WESTERN WAVES
Series: Compass #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Brittainy Cherry
Release Date: December 9, 2021
I always believed in fairy tales, but he preferred horrors.
Damian Blackstone didn’t care about my existence. He came into my world for one reason only. He came to find answers about his past.
He moved like the villain in my favorite fairy tales. He wasn’t the one who received the happily ever afters; he was the one who destroyed them.
Which was why I couldn’t understand why the man who raised me set it up in his will for Damian and me to be married. I wasn’t certain I’d be able to live with a man like Damian. We were as opposite as any two people could be. I loved to bathe in the sunlight while he prospered in the shadows.
I didn’t think I’d develop feelings for the one who looked at me as if I were nothing more than a means to an end. Yet in his darkness, sometimes I’d see sparks of light. I’d see gentleness. I’d see his soul.
We became entangled with one another as we fell into mistakes and called them fate. I was his Cinderella, and he was my Beast.
I wasn’t certain that twisted fairy tales ended with happily ever afters.
Still, I was determined to find out.
The second I saw the blurb to this book, I knew this would be my first Brittainy Cherry book. Unfortunately, as excited as I was to read it, the further I got into the story, the less I liked it. In all fairness, it was looking to be a solid 3 star read for me…until a certain plot device towards the end. As Christian Grey once said, I have very singular tastes. And that particular plot device? HATE it. I absolutely loath it actually. It truly ruined the entire story for me. But more about that in a minute.
I love a modern twist on a fairy tale. This one was definitely the perfect set up with an enemies to lovers twist. Unfortunately, the enemies to lovers thing barely lasted a few chapters into the story. But that’s fine. Stella and Damian have a unique meet cute when Damian is the grumpy stranger that takes the last scone at a bakery and they have it out. Stella never expects to see the man again, but has quite the surprise when not only is he at the reading of the will to the man who was like a father to her. But his final wish is for them to get married in order to collect on a hefty inheritance left for both of them. The twist? Stella has a boyfriend of ten years who fully encourages her to do this. I mean, why not? It’s in name only.
While I liked the story for the most part, what I disliked is that the characters became more about their particular issues than anything else. Stella and her insecurities through years of belittling by the wicked step mothers. Damian and his abandonment issues. The romance was entirely lackluster due to the fact Stella and her horrid boyfriend are together for the majority of the story. And when they finally do get together? The particular twist completely ruined any warm and fuzzies I would have had from it. When I tell you I hated it, I seriously couldn’t be more disappointed by the direction that this story took. It felt so unfair to the characters and their plight, and just ruined any and all romance in it for me. Sadly, that thing plummet my rating to a two. While I can’t say I loved the book, if it hadn’t been for that, it would have been a solid three star. I’d love to try this author again, but sadly, this book did absolutely nothing for me. This is a personal taste thing obviously, and as you can see, plenty of readers loved this one. So read it and judge for yourself.
