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astoldby_cece's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
halthemonarch's review against another edition
3.0
I admitted earlier this year that I’m beginning to like romance novels, but elements of this one were Not It for me. I read Royal Wedding first, not knowing of the larger series, and decided to give the first book a try.
First I’ll go over the things that I didn’t vibe with. I didn’t realize there was a scale for how much or how little an author describes the steamier parts of the novel. Guillory chooses to fade to black after some heavy kissing every time her protagonists have sex— She is my new metric for a 1 or a 2 on the steam scale, where say Jacqueline Carey (or the little I’ve read from her) is like a 9 or 10 with graphic scenes every other chapter. That being said I could see how being on the low end of this scale would fall within other peoples’ comfort zones, for me personally I prefer a 5 or 6 if I can find it.
Aside from that, the wedding party happens in like the first third of the book, and then we see them travel back and forth to visit each other the rest of the book. There was more banter in this one that I could relate to and laugh at than in the Royal Wedding, but there was also a lot of fade-to-black sex, food descriptions, and miscommunications that made me roll my eyes or wrinkle my nose.
The side characters reminded me of NPCs in old games my sister and I would write. Every side character was born of a specific need of our protagonists. Need someone to be needlessly bitchy to the female protagonist to give the male protagonist a reason to stand up for her? Amy. Need someone to be a little racist so that someone can go all “get lost, creep!” on him? Bill. Need a tough love best friend who eats, lives, and breathes his pal’s love life and emotional instability? Carlos. I did like Carlos but he deserved a better friend than whack ass Drew.
Don’t get me started on Drew! I don’t know why a male romantic lead has yet to capture my heart but yet again I feel like Drew was jerking Alexa around and weirdly possessive the whole time. She allowed this because she thought (and reiterated often) he was way out of her league. But I guess a part of the book’s charm comes from the humanity of the characters. Drew watches himself screw up and feels helpless to stop it, and Alexa has such a low image of herself, and some really subtle racism ingrained in her; both of these traits are relatable. Plus every opportunity Guillory had to diversify, she did.
All of that being said I enjoyed it as I was reading. It’s easy, breezy, and fun, but all predicated on misunderstandings. 3.5 ✨
First I’ll go over the things that I didn’t vibe with. I didn’t realize there was a scale for how much or how little an author describes the steamier parts of the novel. Guillory chooses to fade to black after some heavy kissing every time her protagonists have sex— She is my new metric for a 1 or a 2 on the steam scale, where say Jacqueline Carey (or the little I’ve read from her) is like a 9 or 10 with graphic scenes every other chapter. That being said I could see how being on the low end of this scale would fall within other peoples’ comfort zones, for me personally I prefer a 5 or 6 if I can find it.
Aside from that, the wedding party happens in like the first third of the book, and then we see them travel back and forth to visit each other the rest of the book. There was more banter in this one that I could relate to and laugh at than in the Royal Wedding, but there was also a lot of fade-to-black sex, food descriptions, and miscommunications that made me roll my eyes or wrinkle my nose.
The side characters reminded me of NPCs in old games my sister and I would write. Every side character was born of a specific need of our protagonists. Need someone to be needlessly bitchy to the female protagonist to give the male protagonist a reason to stand up for her? Amy. Need someone to be a little racist so that someone can go all “get lost, creep!” on him? Bill. Need a tough love best friend who eats, lives, and breathes his pal’s love life and emotional instability? Carlos. I did like Carlos but he deserved a better friend than whack ass Drew.
Don’t get me started on Drew! I don’t know why a male romantic lead has yet to capture my heart but yet again I feel like Drew was jerking Alexa around and weirdly possessive the whole time. She allowed this because she thought (and reiterated often) he was way out of her league. But I guess a part of the book’s charm comes from the humanity of the characters. Drew watches himself screw up and feels helpless to stop it, and Alexa has such a low image of herself, and some really subtle racism ingrained in her; both of these traits are relatable. Plus every opportunity Guillory had to diversify, she did.
All of that being said I enjoyed it as I was reading. It’s easy, breezy, and fun, but all predicated on misunderstandings. 3.5 ✨
sunni_sunshine's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
skan's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jordynedwards98's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
booktok25's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, loved the story. Read the book in one sitting, I was invested quite early on because of the chemistry between the main characters and I'm a sucker for a happy ending.
yogabba98's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
dr_julian's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5