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Discretion (The Dumonts, #1)

Karina Halle

Start date: August 5, 2019

Finish date: August 10, 2019

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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Jun 24, 2019 ✨ tweety ✨ rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-english, riri, romance, multi-pov, contemporary-romance, net-galley, 2019

4+

Sadie is touring Europe alone after she broke up with her ex during their trip. She's in Paris and about to catch a train to Spain when something happens that makes inevitable for her stay in France for more days than planned. That's how she meets Olivier, a mysterious man who offers her help and saves her from a mugger. They don't know each other but she accepts his help, since she is an American girl in a foreign country and she needs the help momentarily.

Now on to why I rated it 4 stars in 4+

Sadie is touring Europe alone after she broke up with her ex during their trip. She's in Paris and about to catch a train to Spain when something happens that makes inevitable for her stay in France for more days than planned. That's how she meets Olivier, a mysterious man who offers her help and saves her from a mugger. They don't know each other but she accepts his help, since she is an American girl in a foreign country and she needs the help momentarily.

Now on to why I rated it 4 stars instead of 5.

The way Sadie and Olivier meet is cool, even if it may be cliché. She doesn't want to accept his help because she doesn't want to bother a stranger, and I also liked how firm her resolve was in not saying 'yes' too soon to Olivier. Olivier is a wealthy man, so of course to him helping her doesn't cost him anything. The way they start to get to know each other as Sadie spends time with Olivier is slow at first, with them being a bit wary. This is one thing I like in contemporary romances, because I hate when the characters have the hots for each other 5 minutes after they've met. Sadie and Olivier get to learn things about one another until they jump on each other and all of that interesting dynamic that was turning into a soft angst goes out of the window. This was a let down to me, because it felt as if the most important thing was the sex and not getting to know each other. I would've preferred the sex to happen much later, since we understand that Sadie didn't have much trust in men after her ex betrayed her. But this I can get past.

Another thing that pushed me not to give another star is also Sadie herself. There were many times during the whole book where she questioned herself, where she self-pitied herself and thought Olivier didn't want to be seen with her because she was a nobody. There were moments where what she said or thought made me roll my eyes, because she was exahusting. While I liked Olivier much more than Sadie and believe that he is a good character, even he had his flaws. First of all, the suspenseful reason why he decided to dedicate himself to something else other than his family's brand. He is smart, but at times I thought he acted like an idiot and did "noble idiot" actions. Like, man, doubt more! Think more about what you'll do.

Last thing I want to mention is the suspense plot. While this is technically a contemporary romance, there was also an intriguing plot with suspenseful moments. I love suspense and I love asking myself why or who did what and why something happened and so on. This book had an alluring suspense and family drama plot, with Olivier being at odds with his uncle Gautier and his cousins because of his family's brand. But when it came to execution, some was poor and it didn't really get resolved for once and for all. I understand there's a second book being released in the Fall, so I guess that only in the next installment we'll know how things changed. Because the way this story wraps up is happy but it leaves the reader with many unresolved questions.

Don't be discouraged by my criticism! I enjoyed this book despite everything. It's a quick read with some steamy and sweet moments and also some suspense, so you'll love it for sure. Now I'm waiting for the following book to read how things will develop. ...more

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Aug 28, 2019 Cyle rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, contemporary, angst

Halle as always is one of my top five must read authors. I was super excited for this new series and loved the idea of a romance that occurs on a European trip. Halle always brings suspense, romance and fantastic emotionally driven characters to her stories, I'm always immersed into her world building and love every moment.

Discretion follows Sadie Reynolds on her European trip that was suppose to be a great time with her boyfriend. Which turns into a lonesome trip and bad luck when her boyfriend ...more

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