This was an unexpected joy. Based on how Xavier appeared in the earlier books, I expected to hate him. And while he definitely starts off as a problem that drives Sloane up a wall, you quickly learn there is more to him than a partying playboy. I really liked watching him and Sloane break down each other's walls and come together. There's a touch of intrigue as Xavier works to meet the terms of his father's will before he loses his inheritance and Sloane deals with the family that cut her off years earlier. Despite my hesitation, this may have turned out to be my favorite in the series.

so... that was it?

no one talk to me, i’m still processing. i was so underwhelmed because xavier and sloane’s story had so potential. but the way it was written, it’s so obvious how quickly it was done. iirc ana finished this in about 3 months??

i’m bringing out the tomatoes for this review...

don’t get me wrong, there were parts i liked: xavier and sloane were fun to read individually. their banter was hilarious. but once they started sleeping together… *yawn* and that makes me sad! they had so much potential with their chemistry but it just fell flat. 🍅

and for the spice 🌶️ girlies: this won’t be for you. the smut was so badly written lmao like i had no idea ana could get worse at writing smut, but this just proved me she somehow can. (hint: 🐱 + 👞 + 🚽)

the overarching plot was alright, and takes place around a month after KoG epilogue. the classic third act breakup made no sense but their reconciliation was lowkey cute but still really rushed. 🍅

it was intriguing seeing former playboy and renowned hedonist xavier castillo pick up his act and watch him work to earn his huge $7.9 billion inheritance. his backstory was sad and verified my feelings towards his father. i felt no sympathy for that man. fuck that guy! also impressed he donated half his inheritance to spite his father, and to progressive organizations nonetheless.

sloane kensington’s backstory was just as tragic and it made me so sad and angry, no wonder she repressed her emotions for so long. she deserved to be loved the way xavier loved her, i’ll give ana that. for an alleged reverse-sunshine character, sloane’s “ice princess” personality was not done justice imo. kris from ILHAP was a better written ice princess…

xavier being colombian made me really look forward to seeing latinx representation in an ana book because it’s the first time any of her main characters were latino. but then i read the small parts that were in spanish and it was cringe and grammatically incorrect, which irked me more than i expected it would. 🍅

i had to take a second to continue reading, especially when we learn xavier’s childhood nickname was “pequeño toro”… yeah, it’s thatbad (think about back when italians pointed out her using “mia cara” instead of “cara mia” in KoW). like it’s such a bummer to see your language butchered like that lmao. did ana really have no latinx and/or hispanic person on her beta team? or even a fluent spanish speaker??? what happened there? 🍅

not only that, out of all the beautiful, unique, or sexy nicknames xavier could’ve called sloane in spanish, he calls her “luna”???? BORING!! he could’ve called her anything and ana chose “moon”. bffr, that’s a dog’s name; particularly, my dog’s name. 🍅

but i still had some fun, and lowkey got whiplash, seeing so many people and easter eggs from the if love and twisted series be mentioned or appearing:
- farrah and blake ryan
- legends sports bar
- f&j creative
- crumble & bake
- nate reynolds (of course)
- alex volkov (and ava and their twins indirectly)
- the eldorran royals (and it mentions the birth of princess camila!)
- jules (and her being the youngest senior partner at silver & klein)
- stella alonso brand
- christian harper
- harper security

and of course,
- the russos (four of them! viv, dante, their daughter josie, and luca)
- isabella and kai with their strange dino erotica fascination
- ále and dom (briefly)
- a mysterious green-eyed man (roman…? it was never confirmed if it was him, but i really think it was!)

we also saw sebastian laurent and a lot of his restaurants, asher donovan, vuk and his interest in ayana, and obviously ayana herself and news of her new mysterious engagement to vuk’s ex-college friend? and we may have even met a future king of sin: irish-greek ceo killian katrakis.

that being said, there’s nothing i hate more than when the book i’m currently reading makes me more excited for the next mcs’ book than the current mcs. it’s happened with this one. like the small teasers of vuk and ayana had me more captivated than whatever was happening with xavier and sloane!! 🍅🍅🍅

the ending of this was so anticlimactic that i was just left bummed out... like that was it?

all in all, i’m now founding the “ana, slow down and stop pumping out books so fast, you’re not doing your characters and their stories justice” club. join me!

—-—

⟢ : MY THEORIES !?★.ᐟ

kings of sin:

other possible future mcs:

untitled sports romance series:

[preread - 3/25/24]

THE NEW TEASER – OH MY GOD... XAVIER CASTILLO, THE MAN THAT YOU ARE.

[preread - 3/21/24]

just noticed that the paperback has 464 pages?? oh my…

[preread - 3/13/24]

ana posted the first teaser:

i will not get my hopes up. i will not get my hopes up. i will not get my hopes up.

[preread - 2/16/24]

the fanart that’s in the target edition is so fucking pretty

[preread - 12/7/23]

the cover is kinda cunty… i’m digging the navy blue AND THE BLURB???? i will not set my expectations too high.

[preread - 11/30/23]

tropes revealed:

[preread - 11/05/23]

i’m so looking forward for sloane and xavier. she’s such a girl boss and i just know she’s gonna eat him alive and he’ll thank her for it.