My rating: 1/5⭐️

When I picked up this book, I was expecting a gripping romance with a balanced plot and character development, but my experience was quite different. One thing I noticed is the heavy emphasis on smut scenes, which often overshadowed the storyline. In a well-crafted romance novel, intimate moments should enhance the story and character growth, not replace them. Characterization also felt off. For instance, Carter's persona, coming across as stereotypically written by a woman, lacked the nuanced depth that makes characters believable. Olivia's quick surrender to Carter, despite her stated dislike of playboys, disrupted her character consistency, making it hard to connect with her journey. The pacing of the book was another challenge. The primary plot only emerges very late, around 90% in, which made the earlier sections feel like filler. This stretched the reading experience unnecessarily and diluted the emotional build-up typically expected in romance novels. Drawing from other readers’ experiences, pacing is crucial in keeping readers engaged. Too much filler or delayed plot can lead to disengagement, as happened here. A more balanced integration of romance, plot, and character development can transform a book from a slog into a page-turner. Finally, the book's length didn't seem justified by the content. As a reader, I found that a tighter edit focusing on meaningful scenes would've improved readability significantly. Romance fans often appreciate when authors let the story breathe without overwhelming it with redundant scenes or excessive smut. In summary, this book serves as a reminder of how critical pacing, character consistency, and plot balance are to a satisfying romance read. I hope future works by this author take these elements into closer consideration for a more compelling experience.