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The Favor
Vienna Stratton knew she only had herself to blame. You didn’t let yourself become indebted to a man like Dane Davenport, no matter how badly you needed his help. As his personal assistant, she was very aware that the globally successful CEO was ruthless and unforgiving.
Of course, if she’d known he’d request that she be his wife for twelve months, she’d have hesitated in accepting his help. Because what she’d learned from Dane was that the devil wasn’t ugly and terrorising. He was seductive and captivating. He hummed with whispers of temptation – the temptation to sin and surrender, to let him brand and possess you. He awakened every need and fantasy you had.
He could even make you love him.
Of course, if she’d known he’d request that she be his wife for twelve months, she’d have hesitated in accepting his help. Because what she’d learned from Dane was that the devil wasn’t ugly and terrorising. He was seductive and captivating. He hummed with whispers of temptation – the temptation to sin and surrender, to let him brand and possess you. He awakened every need and fantasy you had.
He could even make you love him.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2020
About the author
Suzanne Wright
53 books13.6k followersSuzanne Wright lives in England with her husband, two children, and her Bengal cats. When she's not spending time with her family, she's writing, reading, or doing her version of housework - sweeping the house with a look.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,857 reviews
May 24, 2023
Re-read:
5/23/2023…sigh. I just adore this thing.
12/11/21...God, I love this book.
5 Smut Scale Stars
When I saw that Suzanne Wright was releasing a new book, I was like...
And when I saw the blurb, I was like...
I mean, a forced /arranged marriage trope?
By one of my favorite authors of all time?
Say no more.
This was everything I wanted it to be and I loved every second of it.
I would say more, but I have to go to work. I might say more later. Might, might, maybe...not.
XXXXXXXXXX
Just gonna wait here for this...
5/23/2023…sigh. I just adore this thing.
12/11/21...God, I love this book.
5 Smut Scale Stars
When I saw that Suzanne Wright was releasing a new book, I was like...
And when I saw the blurb, I was like...
I mean, a forced /arranged marriage trope?
By one of my favorite authors of all time?
Say no more.
This was everything I wanted it to be and I loved every second of it.
I would say more, but I have to go to work. I might say more later. Might, might, maybe...not.
XXXXXXXXXX
Just gonna wait here for this...
December 28, 2020
3.25 stars ✩⋆
does anyone else automatically picture henry cavill aka superman aka the witcher akadaddy whenever there's a CEO romance? because same.
ok so first and foremost, um, this took me two weeks to finish...
HA ha ha oops. but the tropes though...
so naturally, with all the tropes above ⤴ i gravitated towards this book like the typical slowburn, marriage of convenience ho that i am. and now you're probably asking, mel why did it take you two weeks to finish?? well y/n imma answer that later. sorry. BUT ANYWAYS-
『 p l o t 』↠ so this book is about Dane Davenport (H) asking Vienna (h) to be his fake wife for a year because he has to get married before the age of 38 to access his trust fund. so they get married, live together, people creating dramas and trying to break them up, both Dane and Vienna being stubborn af and not doing anything till like 60% of the book y'all know the drill.
// SPOILERS AHEAD //
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ characters ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･
— Vienna (h)
first and foremost this girl is a bad bitch. i loved her. she didn't take ANY shit from anyone. when people were trying to sabotage her, being mean and calling her a gold digger, my girl was like
love that energy. she calls people out and not sugar coat anything when people are being annoying. and i love that she grew to be this independent woman with a lot of backbone even when she had a traumatic past.
— Dane Davenport (H)
cold and ruthless? an asshole? 'baby girl' kink? yes, yes, and fuuuuck yes.
not gonna lie, i don't really know Dane that much and had a hard time connecting with him since there's barely interaction/dialogue with him with Vienna in the beginning (especially since this whole book is only in h's pov) but ummmmm once he pulled this move:
... **baby girl kink intensifies**
and suddenly forgot all mynonexistent feelings for Dane because once he called Vienna baby girl it was GAME OVER for me folks. i felt that 🦋 also it doesn't help that i picture him as sir henry cavill
lord have mercy i'm about to-
anywho. when i saw this gif, i had to pause for a sec, giggle, squeal a little bit, ran downstairs, drank water to hydrate, ran back upstairs, laid down and then came back to write this. so if y'all are wondering, i'm okay. but anyways, this dude is a little too cold most of the time and i wish he was more pushy and affectionate but oh well i'll explain that later.
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ romance & writing ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･
↠ PRE-MARRIAGE
the beginning was so slow. im so sorry but i wanted to dnf this so many times because of the first half. there was just so much telling > showing and not enough banter to set the tone for the MCs dynamic, thus, i didn't feel their chemistry. like, they went on 3 dates in the beginning and there were time jumps from that and it was all explained in inner monologue. that bums me out because i wanted to see dialogue mainly so i can see MORE chemistry and more of their dynamic through BANTER. but they had none of that in the first half.
EVEN THE WEDDING SCENE WAS TOLD > SHOWN being all like "Dane sighed, Elvis belched, I laughed" in inner monologue instead of showing dialogue. honestly, this was also probably a me thing since i was studying for my finals while reading this and i was looking for ✨escapism✨ you know? and the amount of inner monologue i had to read in this book didn't help whatsoever because i still felt like i was studying. and you know what's more interesting than their romance? Vienna's dad having Dissociative Identity Disorder. now that is what kept me reading this book because i wanted to know more about his history but we didn't even elaborate on this kinda brushing this off later on when this is so interesting. like, what did his mother do to him?? i want to know.
↠ POST-MARRIAGE
honestly, after they got married i finally felt a sense of relief because i wanted to dnf this so many times but alas, NOW things got better and i felt all the things i should've felt in the beginning.
the sexual tension? banter? smut? it was all here. and there's one chapter i really loved because it has every tropes i like which is the ZOO chapter. that chapter was so cute i wish there was more like that. and not gonna lie, i thought there were gonna be more scenes like that because we were teased about such scenes like them mentioning the halloween festival, thanksgiving dinner with Vienna's family, museum of natural history etc. but you know what happened again? MORE TELLING > SHOWING and time jumps. like please ma'am don't tease me like that. why even mention it if you're not gonna show it.
but honestly, even though the smut was hot and they were a bit cute i still felt like something was missing? mainly because Dane stayed cold till the very end and i barely saw any affection. i know he's supposed to be this cold and broody dude but he wasn't pushy enough for me. apparently, since they got married all he's ever done was ignore her most of the time. i just wanted more SPICE from him. i just want him to be more pushy- more flirty. when they really said he is cold, he is COLD. i just needed more scenes like the scene from Pride and Prejudice where Mr. Darcy held his hand to Elizabeth and then he had to clench his fists afterward because he felt something. THAT kind of tension- i needed more.
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ drama (spoilers) ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･
sit down and get your popcorn guys because this drama is A LOT.
ok so there's Dane's brothers and their wives, Vienna's ex, Vienna's foster sister, all wanting to sabotage their marriage and try to come up with ways for them to divorce/break up.
↠ Owen & Heather (Vienna's ex and foster sister):
him and Vienna were engaged back in highschool but separated because he wanted to focus on his career then years later he suddenly decided he still loves her so he tries to break them up a couple times and he even kissed her one time while, get this, he was dating her abusive foster sister, Heather. what a fucking dick. and Heather? that bitch is crazy. the details about her doing messed up things to Vienna while they were kids? HORRIBLE. apparently she used to pee on her bed, cut her hair while she was asleep, pull knives on her, locked her in a trunk with her pet rat for hours. yeah.. this bitch is crazy. she tried to break Vienna and Dane up by sending Dane an email about Vienna and she dated Owen to mess with her.
↠ Jen (Dane's sister in law/OW drama):
her and Dane had a one night stand years before she married his brother, Kent. basically she was fake to Vienna the whole time telling her they should be friends when she's acting jealous most of the time and warning Dane about her. she conspired with Hope to take sneaky pics of Dane to make it seem like he was cheating but it was fake news. and for those who want to know, no Dane and Vienna weren't celibate the 5 years they knew each other before they got engaged, Vienna used to book appointments for his dates, and his in-laws and brother mentioned how much of a ho he was but that was probably an exaggeration. but once they're together, it's only them.
↠ Travis & Hope (Dane's younger brother & Travis' wife)
they both want his trust fund so they're trying to sabotage his marriage by talking shit about Dane and Vienna, fake cheating pictures, telling Vienna's foster parents Dane might not love her because he just wanted to marry her for his trust fund, etc.
see? told you there's a lot of drama.
* * *
again, there was just a lot of family drama that at times it kinda veers away from the romance which is a little annoying since, because of telling > showing and a bunch of inner monologue, i didn't feel any satisfaction towards the sexual tension and chemistry sometims. the romance felt like breadcrumbs or a side plot.
listen, i love slowburn if i feel mutual pining, and sexual tensions where they're having conversations but you can just feel they want to jump each others' bones. i only felt that a little bit here. it felt one-sided most of the time since, again, Dane is supposed to be this unfeeling, cold dude but he was too cold, ya know? even after they slept together for the first time, he was still cold and ignored her most of the time.
all in all this was just meh for me. i loved Vienna, and yes, i still liked Dane but... yeah.. i just needed more.
does anyone else automatically picture henry cavill aka superman aka the witcher aka
ok so first and foremost, um, this took me two weeks to finish...
HA ha ha oops. but the tropes though...
↬ marriage of convenience and fake relationship
↬ H is the boss and h is his personal assisstant
↬ slowburn // and when i mean slowburn- i really do mean SLOW-fuckin'-BURN
↬ chaotic family AND ex drama, many people trying to break them up
↬ connecting over trauma ✨
↬ cold grumpy H, sunshine h // this dude was cold af lemme tell you
↬ sexual tension (??)
so naturally, with all the tropes above ⤴ i gravitated towards this book like the typical slowburn, marriage of convenience ho that i am. and now you're probably asking, mel why did it take you two weeks to finish?? well y/n imma answer that later. sorry. BUT ANYWAYS-
『 p l o t 』↠ so this book is about Dane Davenport (H) asking Vienna (h) to be his fake wife for a year because he has to get married before the age of 38 to access his trust fund. so they get married, live together, people creating dramas and trying to break them up, both Dane and Vienna being stubborn af and not doing anything till like 60% of the book y'all know the drill.
// SPOILERS AHEAD //
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ characters ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･
— Vienna (h)
"I'd tried to make use of every room in the oversized house-even the gym, though I had a genuine allergy to exercise."
first and foremost this girl is a bad bitch. i loved her. she didn't take ANY shit from anyone. when people were trying to sabotage her, being mean and calling her a gold digger, my girl was like
love that energy. she calls people out and not sugar coat anything when people are being annoying. and i love that she grew to be this independent woman with a lot of backbone even when she had a traumatic past.
— Dane Davenport (H)
"Never think I'm a man who ever settles for anything less than exactly what he wants. I never have, I never will. I know how to get what I want, and I know how to keep it."
cold and ruthless? an asshole? 'baby girl' kink? yes, yes, and fuuuuck yes.
not gonna lie, i don't really know Dane that much and had a hard time connecting with him since there's barely interaction/dialogue with him with Vienna in the beginning (especially since this whole book is only in h's pov) but ummmmm once he pulled this move:
"That's it, baby girl, stay nice and quiet while I fuck you."
... **baby girl kink intensifies**
and suddenly forgot all my
lord have mercy i'm about to-
anywho. when i saw this gif, i had to pause for a sec, giggle, squeal a little bit, ran downstairs, drank water to hydrate, ran back upstairs, laid down and then came back to write this. so if y'all are wondering, i'm okay. but anyways, this dude is a little too cold most of the time and i wish he was more pushy and affectionate but oh well i'll explain that later.
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ romance & writing ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･
↠ PRE-MARRIAGE
the beginning was so slow. im so sorry but i wanted to dnf this so many times because of the first half. there was just so much telling > showing and not enough banter to set the tone for the MCs dynamic, thus, i didn't feel their chemistry. like, they went on 3 dates in the beginning and there were time jumps from that and it was all explained in inner monologue. that bums me out because i wanted to see dialogue mainly so i can see MORE chemistry and more of their dynamic through BANTER. but they had none of that in the first half.
EVEN THE WEDDING SCENE WAS TOLD > SHOWN being all like "Dane sighed, Elvis belched, I laughed" in inner monologue instead of showing dialogue. honestly, this was also probably a me thing since i was studying for my finals while reading this and i was looking for ✨escapism✨ you know? and the amount of inner monologue i had to read in this book didn't help whatsoever because i still felt like i was studying. and you know what's more interesting than their romance? Vienna's dad having Dissociative Identity Disorder. now that is what kept me reading this book because i wanted to know more about his history but we didn't even elaborate on this kinda brushing this off later on when this is so interesting. like, what did his mother do to him?? i want to know.
↠ POST-MARRIAGE
honestly, after they got married i finally felt a sense of relief because i wanted to dnf this so many times but alas, NOW things got better and i felt all the things i should've felt in the beginning.
the sexual tension? banter? smut? it was all here. and there's one chapter i really loved because it has every tropes i like which is the ZOO chapter. that chapter was so cute i wish there was more like that. and not gonna lie, i thought there were gonna be more scenes like that because we were teased about such scenes like them mentioning the halloween festival, thanksgiving dinner with Vienna's family, museum of natural history etc. but you know what happened again? MORE TELLING > SHOWING and time jumps. like please ma'am don't tease me like that. why even mention it if you're not gonna show it.
but honestly, even though the smut was hot and they were a bit cute i still felt like something was missing? mainly because Dane stayed cold till the very end and i barely saw any affection. i know he's supposed to be this cold and broody dude but he wasn't pushy enough for me. apparently, since they got married all he's ever done was ignore her most of the time. i just wanted more SPICE from him. i just want him to be more pushy- more flirty. when they really said he is cold, he is COLD. i just needed more scenes like the scene from Pride and Prejudice where Mr. Darcy held his hand to Elizabeth and then he had to clench his fists afterward because he felt something. THAT kind of tension- i needed more.
･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･ drama (spoilers) ･ﾟﾟ･｡｡･ﾟﾟ･
sit down and get your popcorn guys because this drama is A LOT.
ok so there's Dane's brothers and their wives, Vienna's ex, Vienna's foster sister, all wanting to sabotage their marriage and try to come up with ways for them to divorce/break up.
↠ Owen & Heather (Vienna's ex and foster sister):
him and Vienna were engaged back in highschool but separated because he wanted to focus on his career then years later he suddenly decided he still loves her so he tries to break them up a couple times and he even kissed her one time while, get this, he was dating her abusive foster sister, Heather. what a fucking dick. and Heather? that bitch is crazy. the details about her doing messed up things to Vienna while they were kids? HORRIBLE. apparently she used to pee on her bed, cut her hair while she was asleep, pull knives on her, locked her in a trunk with her pet rat for hours. yeah.. this bitch is crazy. she tried to break Vienna and Dane up by sending Dane an email about Vienna and she dated Owen to mess with her.
↠ Jen (Dane's sister in law/OW drama):
her and Dane had a one night stand years before she married his brother, Kent. basically she was fake to Vienna the whole time telling her they should be friends when she's acting jealous most of the time and warning Dane about her. she conspired with Hope to take sneaky pics of Dane to make it seem like he was cheating but it was fake news. and for those who want to know, no Dane and Vienna weren't celibate the 5 years they knew each other before they got engaged, Vienna used to book appointments for his dates, and his in-laws and brother mentioned how much of a ho he was but that was probably an exaggeration. but once they're together, it's only them.
↠ Travis & Hope (Dane's younger brother & Travis' wife)
they both want his trust fund so they're trying to sabotage his marriage by talking shit about Dane and Vienna, fake cheating pictures, telling Vienna's foster parents Dane might not love her because he just wanted to marry her for his trust fund, etc.
see? told you there's a lot of drama.
* * *
again, there was just a lot of family drama that at times it kinda veers away from the romance which is a little annoying since, because of telling > showing and a bunch of inner monologue, i didn't feel any satisfaction towards the sexual tension and chemistry sometims. the romance felt like breadcrumbs or a side plot.
listen, i love slowburn if i feel mutual pining, and sexual tensions where they're having conversations but you can just feel they want to jump each others' bones. i only felt that a little bit here. it felt one-sided most of the time since, again, Dane is supposed to be this unfeeling, cold dude but he was too cold, ya know? even after they slept together for the first time, he was still cold and ignored her most of the time.
all in all this was just meh for me. i loved Vienna, and yes, i still liked Dane but... yeah.. i just needed more.
December 23, 2022
4.25 stars
⭐️
*note: this is my first book by this author so take my review w a grain of salt 🧂
I’ll straight-up admit it right now that i was hooked the moment i found out this has marriage of convenience AND ✨age gap✨ bc YASS all my daddy issues gals where you at?
Why I enjoyed this more than i expected :
✔︎ slow burn romance
✔︎ off the charts chemistry 📈
✔︎ the sense of familiarity shared between the MCs
✔︎ the 3-Dimensional characters 👌🏻
✔︎ a vibranium backbone of a heroine we all deserve✨
However~
What I was iffy about 🥴
☞︎ Now, as much as i’m a hoe for age gap romances, somehow this felt NOTHING like it, which led my body to cringe every single time he called her ‘baby girl’.
i’m unsure if it’s bc he calls her that in FRONT of everyone (bc i haaate PDA) or it was just cringe worthy. I had less issues with the ‘baby girl’ thing when they’re intimate with each other in private tho 🤷🏻♀️
☞︎ Anyhow, I saw some of my mutuals point out how overly dramatic this book is and honestly, i didn’t see it at first -does that say how much of a drama queen i am in real life? mayhaps.
But upon reflecting, i kinda agree that it was unnecessarily overdramatic. In fact, when Vienna(h) kept sharing her traumatic experiences, one after the other,-
-i thought; ’damn girl, you didn’t go see a specialist or sumn? bc that back-to-back shit you went through screams PTSD for me’. but surprisingly, she ended up all right.....🤔💭
☞︎ Lastly, i didn’t appreciate that the author skimmed through the scenes when Dane was bonding with Vienna’s family and also their sexcapades once they got together bc as i've said, this felt slow burn for me and the sexual tension and chemistry were off the charts—So when authors skip through these things, i’d naturally get annoyed. All that wait and for what? Bc if you’re gonna do that, make sure your epilogue is going to be super wholesome and fulfilling like Zapata’s or i’m not having it.
🌚 REACTIONS!¡! because i can 🌝
my asian household:
*note: this is my first book by this author so take my review w a grain of salt 🧂
I’ll straight-up admit it right now that i was hooked the moment i found out this has marriage of convenience AND ✨age gap✨ bc YASS all my daddy issues gals where you at?
Why I enjoyed this more than i expected :
✔︎ slow burn romance
✔︎ off the charts chemistry 📈
- i felt every sexual tension and chemistry. love that
✔︎ the sense of familiarity shared between the MCs
✔︎ the 3-Dimensional characters 👌🏻
✔︎ a vibranium backbone of a heroine we all deserve✨
• Vienna was such a smart, badass, sarcastic, and wise heroine. Finally i found a heroine that didn’t react impulsively through her emotions and took some time to think rationally and try to see reason 👏🏻 She was also an emotionally relatable character to me and i love her for that.
“In general, I struggled to lower my guard around people. I was too wary, too distrustful. It didn’t matter how nice a guy was, I always seemed to be waiting for him to mess up. I hated that about myself; hated that I expected people to hurt me. It wasn’t fair to them.”
• I especially admired how she’d just head-on bulldoze anything that was thrown at her way and that she refused to sugarcoat shit! 👏🏻 She wasn’t easily pushed around either and was super direct but not in an irritating kind of way. And for those reasons,
However~
What I was iffy about 🥴
☞︎ Now, as much as i’m a hoe for age gap romances, somehow this felt NOTHING like it, which led my body to cringe every single time he called her ‘baby girl’.
i’m unsure if it’s bc he calls her that in FRONT of everyone (bc i haaate PDA) or it was just cringe worthy. I had less issues with the ‘baby girl’ thing when they’re intimate with each other in private tho 🤷🏻♀️
☞︎ Anyhow, I saw some of my mutuals point out how overly dramatic this book is and honestly, i didn’t see it at first -does that say how much of a drama queen i am in real life? mayhaps.
But upon reflecting, i kinda agree that it was unnecessarily overdramatic. In fact, when Vienna(h) kept sharing her traumatic experiences, one after the other,-
“She’d knocked me around, forced dog food in my mouth, bit me hard enough to mark, and pulled a knife on me several times. That wasn’t even the worst of it.”
-i thought; ’damn girl, you didn’t go see a specialist or sumn? bc that back-to-back shit you went through screams PTSD for me’. but surprisingly, she ended up all right.....🤔💭
☞︎ Lastly, i didn’t appreciate that the author skimmed through the scenes when Dane was bonding with Vienna’s family and also their sexcapades once they got together bc as i've said, this felt slow burn for me and the sexual tension and chemistry were off the charts—So when authors skip through these things, i’d naturally get annoyed. All that wait and for what? Bc if you’re gonna do that, make sure your epilogue is going to be super wholesome and fulfilling like Zapata’s or i’m not having it.
🌚 REACTIONS!¡! because i can 🌝
“They’d also cracked down hard on Heather. Their punishments hadn’t been physical, but they’d been highly effective.”
my asian household:
“I’m not so easily lured,” I said.
“But I would have managed it,” he assured me, pitching his voice low. “Because what do I always get?”
“What you want.”
“Exactly, baby girl.”
“He snarled, his eyes cold and flinty. “If I go upstairs with you now, I’ll fuck you. Hard. But it wouldn’t be for you, it would be for me. I wouldn’t care whether or not you liked it, whether or not you came, whether or not it hurt you. All I’d care about is making my head go quiet for a while. I don’t want to use you like that. So no, Vienna, I’m not going with you.” He roughly released my hair. “Now go to fucking bed.”
“Ever notice how women always get the blame for men being dicks? Their mom didn’t hug them enough, the girls at school made fun of them, their adult ex-girlfriends jilted them, their ex-wives used to nag at them. And if you reject a guy, it can’t possibly mean you simply don’t like him—no, it means you’re stuck up or a frigid bitch or something.”
March 5, 2024
DNF at 31%
i hate dnf-ing sm.. ☹
honestly I don’t have many reasons except that I was very very bored. the book followed vienna and dane. he is her boss she is his assistant and one day he just randomly asks her to get into a marriage of convenience to claim his inheritance. ngl i thought it was a personal issue at first or the book is just crap bc it was a br with imene and georgia and they didn’t like it either 😭 this is basically terms and conditions 2.0, which is funny bc me and georgia gave that five stars HAHAH so why we didn’t like this is beyond me. the difference between the two books is that iris and declan actually have personalities and these two.. not so much perhaps
here’s some tropes i can remember:
➳ marriage of convenience
➳ she falls first, he falls harder
➳ grumpy possessive mmc
➳ workplace romance (ceo x assistant)
let’s talk characters. dane davenport was really nothing I haven’t read before. classic grumpy mmc that loves nothing. which is like usually right up my alley but there was nothing fun about him !! usually a moody I-hate-everything male lead will have a soft spot or a sense of humor that gets us to like him and simp but what was there for him?? what makes him stand out from other moody mmc’s you ask? that’s right, nothing. but like am I too critical considering I only read 100 something pages? yes perhaps. also i already am biased towards hating him bc a dane bullied me years ago and im petty~
“I felt a growl bubble up my throat.”
when they use growl or any form of animal behaviour it makes me wanna throw up <<<<
Owen jutted out his chin. “You don’t get to dictate what I do.”“When it comes to my wife, I absolutely do.”
“They’re my rings on her finger. It’s my name she’s taken. It’s my bed she shares. She is mine. So whether you care for her or not isn’t fucking relevant.”
like these quotes are cute and all (especially the last one 🙈) but you can’t tell me they’re not super basic and overused it’s giving romance for beginners. which is fine bc i know if i read this 3 years ago I would’ve ATE IT UP. but there’s just a lot of better things to compare it to.
ANYWAYS I GOT SIDETRACKED. swiftly moving on to vienna. i won’t lie I don’t have much to say about her she just kinda existed. she was lowkey a pushover i wanted her to stand up for herself more and idk see more of her personality. she also agreed to the marriage WAYY too quickly imo. like this is how the interaction went:
dane: marry me
vienna: sorry?
dane: yeah i need to get my inheritance so if you’ll just be my fake wife for a year that would be gre-
vienna: okay
she literally said yes so casually it almost gave me whiplash. I get it though he may be boring but at least he’s hot 🤷♀️ you do you girl I won’t judge.
dnf-ing this hurt me so bad bc it’s not just any read it’s a br for our book club☹️ georgia, imene you’ll have to forgive me for this but I couldn’t do it. i enjoyed discussing this at school with you and the late night snaps of us bonding over how bad it is 😭💗 hopefully our next read will be better🥹
to those who loved this plz don’t be mad at me 🙊 happy reading my loves <33
i hate dnf-ing sm.. ☹
honestly I don’t have many reasons except that I was very very bored. the book followed vienna and dane. he is her boss she is his assistant and one day he just randomly asks her to get into a marriage of convenience to claim his inheritance. ngl i thought it was a personal issue at first or the book is just crap bc it was a br with imene and georgia and they didn’t like it either 😭 this is basically terms and conditions 2.0, which is funny bc me and georgia gave that five stars HAHAH so why we didn’t like this is beyond me. the difference between the two books is that iris and declan actually have personalities and these two.. not so much perhaps
here’s some tropes i can remember:
➳ marriage of convenience
➳ she falls first, he falls harder
➳ grumpy possessive mmc
➳ workplace romance (ceo x assistant)
let’s talk characters. dane davenport was really nothing I haven’t read before. classic grumpy mmc that loves nothing. which is like usually right up my alley but there was nothing fun about him !! usually a moody I-hate-everything male lead will have a soft spot or a sense of humor that gets us to like him and simp but what was there for him?? what makes him stand out from other moody mmc’s you ask? that’s right, nothing. but like am I too critical considering I only read 100 something pages? yes perhaps. also i already am biased towards hating him bc a dane bullied me years ago and im petty~
“I felt a growl bubble up my throat.”
when they use growl or any form of animal behaviour it makes me wanna throw up <<<<
Owen jutted out his chin. “You don’t get to dictate what I do.”“When it comes to my wife, I absolutely do.”
“They’re my rings on her finger. It’s my name she’s taken. It’s my bed she shares. She is mine. So whether you care for her or not isn’t fucking relevant.”
like these quotes are cute and all (especially the last one 🙈) but you can’t tell me they’re not super basic and overused it’s giving romance for beginners. which is fine bc i know if i read this 3 years ago I would’ve ATE IT UP. but there’s just a lot of better things to compare it to.
ANYWAYS I GOT SIDETRACKED. swiftly moving on to vienna. i won’t lie I don’t have much to say about her she just kinda existed. she was lowkey a pushover i wanted her to stand up for herself more and idk see more of her personality. she also agreed to the marriage WAYY too quickly imo. like this is how the interaction went:
dane: marry me
vienna: sorry?
dane: yeah i need to get my inheritance so if you’ll just be my fake wife for a year that would be gre-
vienna: okay
she literally said yes so casually it almost gave me whiplash. I get it though he may be boring but at least he’s hot 🤷♀️ you do you girl I won’t judge.
dnf-ing this hurt me so bad bc it’s not just any read it’s a br for our book club☹️ georgia, imene you’ll have to forgive me for this but I couldn’t do it. i enjoyed discussing this at school with you and the late night snaps of us bonding over how bad it is 😭💗 hopefully our next read will be better🥹
to those who loved this plz don’t be mad at me 🙊 happy reading my loves <33
March 30, 2023
Dnf at page 171
This was not for me. I thought the prologue was well written and it really grabbed my interest but chapter 1 was a completely different story.
It felt a little too similar to Terms and Conditions (I read that one first) tho that was average, I could not stand this one at all. The characters, the plot, the writing- nothing worked. Others seem to be enjoying it a lot so it's probably a "me issue".
Anyway I gave it a go and instead of skimming and wasting my time with it I'd rather read something else.
This was not for me. I thought the prologue was well written and it really grabbed my interest but chapter 1 was a completely different story.
It felt a little too similar to Terms and Conditions (I read that one first) tho that was average, I could not stand this one at all. The characters, the plot, the writing- nothing worked. Others seem to be enjoying it a lot so it's probably a "me issue".
Anyway I gave it a go and instead of skimming and wasting my time with it I'd rather read something else.
October 20, 2020
First time reading Suzanne Wright and I was not disappointed.
September 14, 2023
Reread:
-5/5/23 ( I love Suzanne Wright so much)
-6/8/22
4.5 Stars
I was completely enthralled in this book, like anything else Suzanne Wright has written. Completely intrigued by Dane and Vienna's dynamic, it was great to see their relationship blossom from a cold, professional dynamic to one that was filled with affection and passion.
The secondary characters were refreshing to read about. every time Ashley and Tucker fought, I could not hold back my laugh. The more ridiculous the fight the more I could not help it. I thought it was quite remarkable that both H and h had heartbreaking pasts... Seeing how Vienna interacted with her father had addressed and corrected any stigma that surrounded Dissociative Identity Disorder. The only thing that I had to relate it to was from the movie Split
The drama in this book was just thrilling. Hope, Jen, Owen and Heather, all deserved to rot for what they had Dane and Vienna go through. It was good to see Karma had caught up to them by the end.
The wedding scene HAD to be the funniest scene in the entire book. I could not stop laughing about the belching Elvis...
THE EPILOGUE WAS AMAZING. I'm such a sucker for a HEA, and this epilogue did not disappoint. everything I could ever hope for my favourite characters happened. *Side note* How adorable was Oliver Hugh?.... What a perfect ending.
-5/5/23 ( I love Suzanne Wright so much)
-6/8/22
4.5 Stars
I was completely enthralled in this book, like anything else Suzanne Wright has written. Completely intrigued by Dane and Vienna's dynamic, it was great to see their relationship blossom from a cold, professional dynamic to one that was filled with affection and passion.
The secondary characters were refreshing to read about. every time Ashley and Tucker fought, I could not hold back my laugh. The more ridiculous the fight the more I could not help it. I thought it was quite remarkable that both H and h had heartbreaking pasts... Seeing how Vienna interacted with her father had addressed and corrected any stigma that surrounded Dissociative Identity Disorder. The only thing that I had to relate it to was from the movie Split
The drama in this book was just thrilling. Hope, Jen, Owen and Heather, all deserved to rot for what they had Dane and Vienna go through. It was good to see Karma had caught up to them by the end.
The wedding scene HAD to be the funniest scene in the entire book. I could not stop laughing about the belching Elvis...
THE EPILOGUE WAS AMAZING. I'm such a sucker for a HEA, and this epilogue did not disappoint. everything I could ever hope for my favourite characters happened. *Side note* How adorable was Oliver Hugh?.... What a perfect ending.
October 17, 2020
3.25 Stars
Overall Opinion: I think I set myself up for failure here. I read raving reviews about this and thought it was right up my alley since I love an arranged marriage story! Don’t get me wrong! I didn’t hate it or anything. I just didn’t love it. I never fully connected with the characters and the H especially. I never really understood the H’s connection with the h either. I think not getting his POV contributed to this a lot. I also thought that all the drama was quite OTT by the end...actually, no, throughout the book it was pretty OTT! But I’m not going to lie either — that is part of the reason for me sticking with this. I was interested enough to continue on to find out how it would all pan out while I wasn’t connecting or feeling any emotions for these characters. I think that says something! And for once the epilogue was pretty great! That alone is why I’m giving it a little over “just okay” 3 stars here.
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Vienna and Dane’s story. Vienna has been Dane’s PA for years. In the past he helped her out of a really sticky situation, so she owes him a favor and that is to become his wife for a year so he can get an inheritance from his dead uncle. She has crushed on him for a while, so she worries that her feelings will get in the way but knows that she cannot say no because of what he’s done for her. The more time they spend together the more the lines cross and they end up giving in to their attraction. There is a lot of family drama, some sexy times, and some big secrets revealed...and they get a HEA ending.
Point Of View (POV): This was told in Vienna’s POV.
Overall Pace of Story: Good until the last ~1/4ish (where it started to feel a little choppy to me). I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well.
Instalove: No, they take a while to develop stronger feelings.
H (Hero) rating: 3 stars. Dane. I didn’t connect with him, so I didn’t necessarily like or dislike him.
h (heroine) rating: 3.5 stars. Vienna. I liked her more. I appreciated how she kept her cool and was smart about what was worth fighting for.
Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed
Push/Pull: Not really
Heat level: Hot. They have some hot tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: No
Separation: No
Possible Triggers: Yes
Closure: While I was frustrated with the chapters leading up to it, this had a super cute epilogue and what I would call a HEA ending
Safety: This one should be Safe for most safety gang readers
Overall Opinion: I think I set myself up for failure here. I read raving reviews about this and thought it was right up my alley since I love an arranged marriage story! Don’t get me wrong! I didn’t hate it or anything. I just didn’t love it. I never fully connected with the characters and the H especially. I never really understood the H’s connection with the h either. I think not getting his POV contributed to this a lot. I also thought that all the drama was quite OTT by the end...actually, no, throughout the book it was pretty OTT! But I’m not going to lie either — that is part of the reason for me sticking with this. I was interested enough to continue on to find out how it would all pan out while I wasn’t connecting or feeling any emotions for these characters. I think that says something! And for once the epilogue was pretty great! That alone is why I’m giving it a little over “just okay” 3 stars here.
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Vienna and Dane’s story. Vienna has been Dane’s PA for years. In the past he helped her out of a really sticky situation, so she owes him a favor and that is to become his wife for a year so he can get an inheritance from his dead uncle. She has crushed on him for a while, so she worries that her feelings will get in the way but knows that she cannot say no because of what he’s done for her. The more time they spend together the more the lines cross and they end up giving in to their attraction. There is a lot of family drama, some sexy times, and some big secrets revealed...and they get a HEA ending.
Point Of View (POV): This was told in Vienna’s POV.
Overall Pace of Story: Good until the last ~1/4ish (where it started to feel a little choppy to me). I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well.
Instalove: No, they take a while to develop stronger feelings.
H (Hero) rating: 3 stars. Dane. I didn’t connect with him, so I didn’t necessarily like or dislike him.
h (heroine) rating: 3.5 stars. Vienna. I liked her more. I appreciated how she kept her cool and was smart about what was worth fighting for.
Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed
Push/Pull: Not really
Heat level: Hot. They have some hot tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: No
Separation: No
Possible Triggers: Yes
Closure: While I was frustrated with the chapters leading up to it, this had a super cute epilogue and what I would call a HEA ending
Safety: This one should be Safe for most safety gang readers
September 28, 2023
5 ⭐
4/5🔥
"Only you Vienna, Only you"
Whenever he said that, I SCREAMED.
Changed my rating to 5 cz I couldn't stop thinking abt this book!!!!!
I FUCKING DEVOURED THIS BOOK. God where should I start, I don't have words to describe how amazing this book was.😭
Starts as Dane is a CEO of this big ass company, and Vienna is his personal PA. Who has been working for him for the past 4 years. (Nobody stayed in that position that long but surprise she did). All of a sudden Dane asks her to marry him.
To inherit some property his uncle left for him and his brothers. But he will only inherit that under certain conditions...😏😏😏 and that's where it all starts when Dane asks her to marry him. 😌
Arranged marriage ✔
Touch her and I'll kill you✔
Fucking nightmare trope ✔
Grumpy-sunshine trope✔
Drama Lots of family drama😏✔
And many more i don't remember.
This book had the perfect slow burn, and the spice lord IT HAD ME SWEATING 😩😩.
Dane fucking davenport😩 ugh THIS MAN could ruin me in every way possible and I won't say a single word.
Vienna I loved her so much unlike other mc's I've read she never submitted to him easily. She was a baddie, and got through alot💔. I loved her so much 💖
AND THEY ACTUALLY FUCKING COMMUNICATED😭
But listening to the Dane's past was even worse😟. I wish I could hug him when he was a child. All those things were just so horrible.
The plot and the pacing were ✨perfection✨, but through the last part of the book I really wanted to finish this off. Yeah it was kind of dragged at the end..just a little.
Nevertheless I adored every single moment of this book, the characters were very much likeable and funny too.
Also I really what to see Dane's search history... cz I'm assuming I'm going to find very very interesting things.😭😭
The epilogue ugh😭😭 I love that when a character doesn't want any kids whatsover but BOOM!! in the epilogue they've more then 2 kids ❤❤
4/5🔥
"Only you Vienna, Only you"
Whenever he said that, I SCREAMED.
Changed my rating to 5 cz I couldn't stop thinking abt this book!!!!!
I FUCKING DEVOURED THIS BOOK. God where should I start, I don't have words to describe how amazing this book was.😭
Starts as Dane is a CEO of this big ass company, and Vienna is his personal PA. Who has been working for him for the past 4 years. (Nobody stayed in that position that long but surprise she did). All of a sudden Dane asks her to marry him.
To inherit some property his uncle left for him and his brothers. But he will only inherit that under certain conditions...😏😏😏 and that's where it all starts when Dane asks her to marry him. 😌
Arranged marriage ✔
Touch her and I'll kill you✔
Fucking nightmare trope ✔
Grumpy-sunshine trope✔
Drama Lots of family drama😏✔
And many more i don't remember.
This book had the perfect slow burn, and the spice lord IT HAD ME SWEATING 😩😩.
Dane fucking davenport😩 ugh THIS MAN could ruin me in every way possible and I won't say a single word.
Vienna I loved her so much unlike other mc's I've read she never submitted to him easily. She was a baddie, and got through alot💔. I loved her so much 💖
AND THEY ACTUALLY FUCKING COMMUNICATED😭
But listening to the Dane's past was even worse😟. I wish I could hug him when he was a child. All those things were just so horrible.
The plot and the pacing were ✨perfection✨, but through the last part of the book I really wanted to finish this off. Yeah it was kind of dragged at the end..just a little.
Nevertheless I adored every single moment of this book, the characters were very much likeable and funny too.
Also I really what to see Dane's search history... cz I'm assuming I'm going to find very very interesting things.😭😭
The epilogue ugh😭😭 I love that when a character doesn't want any kids whatsover but BOOM!! in the epilogue they've more then 2 kids ❤❤
November 23, 2020
Spoilers ahead 2.5*
At 15%
How is it he's a workaholic and she's his assistant but she doesn't have time to date....yet HE has the time to flit from woman to woman.....where's the logic in that? Does his possession of a penis create extra time in a day? Or give him extra energy? Deducting a star if this shit is confirmed later on, I'm OVER this bs....... #currentlyreading
*eta a review said she's been celibate for 10 months, time will tell
At something %
He calls in his favor and makes the one year marriage of convenience offer, she says he has a high sex drive so he won't be able to stay celibate for the year.....yet she will??
At something more %
Out on their first date, she's like I book the restaurant for all your other dates, how come you've never brought one here. And he goes well I had to bring you someplace different so everyone would know you're not just a companion for the evening.....so he took all his ONS to particular restaurants
I feel like I'm nitpicking?? I'm irritated by him for some reason.....plus this is wordy AF......continuing on for now
Something % later
Why do I and the h have to hear so much about the many times he's been around the block??
Allllll the girls want him.....ugh
He slept with his now sister in law too??? Well at least it was before she became his sis in marriage huh??
Of course he had women trying to trap him with a baby.....cuz he's such a prize ya know
This man's past reads like a young and restless episode....I mean being a manwhore is one thing why do I need the details man
We're at the build-up to the wedding and NOTHING is happening besides week to week with them and his family trying to cause drama
I'm not even sure at what % I'm at.....unfortunately not the end
So many of the females in here are bitches, wow....I mean her sister was the worst and everyone's like go home Heather or whatever her name is and I'm like do women actually act like this?? It's like everything has to be exaggerated to just be dramatic. The mean girls are just way too overdone....nothing a good punch to the face wouldn't solve but wow
I forgot TO mention her ex. He came into the picture pretty early after they meet at a business meeting.....now he's persistent AF. They haven't seen each other in years but to continue the over dramatic theme we've got going....he just WON'T go away! Anddddd he named his kid after her 😒😂 listen everything is just EXTRA......
At something % again
Confirmation that it's been 10 months since she had sex, who with I have no clue....there's been mention of s couple of exes who were all assholes so idk
He's an arrogant and self contained workaholic jerk
Whyyyyyyy is this so longgggggg when NOTHING is happening beside day to day life, his family causing drama and Heather trying to break them up......really is 5000 😂 pages really necessary
Maybe 50 ish % (hopefully)
Finally!!! Sex!!!! Yassssssss
52% oh for fucks sake......of course he says it can't happen again......way to burst my bubble asshole
Maybe 60%?
More Woman drama as she gets pics of him with OW, of course there's an explanation.....but again it's so OTT....like this author was having a marathon soap opera movie run and decided to add in bits of all her favourites😂😳 I'm trying to make it to the end in one go because if I pause ain't no coming back to this mess
Not even another sex scene to give a woman something to look forward too
And Dane is just so cold man ugh....I do like his possessive behavior even though that too is OTT....like beating people up just goes away lordt
I'm tired for real.....so basically he remains cold to the end.....I've read cyborg romances with a better H.
I'm not gonna recap anymore....the drama continued till the bitter end. This book was wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too long for such a simplistic plot
0.25* for the cover
0.75* for the sex
1* for the epilogue.....you can never go wrong with an HEA with kids and babies 😍
*eta- Ironically this book completed my 2020 reading challenge so 0.5* for that 😂
At 15%
How is it he's a workaholic and she's his assistant but she doesn't have time to date....yet HE has the time to flit from woman to woman.....where's the logic in that? Does his possession of a penis create extra time in a day? Or give him extra energy? Deducting a star if this shit is confirmed later on, I'm OVER this bs....... #currentlyreading
*eta a review said she's been celibate for 10 months, time will tell
At something %
He calls in his favor and makes the one year marriage of convenience offer, she says he has a high sex drive so he won't be able to stay celibate for the year.....yet she will??
At something more %
Out on their first date, she's like I book the restaurant for all your other dates, how come you've never brought one here. And he goes well I had to bring you someplace different so everyone would know you're not just a companion for the evening.....so he took all his ONS to particular restaurants
I feel like I'm nitpicking?? I'm irritated by him for some reason.....plus this is wordy AF......continuing on for now
Something % later
Why do I and the h have to hear so much about the many times he's been around the block??
Allllll the girls want him.....ugh
He slept with his now sister in law too??? Well at least it was before she became his sis in marriage huh??
Of course he had women trying to trap him with a baby.....cuz he's such a prize ya know
This man's past reads like a young and restless episode....I mean being a manwhore is one thing why do I need the details man
We're at the build-up to the wedding and NOTHING is happening besides week to week with them and his family trying to cause drama
I'm not even sure at what % I'm at.....unfortunately not the end
So many of the females in here are bitches, wow....I mean her sister was the worst and everyone's like go home Heather or whatever her name is and I'm like do women actually act like this?? It's like everything has to be exaggerated to just be dramatic. The mean girls are just way too overdone....nothing a good punch to the face wouldn't solve but wow
I forgot TO mention her ex. He came into the picture pretty early after they meet at a business meeting.....now he's persistent AF. They haven't seen each other in years but to continue the over dramatic theme we've got going....he just WON'T go away! Anddddd he named his kid after her 😒😂 listen everything is just EXTRA......
At something % again
Confirmation that it's been 10 months since she had sex, who with I have no clue....there's been mention of s couple of exes who were all assholes so idk
He's an arrogant and self contained workaholic jerk
Whyyyyyyy is this so longgggggg when NOTHING is happening beside day to day life, his family causing drama and Heather trying to break them up......really is 5000 😂 pages really necessary
Maybe 50 ish % (hopefully)
Finally!!! Sex!!!! Yassssssss
52% oh for fucks sake......of course he says it can't happen again......way to burst my bubble asshole
Maybe 60%?
More Woman drama as she gets pics of him with OW, of course there's an explanation.....but again it's so OTT....like this author was having a marathon soap opera movie run and decided to add in bits of all her favourites😂😳 I'm trying to make it to the end in one go because if I pause ain't no coming back to this mess
Not even another sex scene to give a woman something to look forward too
And Dane is just so cold man ugh....I do like his possessive behavior even though that too is OTT....like beating people up just goes away lordt
I'm tired for real.....so basically he remains cold to the end.....I've read cyborg romances with a better H.
I'm not gonna recap anymore....the drama continued till the bitter end. This book was wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too long for such a simplistic plot
0.25* for the cover
0.75* for the sex
1* for the epilogue.....you can never go wrong with an HEA with kids and babies 😍
*eta- Ironically this book completed my 2020 reading challenge so 0.5* for that 😂
April 2, 2023
4.5 stars
Free on KU!
If you've been following me for a while then you know I can't fault Suzanne Wright. She is my drug of choice and I love ODing on her. Too much? I can't tone it down, sorry not sorry. Like I've said before SW never lets me down and she can have my hard-earned money for every book she publishes. (insert take my money gif here).
Vienna Stratton is Dane Davenport's PA for the past four years. She's the only one that has lasted in her position and the only one that calls Dane on his crap. She knows that Dane is ruthless and formidable and goes after what he wants with single minded intensity. And what he wants now is Vienna as his wife. Not a real wife mind you but a fake one. One loyal enough to play the part but not get entangled with him. And Vienna owes him. She's not thrilled about lying to everyone but the favor has to be repaid. Now, she just has to fight her attraction to him and convince her family and his that they are madly in-love. Easy, right?
"Vienna, I'm a man who gets what he wants. Always. No exceptions. I never stop or back down until I have it."
While reading this I couldn't help picturing Samara Weaving (particularly in Ready or Not) as Vienna Stratton. As a side note, you should totally watch Ready or Not. Something about the resilience of both characters and having to deal with in-laws connected the two in my head while reading.
"For as long as you wear these rings, you're mine; no other man has the right to touch you. I'd never fucking allow it."
I'm a sucker for a good marriage of convenience trope and I have to say that SW really put her own stamp on it. I don't think I've ever read this trope with the elements of this one. Sure it has the disgruntled in-laws and the alpha H that's kind of an asshole to everyone but it all came with their own spins. The most interesting for me was Vienna's relationship with her father and her backstory. I was very intrigued by it and the way both hers and Dane's backstory helped with understanding each other better.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and it came at a time where I didn't know what to read next and nothing was holding my attention. I loved reading about these two finding their way to each other. SW's humour was threaded throughout the book and lightened situations but Vienna herself was definitely the standout star of this one. If you enjoy this trope, I think this would make a good addition to your shelves.
P.S. I hope GR publishes this as I have been having major trouble with the site all weekend.
20/8/20
Marriage of convenience?! CEO and his P.A.?! From Suzanne Wright?!! Give me!!
Free on KU!
If you've been following me for a while then you know I can't fault Suzanne Wright. She is my drug of choice and I love ODing on her. Too much? I can't tone it down, sorry not sorry. Like I've said before SW never lets me down and she can have my hard-earned money for every book she publishes. (insert take my money gif here).
Vienna Stratton is Dane Davenport's PA for the past four years. She's the only one that has lasted in her position and the only one that calls Dane on his crap. She knows that Dane is ruthless and formidable and goes after what he wants with single minded intensity. And what he wants now is Vienna as his wife. Not a real wife mind you but a fake one. One loyal enough to play the part but not get entangled with him. And Vienna owes him. She's not thrilled about lying to everyone but the favor has to be repaid. Now, she just has to fight her attraction to him and convince her family and his that they are madly in-love. Easy, right?
"Vienna, I'm a man who gets what he wants. Always. No exceptions. I never stop or back down until I have it."
While reading this I couldn't help picturing Samara Weaving (particularly in Ready or Not) as Vienna Stratton. As a side note, you should totally watch Ready or Not. Something about the resilience of both characters and having to deal with in-laws connected the two in my head while reading.
"For as long as you wear these rings, you're mine; no other man has the right to touch you. I'd never fucking allow it."
I'm a sucker for a good marriage of convenience trope and I have to say that SW really put her own stamp on it. I don't think I've ever read this trope with the elements of this one. Sure it has the disgruntled in-laws and the alpha H that's kind of an asshole to everyone but it all came with their own spins. The most interesting for me was Vienna's relationship with her father and her backstory. I was very intrigued by it and the way both hers and Dane's backstory helped with understanding each other better.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and it came at a time where I didn't know what to read next and nothing was holding my attention. I loved reading about these two finding their way to each other. SW's humour was threaded throughout the book and lightened situations but Vienna herself was definitely the standout star of this one. If you enjoy this trope, I think this would make a good addition to your shelves.
P.S. I hope GR publishes this as I have been having major trouble with the site all weekend.
20/8/20
Marriage of convenience?! CEO and his P.A.?! From Suzanne Wright?!! Give me!!
May 24, 2024
Re-read #2 (5/24/2024) 3.5 Stars.
Rereading this because I realised that their daughter got her own book and i might check that out. Also, I was in the mood for some addicting drama. This was still so overdramatic the second time around even for me.
3.25 stars
Yes I randomly pick up any book that has the fake marriage/marriage of convenience trope.
I admit that I didn’t expect much of this one, but the fake marriage trope was so tempting for me to ignore. However, this turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
So there were a lot of things that I enjoyed about this book, starting from the fake marriage trope, workplace romance, the slow burn, the broody alpha hero, the strong smart not a doormat heroine, the side characters specially her family, how they respect each other even if the whole thing was “fake”, and finally the angst which turned into an explosive chemistry.
As much as I enjoyed it, it wasn’t perfect tho. It was full of draaaama. A never ending drama after drama because almost everyone in the book is trying to separate them. I’ve never seen so many people trying to separate a couple before. It also got a little bit repetitive. Same words, same situations, and obviously same drama. However, I really liked that both characters weren’t stupid and whenever a conflict or a drama rise (and this happens a lot) they talk and resolve the situation quickly so there wasn’t really a significant miscommunication which I really appreciated. This was my first Suzanne Wright’s and it wasn’t a disappoint, I’m also interested in checking her paranormal series tho.
Song recommendation:
Long story short by Taylor Swift
Break my heart by Dua Lipa
Gold rush by Taylor Swift
Daddy issues by The Neighbourhood
Rereading this because I realised that their daughter got her own book and i might check that out. Also, I was in the mood for some addicting drama. This was still so overdramatic the second time around even for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3.25 stars
Yes I randomly pick up any book that has the fake marriage/marriage of convenience trope.
I admit that I didn’t expect much of this one, but the fake marriage trope was so tempting for me to ignore. However, this turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
“Not yours,” Dane finished. “They’re my rings on her finger. It’s my name she’s taken. It’s my bed she shares. She is mine. So whether you care for her or not isn’t fucking relevant.”
So there were a lot of things that I enjoyed about this book, starting from the fake marriage trope, workplace romance, the slow burn, the broody alpha hero, the strong smart not a doormat heroine, the side characters specially her family, how they respect each other even if the whole thing was “fake”, and finally the angst which turned into an explosive chemistry.
As much as I enjoyed it, it wasn’t perfect tho. It was full of draaaama. A never ending drama after drama because almost everyone in the book is trying to separate them. I’ve never seen so many people trying to separate a couple before. It also got a little bit repetitive. Same words, same situations, and obviously same drama. However, I really liked that both characters weren’t stupid and whenever a conflict or a drama rise (and this happens a lot) they talk and resolve the situation quickly so there wasn’t really a significant miscommunication which I really appreciated. This was my first Suzanne Wright’s and it wasn’t a disappoint, I’m also interested in checking her paranormal series tho.
Song recommendation:
Long story short by Taylor Swift
Break my heart by Dua Lipa
Gold rush by Taylor Swift
Daddy issues by The Neighbourhood
September 6, 2021
6 Sept. 2021 Reread: Reread this to fit a mood. It hit the spot, but then, I knew it would. Honestly, it lost a touch in the reread because a lot of the ending is final victory over their opponents and by that time, it was all over but the crying. So it's mostly fallout and exposition and gnashing of teeth. Which I remember being emotionally satisfying the first time around, but I'd already gotten what I was looking for by that point this time. Still love the epilogue where the daughter is asked who her favorite princess is...
I found myself completely charmed by this story and that's a multi-level surprise because both of its main weaknesses are pretty clear either up front or really early. The most obvious is that a modern marriage of convenience is going to be at least a little bit contrived. I mean, there aren't a lot of reasons someone can be compelled to marry that make sense, particularly when your hero is a very self-sufficient business mogul and supreme alpha-type male. And Dane is on the extreme end of that spectrum. Being compelled for any reason isn't going to be an easy sell with his character.
The second weakness is less obvious but clear pretty early. Both protagonists have backgrounds full of pain and dysfunction. Seriously, a less-capable author would look like she was needlessly piling-on. And to be candid, it is a bit piled-on, at least in the sense that all the things does indeed stretch credulity. Anyone would be justified to be a crumpled heap in a corner with all they've gone through, Vienna more than Dane, but seriously, it's a lot.
The way Wright saves both of these is the same; she gives them enough weight in the characters (both internal voice and in action) to make them feel real. And it helps that it shows how strong they both are in overcoming their difficulties despite the scars and neuroses left over. In other words, their difficult pasts don't at all feel like an excuse for them to be irrational or emotional or in any way convenient to the plot or story. They just felt, to me, like things they'd had to overcome to be the people I enjoyed and engaged with in this story. In other words, both were doing their best to be better and healthier and because they shared a firm trust in each other (even when they didn't think that they did) I just loved watching things play out how they did.
That trust in each other was key to my engagement in the story both because it was as strong as it was and because it gave me the assurance that they were good for each other and that they'd make an outstanding team. Plus, they communicated, even when things looked dire and/or caused them to question their devotion.
A less obvious weakness of the story are the antagonists that stand between the two. They were venal and corrupt and truly nasty pieces of work. But again, Wright stuck to her characterization guns and that made all the difference for me. This is best seen in how each (there were a handful) had their distinct motivations and preferred methods of operation so they weren't in any way interchangeable. Plus, none of them were completely unreasoning, however unreasonable. So Dane and Vienna had to stretch to deal with them on different levels (emotional, economical, and social) so they served the story very well to highlight the development of their relationship.
I could puff about and say it was 4½ stars that I'm rounding up, but let's just toss that out for a bag of chips. I enjoyed it thoroughly, never dreamed of putting it down, and just sank into the experience of the story. So it's five stars all the way, though I'll admit there are a lot of elements here that might very well disturb (or even destroy) the experience for others.
A note about Alpha: Dane is a very pronounced alpha so if you're not at least a little tolerant of his type this isn't going to be your story. He isn't abusive and Vienna is no wilting weenie to let him walk all over her. But he is in the power position in every way in this story so he's able to make his decisive declarations without check. I didn't mind because I liked how much he cared about Vienna and his company and he was very protective of the things he cares about—and that doesn't always equate to just himself.
A note about Crude: I didn't consider this a crude story, but some of their sexy times include terms in, um, the vernacular. If you're particularly sensitive to crude language, that may be enough. I didn't think it was, but I'll admit I'm not a great gauge for that aspect of stories. At any rate, none of it was degrading or belittling, for all of the note below, so be reassured if that was a suspicion or concern. Dane has all the respect for Vienna you could hope for and that is always at the forefront of his interactions with her, even in his head.
A note about Steamy: There are a half dozen or so explicit sex scenes putting this on the high end of my steam tolerance. Enhancing that is that Dane is his most alpha self in their sexy times. It's not quite dom/sub, I don't think, but it's close. And it's probably best you don't ask how I'd know because I don't have much of a filter and I might actually answer...
I found myself completely charmed by this story and that's a multi-level surprise because both of its main weaknesses are pretty clear either up front or really early. The most obvious is that a modern marriage of convenience is going to be at least a little bit contrived. I mean, there aren't a lot of reasons someone can be compelled to marry that make sense, particularly when your hero is a very self-sufficient business mogul and supreme alpha-type male. And Dane is on the extreme end of that spectrum. Being compelled for any reason isn't going to be an easy sell with his character.
The second weakness is less obvious but clear pretty early. Both protagonists have backgrounds full of pain and dysfunction. Seriously, a less-capable author would look like she was needlessly piling-on. And to be candid, it is a bit piled-on, at least in the sense that all the things does indeed stretch credulity. Anyone would be justified to be a crumpled heap in a corner with all they've gone through, Vienna more than Dane, but seriously, it's a lot.
The way Wright saves both of these is the same; she gives them enough weight in the characters (both internal voice and in action) to make them feel real. And it helps that it shows how strong they both are in overcoming their difficulties despite the scars and neuroses left over. In other words, their difficult pasts don't at all feel like an excuse for them to be irrational or emotional or in any way convenient to the plot or story. They just felt, to me, like things they'd had to overcome to be the people I enjoyed and engaged with in this story. In other words, both were doing their best to be better and healthier and because they shared a firm trust in each other (even when they didn't think that they did) I just loved watching things play out how they did.
That trust in each other was key to my engagement in the story both because it was as strong as it was and because it gave me the assurance that they were good for each other and that they'd make an outstanding team. Plus, they communicated, even when things looked dire and/or caused them to question their devotion.
A less obvious weakness of the story are the antagonists that stand between the two. They were venal and corrupt and truly nasty pieces of work. But again, Wright stuck to her characterization guns and that made all the difference for me. This is best seen in how each (there were a handful) had their distinct motivations and preferred methods of operation so they weren't in any way interchangeable. Plus, none of them were completely unreasoning, however unreasonable. So Dane and Vienna had to stretch to deal with them on different levels (emotional, economical, and social) so they served the story very well to highlight the development of their relationship.
I could puff about and say it was 4½ stars that I'm rounding up, but let's just toss that out for a bag of chips. I enjoyed it thoroughly, never dreamed of putting it down, and just sank into the experience of the story. So it's five stars all the way, though I'll admit there are a lot of elements here that might very well disturb (or even destroy) the experience for others.
A note about Alpha: Dane is a very pronounced alpha so if you're not at least a little tolerant of his type this isn't going to be your story. He isn't abusive and Vienna is no wilting weenie to let him walk all over her. But he is in the power position in every way in this story so he's able to make his decisive declarations without check. I didn't mind because I liked how much he cared about Vienna and his company and he was very protective of the things he cares about—and that doesn't always equate to just himself.
A note about Crude: I didn't consider this a crude story, but some of their sexy times include terms in, um, the vernacular. If you're particularly sensitive to crude language, that may be enough. I didn't think it was, but I'll admit I'm not a great gauge for that aspect of stories. At any rate, none of it was degrading or belittling, for all of the note below, so be reassured if that was a suspicion or concern. Dane has all the respect for Vienna you could hope for and that is always at the forefront of his interactions with her, even in his head.
A note about Steamy: There are a half dozen or so explicit sex scenes putting this on the high end of my steam tolerance. Enhancing that is that Dane is his most alpha self in their sexy times. It's not quite dom/sub, I don't think, but it's close. And it's probably best you don't ask how I'd know because I don't have much of a filter and I might actually answer...
May 30, 2023
First read : 5♾ Just thinking about re-reading this one.
2nd read : Yes, I did it.
This is by far one of my favorites romance of the year.
Honestly I don’t think I disliked or hated any part of it, on the contrary I loved pretty much everything, I don’t even know where to begin with.
First of all Vienna and I could be friends irl. She was kind (in not a pushy or too sweet way) I really liked her sens of humour and she handled Dane and his grumpiness plus enormous ego pretty well. I also liked her relationship with her biological father and the fact that his personnage wasn’t painted in a devilish way ‘cause of his mental health issues, this part was refreshing.
Dane was a little bit cliché, but I loved him. He was always in alert around Vienna and picked every changes and shifts in her moods, everything he did for her or said, every time he putted her before everyone (gah I was giggling and kicking my feet every damn time it happened ) 🥺 and their chemistry o.m.g, especially when they were fake dating before actually getting married (loved that part so damn much too) and the fact that it was narrated by only Vienna’s pov was a huge plus for me.
There was a lot of drama going on in here and when I mean a LOT it’s a LOT, like every side character in this book tried to wreck their marriage however they failed, because Vienna and Dane actually COMMUNICATED, they trusted each other, they had each other backs and mostly they were grown up people who were rational and didn’t jump to conclusions, they just were two mature adults.
Actually I ended up laughing so hard at every grand schemes that were put together to pull them apart. (Some of these characters were so desperate)
2nd read : Yes, I did it.
This is by far one of my favorites romance of the year.
Honestly I don’t think I disliked or hated any part of it, on the contrary I loved pretty much everything, I don’t even know where to begin with.
First of all Vienna and I could be friends irl. She was kind (in not a pushy or too sweet way) I really liked her sens of humour and she handled Dane and his grumpiness plus enormous ego pretty well. I also liked her relationship with her biological father and the fact that his personnage wasn’t painted in a devilish way ‘cause of his mental health issues, this part was refreshing.
Dane was a little bit cliché, but I loved him. He was always in alert around Vienna and picked every changes and shifts in her moods, everything he did for her or said, every time he putted her before everyone (gah I was giggling and kicking my feet every damn time it happened ) 🥺 and their chemistry o.m.g, especially when they were fake dating before actually getting married (loved that part so damn much too) and the fact that it was narrated by only Vienna’s pov was a huge plus for me.
There was a lot of drama going on in here and when I mean a LOT it’s a LOT, like every side character in this book tried to wreck their marriage however they failed, because Vienna and Dane actually COMMUNICATED, they trusted each other, they had each other backs and mostly they were grown up people who were rational and didn’t jump to conclusions, they just were two mature adults.
Actually I ended up laughing so hard at every grand schemes that were put together to pull them apart. (Some of these characters were so desperate)
April 1, 2021
Fantastic. I've had a top 5 favorite book/series list for several years now that no other book has come close to touching. Until now. This book just kicked out one of my top 5 and moved into its slot. I even added two new shelves to my goodreads list because I just have to mark that this has my favorite kind of heroine and hero in it.
I'll start with the heroine. Vienna is a dream heroine for me. I'm conditioned to overlook a lot in a heroine because to be honest, most do not behave the way I wish they would. Because of this, I don't let most of what they do bother me and instead focus more on the hero. Now saying that, when a heroine comes along that demands respect and proves me wrong, I am in book heaven.
What makes Vienna a dream heroine for me? She had self respect. She didn't fall all over the hero and allowed him to disrespect her, not that he really did, but you'll understand when you read this. I also really loved how she handled the drama with side characters. She called them on their BS to their face. I LOVE THAT. I'm not a fan of a lot of drama unless it's handled. She handled it. Also, she was a genuinely good person. She put others before herself, but not to a point that she was a doormat. There wasn't one time in the book that I wanted to change Vienna. I loved her.
Now for the hero. Dane is very cold, aloof, calm but cutting at times. You do not get his POV in this so I was left guessing about his intentions from the very beginning. I actually really liked to trying to figure out when things changed for him with Vienna or if he had a plan from the very start.
This mystery lasted a long time, and to me it had me completely enthralled. Not only because I was left guessing, but also because I adored his actions even though I was never sure if they were because he loved her or if he was just protective. Despite the fake marriage, he was very protective and always had Vienna's back.
Loving the main characters as much as I did, I also loved how much time we got with them in the book. Due to the fake marriage, the story was about them as a couple almost from the start. My favorite thing to read with a couple is when they work together agains the drama, and not have the drama keep them apart.
I feel like I could go on and on about this book but I don't want to spoil anything. It was fantastic! I want more books like this and I want the author to write more about this couple. I don't think I could ever get enough of them.
I'll start with the heroine. Vienna is a dream heroine for me. I'm conditioned to overlook a lot in a heroine because to be honest, most do not behave the way I wish they would. Because of this, I don't let most of what they do bother me and instead focus more on the hero. Now saying that, when a heroine comes along that demands respect and proves me wrong, I am in book heaven.
What makes Vienna a dream heroine for me? She had self respect. She didn't fall all over the hero and allowed him to disrespect her, not that he really did, but you'll understand when you read this. I also really loved how she handled the drama with side characters. She called them on their BS to their face. I LOVE THAT. I'm not a fan of a lot of drama unless it's handled. She handled it. Also, she was a genuinely good person. She put others before herself, but not to a point that she was a doormat. There wasn't one time in the book that I wanted to change Vienna. I loved her.
Now for the hero. Dane is very cold, aloof, calm but cutting at times. You do not get his POV in this so I was left guessing about his intentions from the very beginning. I actually really liked to trying to figure out when things changed for him with Vienna or if he had a plan from the very start.
This mystery lasted a long time, and to me it had me completely enthralled. Not only because I was left guessing, but also because I adored his actions even though I was never sure if they were because he loved her or if he was just protective. Despite the fake marriage, he was very protective and always had Vienna's back.
Loving the main characters as much as I did, I also loved how much time we got with them in the book. Due to the fake marriage, the story was about them as a couple almost from the start. My favorite thing to read with a couple is when they work together agains the drama, and not have the drama keep them apart.
I feel like I could go on and on about this book but I don't want to spoil anything. It was fantastic! I want more books like this and I want the author to write more about this couple. I don't think I could ever get enough of them.
July 18, 2023
3.25/5 stars.
i had a very interesting emotional journey with this book.
i never give romance books 5 stars. i think so far there’s… one.
because to me a 5 star is ”i can’t see this story being communicated in a better way” and also ”i just like it”, which sounds pretty general but actually has very specific parameters.
and a lot of the time, i don’t find that in romance books. sometimes in fantasy and most often in lit fic, but rarely in romance. i’m a picky person.
up until about the 20-25% mark, i was genuinely thinking that this could be a 5 star romance read, bringing my grand total to… 2 books.
and i’m not entirely sure when it changed, but somewhere between that and the 40% mark, that went from a hopeful 5 to a tentative 3.
when i started this, i loved the fmc. i loved the circumstances and the atmosphere of the book. the writing was a bit choppy, but enjoyable. i loved the fake dating and then the fake marriage tropes. but in the beginning, what really made this amazing for me, was the mental illness representation.
a side character suffers from did, dissociative identity disorder, and not only is this portrayed humanely, but it’s a beautiful part of this character. that won me over.
however, then i read the smut. which i think was the start of my issues with this.
i am picky about a lot of things, but generally smut really isn’t one of them. in fact, i often find myself liking couples more once they consummate the relationship.
but this was not it. not only did i not enjoy it, but it’s so random.
the first time they have sex, it’s in the kitchen. okay, whatever. but out of nowhere. while cleaning up from dinner. absolutely zero foreplay. no mood or anything.
the second time, SHE WAKES UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. AND HE’S SITTING IN HER ROOM WATCHING HER. AND THEN FUCKS HER. uhm no. i would smack a bitch. hands would be flying.
and then as it went on, the pacing felt off. the slight choppiness didn’t bother me in the beginning, but in combination with a fast paced but busy plot, it felt like a lot was happening but the plot still dragged a little.
but my biggest gripe is probably the mmc. i don’t like him. i understand trauma responses and whatnot, and certainly i’m not always the most friendly and definitely not the most open person, but that’s never a reason to be an asshole.
if you’re an asshole to other people just because someone was an asshole to you, how is that any better?
he’s a grown ass man. had years to work through shit and, y’know, not be an insufferable anthropomorphic pimple.
(yes, i am proud of myself for that insult)
especially if he’s an ass just because he’s got money.
i don’t like rich people on a good day, especially not when they’re putting people out of jobs just because they’re in a mood and have the emotional regulation of a toddler.
ANYWAYS, lils was right, i did like how the exes were trying so hard to break them up. that was hilarious. especially because it failed so miserably.
one thing that did really make this book for me, was the communication . that was amazing and i really did love how easily they talked about everything.
and sorry, but the name of the company is kinda dumb. its such a reach i don’t understand how the author even came up with that.
ALSO- I FORGOT TO MENTION BEFORE THAT THE WORDS NAPE AND WARLOCK WERE USED A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF TIMES. i know it’s meant to be gimmicky and cute, but it’s not. thesauruses are one google away.
i had a very interesting emotional journey with this book.
i never give romance books 5 stars. i think so far there’s… one.
because to me a 5 star is ”i can’t see this story being communicated in a better way” and also ”i just like it”, which sounds pretty general but actually has very specific parameters.
and a lot of the time, i don’t find that in romance books. sometimes in fantasy and most often in lit fic, but rarely in romance. i’m a picky person.
up until about the 20-25% mark, i was genuinely thinking that this could be a 5 star romance read, bringing my grand total to… 2 books.
and i’m not entirely sure when it changed, but somewhere between that and the 40% mark, that went from a hopeful 5 to a tentative 3.
when i started this, i loved the fmc. i loved the circumstances and the atmosphere of the book. the writing was a bit choppy, but enjoyable. i loved the fake dating and then the fake marriage tropes. but in the beginning, what really made this amazing for me, was the mental illness representation.
a side character suffers from did, dissociative identity disorder, and not only is this portrayed humanely, but it’s a beautiful part of this character. that won me over.
however, then i read the smut. which i think was the start of my issues with this.
i am picky about a lot of things, but generally smut really isn’t one of them. in fact, i often find myself liking couples more once they consummate the relationship.
but this was not it. not only did i not enjoy it, but it’s so random.
the first time they have sex, it’s in the kitchen. okay, whatever. but out of nowhere. while cleaning up from dinner. absolutely zero foreplay. no mood or anything.
the second time, SHE WAKES UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. AND HE’S SITTING IN HER ROOM WATCHING HER. AND THEN FUCKS HER. uhm no. i would smack a bitch. hands would be flying.
and then as it went on, the pacing felt off. the slight choppiness didn’t bother me in the beginning, but in combination with a fast paced but busy plot, it felt like a lot was happening but the plot still dragged a little.
but my biggest gripe is probably the mmc. i don’t like him. i understand trauma responses and whatnot, and certainly i’m not always the most friendly and definitely not the most open person, but that’s never a reason to be an asshole.
if you’re an asshole to other people just because someone was an asshole to you, how is that any better?
he’s a grown ass man. had years to work through shit and, y’know, not be an insufferable anthropomorphic pimple.
(yes, i am proud of myself for that insult)
especially if he’s an ass just because he’s got money.
i don’t like rich people on a good day, especially not when they’re putting people out of jobs just because they’re in a mood and have the emotional regulation of a toddler.
ANYWAYS, lils was right, i did like how the exes were trying so hard to break them up. that was hilarious. especially because it failed so miserably.
one thing that did really make this book for me, was the communication . that was amazing and i really did love how easily they talked about everything.
and sorry, but the name of the company is kinda dumb. its such a reach i don’t understand how the author even came up with that.
ALSO- I FORGOT TO MENTION BEFORE THAT THE WORDS NAPE AND WARLOCK WERE USED A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF TIMES. i know it’s meant to be gimmicky and cute, but it’s not. thesauruses are one google away.
November 11, 2020
⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Might Contain Spoilers*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱
The book centers around Vienna Stratton (24), personal assistant to Dane Davenport (37), the globally successful CEO and founder of o-Verve. Vienna owns Dane a favor, which he cashes in with a fake marriage that will last over twelve months. With her deep hidden crush, she puts on a fake smile to show the world her new marriage to the man who never wanted to marry. Overall, I was so afraid starting this book that I kept putting off starting it. Why, you'd ask? Well, while I LOVE the author's male characters, I sometimes don't like her females as they either want to change the man, or fight for dominance - independency. I always fear reading a romance book where the male is cold, ruthless and controlling, because many authors changes the male throughout the book once he starts to fall in love. Luckily, Suzanne Wright wrote this perfectly.
I loved that while we saw Dane develop in opening up about his past, he didn't change as a character. He didn't become softer or suddenly nice just because he might be in love. I also loved that Vienna didn't try to change him, or that she wasn't annoying in trying to be all independent and fight Dane in everything - I hate when that happens. That isn't to say Vienna was submissive or didn't have any backbone. She was just great. She wasn't afraid to speak up if it was needed, she was loyal, she never backed down on a promise, she was kind and smart. But she was not a pushover. Both characters were written very well. What I didn't like was many of the side characters, like Vienna's best friend Ashley and her Boyfriend. Their constant fighting was immature. But other than that, I really like this book. It was quite enjoyable, and Dane was just my type for male book characters. He was so fucking hot.
Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (Adult) Contemporary Romance (M/F)
Series: - Standalone.
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Favorite character? - Dane Davenport.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Yes.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Yes.
Will I read this again in the future? - Probably.
Rating - 3.5/4 stars.
October 21, 2020
I wanted to like this so much, but ...
I had two significant problems: Dane's character and the whole family dysfunctional dynamic.
Dane was cold and driven in a hard way; the excuse for his closed personality was his baggage full of emotional issues. That said, I couldn't read or feel those things from him.
What happened to Dane in the past to make him such a complex man felt like a list of bad things narrated to me. It was told to my brain but not felt in my heart.
As for the family,
what's the chance of you having two brothers and striking the jackpot twice winning two psycho crazy sisters-in-law?
Is there any?
The family dynamic was OTT.
I had two significant problems: Dane's character and the whole family dysfunctional dynamic.
Dane was cold and driven in a hard way; the excuse for his closed personality was his baggage full of emotional issues. That said, I couldn't read or feel those things from him.
What happened to Dane in the past to make him such a complex man felt like a list of bad things narrated to me. It was told to my brain but not felt in my heart.
As for the family,
what's the chance of you having two brothers and striking the jackpot twice winning two psycho crazy sisters-in-law?Is there any?
The family dynamic was OTT.
October 17, 2021
Vienna is a boss 💯 I love her. She doesn’t let anyone walk all over her and has a steel backbone.
Dane Davenport 🥵
When I tell you this man is so fine and perfect in every sense, I’m not exaggerating.
Dane could sense EVERY MOMENT when Vienna felt off, if she was sick, rattled by someone else’s action, or even displeased, he would ask her “what’s wrong?”
Vienna and Dane communicated so well and he didn’t let her leave without talking to him whenever any conflict occurred. That’s how much he values her. So hot of him.
Exhibit 1
“Turning to the window, I rested my loosely clasped hands on my lap and did my best to let all my edginess slip away. Yeah, it didn’t work.
“What’s bothering you?”
The question almost made me jump. I looked at Dane and shrugged. “Nothing.”
“You’re annoyed about something. What?”
“It’s not important.”
“But it’s bugging you enough that you look ready to punch someone.” He pocketed his phone and pressed a button that raised the privacy screen between us and the driver. “Tonight, I need you to be all about us. Your head can’t be elsewhere. So, tell me what’s wrong.”
I sighed. “I had a brief visit from Owen earlier.”
Exhibit 2
“I felt a momentary pang of sadness. The ring didn’t really belong on my finger. It didn’t signify that there was someone who loved and was committed to me. It was just a prop.
“What’s wrong?”
Wiping all emotion from my face, I lifted my head. “Not a thing. I’m just bowled over by the level of bling.”
Exhibit 3
“You looked tired in the foyer. Drained, even.” His eyes narrowed as they drifted over my face. “Did something happen?”
“Not exactly.”
He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Tell me.”
I sighed. “I saw Heather at the mall. She didn’t see me. She was in a café with who is quite possibly her new boyfriend.” I backed up a few steps and slumped onto the sofa. “I also saw Owen at the mall.”
Dane is the sweetest and attentive man ever. He paid attention to every detail about his Vienna.
This was the earlier scene in the book:
“His gaze met mine, broody and unreadable. “Your real wedding?” he echoed, his tone utterly flat.
“Uh-huh. Unlike you, I don’t want to be all by my lonesome for the rest of my days on Earth.”
“What do you want?”
Someone who could give me the things that Dane would never be able to give, just as Owen had pointed out. “A family,” I replied. “And a cat.”
His mouth twitched. “A family and a cat.”
“Maybe I’ll call it Dane. That’s a cat-like name, right?”
AND THEN THIS WAS WAY LATER IN THE BOOK:
“I turned back to the gorgeous feline, who was curled up in a ball on my shelf, looking wary and cautious.
“Well, do you want her or not?” he prodded, impatient.
My eyes widened. “Of course I want her. I’m just shocked. I mean, you don’t really like animals.”
“But you do. And you wanted a cat. Now you’ve got one.”
DANE DAVENPORT GOT VIENNA A GORGEOUS CAT 🥺
And him searching on Google how to care for the cat or searching all the symptoms of migraines or food poisoning when Vienna was sick. So thoughtful 🥰
I can go on how much I love this book…well,more so much how much I love Dane but that’ll ruin the mystery of Dane even though I’m spoiling it.
And that epilogue? Immaculate
Now, let’s talk about the side characters.
Oliver: ❤️ (the significance behind the Dane’s company’s name o’Verve 🥺)
Travis and Hope: ….they’re vile. Hope is vicious.
Kent: sweetest man and he is better off with out Jen. Jen should’ve known better to come after Dane and Vienna.
Simone: Too sweet of man and a father, he didn’t deserve his ugly childhood, no one does.
Melinda and Wyatt: kindest souls ever
Hanna and Ashley: I love Vienna’s friends. I didn’t like when one of them would say Dane was psychopath. He definitely wasn’t. Dane was very protective of Vienna.
Heather: if she doesn't grow up and have common sense not to be jealous, so vile
Barron: piece of sh**
Dane Davenport 🥵
When I tell you this man is so fine and perfect in every sense, I’m not exaggerating.
Dane could sense EVERY MOMENT when Vienna felt off, if she was sick, rattled by someone else’s action, or even displeased, he would ask her “what’s wrong?”
Vienna and Dane communicated so well and he didn’t let her leave without talking to him whenever any conflict occurred. That’s how much he values her. So hot of him.
Exhibit 1
“Turning to the window, I rested my loosely clasped hands on my lap and did my best to let all my edginess slip away. Yeah, it didn’t work.
“What’s bothering you?”
The question almost made me jump. I looked at Dane and shrugged. “Nothing.”
“You’re annoyed about something. What?”
“It’s not important.”
“But it’s bugging you enough that you look ready to punch someone.” He pocketed his phone and pressed a button that raised the privacy screen between us and the driver. “Tonight, I need you to be all about us. Your head can’t be elsewhere. So, tell me what’s wrong.”
I sighed. “I had a brief visit from Owen earlier.”
Exhibit 2
“I felt a momentary pang of sadness. The ring didn’t really belong on my finger. It didn’t signify that there was someone who loved and was committed to me. It was just a prop.
“What’s wrong?”
Wiping all emotion from my face, I lifted my head. “Not a thing. I’m just bowled over by the level of bling.”
Exhibit 3
“You looked tired in the foyer. Drained, even.” His eyes narrowed as they drifted over my face. “Did something happen?”
“Not exactly.”
He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Tell me.”
I sighed. “I saw Heather at the mall. She didn’t see me. She was in a café with who is quite possibly her new boyfriend.” I backed up a few steps and slumped onto the sofa. “I also saw Owen at the mall.”
Dane is the sweetest and attentive man ever. He paid attention to every detail about his Vienna.
This was the earlier scene in the book:
“His gaze met mine, broody and unreadable. “Your real wedding?” he echoed, his tone utterly flat.
“Uh-huh. Unlike you, I don’t want to be all by my lonesome for the rest of my days on Earth.”
“What do you want?”
Someone who could give me the things that Dane would never be able to give, just as Owen had pointed out. “A family,” I replied. “And a cat.”
His mouth twitched. “A family and a cat.”
“Maybe I’ll call it Dane. That’s a cat-like name, right?”
AND THEN THIS WAS WAY LATER IN THE BOOK:
“I turned back to the gorgeous feline, who was curled up in a ball on my shelf, looking wary and cautious.
“Well, do you want her or not?” he prodded, impatient.
My eyes widened. “Of course I want her. I’m just shocked. I mean, you don’t really like animals.”
“But you do. And you wanted a cat. Now you’ve got one.”
DANE DAVENPORT GOT VIENNA A GORGEOUS CAT 🥺
And him searching on Google how to care for the cat or searching all the symptoms of migraines or food poisoning when Vienna was sick. So thoughtful 🥰
I can go on how much I love this book…well,more so much how much I love Dane but that’ll ruin the mystery of Dane even though I’m spoiling it.
And that epilogue? Immaculate
Now, let’s talk about the side characters.
Oliver: ❤️ (the significance behind the Dane’s company’s name o’Verve 🥺)
Travis and Hope: ….they’re vile. Hope is vicious.
Kent: sweetest man and he is better off with out Jen. Jen should’ve known better to come after Dane and Vienna.
Simone: Too sweet of man and a father, he didn’t deserve his ugly childhood, no one does.
Melinda and Wyatt: kindest souls ever
Hanna and Ashley: I love Vienna’s friends. I didn’t like when one of them would say Dane was psychopath. He definitely wasn’t. Dane was very protective of Vienna.
Heather: if she doesn't grow up and have common sense not to be jealous, so vile
Barron: piece of sh**
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2020
I was in the middle of a paranormal-romance binge but was in dire need of a break. Scrolling through my Kindle, I came across The Favor and dived right in with no expectations. I ended up finishing it at 2am because I was completely captivated! Which is surprising because I didn't have much luck with Suzanne Wright's Phoenix Pack series. However, this time round, I was completely enthralled by Vienna and Dane's story. The Favor had all my favorite tropes: age gap, fake relationship and marriage of convenience.
Vienna Stratton was a charming heroine. She's level-headed, mature and doesn't let her past weigh her down. Although she had a difficult upbringing, she still manages to be the better person in all situations. She's also hard-working, ambitious and very loyal! I loved her snarkiness and the occasional sarcastic comments she made. She's definitely not as sarcastic and OTT as SW's other heroines, which I appreciated. Vienna is genuinely a good person and thinks beyond herself.
Dane Davenport was an alpha male through and through. He's a workaholic, possessive and gets jealous easily. I absolutely adored his dry humour too. What's interesting about him is that he doesn't really go through a 'development arc' per se. He just continues to love Vienna in his own way and stays an absolute asshole throughout the story. Which was kind of refreshing to see. I feel like I'm so used to heroes going through a 180 degree change after meeting the heroine. I like that he stays cold and aloof.
The secondary characters were so lovable. I loved Vienna's dad, Simon, and her foster parents, Wyatt and Melinda. Aside from Heather (her 'sister'), I really loved the family dynamic. It's really cool to see that they were very much a part of her life. .
Another thing I ADORED about The Favor was the open and honest communication between Vienna and Dane. You will not find any stupid, eye-rolling miscommunication in this book. Nuh-uh. I like that the MC's were able to talk things through. When rumours and misinformation was being spread, they were able to fact check with each other. And isn't that just a beautiful display of maturity and trust?
My only criticisms were that the story got a little repetitive in the middle and the villains of the story were kind of OTT and really petty. This was dysfunctional family to the extreme. Granted, I personally have dysfunctional relatives that haven't grown out of their high school phase, so I'm willing to let this slide.
Overall, I LOVED The Favor. I was enthralled from the very beginning to the end. This was the perfect steamy contemporary romance I didn't even know I was needing. I hope SW writes more contemporary romances in the future. If you're in the mood for an alpha-male CEO AND P.A romance with a dash of OTT in-law drama, I highly recommend this one!
Rating: 5/5
Vienna Stratton was a charming heroine. She's level-headed, mature and doesn't let her past weigh her down. Although she had a difficult upbringing, she still manages to be the better person in all situations. She's also hard-working, ambitious and very loyal! I loved her snarkiness and the occasional sarcastic comments she made. She's definitely not as sarcastic and OTT as SW's other heroines, which I appreciated. Vienna is genuinely a good person and thinks beyond herself.
Dane Davenport was an alpha male through and through. He's a workaholic, possessive and gets jealous easily. I absolutely adored his dry humour too. What's interesting about him is that he doesn't really go through a 'development arc' per se. He just continues to love Vienna in his own way and stays an absolute asshole throughout the story. Which was kind of refreshing to see. I feel like I'm so used to heroes going through a 180 degree change after meeting the heroine. I like that he stays cold and aloof.
The secondary characters were so lovable. I loved Vienna's dad, Simon, and her foster parents, Wyatt and Melinda. Aside from Heather (her 'sister'), I really loved the family dynamic. It's really cool to see that they were very much a part of her life. .
Another thing I ADORED about The Favor was the open and honest communication between Vienna and Dane. You will not find any stupid, eye-rolling miscommunication in this book. Nuh-uh. I like that the MC's were able to talk things through. When rumours and misinformation was being spread, they were able to fact check with each other. And isn't that just a beautiful display of maturity and trust?
My only criticisms were that the story got a little repetitive in the middle and the villains of the story were kind of OTT and really petty. This was dysfunctional family to the extreme. Granted, I personally have dysfunctional relatives that haven't grown out of their high school phase, so I'm willing to let this slide.
Overall, I LOVED The Favor. I was enthralled from the very beginning to the end. This was the perfect steamy contemporary romance I didn't even know I was needing. I hope SW writes more contemporary romances in the future. If you're in the mood for an alpha-male CEO AND P.A romance with a dash of OTT in-law drama, I highly recommend this one!
Rating: 5/5
March 20, 2023
“Only you, Vienna. Only you.”
Well this book was one of my most anticipated read of 2023. I enjoyed it a lot but not the way I thought I would considering it had one of my favourite trope "Marriage of Convenience". The start was really good and captivating because of how the things escalated but then it just got boring and repetitive. But I liked the last 30% of the book so much because of Dane and Vienna's sweet and adorable moments. In the start Dane literally treated her as some thing he owned but thank god he changed that behaviour later because I would have hated him if there was no character development in that matter. Don't get me wrong I love possessive man but he was just way too possessive possessive. But the most adorable thing about this book was when Dane decided that he does wants a future with Vienna and he even wants to have kids with her. Books where the main character who is against having kids in future but ends up having lots of them always melts my heart. And truly Dane and Vienna deserve all this happiness.
This book has so much drama well family drama but I ate that shit up. But it would be a little shorter if there was no unnecessary repetition of the fact "why Dane married Vienna". I hated Heather, Owen and Hope so much. Like seriously they were acting like bitches who just can't see Vienna being happy with Dane. And that Jen bitch was just so fucking annoying and seriously Kent deserves so much better and thank god he left her after what she had done to him and his brother.
The writing in this book was not for me and it really was kinda hard to adapt to it. And I also skimmed the parts when side characters were involved. The pacing was okay but honestly this book could have been 50 pages shorter. And I hated when the author used the word "globe" for Vienna's ass. It really was irritating. I have never read a book about a PA and a Boss relationship with a marriage of Convenience and this book served this trope really well. The tension between Dane and Vienna was just so fucking hot and I was just waiting for something to happen 😩 and the spice in this book was just so so so hot 🤌🔥 This book really needed to be written in dual pov because half the time I was just wondering what was going on in Dane's mind when he started having feelings for her. And yess this book has no third act breakup and no miscommunication trope.
Vienna Stratton
She is such a confident and a sassy girl. I immediately liked her character. She has been through so much and I am happy she finally got her own family. I also liked how she always confronted Dane whenever she thought that he was hiding something and they both were good at communicating with each other. But mostly I liked how beautiful her name is ✨️💞
Dane Davenport
He was not easy to liked in the starting because of his too much possessiveness for Vienna and the fact that he called her "baby girl". I don't know about others but this nickname is cringe for me. But I loved how he tried to change his ways for Vienna and how he cared for her when she was sick. He even bought a cat for her and used goggle to find out which food does cats like. Isn't he cute sometimes 😆💞
The ending was really adorable and beautiful because we got a glimpse of their future where they have kids and are happily married. And also the other side characters like Kent, Hanna and Ashley have their own kids and are happily settled in their life. It was just the way it should be. Perfectly Adorable.
So overall this book was good and entertaining and if you're in a mood for a marriage of Convenience trope with a Boss and PA relationship and with lots of spicy scenes then this book is for you.
Well this book was one of my most anticipated read of 2023. I enjoyed it a lot but not the way I thought I would considering it had one of my favourite trope "Marriage of Convenience". The start was really good and captivating because of how the things escalated but then it just got boring and repetitive. But I liked the last 30% of the book so much because of Dane and Vienna's sweet and adorable moments. In the start Dane literally treated her as some thing he owned but thank god he changed that behaviour later because I would have hated him if there was no character development in that matter. Don't get me wrong I love possessive man but he was just way too possessive possessive. But the most adorable thing about this book was when Dane decided that he does wants a future with Vienna and he even wants to have kids with her. Books where the main character who is against having kids in future but ends up having lots of them always melts my heart. And truly Dane and Vienna deserve all this happiness.
This book has so much drama well family drama but I ate that shit up. But it would be a little shorter if there was no unnecessary repetition of the fact "why Dane married Vienna". I hated Heather, Owen and Hope so much. Like seriously they were acting like bitches who just can't see Vienna being happy with Dane. And that Jen bitch was just so fucking annoying and seriously Kent deserves so much better and thank god he left her after what she had done to him and his brother.
The writing in this book was not for me and it really was kinda hard to adapt to it. And I also skimmed the parts when side characters were involved. The pacing was okay but honestly this book could have been 50 pages shorter. And I hated when the author used the word "globe" for Vienna's ass. It really was irritating. I have never read a book about a PA and a Boss relationship with a marriage of Convenience and this book served this trope really well. The tension between Dane and Vienna was just so fucking hot and I was just waiting for something to happen 😩 and the spice in this book was just so so so hot 🤌🔥 This book really needed to be written in dual pov because half the time I was just wondering what was going on in Dane's mind when he started having feelings for her. And yess this book has no third act breakup and no miscommunication trope.
Vienna Stratton
She is such a confident and a sassy girl. I immediately liked her character. She has been through so much and I am happy she finally got her own family. I also liked how she always confronted Dane whenever she thought that he was hiding something and they both were good at communicating with each other. But mostly I liked how beautiful her name is ✨️💞
Dane Davenport
He was not easy to liked in the starting because of his too much possessiveness for Vienna and the fact that he called her "baby girl". I don't know about others but this nickname is cringe for me. But I loved how he tried to change his ways for Vienna and how he cared for her when she was sick. He even bought a cat for her and used goggle to find out which food does cats like. Isn't he cute sometimes 😆💞
The ending was really adorable and beautiful because we got a glimpse of their future where they have kids and are happily married. And also the other side characters like Kent, Hanna and Ashley have their own kids and are happily settled in their life. It was just the way it should be. Perfectly Adorable.
So overall this book was good and entertaining and if you're in a mood for a marriage of Convenience trope with a Boss and PA relationship and with lots of spicy scenes then this book is for you.
November 26, 2023
5/5 ⭐️ I loved this book so much! That prologue with Dane putting Vienna’s ex in his place was everything. We love a hero who stands up for his wife!!!
Dane & Vienna were meant for each other! Their relationship development was just so beautiful and they actually communicate with each other!! Lol. There were so many people trying to get in the way of their relationship but they remained so loyal to each other.
Dane needed to get married in order to get his trust fund that his Uncle left for him. He asked his personal assistant, Vienna, to marry him but it wouldn’t be a real marriage. I honestly love the marriage of convenience trope so I was very excited to read this one! Vienna reluctantly agreed to marry him because she owed him a favor.
I loved Dane so much!! He was so protective of Vienna and even before they started their fake marriage, you can tell how much he values her. He was so attuned to her feelings. Always sensing when something was bothering her and wanting to fix it for her immediately🥹. The fact that he reversed his vasectomy so that they could have kids was just so amazing 🥹!!
Vienna was such a strong heroine but she was also vulnerable and sweet which is my favorite type of heroine! 🙌🏼. I loved that that there was also a bit of an age gap between them. I also feel like Dane’s grumpiness matched Vienna’s sassy/sunshine personality so well ❤️.
I honestly loved this book so much! It was a bit of a slow burn but in the best way. I highly recommend if you love a protective/possessive hero and the marriage of convenience trope.
Also, this had one of the best epilogues ever!! 😭❤️🥹
Dane & Vienna were meant for each other! Their relationship development was just so beautiful and they actually communicate with each other!! Lol. There were so many people trying to get in the way of their relationship but they remained so loyal to each other.
Dane needed to get married in order to get his trust fund that his Uncle left for him. He asked his personal assistant, Vienna, to marry him but it wouldn’t be a real marriage. I honestly love the marriage of convenience trope so I was very excited to read this one! Vienna reluctantly agreed to marry him because she owed him a favor.
I loved Dane so much!! He was so protective of Vienna and even before they started their fake marriage, you can tell how much he values her. He was so attuned to her feelings. Always sensing when something was bothering her and wanting to fix it for her immediately🥹. The fact that he reversed his vasectomy so that they could have kids was just so amazing 🥹!!
Vienna was such a strong heroine but she was also vulnerable and sweet which is my favorite type of heroine! 🙌🏼. I loved that that there was also a bit of an age gap between them. I also feel like Dane’s grumpiness matched Vienna’s sassy/sunshine personality so well ❤️.
I honestly loved this book so much! It was a bit of a slow burn but in the best way. I highly recommend if you love a protective/possessive hero and the marriage of convenience trope.
Also, this had one of the best epilogues ever!! 😭❤️🥹
October 14, 2020
My Kingdom for an Editor!
Where do I start?
The book is set in the United States. The characters live in San Francisco and take two business trips; one to Las Vegas and one to New York. The age-gap between Vienna (which comes off as a str*pper pseudonym) and Dane is squicky and rises to a new level of ick as Dane refers to Vienna as “babygirl”.
From a technical standpoint, the book needs editing. At one point, the author uses the numerical symbol “1” instead of an “I”. And there are repetitive phrases peppered throughout the book. Every time Vienna wakes up early it’s “dumb’o’clock” in the morning. Every time she gets mad at Dane, she threatens to “walk”. Ms. Wright is a native of the U.K. and, unlike her earlier series that I suspect used different editor(s), her recent editions leaves in multiple instances of idiomatic U.K. English instead of California regional U.S. English. As such, there are moments of laugh-out-loud misnomers. For example, “faff” is not part of the U.S. lexicon. Wangle is not the same as wrangle. Also, an “outhouse” in the U.S. is an outdoor drop toilet from the era before indoor plumbing existed, not storage. Typically people in the U.S. wait in lines, not queues. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone say “Ace!” as an expression of excitement. As a final note, buttercream (one word) is a version of frosting, thus describing a cake that has frosting and butter cream (SIC) is atypical.
Setting the book in San Francisco, California, it might have been a nice touch if Ms. Wright were familiar with the area. At all. There are not massive estates that sit on multi-acre properties. If the male character is living on an estate, he is living in one of the surrounding areas.
Given that Ms. Wright is unfamiliar with California and San Francisco, it makes more sense that she envisioned the male character, Dane Davenport, running about beating people up to get his own way instead of using attorneys, investigators, or private security. He physically assaults his own employees, strangers, business associates in public with witnesses. If Ms. Wright had done any research at all, she might have known that hitting an employee period, much less in a public place that is full of witnesses, would not only get Dane arrested for assault, but all of the the employees who witnessed the assault could sue him for creating a toxic work environment.
Alas, Ms. Wright was more interested in having Vienna visit the zoo so she could reference her latest paranormal series about “crazy” Pallas’ cats that also features adult men creeping on teenage girls.
What frosts my cookies the most, though, is the description of foster care and mental illness. In other books by the same author, she uses pejorative language to describe people with mental illnesses, she calls them “crazy” and claims they are inherently violent. In this book, Ms. Wright has people calling Dane a “psychopath” as a piece of armchair psychiatry. She does a twist on the ‘foster parents are evil’ stereotype and determines that the book is more dramatic if the biological child of Vienna’s foster parents is both physically and psychologically abusive. Of course, Ms. Wright seems unaware that every foster child in the state of California is assigned a social worker who visits them at least once every 30 days and is mandated to appear in dependency court every 6 months. The majority of children are also given a Court Appointed Special Advocate who sees them at least once a week. Since Vienna was non-verbal, she would have been court mandated to see a child psychologist weekly and placed with experienced foster parents. So the idea that Vienna spent ~8-10 years living with a first-time foster family that had no intention of adopting her while their daughter was pulling knives on Vienna, peeing on her while she sleeps, and locked her in a car trunk is patently absurd. The foster parents would have been legally obligated to tell the social worker about the abuse Heather had been meting out on Vienna and Vienna would have been removed to another home - not a group home.
Since Ms. Wright enjoys using mental illness to excuse physical violence, the fact that Vienna’s father had DID, her mother was a drug addict, and her maternal grandfather has schizophrenia, the greater likelihood is that Vienna would have significant childhood trauma and both she and any children she had would likely also struggle with mental health issues. It seems that Ms. Wright is further unaware that the statistics regarding children who are abused and end up in foster care are dire. They are more likely to end up addicted to drugs or alcohol, end up homeless, or have their own children removed by social services. Incidentally, as a ward of the State of California, Vienna would have been eligible for free college tuition, social services, and housing assistance, so it doesn’t really make sense that Vienna didn’t even try University and was working for Dane by 21.
Where do I start?
The book is set in the United States. The characters live in San Francisco and take two business trips; one to Las Vegas and one to New York. The age-gap between Vienna (which comes off as a str*pper pseudonym) and Dane is squicky and rises to a new level of ick as Dane refers to Vienna as “babygirl”.
From a technical standpoint, the book needs editing. At one point, the author uses the numerical symbol “1” instead of an “I”. And there are repetitive phrases peppered throughout the book. Every time Vienna wakes up early it’s “dumb’o’clock” in the morning. Every time she gets mad at Dane, she threatens to “walk”. Ms. Wright is a native of the U.K. and, unlike her earlier series that I suspect used different editor(s), her recent editions leaves in multiple instances of idiomatic U.K. English instead of California regional U.S. English. As such, there are moments of laugh-out-loud misnomers. For example, “faff” is not part of the U.S. lexicon. Wangle is not the same as wrangle. Also, an “outhouse” in the U.S. is an outdoor drop toilet from the era before indoor plumbing existed, not storage. Typically people in the U.S. wait in lines, not queues. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone say “Ace!” as an expression of excitement. As a final note, buttercream (one word) is a version of frosting, thus describing a cake that has frosting and butter cream (SIC) is atypical.
Setting the book in San Francisco, California, it might have been a nice touch if Ms. Wright were familiar with the area. At all. There are not massive estates that sit on multi-acre properties. If the male character is living on an estate, he is living in one of the surrounding areas.
Given that Ms. Wright is unfamiliar with California and San Francisco, it makes more sense that she envisioned the male character, Dane Davenport, running about beating people up to get his own way instead of using attorneys, investigators, or private security. He physically assaults his own employees, strangers, business associates in public with witnesses. If Ms. Wright had done any research at all, she might have known that hitting an employee period, much less in a public place that is full of witnesses, would not only get Dane arrested for assault, but all of the the employees who witnessed the assault could sue him for creating a toxic work environment.
Alas, Ms. Wright was more interested in having Vienna visit the zoo so she could reference her latest paranormal series about “crazy” Pallas’ cats that also features adult men creeping on teenage girls.
What frosts my cookies the most, though, is the description of foster care and mental illness. In other books by the same author, she uses pejorative language to describe people with mental illnesses, she calls them “crazy” and claims they are inherently violent. In this book, Ms. Wright has people calling Dane a “psychopath” as a piece of armchair psychiatry. She does a twist on the ‘foster parents are evil’ stereotype and determines that the book is more dramatic if the biological child of Vienna’s foster parents is both physically and psychologically abusive. Of course, Ms. Wright seems unaware that every foster child in the state of California is assigned a social worker who visits them at least once every 30 days and is mandated to appear in dependency court every 6 months. The majority of children are also given a Court Appointed Special Advocate who sees them at least once a week. Since Vienna was non-verbal, she would have been court mandated to see a child psychologist weekly and placed with experienced foster parents. So the idea that Vienna spent ~8-10 years living with a first-time foster family that had no intention of adopting her while their daughter was pulling knives on Vienna, peeing on her while she sleeps, and locked her in a car trunk is patently absurd. The foster parents would have been legally obligated to tell the social worker about the abuse Heather had been meting out on Vienna and Vienna would have been removed to another home - not a group home.
Since Ms. Wright enjoys using mental illness to excuse physical violence, the fact that Vienna’s father had DID, her mother was a drug addict, and her maternal grandfather has schizophrenia, the greater likelihood is that Vienna would have significant childhood trauma and both she and any children she had would likely also struggle with mental health issues. It seems that Ms. Wright is further unaware that the statistics regarding children who are abused and end up in foster care are dire. They are more likely to end up addicted to drugs or alcohol, end up homeless, or have their own children removed by social services. Incidentally, as a ward of the State of California, Vienna would have been eligible for free college tuition, social services, and housing assistance, so it doesn’t really make sense that Vienna didn’t even try University and was working for Dane by 21.
September 4, 2021
3,75 stars
I recently realized that I had never read a Suzanne Wright book so I wanted to start with “The Favor”. It was an interesting experience and I surely will read more from her. It was interesting because the writing has a lot to praise for but it also has a lot to criticize about. It could have easily been a 4 or 5-star book for me if it had been edited better (language-wise and content-wise).
Here are my criticisms first:
1. This book definitely needed the hero’s point of view. We only have the heroine’s point of view and in this story, which is full of such depth, I needed to hear his voice, too.
2. There are too many repetitions of certain words, which is odd in such a well-written book.
For example:
“She pursed her lips”
“He pursed his lips”.
Pursed, pursed, pursed, pursed…. 15 times!!!!
“Droll look”
“He gave me a droll look”
Droll look, droll look, droll look… 9 times!
Some words like the ones above are used so many times as if there is no other suitable word in a language with such a rich vocabulary. It really irked me.
3. There are a few grammar mistakes (not too many), such as the use of the verb “effect” instead of “affect” etc.
4. It is a long book – 466 pages and for such a long book, it is a bit uneventful.
5. That’s my problem and it may not bother many people but I didn’t like the chapter about their visit to the zoo. I hate books that involve circus, as well. I don’t like the idea of keeping animals in restrained places and I absolutely hate them being forced for performances.
That’s why, I would have preferred a picnic scene instead of a zoo scene. And the way the heroine pities him for going to the zoo only once in his life when he was a little boy didn’t sit well with me.
OK, now, let’s talk about the good things.
1. The book surely has depth. It is not a simple “marriage of convenience” book, it has another story to tell. It is captivating, making you wonder all the time. Of course, it has problems here and there, but it is still good. Although it is a very long book, I never needed to skip anything. I read every line, never getting bored.
2. There is a lot of OW/OM drama but the way the hero and heroine act when that happens (how they strongly reject the advances of their exes and protect/defend each other) is worth enduring the drama.
The same thing happens with other people as well. Whenever there is a person who objects to their relationship, the way they defend it -even when it was fake- was admirable because they still valued each other when it was pretend.
It is also refreshing to see how honest they are with each other all the time. They don’t lie to each other and they never cheat.
3. The hero is a mystery for most of the time and without his voice, I wondered what his intentions and feelings were until they were finally revealed.
I can’t say I loved him but I was able to like him enough to go on reading. (Don’t misunderstand, he is just too alpha for me – too rough and too possessive sometimes, that’s all - no other problem about him).
4. I loved the heroine very much. She is such a strong character that I admired her. I have no criticisms about her. And it is harder for me to like a heroine in books because I want them strong and writers rarely give us strong women. So if I say I loved her, believe me that she is special.
5. Normally, I don’t prefer to read “friends-to-lovers” books because until they become lovers, they watch each other with other people and do nothing about it and that’s why their so-called love doesn't mean much to me.
This is not a friends-to-lovers book, I know, but similarly, they were in each other’s lives for a long time. In their case, the heroine Vienna was Dane’s personal assistant for 4 years. She was the only one who could stay in this position for so long because she was perfect. They always acted professionally with each other. Although the heroine had a secret crush on him, nothing ever happened in those 4 years.
During these years, when he asked, she made dinner reservations for him with other women. That sucked big time for me. Although he later confesses that he wanted her on Day 1 but he never wanted to mix pleasure with business, I still preferred that he did. Knowing that she was always there near him for 4 years and he made nothing about it made it unbelievable for me when he became extremely possessive and obsessive about her. Even when he needs that “marriage of convenience,” he doesn’t intend to have a relationship with her. He is sure he will end it a year later and he doesn’t make a move for a long time. That’s why, I didn’t understand how he suddenly becomes very possessive and territorial about her. That part of the story was "very weak" in my opinion.
However, if you don’t mind it, the rest is really good. When he becomes sure that he can no longer control or suppress his feelings about her, he becomes very possessive and does everything he can to keep her.
6. The book is hot – scorching hot. Their chemistry is strong and palpable. All the intimate scenes are written very well. Although some of them were not to my taste, I can accept that all are written very-well with vivid language.
7. Both Vienna and Dane have a sad past. Different but still sad. The way they act now depends heavily on the way they were treated in the past. That was very understandable. And I really like that the book has a well-crafted story that made sense.
8. All the other characters contribute a lot to the development of the story. First of all, Vienna’s father is a very clever contribution – I loved him so much.
Moreover, Vienna’s foster parents and their daughter along with Dane’s brothers and sister-in-laws were all different and vivid colors in the book. Maybe there are too many evil characters and over the top drama in the book but still I wondered what the story about each of them was and thank God, all is answered and there are no gaps or holes in the story.
Recommendation:
For the past 2 years, I have become more selective and more critical. I’ve read so many awesome books and now I can't help but compare each new book I am reading with those perfect books. And when I do that, a book I would have given 4 stars five years ago now gets only 3 stars from me.
This book would have got 4 stars from me in the past but now, something stops me at 3,75 and I don't feel like making it 4. Therefore, you may consider it as 4, if you like, because it is a book I would still recommend despite all the things I criticized.
HERE IS A QUOTE I LIKED...
I closed my eyes. “Why?” I asked, my face in his chest. “Why did you do this for me?”
He squeezed my nape. “You know why,” he said, his voice low.
Yes, I did know.
I recently realized that I had never read a Suzanne Wright book so I wanted to start with “The Favor”. It was an interesting experience and I surely will read more from her. It was interesting because the writing has a lot to praise for but it also has a lot to criticize about. It could have easily been a 4 or 5-star book for me if it had been edited better (language-wise and content-wise).
Here are my criticisms first:
1. This book definitely needed the hero’s point of view. We only have the heroine’s point of view and in this story, which is full of such depth, I needed to hear his voice, too.
2. There are too many repetitions of certain words, which is odd in such a well-written book.
For example:
“She pursed her lips”
“He pursed his lips”.
Pursed, pursed, pursed, pursed…. 15 times!!!!
“Droll look”
“He gave me a droll look”
Droll look, droll look, droll look… 9 times!
Some words like the ones above are used so many times as if there is no other suitable word in a language with such a rich vocabulary. It really irked me.
3. There are a few grammar mistakes (not too many), such as the use of the verb “effect” instead of “affect” etc.
4. It is a long book – 466 pages and for such a long book, it is a bit uneventful.
5. That’s my problem and it may not bother many people but I didn’t like the chapter about their visit to the zoo. I hate books that involve circus, as well. I don’t like the idea of keeping animals in restrained places and I absolutely hate them being forced for performances.
That’s why, I would have preferred a picnic scene instead of a zoo scene. And the way the heroine pities him for going to the zoo only once in his life when he was a little boy didn’t sit well with me.
OK, now, let’s talk about the good things.
1. The book surely has depth. It is not a simple “marriage of convenience” book, it has another story to tell. It is captivating, making you wonder all the time. Of course, it has problems here and there, but it is still good. Although it is a very long book, I never needed to skip anything. I read every line, never getting bored.
2. There is a lot of OW/OM drama but the way the hero and heroine act when that happens (how they strongly reject the advances of their exes and protect/defend each other) is worth enduring the drama.
The same thing happens with other people as well. Whenever there is a person who objects to their relationship, the way they defend it -even when it was fake- was admirable because they still valued each other when it was pretend.
It is also refreshing to see how honest they are with each other all the time. They don’t lie to each other and they never cheat.
3. The hero is a mystery for most of the time and without his voice, I wondered what his intentions and feelings were until they were finally revealed.
I can’t say I loved him but I was able to like him enough to go on reading. (Don’t misunderstand, he is just too alpha for me – too rough and too possessive sometimes, that’s all - no other problem about him).
4. I loved the heroine very much. She is such a strong character that I admired her. I have no criticisms about her. And it is harder for me to like a heroine in books because I want them strong and writers rarely give us strong women. So if I say I loved her, believe me that she is special.
5. Normally, I don’t prefer to read “friends-to-lovers” books because until they become lovers, they watch each other with other people and do nothing about it and that’s why their so-called love doesn't mean much to me.
This is not a friends-to-lovers book, I know, but similarly, they were in each other’s lives for a long time. In their case, the heroine Vienna was Dane’s personal assistant for 4 years. She was the only one who could stay in this position for so long because she was perfect. They always acted professionally with each other. Although the heroine had a secret crush on him, nothing ever happened in those 4 years.
During these years, when he asked, she made dinner reservations for him with other women. That sucked big time for me. Although he later confesses that he wanted her on Day 1 but he never wanted to mix pleasure with business, I still preferred that he did. Knowing that she was always there near him for 4 years and he made nothing about it made it unbelievable for me when he became extremely possessive and obsessive about her. Even when he needs that “marriage of convenience,” he doesn’t intend to have a relationship with her. He is sure he will end it a year later and he doesn’t make a move for a long time. That’s why, I didn’t understand how he suddenly becomes very possessive and territorial about her. That part of the story was "very weak" in my opinion.
However, if you don’t mind it, the rest is really good. When he becomes sure that he can no longer control or suppress his feelings about her, he becomes very possessive and does everything he can to keep her.
6. The book is hot – scorching hot. Their chemistry is strong and palpable. All the intimate scenes are written very well. Although some of them were not to my taste, I can accept that all are written very-well with vivid language.
7. Both Vienna and Dane have a sad past. Different but still sad. The way they act now depends heavily on the way they were treated in the past. That was very understandable. And I really like that the book has a well-crafted story that made sense.
8. All the other characters contribute a lot to the development of the story. First of all, Vienna’s father is a very clever contribution – I loved him so much.
Moreover, Vienna’s foster parents and their daughter along with Dane’s brothers and sister-in-laws were all different and vivid colors in the book. Maybe there are too many evil characters and over the top drama in the book but still I wondered what the story about each of them was and thank God, all is answered and there are no gaps or holes in the story.
Recommendation:
For the past 2 years, I have become more selective and more critical. I’ve read so many awesome books and now I can't help but compare each new book I am reading with those perfect books. And when I do that, a book I would have given 4 stars five years ago now gets only 3 stars from me.
This book would have got 4 stars from me in the past but now, something stops me at 3,75 and I don't feel like making it 4. Therefore, you may consider it as 4, if you like, because it is a book I would still recommend despite all the things I criticized.
HERE IS A QUOTE I LIKED...
I closed my eyes. “Why?” I asked, my face in his chest. “Why did you do this for me?”
He squeezed my nape. “You know why,” he said, his voice low.
Yes, I did know.
July 1, 2021
A marriage of convenience between Vienna Stratton and her boss Dane Davenport leads to unexpected temptation, as a number of secondary characters try to pull them apart.
It's a Suzanne Wright book so to say I was mentally bouncing in my seat when I saw on my Goodreads feed that this was out is no understatement. I liked it but I have to say I was expecting a bit more oomph and was a tiny tiny bit disappointed (this may change when/if I re-read). Plus the inclusion of issues around mental health and child neglect didn't entirely work, I felt something was missing in how things were revealed/used. The emotional insanity I was hoping for didn't manifest.
This book would have benefited from Dane's POV.
I really liked the epilogue.
Potential Triggers:
Acquired via KU.
It's a Suzanne Wright book so to say I was mentally bouncing in my seat when I saw on my Goodreads feed that this was out is no understatement. I liked it but I have to say I was expecting a bit more oomph and was a tiny tiny bit disappointed (this may change when/if I re-read). Plus the inclusion of issues around mental health and child neglect didn't entirely work, I felt something was missing in how things were revealed/used. The emotional insanity I was hoping for didn't manifest.
This book would have benefited from Dane's POV.
I really liked the epilogue.
Potential Triggers:
Acquired via KU.
January 28, 2022
Edit: bonus scene from The Favor 💍 from Dane’s POV.
http://www.suzannewright.co.uk/2021/1...
One of her best works so far & i think one of my absolute fave standalone books of hers.
***4.5 stars***
http://www.suzannewright.co.uk/2021/1...
One of her best works so far & i think one of my absolute fave standalone books of hers.
***4.5 stars***
October 17, 2020
Wow absolutely awesome.. just as I expected it would be!!
Full review to come soon 😀
Full review to come soon 😀
December 14, 2021
sure the chemistry coulda been better, but it was a page turner for me all the same. at least the first 70%. then it got so boring im taking down a 0.15 stars. so 3.75 ✨
October 17, 2020
4,5 💘💘💘💘⚡️⚡️⚡️🌟🌟🌟🌟s❣️❣️❣️❣️
A wonderful romance read, with intrigue, angst, drama but also funny moments.
Slow burn and single pov stories are not my favourites!
However, this baby girl took marriage of convenience to the next level❗️❗️
I just devoured it!
Everything!
The writing, the characters, the plot, the development, the depth, the expansion, the dimensions and the approach of various health issues!!!
Dane was a very engrossing character. An alpha male who never showed emotions, private person, very possessive, intelligent and successful, didn’t open up to people and always got what he wanted.
Vienna was strong despite everything she had endured, sharp tongued when needed, had a kind soul and thoughtful for others.
Their journey was so interesting!!!!
I think the author wanted to kill me NOT softly with every new chapter, since I was waiting for Dane’s pov, but he only opened up in the last couple of chapters.
The epilogue was fabulous and put a huge smile on my face.
Only you, Suzanne Wright. Only you...❤️
A wonderful romance read, with intrigue, angst, drama but also funny moments.
Slow burn and single pov stories are not my favourites!
However, this baby girl took marriage of convenience to the next level❗️❗️
I just devoured it!
Everything!
The writing, the characters, the plot, the development, the depth, the expansion, the dimensions and the approach of various health issues!!!
Dane was a very engrossing character. An alpha male who never showed emotions, private person, very possessive, intelligent and successful, didn’t open up to people and always got what he wanted.
Vienna was strong despite everything she had endured, sharp tongued when needed, had a kind soul and thoughtful for others.
Their journey was so interesting!!!!
I think the author wanted to kill me NOT softly with every new chapter, since I was waiting for Dane’s pov, but he only opened up in the last couple of chapters.
The epilogue was fabulous and put a huge smile on my face.
Only you, Suzanne Wright. Only you...❤️
June 24, 2021
MEEEEEH!!!
La historia es de esos clichés disfruto leer un fake romance/ matrimonio por conveniencia y office love.
Se veía muy prometedor pero meh, no estuvo bueno fue demasiado largo se me hizo ETERNO sentía que leía y leía y no pasaba nada.
Metieron demasiadas cosas a la historia, demasiados personajes que no los querían juntos, demasiadas trampas y cosas que les pasaron para separarlos que fue a TOO MUCH!!
La personalidad de los protagonistas tampoco es la mejor a ella nos la pintaban tan inteligente nada dejada con una personalidad tan única o sea no es igual a las demás por eso ese hombre que no se quería casar nunca que no se enamora ahora está babeando por ella porque sí ella es única.
Y luego está él siendo posesivo, frío, rico, que todo lo puede y nadie se mete con él fue muy over the top.
Muy decepcionante si hubiera sido un libro corto tipo como los de Alexa Ryle todavía lo paso pero era interminable.
La historia es de esos clichés disfruto leer un fake romance/ matrimonio por conveniencia y office love.
Se veía muy prometedor pero meh, no estuvo bueno fue demasiado largo se me hizo ETERNO sentía que leía y leía y no pasaba nada.
Metieron demasiadas cosas a la historia, demasiados personajes que no los querían juntos, demasiadas trampas y cosas que les pasaron para separarlos que fue a TOO MUCH!!
La personalidad de los protagonistas tampoco es la mejor a ella nos la pintaban tan inteligente nada dejada con una personalidad tan única o sea no es igual a las demás por eso ese hombre que no se quería casar nunca que no se enamora ahora está babeando por ella porque sí ella es única.
Y luego está él siendo posesivo, frío, rico, que todo lo puede y nadie se mete con él fue muy over the top.
Muy decepcionante si hubiera sido un libro corto tipo como los de Alexa Ryle todavía lo paso pero era interminable.
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