Review: Unsaid

Title: Unsaid (The Manhattanites #3)

Author: Avery Aster

Page Count: 528

My Rating: 3 TURTLES: An enjoyable read, but I suggest check out if you like the topic before adding it to your to-read list.

*Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a copy to read in exchange for an honest review

Amazon

Description (From Goodreads):

Chelsea’s hottie Blake Morgan III has reemerged from a nasty breakup. His marriage was a frigid disaster beyond repair, and he vows to be single—forever. Bruised, but still hot in Prada, he creates his Seven Desires wish list, his sexiest imaginings. Blake soon realizes there’s only one man he may trust to make these uninhibited intentions come to fruition: his best friend Miguel Santana.

Lower East Side multimedia artist extraordinaire Miguel Santana may be known as the cocky Latin stud in the city, but all he’s wanted since college was Blake’s hand in marriage. He was livid when Blake walked down the aisle with the wrong guy. Miguel has his own list titled the Seven Needs, which are quite contrary to Blake’s dirty-boy deeds. They involve serious commitments, which may leave his new-to-the-singles-scene buddy sprinting for the door, destroying any hopes Miguel has for happiness.

Can these two hunks conquer their intimate fears and love one another as only best friends can? Join the star-studded cast in The Manhattanites series and see for yourself!

Review:

There were a lot of things I liked about this book and a lot of things that I didn’t like as much, which is why my rating is so middle of the road. I really liked how Avery Aster presented the characters in a way that she was both lampooning Manhattan’s rich, but also developing them into deeper characters and making us care for them at the same time. That’s not an easy thing to do, and I think Aster did a great job bringing in those elements. I also really liked Blake and Miguel’s relationship, they were cheeky and adorable together which made their story really fun to read.

One thing that I wasn’t too keen on, and that many people in other reviews mention as well, is that even though it is marketed as being able to be read as a standalone, that’s not completely true. In other romance series that I’ve read, the story focuses on the one couple and characters from other books pop their heads in to say hello once in a while. In Unsaid, there are entire scenes and plot lines that focus on the other characters’ lives where Blake and Miguel aren’t present. For people invested in these characters already this might be nice, but since I wasn’t I found myself a bit bored when there were scenes without the MCs in them. One other thing I’ll mention is that things seemed a bit insta-lovey for my liking. Miguel has been in love with Blake for a decade, and as soon as Blake gets out of his toxic relationship he realizes he’s been in love with Miguel this whole time too. And their relationship just gets more committed exponentially faster from there. I was really happy with the overall outcome, I’m a sucker for happy endings, but I did feel like I had a bit of whiplash from some of Blake’s decisions.

I’m not sure if I personally will be reading more in this series, but I saw a lot that I’m sure many romance fans would love. So if you like romance, especially smutty romance, I definitely recommend you give this one a go.



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