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ga_bby4's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, and Death of parent
rena_raven's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse and Eating disorder
Minor: Infidelity and Death of parent
raegandrust's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infidelity and Suicide attempt
finnickdeservedbetter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Self harm, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
cheryl_gager's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Lauren Asher did it again and it was only me being very picky that stopped it from being a 5 star. I was nervous going in as normally I would say a contemporary romance should not be close to 500 pages, let alone 600 pages. However, this was so well paced and there was so much depth to the characters that it felt like it needed to be as long as it was. This was emotional from the beginning, with everything going on with Nico and then when you add Rafael and Ellie’s backstories it just had me feeling all the emotions all the time. I think because of the emotional start, the ending didn’t have as much impact as it just wasn’t as emotional as the start. I loved how well paced the romance was. I can be hit or miss when it comes to slow burn romances but this just made sense as they both had things they needed to deal with and get over before coming together and when they did it just felt like they then worked together to heal those final bits, which was perfect. There wasn’t a lot of spice and it was so well done that it felt like just the right amount. Overall, I think this was the best Lauren Asher book I have read to date and it has also got me excited for the next boom in the series as it has set up the romance just enough in this book to make it intriguing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Self harm, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Chronic illness- child has a deteriorating eye condition where he is loosing his eyesight Eating disorder- food compulsion in terms of not wasting any food Self harm - talked about past incidents, scars discussed and a person being tempted to go back to self harming The other triggers are not witnessed but get brought up at different points in relation to both Rafael and Ellie’s childhoods.jocelynsreading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Listen I just finished this and I am not okay right now 😭😭
I will come back after I’ve picked my heart up from the ground to write a proper review
Okay so I’m back after a few days and I’m speechless. Lauren Asher has done it again ladies and gentlemen. I love this woman and her writing so much.
This book was phenomenal I can’t even express how much I loved this book. I did not expect it to make me cry as much as it did but here we are. It had me sobbing because it was too relatable and I couldn’t handle it 😭😭
Rafa and Ellie are wonderful, fantastic, chefs kiss their banter was everything I needed and more. Don’t even get me started on their relationship with Nico I’m OBSESSED. There was laughter, fun times and also hard moments between all characters. Rafa, Ellie and Nico were so amazing together and I love that Ellie was a rock for both of them. This book was not just about falling in love but also about falling in love with yourself. And I am not okay, this book was so amazing I can’t put into words how much I loved it
I will come back after I’ve picked my heart up from the ground to write a proper review
Okay so I’m back after a few days and I’m speechless. Lauren Asher has done it again ladies and gentlemen. I love this woman and her writing so much.
This book was phenomenal I can’t even express how much I loved this book. I did not expect it to make me cry as much as it did but here we are. It had me sobbing because it was too relatable and I couldn’t handle it 😭😭
Rafa and Ellie are wonderful, fantastic, chefs kiss their banter was everything I needed and more. Don’t even get me started on their relationship with Nico I’m OBSESSED. There was laughter, fun times and also hard moments between all characters. Rafa, Ellie and Nico were so amazing together and I love that Ellie was a rock for both of them. This book was not just about falling in love but also about falling in love with yourself. And I am not okay, this book was so amazing I can’t put into words how much I loved it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
graceev's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Abandonment
Minor: Blood, Medical content, and Death of parent
Divorce (Minor) and Anxiety (Graphic)kendra_taylors_version's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug use
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-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
5.0
I wanted to read this book because I love Lauren Asher’s work. The Billionaire Brothers series is still my favourite series and I still think about those brothers daily. I was so excited to read this book, and my god, it was worth the wait. Ellie, Rafa and Nico will have my heart. I adore them.
This book has two points of view. The first is Rafael, he is a struggling workaholic and has hired a nanny named Ellie who is a hopeless romantic who writes love songs. Rafael could inspire a hundred breakup albums. On paper, they have nothing in common except for his son’s wellbeing. For eight months, Rafael has avoided Ellie until the summer trip. Fourteen days. Two islands. And one nanny that Rafael shouldn’t be attracted to. Spending time with Ellie is expected, but enjoying her company? That isn’t part of the travel plans. After the divorce, he swore to protect his heart at all costs. Even if it means breaking Ellie’s in the process. The second point of view is Ellie, she used to have a secret crush on her boss in high school. But now he is a grumpy single day and had walls as high as the sky. Thankfully, Rafael and her have changed since they graduated high school. He is a billionaire with a company to run and a child to take care of. Ellie is an unemployed songwriter he hired to watch his son and teach music. They coexist without any issues until a holiday change everything. Lines blur and old feelings for Rafael return with vengeance as she faces a new dilemma. Being his son’s nanny is one thing, but wishing for more? Sounds like a heartbreak song waiting for written.
I adore this book. I love Rafe and Ellie and how they both saw themselves as broken, but both saw each other as the sun and moon. The slow burn between these two and the fact that they didn’t want to pursue anything because trust wasn’t there, and work was involved showed a bit of reality compared to other workplace romances. I love that Rafe was like you are fired and you’ll get a settlement pay and then made out with her like his life depended on it. I loved that Rafe went from walls and wouldn’t like anyone in, not even his own son, to constantly telling everyone why he acts the way he acts and what happened to him in the past and that’s he is determined not to have a son that is toxic and will communicate. I loved Ellie, I just wanted to hug her the whole time. The way she got screwed over but was still trying to be positive and being afraid of making it again but then smashed it. I just adored her. I loved the vulnerability between the two of them and how was the dam opened, they were able to get over it and work together to fix the issues at hand. I am really glad, that it wasn’t focused on Hillary being a bad mother and going back and forth. Even though Rafa doesn’t like her for what she did, he never bad-mouthed Nico’s mother in front of him. I just loved him for that and wanted to cry. My mother and father got divorced when I was like 3 and I grew up hearing my dad’s side of the family bad-mouthing my mother in front of me and there is just a lasting effect.
I love the tropes in this book being workplace romance, boss/employee and my personal favourite grumpy x sunshine. This story worked so well and blended so well from the previous novel, and I loved seeing the previous couple of Deliah and Julian show up and tell them how to be in love and things. I cannot wait to see more of Lily and Lorenzo, I want more of this storyline and I cannot wait for his book to come out. The tension I saw between them in the first book and the fake marriage is going on. The banter between Lorenzo and Julian and Rafe and the sassiness he gives everyone and how powerful he is - I just know his book is going to be good.
I don’t have anything bad to say about this book, this book could have been 8000 pages long and I wouldn’t have complained, I want more. Lauren Asher has me in a chokehold.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
sdupont's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am such a sucker for a single dad x nanny romance. I really loved the tension in the first half of the book. You can really feel that push and pull between Rafael and Ellie. They both have been through things and find ways to support each other while putting in the work to fight their insecurities and traumas. I really enjoyed seeing their relationship evolve. That being said the second half to last quarter of the book did drag a bit. This book did not need to be 600+ pages. I think the book would have benefitted from some faster pacing after the slow burn simmered. Also it must be said I just adore Nico. He is the cutest and such a sweet little soul. His relationship with Ellie warmed my heart. I also loved seeing him and Rafael re-build their bond. I recommend this for the single dad x nanny and billionaire romance girlies!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment