Community Reviews
(Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review)
Publication date: 01 April 2022
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Plot
Miles Franklin leads a double life of lawyer by day, author by night by the name of Emma Browning. No one knows of Emma's existence or the way she looks. Trouble knocks on her doors when one of 'Emma's' novels wins a prestigious literary award. When Lars Kristensen, the CEO of the publishing house which would publish 'Emma's' novels insists on meeting with Emma, Miles becomes all the more stressed. Miles and Lars are like even poles of a magnet: they bicker all the time and there is an unavoidable sexual tension. However when they start spending more time together, things start to change. Miles is hell-bent on keeping her identity a secret even though she has to deal with all the judgements from her parents' and the publishers.
Miles is not someone who backs down before she gets what she wants and with Lars's constant pushing and probing to get his way, is it possible for Miles and Lars to ever agree?
Thoughts
This is my first book from Penelope and I especially chose it for its illustrated cover (I'm a sucker for it if it isn't clear yet!). The hate-love relationship between Miles and Lars gave me [b:The Hating Game|25883848|The Hating Game|Sally Thorne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1467138679l/25883848._SY75_.jpg|45762345] vibes so do check this book out if you enjoyed it.
I liked the effort and dedication she put behind her books. We were given glimpses of her books (a book within a book!) and I found it interesting that she went to great lengths to gain inspiration for her books. She also had references to other authors and books which was nice to read. But this is the only part I liked in the book (other than the cover).
I found it really hard to relate to Miles because her thoughts were erratic. I didn't like that Miles did not deal with the problems and instead chose to ignore them. The relationship between Miles and Lars lacked emotional depth and connection, it was instead built up on their sexual attraction which felt shallow.
Lars appearances in the book were little at the start and then it progressed on. However, it was a slow burn between Miles and him which was frustrating to read. He also had this image of being prim and proper yet grumpy always which got a little too much to read. He seemed immature, resorting to calling Miles names whenever they had a disagreement.
The side characters also had the spotlight on them too often that I had to go back to read and remember who were they and why were they in the scene. Miles' disapproving parents had too much to say as compared to her and I kept waiting for her to do something about it. The book was also too long I found myself skimming past some parts.
Overall, the plot could have served something better but this was a little messy for me.
Publication date: 01 April 2022
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Plot
Miles Franklin leads a double life of lawyer by day, author by night by the name of Emma Browning. No one knows of Emma's existence or the way she looks. Trouble knocks on her doors when one of 'Emma's' novels wins a prestigious literary award. When Lars Kristensen, the CEO of the publishing house which would publish 'Emma's' novels insists on meeting with Emma, Miles becomes all the more stressed. Miles and Lars are like even poles of a magnet: they bicker all the time and there is an unavoidable sexual tension. However when they start spending more time together, things start to change. Miles is hell-bent on keeping her identity a secret even though she has to deal with all the judgements from her parents' and the publishers.
Miles is not someone who backs down before she gets what she wants and with Lars's constant pushing and probing to get his way, is it possible for Miles and Lars to ever agree?
Thoughts
This is my first book from Penelope and I especially chose it for its illustrated cover (I'm a sucker for it if it isn't clear yet!). The hate-love relationship between Miles and Lars gave me [b:The Hating Game|25883848|The Hating Game|Sally Thorne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1467138679l/25883848._SY75_.jpg|45762345] vibes so do check this book out if you enjoyed it.
I liked the effort and dedication she put behind her books. We were given glimpses of her books (a book within a book!) and I found it interesting that she went to great lengths to gain inspiration for her books. She also had references to other authors and books which was nice to read. But this is the only part I liked in the book (other than the cover).
I found it really hard to relate to Miles because her thoughts were erratic. I didn't like that Miles did not deal with the problems and instead chose to ignore them. The relationship between Miles and Lars lacked emotional depth and connection, it was instead built up on their sexual attraction which felt shallow.
Lars appearances in the book were little at the start and then it progressed on. However, it was a slow burn between Miles and him which was frustrating to read. He also had this image of being prim and proper yet grumpy always which got a little too much to read. He seemed immature, resorting to calling Miles names whenever they had a disagreement.
The side characters also had the spotlight on them too often that I had to go back to read and remember who were they and why were they in the scene. Miles' disapproving parents had too much to say as compared to her and I kept waiting for her to do something about it. The book was also too long I found myself skimming past some parts.
Overall, the plot could have served something better but this was a little messy for me.
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