READ: ARC Review – Compromised in Paradise by Samanthe Beck. PDF, EPUB online free reviews.

A fun thing happened a couple of weeks ago – I joined a list and now get eARCs from Entangled Publishing. This is the first of two books I was approved for this month, and it was a pretty fun read! Here are the details on Compromised in Paradise:

Arden St. Sebastian is the daughter of a hotel tycoon, and has had trouble finding men who want her rather than her fortune. So when she lays eyes on a gorgeous stranger in the lobby of the Maui hotel her father just bought, she wants some stress relief. Except… she can’t quite get there, making her one night stand feel inadequate. He promises to spend the rest of the week getting her there, and she agrees as long as they don’t exchange names or personal details. Which is all well and good for Dr. Nick Bancroft, an ER Resident at a Maui hospital, and nephew of the couple who just sold their hotel to the St. Sebastians. Except… well, since this is contemporary romance, you likely know what happens. L-O-V-E, of course.

3 Things I Loved

The setting. Who wouldn’t love a romance set in Maui? It was so fun, and being able to picture the lovely setting was a bonus.

Nick and Arden’s witty banter. I could tell from the first couple pages that I was going to like Nick and Arden together. A lot of the plot was kind of silly (contemporary romance, after all), but their chemistry was pretty palpable.

Rafe. Arden’s older brother was a delight, even though he was painted in a not-so-great light. When he is finally introduced, I kind of hated him, but then it became evident that he was doing just what you’d expect – acting like an older brother. He was trying to protect her from the playboy he knows as Nick Bancroft. And I loved it.

Anything Problematic?

As with so many books I seem to be reading lately, this one lacked diversity. Especially considering that it took place on a Hawaiian island, yet not a single Native Hawaiian was featured in the book. That really sucks. Other than that, it was a pretty solid romance – the consent was implicit, although generally not verbal. One scene was a little squicky, because Arden kept saying she wasn’t ready, and Nick kept telling her she was. But all in all, it was solid and I was there for it.

If we’re simply talking about things I didn’t really like, the whole plot hinged on something completely stupid to me. I get being too stressed to come to completion, but like… Arden’s family had WAY too much power over her. And the whole keeping secrets thing? Dumb. Haha. I think I’m just too logical for that crap, but it was still an entertaining read.

Rating

A reminder of the rating scale:

Red = DNF, I hated everything
Orange = Ugh, no thank you
Yellow = I mean, I’ve read worse, but there were problems
Green = This was good, but not something I’d reread
Blue = Oh my gosh, everyone should be reading this book
Purple = This is the unicorn of books and I will be rereading it until the binding falls apart

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads, and I stand behind that. With that being said, I’m going to give Compromised in Paradise a GREEN rating. Now that I know the ending, I won’t be reading it again. But it was fun while it lasted.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This has no bearing on my review. A special thank you to Entangled for approving me for their review list, because it’s been super fun so far. I look forward to more books!

Happy reading!

-A.