Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this eARC.

This is a perfect example of just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Sophie Lark is being moved way down my list of authors at this point. Do better!

After seeing all of the reviews regarding racist remarks & content glorifying elon musk, it left a sour taste in my mouth. i tried to read this book but found myself skimming at 50 pages in - the book seems rushed and there’s so many different issues & characters thrown at you from the get go. i just couldn’t get into it.

Received this ARC via NetGalley before the controversy.

Honestly, this was simply not a good book at all, even without the racist comments made as pointed out by other early readers. The author also seems to associate Shaolin monks with Japan... so that's an interesting interpretation.

The whole story itself was so flimsy. So many random plot holes, all surface-level characters and it's just a mess. Also the main storyline of a marriage of convenience was laughable - like what was the point of all of it? Why did they have to act like their marriage is 'real'? Also why did the main antagonist do the things they did???? None of the characters had properly explained stakes in the whole situation. So poorly plotted.

Even the blurb is a flat out lie e.g. 'intimidation is what Monroe does best... (MMC) insists on sharing a bed... she just didn't know she'd be fighting her own husband'. Literally none of this happened - the FMC readily agrees to the marriage after a couple of shots + the MMC didn't really intimidate anyone in the entire book, the MMC didn't insist on sharing the bed and the FMC didn't even fight the MMC in any substantial sense.

Other things I noted:
- both MCs have such juvenile conversations and language... they're supposed to be in the early 30s
- MMC kept commenting on the FMC's looks and keeps comparing her to her sisters' even though he supposedly liked her since college
- reader is always reminded the MMC was a hockey player - idk but that's so random and added nothing to the plot
- literally not even dislike to lovers; both folded so quickly
- their first intimate moments were icky...
- idk how I feel about all the siblings pairing off with each other

Would not read again, nor any other Sophie Lark books.

Overall rating: 0.25/5

This was a DNS for me, I cannot support an author that is a racist and recommend anyone looking into this go do some research on what happened.

My first five star read this year. I LOVE Sophie Lark so when I was approved for this book, I screamed. I loved everything about this, the plot, the characters, the theme. So so so good!

Who doesn't love a marriage of convenience, but im uncomfortable with the elon musk references and the comment about the visa less workers.. i love sophie lark's books, but that really bothered me. Thank you netgalley for the arc.! I still like her writing style though and the story overall.

As someone who loves Sophie Lark's books I am sad that I will not be continuing this book until Racist comments and other topics are addressed appropriately.

The author and publisher have pulled this book and it will no longer be published. Due to this and the severe controversy surrounding this book I have chosen not to go ahead with reading it. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS, Bloom Books & netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited when I received this ARC as I have liked Sophie Lark's books in the past but I can no longer support this author. The racist comments made within this book are so uncalled for. As a POC and a decent human being, I can not stand around and pretend that her comments are ok. I simply do not care if that's just the kind of character the MMC is, the fact that Sophie sat down and wrote those words, edited, reviewed and printed them is disgusting. Also what about the editors? WHO IS READING THESE RACISTS COMMENTS AND GIVING THE OK? HOW DID IT GET ALL THE OKS? HOW WAS IT EVEN ALLOWED TO BE PRINTED????

SO SO SO DISAPPOINTED

I have NEVER done this before, but I can’t in good conscience give this book a good review. I admit, I saw the drama surrounding this book before I went in, but I really did go in with an open heart and mind… if you took a few phrases out of this book, it really would have made this experience a lot better. Because without the immigrant quote from our MMC, it was a good book! I didn’t get as upset about our FMC admiring Musk; because I believe it’s important to read about characters who have differing opinions. So that didn’t bother me, but the immigrant quote really, really did. Otherwise I really would have enjoyed.

I have read a handful of books by Sophie and I usually love her books. This book had a classic enemies-to-lovers, marriage-of-convenience setup, but it didn’t fully deliver for me. The forced proximity and family feud elements were intriguing, but the romance itself felt underdeveloped. adie is a determined heroine, fiercely loyal to her family’s winery, and willing to marry her worst enemy to secure its future. Monroe, on the other hand, is the brooding, domineering love interest who brings plenty of tension and possessiveness to the table. This is different from her dark romance books, very green flag cozy romance. I found it lacked a little depth and character. I just didn’t strongly connect to the story and our main characters and their love story. Good writing per usual, not my favorite of her works.

1⭐️
I usually don’t give a review lower than 3⭐️ but this one deserves it in my opinion. I honestly had a hard time getting into the story and there some questionable things said by characters that made me very uncomfy. I don’t think I’ll be continuing anything by this author after this.

Overall, I liked the idea of the book, I enjoyed the families and characters. Regarding the controversy around the authors choice of words and dialogue in some parts of the book, I understand why some are upset by this. If this was not a concern, I would still rate the book a 3 star. Good but not great.

After all of the controversy surrounding this book, I’m choosing to give the author, and publisher a chance to correct and fix the mistakes surrounding this book as well as apologize for the harm caused before I give a full review and deep dive into this book.

Apparently, this book has been pulled from publication. I was looking forward to reading and reviewing.

I’m sad to say I won’t be reading this story. I was about to start and saw all the controversy surroundings this story.

This Book was pulled by publishers and will not be released , did not read due to this and the authors controversy

I was really looking forward to reading this book as I have enjoyed other books by this author in the past. When I heard of the controversy surrounding this book, I wanted to read at least up to the point of the controversial passage and form my own opinion. I was very disappointed after reading it, and found that the author did not only put the comment in the book, but also did not address it via the other character in the scene calling it out. The other character pretty much validated it in their response. This was very unfortunate and completely inexcusable to me. I believe this book could have been good, but unfortunately I could not continue reading it, nor can I provide it with a higher rating.

The racism in this book absolutely ruined it. I DNF’d immediately. I will NOT be reading any Sophie Lark books in the future.

There have been a lot said about this book and a lot of them not good. When I read the book, I did it without looking at previous comments or social media because I wanted to form my own judgment. So here it is. The comment about the fruit pickers should definitely have been re-written or taken out. The mention of Elon Musk… yeah maybe use a different business or leader to emulate. There was also a bit in the start where the MMC thought that the FMC was nothing special compared to her sisters. Ummm then why say later on that he paid a lot of attention to her when they were in school? Overall, the story and the characters were entertaining but those big things detracted from what could have been a promising trilogy.