I really enjoyed this. I mean it takes place in Scotland, at an abandoned and crumbled castle, with a curvy American curse breaker with a hard outer shell and a nerdy and snooty archaeologist who talks dirty in bed. She’s investing a curse and he got archeological discoveries. The enemies piece of this is so good. And so is the curse, the historical background - I want a story about Phillippa and Malcolm! The sex scenes are phenomenal. The parental relationships are deep and complex. And their growth as characters was fab. Also there’s a sex ritual so…..

I do have a few issues with some of the ways the castle is described. I was just in Scotland and a castle that’s a thousand years old, on the coast, there would not be “the skeleton of a chandelier” swaying in the breeze. It’s an abandoned castle that hasn’t had anyone do significant restoration. The castle descriptions felt like a Dunnottar or a Doune - both of which were extremely restored in would’ve preferred a Slains vibe in the descriptions.

Overall, really enjoyed.

I love enemies to lovers so that part of the book hit for me. I also enjoyed the banter between Riley and Clark. And their jobs were unique and super interesting.

It was also a bit grumpy/sunshine at times because Clark was a bit of a grump. Riley was fun.
She was independent and didn't take herself too seriously.

I wanted so badly to love this one. But honestly, at times I struggled to get into it. And I didn't fine myself anxious to get back to it, which is a sign to me I'm not fully engaged. It was just missing something.

I definitely would give this author another whirl because I loved the premise of this and enjoyed Riley, so would definitely be open to reading her again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review, and for allowing me to take part in this Berkley Buddy Read.

When curse breaker Riley is hired to break the chest of a Scottish castle, she meets the rugged archaeologist Clark. While her attraction to him is more than she can handle, they work together to crack an old mystery. Their opposing views of supernatural and fact obviously get in the way, but when having sex with love intertwined is what will break the curse, do they have what it takes?

Danan can write raunch like no other all the while entertaining readers with a unique premise. This had a lot of mystery in the story, which made it a fun and quick read. It left me wondering how it would all play out. Tropes: hate to love, opposites attract, forced proximity.

I loved the idea of a scientist coming face to face with someone that believes in the supernatural. While the insta lust was real, I still enjoyed that it was a bit of a slow burn and that we didn’t get any of the classic miscommunication that I don’t like

Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Length: 352 pages

Thank you to Netgalley, Rosie Danan, and Berkley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book caught my attention because it sounded like a spicy good time with an interesting plot. The issue for me is that the spice was good but the plot was lacking.

The pacing for the plot was painfully slow but the romance was very instalust/instalove. I prefer my romance novels to be more of a slow burn so I just couldn’t connect with this story.

Read if you like:
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Settings
🪄 Curses and Folklore
😡 Enemies to Lovers
🛌 Forced Proximity
🔀 Opposites Attract

This is my first book by Rosie Dañan and I know it won’t be my last! I loved the setting and how the story was put together as it felt very atmospheric which I’m not used to with romances.

She also used one of my favorite tropes enemies to lovers and loved the tie in of the workplace romance with the two characters that were such opposites but now have forced proximity as they both work trying to solve a mystery in very different ways.

Overall, I loved their tension and the hookup vibes but I just didn’t get the love feelings but definitely understand the hot hooking up. So with that I’d say the emotional aspects could have used more development between the two for me to enjoy it more but it’s definitely a solid romance despite this.

Thanks so much Berkley Romance for my ARC of this one in exchange for my honest review.

Do Your Worst
by Rosie Danan
Pub DATE: Nov.14, 2023
Berkely Romance
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I really enjoyed this book although you did have to suspend some beliefs.
4 stars

"They’d been in a constant power struggle since they met.
He thought she was beneath him.
She wanted to be."

"Sometimes his face made her want to punch his mouth with her mouth."

These two definitely were opposites attract; an archeologist and a curse breaker.
This was a fun mix of enemies to reluctant lovers as they tried to figure out how to break a curse on a Scottish estate/castle. Going from thinking they were a con artist to believing in her abilities.
There were a lot of open door scenes just be aware they had a lot of testing to do.
Loved the cat! There was also tension with his successful father.

Thank you berkleyromance for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you @berkleyromance @prhaudio for a copy of this audiobook. I love the author's previous books and was excited to get a new book in a totally different setting. The cursed Scottish castle added a fun element to the story. You just have to suspend your belief and enjoy the ride with the story since Riley is a curse breaker. I thought Shane East was the perfect voice for Clark and really brought out the grumpiness in him. Saskia Maarlevld did a great job as Riley as well. I enjoyed their tension and banter but the characters did not have the development I wanted like Danan's other books. Overall a fun read.

Riley is determined to turn the family talent for curse breaking into a briskness, and the first step in that plan is removing the 300-year-old curse on a famous Scottish castle. But she doesn't expect a surly and straight-laced British archeologist, Clark, trying to get her fired as a charlatan--just the day after they kissed outside a pub. Clark is determined to stick it out, despite her pesky presence and the "curse," to regain his reputation in the archeology community. But the forced proximity and initial attraction may be too much for these two, no matter how much they claim to hate each other.

Twenty pages in, and I was skeptical. It was a lot of telling rather than showing, spending so long explaining to me Riley's backstory and current situation, and I can't say I'm a fan of the occult. But once we got to the actual meat of the story, when Riley meets Clark and we see the push and pull between them, I changed my tune. Clark is #bookboyfried goals, and his chemistry with Riley was off-the-charts. This was a fun spin on a classic enemies-to-lovers trope, and I really did truly believe the two hated each other for a time. The book really turned around after a weak start and became a five-star read!

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

When occult expert Riley Rhodes makes the trek to a famously cursed Scottish castle, she sees it as an opportunity to break more than just the curse that haunts it. Riley also sees the trip as the chance to break free of her family’s reputation, and set a professional path all her own.

After an embarrassing professional fallout, archaeologist Clark Edgeware has his own set of demons to contend with. For Clark, the excavation of the mysterious castle might be his one chance at redeeming his pride, and his stature.

Once Riley and Clark realize the others mission, the two quickly find themselves in a cutthroat competition of credibility. But the more they try to upend one another, the more they realize they’re better off joining forces. Can they unearth the truth while burying their burgeoning feelings for one another?

Do Your Worst is the latest romance from popular steamy scene penner, Rosie Danan. The uniqueness of the castle and its curse drew me in, but after awhile it felt like this angle served as window dressing rather than the real focus. Mixed in with adventure was a sexy one-upmanship that spilled over into open door sex scenes that bordered on overzealous. This is a cringey signature trait of Danan’s writing that will make many romance readers want to dig in. However, I personally find some embedded innuendo makes the romantic discovery all the sweeter.

A hilarious romp through a Scottish castle with two spicy MCs! Do Your Worst was such a fun read!

An autumnal delight full of like-to-dislike-to-love, forced proximity (MANACLES!!!), lovely scenery, cursed objects, a splash of magic, and more. I laughed out loud and didn't want it to end; I felt like I was on a mini-expedition right alongside Riley and Clark.

I also happened to enjoy their dirty mouths and sneaky dealings, but I'll let you find out more about that by yourself. Hehe.

**Thank you NetGalley, Rosie Danan, and Berkley for an ARC of Do Your Worst and the opportunity to leave my honest, voluntary review!**

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance, Negalley, and PRH Audio for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I absolutely loved Rosie Danan's debut series, especially The Intimacy Experiment. So I was insanely excited to see that she was not only releasing a new romance, but a slightly speculative one too! Unfortunately, I thought this was fun but not particularly memorable.

Our heroine is a curse breaker who is trying to make a career out of her one skill and passion. And she thinks she's finally on her way when she gets a big project at an infamous Scottish castle. But after a magical night with a guy she met at a bar, every crumbles when she hears that same man calling her a con artist.

Now, forced to work together, despite their animosity, sparks still fly while they bicker and argue. I thought the tension and chemistry between was done really well and I definitely bought into the enemies side of their enemies to lovers romance.

And I thought the folklore interwoven into the curse was a fun twist to an otherwise contemporary romance.

But in the end I never really bought into the romance side of their relationship. I could not tell you one reason these two liked each other beyond sexual chemistry. Which left me feeling detached from their relationship as a whole.

Also, some of the conflict resolution was a little fast and glossed over.

Overall this was fun. Just not a story that will stick with me. Rosie Danan writes fantastic chemistry though and I'm definitely interested in picking up more from her in the future.

A light, fun read, with lots of banter and sex. The curse-breaking storyline is cute, although attempts to give the characters more emotional depth aren't entirely successful. It works as silly, sexy entertainment.

Curses and archaeology? 100% sold, love it. Complicated, stubborn, kindhearted characters who are so diametrically opposite that the only possible solution is for them to fall in love? Excellent. This book has a lot of fun banter and a fascinating plotline, though one of the main reveals was pretty predictable.
{Spoiler: I immediately knew “end to enemies” meant love.}
The spice level was entirely too much for my taste, but if you’re into that, go for it.

I absolutely love The Mummy so when I saw this was The Mummy vibes, I had to request it.

I love when the enemies-to-lovers/enemies-with-benefits actually hate each other and actively do things against the other instead of just having a strong dislike.

This book was cute and the curse was so intriguing. This started a bit slow, but once we got to know Riley and Clarke a little and got into the curse more I enjoyed it a lot.

Highlights:
- Romance: MF
- Paranormal-ish
- Romcom
- Enemies-with-benefits
- Forced proximity
- Hurt/comfort (but she’s who hurt him)
- Broody MMC

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for the advance copy!

While I LOVED both of Danan's first books, this was a bit of a letdown. The paranormal aspect of the story was just not very interesting, and the romance didn't feel believable to me. They went from enemies to lovers way too fast and for seemingly no reason.

This was just a big miss sadly

Thank you Berkley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan is….different for lack of a better word but not in a bad way. The story of a curse-breaker and an archaeologist in the Scottish Highlands was whimsical, adventurous and full of shenanigans.

But, chemistry between Riley and Clark felt more like sexual tension than romantic love all the way to the end. Plus the breaking of the curse felt anticlimactic.

Read Do Your Worst if you love:
• enemies to lovers
• castles
• banter
• no third act break up

Thank you to Berkeley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5⭐️ rounded up.

This was a solid romance book! It hooked me with a really unique plot. The paranormal aspect was developed really well and held true to the plot throughout the book. Also, any book set in the Scottish Highlands has me sold tbh. I enjoyed both Riley and Clark as characters. I do wish we had gotten a bit more development across the book from the both, but it honestly didn’t take away from the enjoyment. I did struggle to grieve them as “enemies”, because the reasoning felt a little flimsy and if anything it was more of “adversaries”. But, the tension between the two was written well regardless. I don’t think this topped with The Roommate or The Intimacy Experiment for me, but it’s also hard to compare the three because Do Your Worst was a very different type of book. Overall, this was a fun romance to read.

I loved The Roommate and was excited for Do Your Worst. We all know they say not to judge a book by it’s cover but I love that cover!!! Also was drawn in by an archaeologist, a Scottish castle that was possibly cursed - yes, yes, yes - I’m here for it!!!

Unfortunately the execution just didn’t work for me. I wasn’t buying the sexual tension between Riley and Clark. I felt like their “enemies” barbs sometimes crossed the line to too mean. It was just all falling flat for me so I ultimately decided to DNF.

Thank you Berkley and PRHaudio for the free ebook and audiobook.