synopsis: dodong gets accused of a crime he didn't commit. he tries to prove his innocence while being tangled in another issue that's bigger than the crime being pit against him.

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short read, good story, horrible pacing and writing style.

i have the biggest issue with the transition and how almost each character is forgettable. i get that it's probably the author's writing style to jump point of views in different chapters to fan the flames of suspense, but heavens, it gets so confusing.

i wish the author just straight out told us whose POV we were reading on certain chapters. i hate having to read 2-3 pages before realizing which character is currently speaking.

book also needed extensive content and trigger warnings with the amount of trauma and violence it has.

regarding the plot, the suspect is unexpected, but it somehow reminded me of a similar book i read recently (also a local book). i guess it's just a bit tiring to see the plot line of every mystery fiction recycled constantly.

good story, it immersed me deeply into the world and i can actually imagine where the book happened, but the constant violence against women, trauma porn, and sometimes nonsense betrayal didn't make much sense to me.

unsure whether to continue this trilogy. i usually read series in order, but i will take a break before continuing the story about this place. #burnout

synopsis: after his recent betrothed leaving him, the duke of ashbury is desperate to find a woman to wed who will give him an heir to secure his estate. coincidentally, emma, his former betrothed's seamstress, enters into a marriage convenience with him in exchange for wealth.

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this had a very strong start, but it went downhill from the third-act conflict.

the characters are well-written, though, and tessa dare has always written compelling characters, especially the women.

emma is hilarious, and she was actually a very strong character from the beginning until the 70% mark where one of her decisions just annoyed me.

ashbury, to his credit, had a very real reason why he's so jaded. i'm glad that for a change, it's the man who has complex insecurities and not the woman.

sadly, like i said, it lost my interest because of the stupid third-act conflict. the problem was not dragged, so there was that small reprieve from having to read about miscommunication for more than one chapter, but i still didn't like it.

khan, the funny butler, is easily one my favorite side characters ever. wish we got more scenes with emma and the servants because they were hilarious.