Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsLook.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 23, 2022
I had a lot of feelings about this book. Mostly negative, some positive.
I'm a big fan of Meghan's, usually waiting impatiently for her next release and devouring it within 48 hours, but this book just didn't quite do it for me. Maybe it's the time of year? I'm expecting Christmassy-type fluff but got this....messy tangle of the best and worst of real life marriages instead. The economy sucks and we're heading into the most depressing time of the year for some people. I would have liked to see this book release as a summer read instead.
So for the first half of the book, I really struggled to like either of these characters. I would read a chapter, then close out of it and read another book instead. Read another chapter, get irritated at the characters' childish behavior, then go read another book instead. For days and days. It just really cheesed me off. Finally I just said, let's finish it, see what happens, give Meghan the benefit of the doubt, and move on.
The biggest issues I have with the story is that 1. Too many side characters were involved in the marriage when they shouldn't have been. At least Banner came at it with the attitude that he had no experience and just wanted to support his brother. But Nichole was constantly trying to tell Myla what she should do, then saying she was only trying to support her which seemed a bit manipulative. You could tell she changed a bit towards the end, but Myla still seemed to lean on her a lot for advice, which brings me to my second point; 2. Nowhere was therapy mentioned as even an option. Even if things were getting better and they wanted to work things out, a good counselor could have helped dig out the root of the issues they had in the first place and given them helpful tips and tricks to stay close as a couple. And I think Myla could have seriously benefitted from some individual therapy from her childhood traumas. Stuff like that just don't go away, girl. Hence, the rest of her issues. In that vein, it really bugged me that Myla didn't try hard enough to get Ryot to understand what she was going through. She *said* she tried several times but I think she could have done a few other things to catch his attention before tossing the d-word out there and meaning it. Idk, that really bugs me. Maybe that's the crazy Southerner in me, willing to do what it takes to get my man's attention and straighten him out if necessary. I digress.
In the end, it did seem that Ryot and Myla reached a good compromise and found their way back to each other but it was achieved more in a "wow I'm suddenly feeling all these original feelings for that person again, lets let this new tragic situation in our lives bond us together" magical HEA type way instead of a healthy, more realistic manner. Ehh. I know this is a work of fiction and usually I'm all about the HEA however I can get it but this one just hits a little off for me.
