I thought that the first book of this duet was terrific, and I waited avidly for the conclusion of Hutch and Lou’s story. The cliffhanger at the end of the first one set everything up for an exciting ending.
I was therefore disappointed that it felt like not a whole heckuva lot happened in the second book. I mean, don’t get me wrong, a lot did happen, and we certainly got the HEA for Hutch and Lou that they deserved from the first book.
But it didn’t seem as if there was a flow to the plot. I don’t want to give plot points away, but at the end of the first book, there was a big revelation from Blair (Hutch’s sister-in-law). The way that continued in the second book seemed to be thrown together haphazardly – and then it was just…solved. I wanted a much bigger ending for that.
I also thought that the introduction of a group of people towards the end of the book seemed out of the blue. I was intrigued by the characters, but as I got to know them I found myself wishing that there was more of them and less of Hutch and Lou professing their love for each other.
I know that makes me sound cranky, but it just felt that the book was one big bedroom scene with little vignettes of semi-action interspersed. I think there could have been so much more.
That being said, I did like the Bella Mafia, and I would love to read more about them, so I’ll be searching for their stories.
Beautiful Ever After by Georgia CatesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I loved the first book in this duet. I was utterly taken with the romance between Hutch and Lou, and I had really high hopes for the conclusion. It pains me to say that I was disappointed. I thought everything was set up so well in the first one and then it fell apart in the second. I still loved the romance between the two, but I wasn’t satisfied with the sister-in-law subplot, and there were a bunch of characters who showed up very close to the end. I think it would have been more exciting if they had made an appearance sooner and had more to do. As it was, the story just ended kind of…eh. That being said, Hutch is a book boyfriend to swoon for, and I’d like to see him even as a secondary character in future books. This review was written based on a complimentary digital ARC.
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