Title: Bet Me To Stay
Publisher: Entangled: Brazen
Published: June 8, 2019
Pages: 205
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Source: ARC
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After a bet with his brother, Liam O'Connor has to date the next woman who walks into the pub. And he's all in, because his pub is on the line. What he didn't expect was Casey Meadows, who at first glance with her big glasses and bulky sweater looks like a woman who has many, many cats—but her wit and smile make him wonder what's underneath her bulky armor.
Casey Meadows aka sweet romance author Cassie O'Brien is about to lose everything. As in, her writing career is going down the drain because she can't write the sexy stuff that's selling these days. She needs inspiration in the worst way. That's when she walks into the wrong pub at the right time. Sexy owner Liam is just what the writing doctor ordered. Her whole body is feeling inspired—and when he makes a proposal she can't refuse—she's all in. Oh, hell yes. Best. Sex. Of. Her. Life. Thanks to Liam, she's about to write a best-seller.
But having an erotic romance alter ego is nothing compared to the real secret Cassie is hiding—and that one could destroy everything.
Casey Meadows aka sweet romance author Cassie O'Brien is about to lose everything. As in, her writing career is going down the drain because she can't write the sexy stuff that's selling these days. She needs inspiration in the worst way. That's when she walks into the wrong pub at the right time. Sexy owner Liam is just what the writing doctor ordered. Her whole body is feeling inspired—and when he makes a proposal she can't refuse—she's all in. Oh, hell yes. Best. Sex. Of. Her. Life. Thanks to Liam, she's about to write a best-seller.
But having an erotic romance alter ego is nothing compared to the real secret Cassie is hiding—and that one could destroy everything.
MY REVIEW
DISCLAIMER: This review MAY contain SPOILERS. I received an ARC of this book at no cost from the publisher. All opinions expressed in my review are my own.
This is one of those books that has so much going for it, but it doesn't quite reach its full potential. There are some really great things in this book and a lot of things that I felt needed some work.
I really liked both of the main characters in this story, but I felt like they were underdeveloped. I certainly got the gist of their personalities through the writing, but I couldn't help but thinking over and over again how much better these characters could have been with more polish to them. We basically got the bare bones of what these characters could have been. I admit that at the start of the book I was fairly uninterested in them altogether. I did start to care about them closer to the end of the book, but I never fully connected with them. It is a shame too because they really did have something special that just needed more nurturing. Adding more depth to these characters could have taken them from "getting the job done" to "blowing it out of the water". Also, some of the dialogue felt choppy and forced to me.
The plot of this story was okay but honestly, it could have used some work. I felt that the premise for both Liam and Cassie's plotlines were interesting, but pulled together a little too loosely. It felt like the stakes weren't quite where they needed to be. There just didn't seem to be enough conflict in the story. The whole book felt like it was mainly about sex. The sex totally overshadowed the other points in the story. I think that part of the problem was the length of the book. This book is very short. Reading this book felt like reading the bare bones of what a book should be. The basic framework is there, but it just needs some more details to fatten it up.
This story had a very strong insta-love feel to me. Cassie and Liam both go into this thing between them as a no-strings-attached one-time thing but they find that they have an incredible connection in bed and that spills over into wanting to spend more time together. The entire romance between them, apart from the epilogue, happens within a four-to-five-week time frame. And most of that time is spent having sex. They do spend a little time together outside of the bedroom, but I really didn't like how their relationship sparked over having the best sex of their lives and not wanting to walk away from it. The fact that they fall in love and don't even really know it or admit it to themselves felt forced because of the insta-love factor. I really would have liked to see them out of the bedroom more and experiencing everyday things together. And I think that it would have lessened the insta-love feel if the timeframe would have been drawn out.
While I felt that the romance was a little problematic because of the insta-love, I can't deny that Cassie and Liam had damn good chemistry together. Apart from the insta-love, I liked the evolution of their feelings for each other. Their romance just needed to be fleshed out a little more to make it completely believable. I think that the main issue with it is that there really wasn't any build up at all. They both jumped in with both feet and kept freefalling.
I am struggling with what I think an appropriate rating is for this book. I did have a lot of issues with this book, but on the plus side, I do think that it has some redeeming qualities. I noticed that the last quarter of the book, especially the last chapter and the epilogue, was written much better than the beginning of the book. Almost shockingly so. I am not sure where the difference is coming from, but if that magic could be worked into the rest of the book then it would be in much better shape.
Overall, this is a story that has a lot of potential but in the end, I found it lacking. It has the basics down but it needs some more depth to really make it shine. If you are someone that likes a light, quick, and smutty read then this would be a great book for you to pick up.
I really liked both of the main characters in this story, but I felt like they were underdeveloped. I certainly got the gist of their personalities through the writing, but I couldn't help but thinking over and over again how much better these characters could have been with more polish to them. We basically got the bare bones of what these characters could have been. I admit that at the start of the book I was fairly uninterested in them altogether. I did start to care about them closer to the end of the book, but I never fully connected with them. It is a shame too because they really did have something special that just needed more nurturing. Adding more depth to these characters could have taken them from "getting the job done" to "blowing it out of the water". Also, some of the dialogue felt choppy and forced to me.
The plot of this story was okay but honestly, it could have used some work. I felt that the premise for both Liam and Cassie's plotlines were interesting, but pulled together a little too loosely. It felt like the stakes weren't quite where they needed to be. There just didn't seem to be enough conflict in the story. The whole book felt like it was mainly about sex. The sex totally overshadowed the other points in the story. I think that part of the problem was the length of the book. This book is very short. Reading this book felt like reading the bare bones of what a book should be. The basic framework is there, but it just needs some more details to fatten it up.
This story had a very strong insta-love feel to me. Cassie and Liam both go into this thing between them as a no-strings-attached one-time thing but they find that they have an incredible connection in bed and that spills over into wanting to spend more time together. The entire romance between them, apart from the epilogue, happens within a four-to-five-week time frame. And most of that time is spent having sex. They do spend a little time together outside of the bedroom, but I really didn't like how their relationship sparked over having the best sex of their lives and not wanting to walk away from it. The fact that they fall in love and don't even really know it or admit it to themselves felt forced because of the insta-love factor. I really would have liked to see them out of the bedroom more and experiencing everyday things together. And I think that it would have lessened the insta-love feel if the timeframe would have been drawn out.
While I felt that the romance was a little problematic because of the insta-love, I can't deny that Cassie and Liam had damn good chemistry together. Apart from the insta-love, I liked the evolution of their feelings for each other. Their romance just needed to be fleshed out a little more to make it completely believable. I think that the main issue with it is that there really wasn't any build up at all. They both jumped in with both feet and kept freefalling.
I am struggling with what I think an appropriate rating is for this book. I did have a lot of issues with this book, but on the plus side, I do think that it has some redeeming qualities. I noticed that the last quarter of the book, especially the last chapter and the epilogue, was written much better than the beginning of the book. Almost shockingly so. I am not sure where the difference is coming from, but if that magic could be worked into the rest of the book then it would be in much better shape.
Overall, this is a story that has a lot of potential but in the end, I found it lacking. It has the basics down but it needs some more depth to really make it shine. If you are someone that likes a light, quick, and smutty read then this would be a great book for you to pick up.
How much depth and character development do you like in the books that you read? How much is not enough? What was the last book that you read?
My name is Vanessa a.k.a. Queen Alchemy. I am a 30-something-year-old mother of four nerdy, fantastic children. We live in the Midwest. I have a reading addiction, and I hope that I never recover! I'm the hugest nerd you can find with interests not limited to the following: comics (Batman and Captain America for the win!), science, computers, zombies, unicorns, Harry Potter, cartoons from the 80's & 90's, Frankenstein, history, crafting, cooking & baking, Star Wars, digital scrapbooking, D&D, Minecraft, Hello Kitty, horror, metalcore, royalty, tattoos & piercings, bright colors, and so much more!
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