I wasn’t sure whether to review this book or not. I have a rule to only review one book from a series in this blog. I review the entire series in my YouTube channel, unless it’s Crossfire. I only made one video for it because every review would be repetitive. Subscribe if you want to see more content from me.
I decided to write it because, while it’s part of a series, Vows in Name Only can be considered a standalone. Each book follows a different character, so it doesn’t follow an overarching plot. Previously, I reviewed Black Sheep Bargain, the fourth book in this series. Check it out here if you’re interested.
I’ll be reviewing the other books soon, so look out for that. As of writing, I just started Secrets of a One Night Stand.
Synopsis
Cain and Devon are pushed into an arranged marriage by Devon’s father through blackmail. Devon wants to keep the community center going. Cain wants to protect his mother’s reputation. With no choice, they agree to Devon’s father’s demands, but Cain makes sure Devon knows what to expect from him, only his name. As they fake their happiness for the public, their attraction and love grows.
Book Information
Genre: Romance
Category: Adult
Explicit violence: No
Explicit sex: Yes
Content warnings I noticed: None
This is the first in Billionaires of Boston.
Review
The prose is good. Easy and accessible to read.
The story is told in both Devon and Cain’s point of views. This is my favorite part of romance.
The pacing is fine. The subtitle is deceptive, suggesting that this romance is a slow-burn. This is not the case. It’s instalove. Granted, it’s done better than in most books, but it’s instalove.
Because it’s instalove, the pacing is much faster than it would be in a slow-burn romance. Slow-burn romances take their time with characters, allowing the love interests to interact more naturally. Most interactions in instalove romances feel forced and contrived in my opinion.
Unlike in slow-burn, the chemistry isn’t always there in instalove. I’m glad to say that there’s a lot of chemistry here. While it’s instalove, their love progression feels natural.
The themes are not as well explored as I would have liked, but they’re okay. They’re given an okay amount of page time. More could have been done to explore the theme of family issues and how it affects the love interests.
The characters are good. They’re interesting to follow and very likable. I would have loved to see more family dynamics between Cain and his mother. I also would have loved to see the same with Devon and her extended family.
While I think the romance is good, it does something I don’t necessarily love. A lot of romances do this, so I tend not to pay attention, but I don’t love this.
In the black moment, the couple usually breaks up. Usually because of some misunderstanding. Cue the miscommunication hate here. For the record, I don’t personally hate this trope, but I can see why others do.
Eventually, the one that messes up realizes what happened. They apologize to the person they love and it’s a big deal. They finally get together and it’s happily ever after.
This is fine, but what I don’t like is that we don’t get to see the in-between. We see the realization, but, after that, time flashes forward. For example, we see the scene where the love interests break up, the scene where Cain realizes he messed up, and, in the last chapter, we’re told that Devon is living on her own. He waits for her to leave her job and apologizes. They leave together after she accepts.
A week passed in between the time that he realizes he messed up and the apology. I don’t tend to like the time skip. We don’t see what happens in that time. I would love to see the work put in to the apology.
In my romance, I didn’t write the couple breaking up for my black moment. They had an adult conversation where they communicated their problems. However, I do want to write the scene where a couple breaks up. I’m going to try to write out what happens before the apology and the happily ever after.
Conclusion
Overall, it was a great story. I enjoyed reading it. It’s light and cute. I rate it four stars. Let me know your thoughtss in the comments.
Anexis Matos 