Wow, this was so over the top. Usually I reserve my suspension of disbelief skill for thrillers, but it sure came in handy here.
Sometimes I look at my long TBR, and nothing strikes my fancy. I just want to take a break from it all. I want something light and fun, a guilty pleasure if you will. And this totally fit the bill. Ana Huang has been on my list of authors to try, and this seemed like the right book to start, both being her most popular and having the irresistible grumpy/sunshine trope.
Of all the romance tropes out there, grumpy/sunshine is probably my all-time fav. What's not to like about a happy, bubbly gal poking fun at and slowly thawing the heart of an uptight, don't-know-how-to-smile guy who takes everything too seriously? So I was all set to enjoy the heck out of this from beginning to end, the way you would any guilty pleasure.
And I loved the beginning. There was so much funny banter, I had a smile permanently affixed to my face. Facial pain is generally bad, but when it comes from smiling too much? Sign me up any day.
But then as the story went on, it became too much. Ava is the most sunshine of all sunshine girls (Alex's nickname for her is even "Sunshine"), while Alex is so ruthless he threatens ruin and death upon anyone who gets in his way, including those who have the gall to talk to his girl. Okaaay. It's one thing to be dark and broody, but to be so jealous as to actually be murderous? Come on! I love grumpy as much as the next reader, but that's taking it a step too far.
And the villains in here are such caricatures of villains, with their face all "twisted" into a "hideous mask", complete with eyes that "gleamed with delighted malice" and mouth spreading into a "mocking smile". And that's right after you confront them, when they could just deny everything and no one would be the wiser.
Still, to the book's credit, I chomped it up in a jiffy, so I must've been entertained through all the shenanigans even if they were a bit much. And I feel strangely compelled to continue with the series, the ultimate sign of a guilty pleasure working its magic. So there you have it, my first Ana Huang.
Readaroo Rating: 3 stars
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