This book was the serotonin boost I didn't know I needed. It completely lifted my mood, and I found myself laughing out loud 🤣

I was genuinely surprised by how sweet, funny, and original the story actually is, despite being a quick, low-stress read, the world-building is actually fantastic. It packs in amazing detail without dragging (in my opinion!!!)

The plot is pretty simple, you have Cherry, who is on the run from loan sharks and decides her best survival option is a mail-order bride program on a completely different planet. She lands in this colony of alien cowboys, Enter Silar. My sweet, baby Silar, soft-spoken alien cowboy who has absolutely stolen my heart. Silar is the definition of a cinnamon roll, He is strong and mostly silent, but because of his lonely existence, he has zero experience with women or people in general...This makes for some of the funniest scenes in the book because the cultural differences and his general shyness create this adorable awkwardness that I lived for

I really appreciated was the dual POV 🙂‍↕️🤌🏼; The romantic lines are sentimental without being corny, also… I have so many thoughts about the Zabrians after learning Silar’s past... My heart!! 💔

If you want a delightful little tale that won’t stress you out but will leave you smiling at your phone, this is it. Silar and Cherry forever 🤧

Also the cocktail 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I was gonna die if I didn't add that 🤣🤣🤣🤣 ooooh!! And I loved Fallon

I don’t think this book was for me, and that honestly surprised me....

A friend recommended it as a mafia romance, but that expectation probably set me up for disappointment because this felt like everything but mafia. It leaned heavily into dark, tortured romance, and by about 60% I was bored enough that I started skimming just to get through it

I’ve read Tillie Cole before and quite enjoyed her contemporary books, so I know she can write. This one just didn’t click. Even though it’s supposed to be a standalone, I still felt lost. The Russian terms were confusing, there were a lot of characters I didn’t care about (Luka), and I even had to double-check who the MMC was at the beginning

My biggest issue was the romance. I get Talia wanting deep, everlasting love, but her immediate sexual attraction to Zaal didn’t work for me at all. Caring for him? Yes. Wanting to help and protect him? Absolutely. But jumping straight into desire with someone so deeply traumatized just didn’t feel believable, I actually was like ... what's happening here... are we reading the same thing!!!

That said, there some moments I really liked. Zaal’s broken English, the “You are… for me” moments ....

Overall, this one just didn’t land for me, even though I can see why it works for others, especially if the read book 1