bookilydo's reviews
407 reviews

This book was much different than the first in the series. It's perfect for the main characters, though. Ethan is a young rabbi, thoughtful and earnest. Naomi is a former adult film star turned entrepreneur dedicated to learning, teaching, and avoiding vulnerability. Their story is sweet and relatable.

I enjoyed learning more about modern Judaism through Danan's writing. It's not something I probably would have sought out, being uninterested in the intersection between religion and love, but it was definitely enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though I think it was less a romance and more a women's fiction with a bit of a romantic element. All in all, it's mainly the story of a woman overcoming her past and putting herself out there in a really vulnerable way to help other women. It's really a story about female solidarity, as the author writes in her acknowledgements. I LOVED it from that angle. The FMC and her best friend have a great relationship. It's lovely to see. Additionally, there are some really great laugh-out-loud moments and cringe-with-the-character moments that were so fun to read. This is my third book by Mhairi McFarlane, and it redeemed my love for her after the second one was not my cup of tea. 

This book started out strong, lagged in the middle - to the point that I nearly DNF'd it, but redeemed itself in the end. The concept is interesting - a young woman adrift in life finds purpose and community around a bookstore. However, the execution nearly had me screaming. Often, things in romance don't always follow logic. On the Fated Mates podcast, Sarah MacLean explains this away as "romance reasons." It requires a bit of suspension of disbelief on the reader's part. I get it. I enjoy it, normally. However, this book and it's main character's actions go just a bit too far to suspend disbelief for me. Maybe it's because I am a nerdy accountant, but I wondered where she - a formerly unemployed person living with her parents - scraped up the money to buy the book stock she sells covertly (the "banned books" in the title). Why was no one reviewing purchasing invoices rather than just sales reports (that's the auditor in me), etc. Also, the deceit! There's much hand-wringing over it, but it just continues and continues. It didn't sit well with me that her best friend and her new boyfriend were just, you know, pretty okay with all the deceit in the end.

So - this book had some issues for me, but it was engaging and enjoyable in the end. I think others would probably not be as critical of some of those lagging middle bits as I probably was.

This book has a beautiful cover and a great story. I love historicals set outside Regency London! This one is set in 1889 Paris and features a modern Caribbean woman of business, Luz Alana, come to exhibit at the Exposition Universelle. She meets her match in Evan, the Scottish whisky-making Earl of Darnick. 

I love Evan's respect for Luz Alana - right from the start he respects her position as a business woman, her knowledge, her culture, her freedom, and her strong will. 

I'm looking forward to the other novels in this series!