a lot to say but not much is good. more toxicity and mixed signals then the beginning of lily and lo's relationship. i would like a platonic bond as pure as jason and cara's. the two mcs are both frustrating to read about. the end

Will and Cara's chemistry is super fun to read, and I love that for being a darker romance novel this one seems to be a lot more consent-conscious than others, but my GOD do I tire of adult humans being incapable of articulating their feelings to themselves and each other. Because of this, Cara got on my last damn nerve. I'm 56% in at this point and I'm just exhausted.

Pros:
Good spice, good chemistry
Ardent, romantic male lover lead - not just sexual, actually romantic
Alpha-type male ACTUALLY CONTINUALLY GETS CALLED OUT for bad behavior, which is amazing

Cons:
I know it disclaims that it's not plot driven, and that's fine, but then why put so many passages of plot throughout when they ultimately don't matter at all? Found myself skimming them.
For an intelligent woman, Cara seems *real dumb* when it comes to her own feelings, and I don't appreciate that at all.

____

okay, I just finished it. round up to 3.5 because the ending was good and the communication improved. Overall good commentary on alcohol use and safe sex. Also cara suddenly gets extremely emotionally intelligent at the end, which is inconsistent, but nice to read. Good talk on boundaries for sure.

I liked the first third of the book. But the endless/repetitive banter became annoying. It was the same thing, over and over. By the end, I just felt bad for Aaron. I found Cara annoying (and in desperate need for a girlfriend to tell her she’s ridiculous), and Will was endearing at first (then he just got possessive and manipulative). This came highly recommended, and I really did not like it. I almost DNF multiple times throughout the book. The actual writing/banter/smut is really good, but it’s just very repetitive. To the point that I am not going to read the sequel, and I’m sure I could predict what’s going to happen.

I should have dnf but I just kept hoping for something that never came. The first couple chapters were great, but it was at least 10 chapters too long and fell flat at the end. Now, if the intention was for me to stop liking the main characters by the end then it did accomplish that. I did really enjoy the different relationships presented throughout, I wish I was able to have some of these levels of friendship and communication. That being said, great communication between characters is not very interesting to read. I guess I only want that in real life.

“I wouldn’t settle for anything less than a man who recognized my worth from the start and treated me accordingly”

“She was whole all on her own, and frankly, I admired her for that. She didn’t need anyone but herself, much less me. She wore her independence like armoire, and it protected her to a fault.”

“I’m open to something more only with you.”

“He looked up to the heavens for aid. “Why her?” He asked. “Just…why her?”

Overall, I liked this book would I say it’s my favorite, no it just felt very drawn out and repetitive but I loved caras independence and her love for her success and career which I related to in an instant. It was a good fast read but wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea just kinda try your luck and see if you’d like it.

i can’t even put a rating on this book yet since i need to evaluate how it made me feel. my expectations were way too high. cara pissed me off a majority of the book and she was extremely manipulative to will, and just when i thought things were going good at the end she made will feel like shit yet again in the talk they had in her room. i’m glad she has some minimal character development but i’m hoping into the night will be much better

After reading the 2nd version, I really find Cara annoying. I just don't understand her during all the book.
I still think it is a realistic one bcz a lot of people behave like her. And I don't understand why people are mad at her for sleeping with Aaron. She was not with the MC.
But even with all these reasons, I still think Cara is a red flag and she need to work a lot on herself

I’ve never disliked a character more than than this h. Ugh. Maybe it was the pages and pages on conflicting internal dialogue. I didn’t DNF this book though because the actual story, characters, dialogue and spice were finish worthy. And I’m actually considering moving on to read the next book

*2.5