will definitely be looking up the rest of the books in this series!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
sarathebibliophagist's review against another edition
4.0
Ballerina Laura and tv producer Charlie are, on paper, the worst couple. They can’t even stand being around each other. They’re looking for different things in life and if they didn’t have mutual friends, they’d probably never spend any time together at all. But one drunken night, the two of them apparently decided it would be a good idea to get married. Now, Laura’s gunning for an annulment and Charlie wants to see if they can make this thing work.
If you’ve read Break of Day, you’ll remember tiny spitfire Carla and big, burly photojournalist Jonah. In Before Daylight, Laura is Carla’s cousin and Charlie is Jonah’s best friend. Laura and Charlie actually hook up at Carla and Jonah’s wedding. I was so happy to see Carla and Jonah living happily ever after!
I think that, as a couple, I preferred Carla and Jonah over Laura and Charlie, but that might just be because they were my first. That said, I loved Charlie. Like, if Laura can’t make up her mind over whether she wants to be with him, I would gladly swoop in and steal him away. I think that’s what frustrated me the most -- Laura couldn’t accept that Charlie was a good guy who legitimately wanted to be with her. I get that she had issues because of her parents and her childhood, but I got so fed up with the push and pull. Angsty books aren’t really my thing.
But anyway, Before Daylight is a quick, steamy read that teeters more to the erotic side of romance, but there’s also plenty of other material in there. I fell in love with Charlie and constantly rooted for him and Laura to make it. This is another solid romance from Andie J. Christopher, especially if you’re into angsty couples.
Final rating: 3.5, rounded up to ★★★★☆
I received a free advance copy of Before Daylight from the publisher (via Netgalley) in exchange for my honest review.
If you’ve read Break of Day, you’ll remember tiny spitfire Carla and big, burly photojournalist Jonah. In Before Daylight, Laura is Carla’s cousin and Charlie is Jonah’s best friend. Laura and Charlie actually hook up at Carla and Jonah’s wedding. I was so happy to see Carla and Jonah living happily ever after!
I think that, as a couple, I preferred Carla and Jonah over Laura and Charlie, but that might just be because they were my first. That said, I loved Charlie. Like, if Laura can’t make up her mind over whether she wants to be with him, I would gladly swoop in and steal him away. I think that’s what frustrated me the most -- Laura couldn’t accept that Charlie was a good guy who legitimately wanted to be with her. I get that she had issues because of her parents and her childhood, but I got so fed up with the push and pull. Angsty books aren’t really my thing.
But anyway, Before Daylight is a quick, steamy read that teeters more to the erotic side of romance, but there’s also plenty of other material in there. I fell in love with Charlie and constantly rooted for him and Laura to make it. This is another solid romance from Andie J. Christopher, especially if you’re into angsty couples.
Final rating: 3.5, rounded up to ★★★★☆
I received a free advance copy of Before Daylight from the publisher (via Netgalley) in exchange for my honest review.
trinielf's review against another edition
4.0
As always I liked the character's voice here, and I was glad to see I had less issues with this book than i did with the last one so I definitely think i enjoyed this one the most of the series.
This one has the we got drunk and got married and now we gotta pretend to be fake married trope. I liked that we get a real sense of who Laura and Charlie are when we get their POVs, how they're both struggling with these perceived images of who people think they are versus who they really are!
I basically devoured this book so quickly. i spent most of the day reading when i was supposed to only read a few chapters but i was so engrossed and lemme just say these two when they were together for sexy times, whoo boy hot and steamy alert!!
Both of their families make appearances so we get to see some characters from the past books and i really like Lauren's grandmother just as much, if not more than i did in the previous book. Lola is a trip lol. I almost legit died when Lauren is sneaking in the house after her night with Charlie and boom! her grandmother is up and on the couch making out like a teenager or something lol. i loved that. go granny!! you get it girl! heheh.
Althouuuuugh there was a this thing that Lola did do that i had to side eye her for. i did not approve of her meddling there! >.>
And i will say i wasn't too comfortable with the obviously angry/hate sex Charlie and Laura had when they got to that black moment and it wasn't that it wasn't something both parties wanted but i guess it was supposed to feel uncomfortable ? because Charlie's all up in his feelings and thinking she doesnt want him so this is just a last "fine we're just doing this cuz we need a release but zero feelings are involved here!" I think that was just a it's me thing really. I have nothing against hate sex at all, so i just ..i dunno that's how it made me feel. *shrug*
Another thing, i felt like the blurb was a tad misleading with regards to the New York angle, unless i just read it wrong, i felt like the whole "but she might be going to NY for a great ballet opportunity so we'll never work out" thing that was hanging over their heads was a mere blip. New York didnt happen til close to the end of the book and came off as less of a big deal than they made it out to be. the vibe i got from the blurb was that it was going to be a big problem for them.
Overall i liked this one and am looking forward to more in the series.
This one has the we got drunk and got married and now we gotta pretend to be fake married trope. I liked that we get a real sense of who Laura and Charlie are when we get their POVs, how they're both struggling with these perceived images of who people think they are versus who they really are!
I basically devoured this book so quickly. i spent most of the day reading when i was supposed to only read a few chapters but i was so engrossed and lemme just say these two when they were together for sexy times, whoo boy hot and steamy alert!!
Both of their families make appearances so we get to see some characters from the past books and i really like Lauren's grandmother just as much, if not more than i did in the previous book. Lola is a trip lol. I almost legit died when Lauren is sneaking in the house after her night with Charlie and boom! her grandmother is up and on the couch making out like a teenager or something lol. i loved that. go granny!! you get it girl! heheh.
Althouuuuugh there was a this thing that Lola did do that i had to side eye her for. i did not approve of her meddling there! >.>
And i will say i wasn't too comfortable with the obviously angry/hate sex Charlie and Laura had when they got to that black moment and it wasn't that it wasn't something both parties wanted but i guess it was supposed to feel uncomfortable ? because Charlie's all up in his feelings and thinking she doesnt want him so this is just a last "fine we're just doing this cuz we need a release but zero feelings are involved here!" I think that was just a it's me thing really. I have nothing against hate sex at all, so i just ..i dunno that's how it made me feel. *shrug*
Another thing, i felt like the blurb was a tad misleading with regards to the New York angle, unless i just read it wrong, i felt like the whole "but she might be going to NY for a great ballet opportunity so we'll never work out" thing that was hanging over their heads was a mere blip. New York didnt happen til close to the end of the book and came off as less of a big deal than they made it out to be. the vibe i got from the blurb was that it was going to be a big problem for them.
Overall i liked this one and am looking forward to more in the series.
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