Bad Habits (Wages of Sin, #1)

by Onley James and Neve Wilder

[lessthelonely]

3/5 stars.

So... in terms of romance, this was quite a departure from what I usually read. I get very invested in the emotional part of romance books, where pining and the inner monologue tend to feed my will to keep reading and usually devour books that hit the right notes for me. Yet I found myself reading this book not really for any of the usual reasons? Pining? I mean, there was a bit, but it wasn't what I like - second chance romances are something I don't enjoy because they tend to go with we fucked and it all went sideways route, which often just ends with a friends-with-benefits kind of plot which isn't my cup of tea.

OK, so chemistry? I mean, yes, there was chemistry. Quite a lot. That's probably why the sex scenes were very entertaining. I'm not one to look for sex scenes unless they're also intertwined with an emotional payoff - in other words, I don't like watching people fuck just to get off, I want it to be somewhat of a tender moment. This book did that, and that's probably why I enjoyed this book so much, even if in any other department (we'll get there), this was kind of a big disappointment.

The best part of this book is the main couple and nothing else. Their dialogue - even if a bit littered with some tropes I don't enjoy, like miscommunication (for the love of- JUST TALK) - is the most fun to read. This book seems to suffer from the mission to make the story look way more scary and thrilling than it is: is it because the action scenes were deplorable? Not really. I mean, the action scenes weren't the best thing in the world - think a C-movie starring Dwayne Johnson -, but the stakes got obliterated when I started reading the summary. Guaranteed HEA was read and with that, I understood: alright! This one will give me a nice cute ending. No need to be worried.

And the book tries to inject adrenaline into itself by creating stakes with threatening the main couple's lives. It gets a whole lot cheaper when you know they're never going to die, no matter how many stitches, staples, or whatever the characters have in their first-aid kit you mention. This book could've been way more thrilling with a simple change in focus. Make the romance take center stage. Write some good-old pining and yearning. Hell, I don't like miscommunication, but even that kind of pining would be better.

Still, the sex scenes struck a very nice balance. I start to think that, if an author plays their cards right, each sex scene can be as emotionally charged as the first time. Every single scene can read fresh and new. That happened here because romance took center stage instead of being a goal only reached after two characters reach a climax together a few times. The sex scenes showed you how much the characters were into each other and how much they craved each other's presence. They didn't want anyone outside of their perfect match, and that goes a long way if you're going to make sex come before a love confession.

The characters are also highly injected with trauma and backstory - I'd say Caspian is the "cleanest" one, but damn... what is the point of giving these characters these brutal backstories if you're not going to give them a little arc to address those in a more final fashion? I'm sorry, I'm all for "take revenge on your abuser" storylines, but you can't just reveal it right before the climax and expect it to have any sort of emotional punch. It felt like the authors just wanted you to feel for the characters, which worked, but what about satisfying reading, huh? I can feel for the characters while still being highly invested in what's happening, but as the climax rolled by, I was just like... Aight, I hope they fuck soon. This seems worthless.

Maybe don't put guaranteed HEA on the first pages of your book if you wish to make your readers believe you'll deprive them of one. I finished it, though, so you know that means a middle-ground rating.