BITTERSWEET MEMORIES
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Off-Limits #4
Author: Catharina Maura
Release Date: July 8, 2022
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When her boyfriend breaks her heart, Alanna goes after his older brother in a quest for revenge.
It would have been simple — if he wasn’t also her new boss.
As they work together it soon becomes clear Silas knows more about her than he should.
He knows about the past she’s forgotten and the memories that evade her… but some secrets are better left buried.
Publisher’s Note: this book is divided into two parts; the past and the present. The blurb is written from the heroine’s present point of view.
You are my first love, Alanna… but more importantly, you’ll be my last.”
I’ve had this on my TBR for what’s felt like forever. I was in the mood for something angsty and so I dove in. But this was not quite what I thought it would be from the blurb.
Was it angsty? Not really. Mostly it was just highly underwhelming. I enjoyed the first half, though it was also missing something to really fully grab me. But the second half was so lackluster that I lost most interest. Now it did keep me invested enough to keep reading to see how it all ends. But on the flip side, I almost wish I stopped reading at the 40% mark like I originally wanted to. Le sigh.
Reading reviews, some are upset that Silas was with another woman in the 5 years he and Alanna spent apart. That part didn’t bother me. But the lack of development in both characters and their complete 180 turns in the second half, did. Their romance was super sweet, which isn’t always my cuppa, but I found it endearing here. But everything that I found endearing about them in the first half was missing for me in the second.
Silas went from living in a homeless shelter to being a billionaire business owner in 5 years, which is hardly believable, but I looked past it. His personality switch from sweet to cocky was harder to believe. I wasn’t anticipating the amnesia plot device here but I could have enjoyed it if it was wrapped up in a way that felt less sudden and needing it to be wrapped up with a pretty bow. We get absolutely no insight on Silas outside of his love for Alanna. It’s convenient time jump that makes him a connected billionaire, though I still don’t fully understand what his business does. I almost wish it wasn’t referenced at all rather than the halfway insight we get which is riddled with plot holes. The whole brother thing was more of a distraction and just felt off and by the 60% mark I was entirely over all of it. It was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, but ultimately nothing memorable or anything I’d ever come back to. Just one of those meh sort of reads that I neither loved nor hated.
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