While I loved Dean in Julian’s book and couldn’t wait to dive into this story, I was a little disappointed with what a jerk Dean could be in this book, whether Lily brought it out in him or not. I love a good hate to love story, but I felt as if the hate aspect dragged on a little long, unfortunately. Maybe if at the halfway point in the story the two could have slowly started acting a little kinder to one another I would have savored it more. The characters seemed immature and acted like they were in a playground romance. I know plenty of reviewers enjoyed the heated banter, but I couldn’t stop thinking of how they’re relationship would end in divorce if it were real life. 😉 I suppose I hope for more chemistry between my characters, even if they hate each other from the get-go.
However, my annoyance with the characters is only based on my taste in what I enjoy in a story and does not reflect my opinion of R.S. Grey‘s writing. As always, this book had hilarious moments that had me cracking up and was written in a way that made me wanting more after every chapter. The ending of this book was super sweet and worth the agony of the two main characters’ lack of communication. I also enjoyed catching up on Jo and Julian’s current life through their friends’ story. Character tie-ins are one of my favorites things to experience while reading. Overall this book was good but didn’t live up to the challenge of being as great as The Allure of Julian Lefray, in my opinion. Jo was the ideal female lead, Julian was practically perfect – that’s a tough act to follow. Sorry, Dean and Lily.
Ashes Books & Bobs 