The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Unfortunately Yours - Tessa Bailey

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
Genre: Realistic Fiction/Romance

Blurb (on back of book): A down-on-her-luck Napa heiress suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can't stand... only to discover there's a fine line between love and hate.
After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she's sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she's ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him--and kiss him, in equal measure.
August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn't know jack about making wine. He's determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy's legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around... and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted his dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults.
Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways--assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There's just one thing they didn't account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

MY OPINION: ***

So so so much better than the first one in this standalone series. I actually marginally enjoyed this one and didn't feel like ripping out my hair with each page. I think it's because I enjoyed the tropes a lot more and the characters felt like they had more chemistry than in the first book. 

I loved the marriage of convenience trope. This is fast becoming one of my new favorite tropes, mostly because I don't read a lot of it so it feels less overdone to me. August and Natalie are forced into a marriage for financial/other purposes (it's a mutual benefit). However, after an incident highlighted in the previous book, they "hate" each other (though it's more one-sided on Natalie's part). 

I loved the two's relationship and seeing their banter and Natalie's "hateful" statements towards August. I loved seeing his perspective as well and his obvious attraction to her. This felt very trite at times but it is a rom-com at the end of the day. It's supposed to be silly and exaggerated. 

August is an ex-Navy SEAL who's trying to build up a vineyard to carry on his deceased best friend's dream. However, he absolutely sucks at making wine. Natalie is the daughter of the distinguished winemaking family, the Vos family, though her family often excludes her from the process. She is just back from New York after a failed Wall Street deal and a failed engagement, so she's going through a lot. 

It's a very basic novel with no real conflict. The third act conflict was very eh. I wasn't too torn up about it and clearly they found their way back to each other. This was more the vibes of the summer reads I've been looking for, though overall, it still wasn't giving what I wanted it to give. I think perhaps I am done with romcoms for now and it's time to go on another six month hiatus like I did last year in July. It has a lot of the same tropes and asinine dialogue to the point where I am not interested anymore, so I think a break is in order. 

The dad being involved in Formula 1 was so jarring to me, as an F1 addict.

This book was well-written but had a lot thrown in at once. I would have appreciated a more orderly pacing and less factors compiled in to the plot. It was like it was trying to be complex but instead just became convoluted. However, in the end, I'd still recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute summer read. I read it in one sitting and it definitely went by a lot faster than the previous one!

Main Character: Natalie, August
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, "hate," etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.

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