Tis the Season for Revenge

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥.5Did I just throw a wrench into my reading schedule because of this read? Yup.Did I just read it based on recommendations I found from a group? Yup.Did I just read a holiday romance six days after Christmas? Yes, and I would do it again.How can I not when the premise is this: Abbie Keller gets dumped on Halloween by her stuck-up, manipulative jerk of a boyfriend after four years of her busting her behind to do what he wanted and be the person he wanted her to be. Well, now she is set on getting revenge, and the best way to do it just fell on her lap. She matches with his boss -- yeah, the boss he hates -- and decides to seduce said boss into bringing her to the coveted holiday party.What Abbie did not count on is that the super-hot Damien Martinez is also super-thought, super-charming, and super into her. Did I mention that they have wicked hot chemistry in bed? Now she finds herself having feelings for Damien, which leaves her with a choice: follow through with her plan to stick it to the stupid ex or come clean and possibly lose the one man her ex couldn't be (and more).This is like Legally Blonde in a book form. I dove in, expecting cheesy and saccharine, and completely got blindsided with the right balance of sweet, charismatic, and spice. Abbie was adorable. A kind soul who has been tainted by her abusive ex for years, I was so glad she had her ride-or-die friends, her supportive older sister, and eventually Damien to help her find her path.But Damien. Oh, Damien. What can one say about Damien other than I have found myself another book boyfriend. If this wasn't fiction, he would absolutely be too good to be true. I love that he is so in tune with Abbie and her insecurities and uses that to lift her up. Also, my hat off to his dirty mouth and bedroom skills. Oh, wait..and he likes to whisper nicknames in Spanish? Like I said, too good to be nonfictional.This was a fantastic fun read to kick off the year. Highly recommended if you love rom-com.

Damien (MMC) is perfect in this story. Hot, ever so slightly likes to take control, loves to issue praise, and doesn’t deny his emotions/feelings.Abbie was likeable but she is a bit air-headed for my usual preferences in FMC. There were too many moments where Damien said something not complicated and she was confused and said what, and then he had to repeat himself, explaining further. I dislike the ditsy stereotype. I get that her insecurities were because of all the abuse she suffered with the previous boyfriend, but insecurities don’t equate to being ditsy. If it was her questioning motive/authenticity of something Damien says or does, that would be one thing, but rather she blinks like a deer in a headlight with her mouth gaping over the simplest sentence out of Damien’s mouth. Example: previous ex refused to ride train to go visit sister but also wouldn’t let her ride with him in his vehicle and made her travel by train separately from him. Damien tells her they’ll go together in his car. And she gets ditsy and acts like she can’t understand that he wants her to ride in his vehicle with him and he has to explicitly explain that simple thing. The ditsy gets really old. Like the difference between the ex and Damien could have been highlighted without Abbie acting like she has no clue what Damien means when he says they’ll ride together to her sister’s.I freaking hated Cam - she is a terrible best friend and she didn’t redeem herself by the end. If I had a friend who purposely sabotaged all my relationships no matter what because she simply hated men and wouldn’t prioritize my happiness over her hatred, I’d drop them friend real fast. She’s even a bitch in the final scenes of the book.Overall, this is about 🌶🌶 out of 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 for spice level. It’s a mix of more explicit details but also some implied action, nothing crazy sexually really, no anal, BDSM, kinks, etc.Tropes: Damien is possessive (mine and only mine) but not an alpha hole. Age gap - she’s 28 and he’s 42. A little bit of a Dom where he tells her what to do lol touch yourself or don’t come yet, but in a I’ll take care of you teddy bear kind of way. There aren’t any threats of punishment for disobeying (I think twice he joked about spanking Abbie but it didn’t actually happen). Damien does like to hold her throat but it isn’t breath play or squeezing hard - he just wants to feel her heartbeat, so I wouldn’t consider it a true hand necklace. Even when he’s being bossy during sex, he comes across as a teddy bear. He does like dirty talk though - so there is plenty of that.This is a good light romance read when you need a break from the heavier/darker romance novels.

I’m completely blown away. This book has brought me so much joy over the last 24 hours. My neck hurts for the amount of times I’ve thrown my head back laughing/swooning at moments throughout this book. When this book was described as a being like legally blonde I knew I was going to love it! I just didn’t realise how much I would!When Abbie Keller’s lawyer boyfriend of four years, the guy she thought was her forever, breaks up with her outside her apartment building moments before they’re supposed to go to his firms Halloween party. She’s out for revenge, and what better revenge than sleeping with her Ex’s boss. Enter the very handsome, very charming Damien Martinez. He has a type Blonde, petite and curvy, and he’s not embarrassed to admit it. When Annie finds him on a dating app she has one goal in mind, convince him to ask her on a date to his firms annual Christmas party.Damien is my dream man. He is so completely swoon-worthy, charming, and has the dirtiest mouth that had me blushing.Abbie is so completely relatable, she’s down to earth and bubbly and honestly such a sweetheart.These two together are everything, I adore them with my entire heart. I loved how obsessed they were with one another.I adored how Damien worshipped Abbie, and made it his mission to show her how amazing she is and to make her shine again after the damage of her previous relationship.The chemistry between these two was quite literally on fire! The spice was on another level so hot, like on another level of hot. I’m obsessed.I’ve seen this all over my TikTok recently and I can seriously see why. If you haven’t guessed by reading this review, but this has solidified its place as one of my favourite books ever. And despite it being a festive romance, this is a comfort read for me and I can see me re-reading this throughout the year. I 100% will be reading Morgan Elizabeth’s back catalog of books!

'𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰. 𝐈𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.'Ah, I love Damien Martinez! This was the perfect cute little rom-com that gave off all the right vibes.When Abbie's boyfriend Richard breaks up with her after 4 years of her bending to every want of his to become his 'perfect woman' she soon realises with the help of her friends Cam and Kat, that what she actually wants is revenge, and the best revenge? Sleeping with his boss and getting an invitation to the Christmas party Richard would never take her to.I hated Richard, he was literally scum, and they way he treated Abbie and demolished her self confidence and worth was heartbreaking. She was treated like an animal, she changed her style, her hair cooked, cleaned, got his coffee. She was basically his PA. And in return, she got a world of heart. And when Damien started to help her find herself, and watching the real Abbie come out, it was beautiful to see.I loved Damien aswell, and I also loved how he reacted to the whole situation when he found out. It just went to show the difference in maturity between Richard and Damien. The way he would do everything Abbie wanted even if he didn't want to because he knew it would make her happy. The way he kept telling her her job wasn't unimportant. He just really broke through every crappy boundary Richard laid, and smashed expectations out of the park.My only gripe with this book for me, was the overuse of the pet name 'honey'. Its my least favourite pet name, so I notice it being used more than I normally would. Other than that I loved how easy this was of a read and I can't wait to check out what else Morgan has out.

“It would be an honor to have you on my arm, walking in to see a room of people I would rather not spend extra time with, have all their eyes go to you, and feel that jealousy build. Watch them want what’s mine.”THIS BOOK.If you are a fan of early 2000’s romcoms like Legally Blonde or John Tucker Must Die, you must read this! I have genuinely nicknamed this book the “hot water bottle” because it made me feel so warm and toasty 🥹At the start of this book, Abbie is in a relationship with Richard, she just wants to make him happy and does anything he asks of her, but he only sees her as “filler” and “a reliable piece”. On Halloween night, he breaks up with her, and to try and heal her heartbreak, her friends sign her up to a dating app, in which she matches with Richard’s boss, Damien, a very successful, stunning looking man who Richard has always been jealous of. To get her revenge, she decides to date this man and turn up to the company’s Christmas party on his arm… surely it’s only a bit of harmless fun when feelings aren’t involved? …Right?PLEASE READ THIS BOOK. I don’t often connect to holiday romcoms as I feel like there isn’t much depth to any of them, but I loved these characters and I highlighted so many passages 🥺Damien treated Abbie like a queen, and it had me crying at parts that weren’t even sad. He validated all of her feelings and wanted her to be excited for things that other people would find “dumb” in ways that I wish someone would do for me. I related to so many things that Abbie went through and just who she was as a person. I will be rereading this book every Christmas from now on in 🥹The concert scene had me wanting to marry Damien, which, as a lesbian, is a huge deal as I never get attached to the MMC, so well done Morgan Elizabeth 😂Read if you love:💙 Legally Blonde💙 Early 2000’s romcoms💙 Age gap💙 Cinnamon roll MMCs💙 Christmas romances💙 Romance with a deeper messageTW: emotional and physical abuse💙

This book certainly lived up to the hype!It oozes levels of pettiness I can get on board with & the ‘girl power’ that’s reinforced during it gives me nostalgia for the 90s/00s- those girls know!We have a perfect FMC who realises she’s been used by a total d-bag & lost herself along the way, whilst trying to prove she was worthy of him.When he dumps her & leaves her crying outside her apartment building she calls up her bff & forms a plan for revenge. By sleeping with his boss.Enter Damien Martinez who is officially a new book boyfriend & by who I will be measuring all men by his standards going forward.You’ll have to read to get why I won’t spoil him for you.The spice was delicious! 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I loved every single part of this book, the beginning had me mad and sending screenshots of Richard (what a name fit for a massive diiiick) and his red flags to my friend, to wanting to give Abbie a huge hug and finally, finally swooning hard when Damien entered the scene with all his deliciousness!His and Abbie’s relationship was authentic and swoon worthy, I loved how he put her together piece by piece and wanting her to be who she really is, not this act.The big reveal was perfect and I want to hug the author for not dragging out unnecessary angst, Damien’s reaction was absolutely perfect for his character.First time read for this author and won’t be the last!