You know , I don't purposely search YA books just to give my harsh feedback. I really don't.
Honestly? I'm mostly searching for strong heroine books. I search, I find, I read, I review. I like strong heroines. I like watching the hero squirm sometimes too, no matter how evil, bad, hot whatever the case, they may be. I’m sick of weak heroines or heroines that drop everything over the hero’s dick. This is a constant in YA romance novels now. It’s boring. It’s repetitive and it’s OLD.
If the summary is going to indicate I'm about to read a story with a heroine who has a backbone, you bet your ass that's ALL I'm going to expect when I start that book. And when I get anything but that? I'm pissed.
So yes, I am pissed with this book.
If the summary is direct and honest and says hey! This heroine is a little bitch but look, it's a good story about A, B and C. Am I going to read that book then bitch about it later that the heroine was a little bitch? UM, NO. I know what I was doing when I started the damn novel and more importantly, what to expect more or less when it came to the MC(s). That's how this process works.
If you say it's an apple, I'm going to review how much of an apple it was.
If you say it's an orange, I'm going to review how much of an orange it was.
If you say it's an apple when acts, talks, walks, fucks like an orange, WE HAVE A PROBLEM
...
Sum Cap: Heroine is a hardass lawyer, hero is a hardass lawyer. They meet the first time and bump into each other for a cab (Cliché, but eh, wasn't too bad). Sparks fly, business gets rough, they don't like each other but want each other, they get into little spit spats here and there, end up bumping uglies, surprise towards the end about the hero, HEA, yeah.
Heroine: *Cracks knuckles* In our summary here, the heroine is "Tate Reynolds--the vixen in Versace. She's whip-smart, sassy, and gorgeous. Oh, and she doesn't take any of Decker's sh*t.
With the merger hanging in the balance, they go to war with each other. There's only one problem. This war isn't just about business."
Well, she is gorgeous and has killer style. Tight pencil skirts and killer heels? Yes please.
Everything else, she fucking annoyed me. She's hell bent on being a hardass lawyer, she doesn't take anyone’s shit, she's so strong, she's this, and she’s that, she LOVES her job.
YET? Here's what we get.
She bumps into hero at 2%, drops her shit, hero tries to help her, she snaps at him and he takes off in the cab that was supposedly hers. They exchange a few sentences to each other, none of them that polite, obviously.
By 4%, she's in her hotel room flicking her bean to this guy. She can't stop thinking about him, she wants him so badly she's blushing to herself and just a mess so she needs to have an orgasm after this interaction that was none too pleasant. His arrogance, self-absorbed arrogance, does things to her.
..Ok. I guess strong, independent women find that characteristic attractive. Don't know any of them, but okay.
Tate's boss, Weston, goes on and on how professional and hardass she is. HOWEVER. As soon as Decker walks back into her world, guess what she does? No, really, guess.
She becomes fluttered, shivers every fucking 2 seconds, can't think straight, can't hold her own around him, he's just too damn sexy and she needs to fuck him. She can shake the souls of the most powerful men in the state but Decker? Ohhhhh no, he is just TOO FULL of manly power for Tate.
So bye morals, goals and work ethic! Tate needs his dick first, she just can't focus on anything else. She's acting this way by 13%. He's talking to her in her office, NOTHING sexual, yet she feels he's being sexual and she can't stop squirming in her seat and getting flustered. Again.
So! By 14%, Tate has demonstrated she's a hardass only around ugly men. Hot men apparently make her weak, spineless, lose all concentration and focus anddddd the only thing she can think about is getting fucked. Very impressed here, Tate. To make matters worse, the more she gets involved with Decker, the more she shoves her loyalty to Weston (her boss) out of the fucking window, losing all focus on their plans for the merger, she puts pleasure before business and completely disregards her firms practices, because why? She can't help it, she can't stop fucking Decker.
Overall, as I said in my final note, Tate, to me, is: Immature, unprofessional, whiny, clingy, ignores her career for some dick, spineless when it comes to one guy.
& Decker? Playbloy, dating isn't his thing, SHOCKER. Teases Tate whenever he wants because he enjoys watching her get all heated. He and his brothers act like young douchebag college guys instead of grown ass men running a law firm. They're having an extremely critical meeting for a merger. He's in the meeting and decided not to tell his brothers about this (merging firms) plan. So they all end up arguing and fighting like children after he drops that ball of disaster DURING THE MEETING, IN FRONT OF THE OTHER FIRM THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO MERGE WITH.
I'm Black Sheep for a reason. I apparently walk left when everyone walks right when it comes to YA books. Not sorry. The story line had so much potential. This could've been a hit. These characters could've been so much better and exciting, even hilarious, but unfortunately, they all fell flat for me. I disliked every single character in this book.
Except Molly. Decker’s housekeeper. She made chicken parmesan with some salad and cheesy garlic bread for dinner which is seriously one of my favorite meals, LOL.
1 Star. DNF reading verbatim @ 40%, skimmed over several pages, chapters and what not from 40-80%.
- B.S.