Amita4ever's manga / #3 star(173)

Of the three Brides of L'Amour stories, this was the tale I liked least. It's not that it was bad, but it just felt superficial, and toward the end, a bit choppy. I do like that the hero wasn't arrogant and could take an honest critique, but what professional is going to make his restructuring leadership decisions based on soley pictures? I agree, her company photo wasn't a good one, but that part still didn't make sense to me. Department heads can make or break a company, especially the financial division! You at least crack open the personal files and check their records before you decide on something like that.

Honestly, I liked the art better than the story. You don't see much in the way of justice (although with the father I would have rather seen reconciliation, but with the way his character was depicted, that would likely be impossible). And of course it had bed before vows when I think the story would have been fine without it.

Not a lot of romance, but rather it's like they discovered a deep and abiding compatability that could become a deep and abiding love. Still, it wasn't a bad story and I enjoyed the art.

[Newlywed Games 1] (3*) - The whole plot hinges on one poorly chosen word, and that really threw the whole story off for me.

It was a hard sell to give this 3 stars, but the final page tipped it. You won’t find a more tyrannical, callus ML, but his transformation also felt more realistic as his time with the FL and her child awakened suppressed memories that helped him reconnect with his mom’s love and heal his heart. I also liked that this kid wasn’t instantly, “DADDY!” Made the ML work for it :D And LOVED that we had a way, way-post wedding ending to show a true happy ending.

Something felt lacking. Guilt was an overwhelming division, especially in the mind of the ML, and we never get to see him work through it so it seems rather abrupt when he suddenly does an emotional about face. He explains it to her in the end, but not getting to see it made me feel like something was missing.

I think this story would have been better without the unnecessary BBV (Bed Before Vows). It wasn’t intrinsic to the plot and cheapen the story for me. I’m also not sure how the old ‘boyfriend’ managed to get away with and maintain the ability to display his non-consensual porn. Clearly the family had influence, but they could do nothing? And yet the hero can shut it down with one sentence (thankfully).... It doesn’t make sense. Beyond that, it wasn’t a bad story, although it wasn’t necessarily good either. I enjoyed the art more than anything else, and the old wrongs righted theme was good, but just found I didn’t really enjoy it.

5 chaps

Its an old plot... the playboy dumps the girl before she can reveal she's pregnant, and she's a single mom when they meet again. At first his reaction is wholly unreasonable, but then he takes being a father seriously and she sees it. There's a premise to this story I don't like - that someone without loving parental examples can't show someone else they love them. It might make it more difficult, but if they can learn enough to successfully run a multimillion dollar business, I don't see why they can't put a little time into learning how to build a relationship. They treat the guys like they are stupid and have to be led by the hand. I don't think it always needs to be that way.

BBV x2... First is her mother who has an out of wedlock child she gives up for adoption, and then her daughter does it while searching for her mother. The first is intragal to the story, the second, unfortunately, is not, beyond coercing a marriage and forcing a little extra drama out of the other woman. I feel like, it could have been just as good a story without it. BBV [Bed Before Vows] removes some of the romance IMO.