Could have bern a good story but consent issues extremely problematic. ( )

The only thing that saved this book for me was the ending. The redemption packed a punch, and I almost believed the hero and heroine were real people instead of just cliches. The beginning and the middle were just painful.

First of all, the big conflict of why Rafe can't marry Hannah is that he'll get disowned. How is this a problem when he states he's made an independent fortune? I didn't believe in the stakes because there were none.

My biggest grievance was the heroines. They were pitted against each other in a Madonna/Whore complex where Hannah is prudish, plain, and poor who reads books to children to prove how wifely and pure she is. Blegh. Meanwhile Natalie encourages kissing, is beautiful, and is courted by scores of men. Yet, Natalie is very grounded. Honestly, she was far more interesting than Hannah. I also agree with Natalie's dislike of how allowing men to kiss her is disrespectful. True feminism is letting women behave how they want so long as they're not hurting anyone, and Natalie understood that. I would've preferred to watch her romance plot than this one.

I'm also convinced Rafe is secretly a psychopath. His upbringing would warrant it. The way he initially treats Hannah and his clear superiority in his class raised red flags for me. Aside from a love letter, he didn't really exhibit that much emotional investment in Hannah.

In general, this book was more a collection of where the Wallflowers are now tied together by a lackluster and more-predictable-than-usual romance. I recommend this if you're bored and stuck on a plane for a few hours. ( )

I didn't like the non-consensual kissing. The hero kept kissing her after she recoiled or otherwise didn't want him to. ( )

3.5 stars

I’m reading this series out of order, but I don’t think it matters too much. I really like the group of friends who make up the wallflowers, and I’m looking forward to reading Jillian’s, Daisy’s, and Annabelle’s novels.

I wasn’t super impressed with Rafe at the beginning, but he definitely grew on me. I loved Hannah and the sweet scenes with her and the children and later with the wallflowers. My favorite scene was when she got stuck trying to get the toupee out of the Christmas tree. The scene when she shared her secret with Lillian and then the other wallflowers kept coming in and being sworn to secrecy made me laugh out loud. It really made me want to read the novels that focus on Jillian and Daisy.

The story was a bit rushed, especially at the end, but it was still sweet and fun. I didn’t think there was any need for the sex scene at the end, though. The novella had been plenty steamy up to that point, and the sex scene seemed like overkill and out of character for Hannah.

( )

3.5 stars - it was great to be back with the Wallflowers again and I loved that their stories continued. However I really disliked Rafe and couldn’t warm to his romance story at all so it sort of ruined the book for me. ( )