Now or Never

Irresistible Series, Book 5

By: Stella Rhys

Narrated by: John Masterson, Sarah Puckett

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

He's 10 years older. My brother's best friend. And for the next two weeks, he gets to have me in all the ways he's ever wanted.

Holland

The last time I saw him, he still called me kiddo. But fast-forward five years and more than a few things have changed. He's still Iain Thorn. He's still my brother's best friend and the painfully sexy man I clearly never stopped wanting. But me? Apparently, I've grown up in more ways than he can resist.

Iain

I'm going to hell for looking at her like this. She's too young for me. Too sweet and naive. She has no idea what I would do to her. But since the day she walked back in my life in that tight little dress, I've felt myself caving. I said I'd never in my life get involved with Holland Maxwell. But since I'm already going to hell, I might as well make it worth it.

Contains mature themes.

©2020 Stella Rhys (P)2020 Tantor

So boring

I fast forwarded most of it. It took me months to finish, even then.
Female narrator was awful.

Too long and a little too young

In comparison to the other books so far this one is the worst! I liked John Masterson as Drew the best he really spoke the part. I kind of liked him as Emmet and then as Ian is just down right NO.

Also the crush is way to much too young and just cringy. She is like beyond head over heels with Ian abnormally so…

Spoilers In Review

1 star
Spoilers:
Sometimes I read a book and am perplexed by the reviews. This is one of those books. The FMC was painfully naive one second and the next second, she's dirty talking (poorly but it's portrayed as sexy) and sexting (cringe given their relationship status. Came off as way too desperate.) With this type of story, I prefer more subtle forms of seduction because the overt comments and actions just scream "desperate" and "lack of self-respect." In my opinion, it's not really an accomplishment that she got the MMC to lose his mind with her comments and behaviors because she had to be over the top to get the reaction. It would have been more satisfying if she drove him crazy with subtle comments and behaviors and then unleashed the blatant comments and actions once he broke/gave in. One example would be when they were eating at a restaurant and she wasn't wearing panties. Instead of flashing him under the table during the meal, it would have been more satisfying if she drove him wild with her subtly suggestive words and then shocked him later with the revelation she wasn't wearing panties the entire time. Yeah, it is sexy to tell your partner you aren't wearing panties at the beginning of a night out so that it drives him crazy, but the main characters weren't partners and did not have that dynamic yet. The FMC is trying to seduce the MMC here and she's acting too thirsty while doing it given all the things the MMC has said to her about not wanting her.  The fact one of the issues is that the MMC views the FMC as too young makes this behavior worse. She's not acting like a mature adult. She is acting like she is desperate to be seen as an adult, which comes across as immature pre-teen.
Dirty talk definitely has it's place, but in this story, it was just cringe given the dynamic.
Besides that, in age gap romances, I typically pretend the gaps don't exist so I can enjoy the story. This story doesn't allow that because it's brought up every 10 minutes. Even for readers who don't mind an age gap, it seems excessive how much it is mentioned. And no one mentions it more than the FMC. One second, she wants to be seen as an adult and the next, she's bringing up her thoughts from when she was young. Either live in the present as the adult you are or go daydream about your teenage years, but quit tying your present to your teenage years. It's weird.
Then, the cherry on top is her actions at the end of the book. The MMC is going through a nightmare and she decides to leave so he won't focus on her and will concentrate on straightening out his problems. "If I'm around, I know I'm your only focus." This is so stupid, I can't give this book anything more than one star. You are supposed to support your partner and be there for them, not abandon them. Is she really so stupid that she thought leaving would cause the MMC to go, "oh well, I guess the person I'm in love with is taking an extended vacation so I can work all this out so I'm just going to focus and not think about her at all?" No communication. No contact. Just...left. She abandoned him while he needs comfort and support, when it felt like the entire world is against him. Is she really so stupid she doesn't understand how important it is to have someone stand by you in times like those? She left him just like all the clients who were dropping him. It doesn't matter that she said it was temporary and for his own good; she shouldn't have made that decision for him. Not only that, but she didn't want her friend bringing him up to her and she refused to Google him or get updates about how he was doing. If I'm in love with someone and they are going through a public career/reputation crisis, I'm going to want to know how they are doing! Also, did it never occur to her that taking care of her and making sure she was okay was the only thing getting him through the horrible situation? The highlight of his days? This FMC is one of the stupidest I've read in awhile and her actions at the end of the book are NOT the actions of someone in love. She abandoned him, she was just fine with living her life without updates about him even though he was going through a huge scandal and she didn't even give him the courtesy of a conversation to explain her dumb reasoning. She didn't deserve him.
I hope the next book in this series is better. I bought the audiobook at the same time I bought this one.

Great low-angst BBF

I needed something low angst, and this one hit the mark. It's been a while since I've read a BBF, and this one also had an age gap, so there was that added forbidden trope, which I also loved. I felt like the outing of the relationship [to the brother] was almost a non-entity, because neither the H nor the h seemed too close with him. He was more there as a reason for them to not be together. And I wish that we could have delved deeper into the situation with her mother, that storyline felt incomplete. But even with all of that, it was a good read, and just what I was looking for right now.

Surprisingly deep

I liked this a lot more than I thought it would. Both characters are well fleshed out.

Turned Out Great!

While this book started reeeeaaalllly sloooow, it turned out great! If you can get to the half way mark you’ll really enjoy the story! There is a lot of background in the beginning, but of course the author doesn’t reveal the critical information until much later in the book. That could cause someone to lose interest. But stick with it, you won’t be disappointed!

A MUST READ

So far I've enjoyed the entire series and other books by Stella. She's amazing author. Have you purchased it yet? What are you waiting for?

A MUST READ!!!

I just finished this book and I am laying here stunned. This book was written so beautifully!! You could just feel the love between the MC. I could easily picture each scene. I have listened to many many books and this is my number one for sure!!!!

Definitely a fav

This was a great easy listen... the plot wasn't to heavy, it kept my attention and was Soo damn steamy. It was a great break from the plot twist and danger stuff that is usually in these books. I loved that the story was all about them and their blossoming love.