Book Review: When Sinners Play by Eva Ashwood

When Sinners Play

Eva Ashwood

Sinners of Hawthorne University, #1

Publisher: Independent

Published Date: May 6, 2020

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Reverse Harem, Fiction

318 Pages / 7 Hours

Date Read: January 21, 2023

Format: 📱

Source: Kindle Unlimited

As always, if you prefer a spoiler free review please read my quick review instead of the in depth review below.

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About the Book

As the daughter of a drug addict accepted into a university on scholarship with a bunch of rich and privileged students, Sophie is out of place. She meets The Sinners, the universities bad boys, Grey, Declan, and Elias and everything changes. Anything they say goes. Unfortunately for Sophie, they hate her.

Disclaimer

When reading any dark romance, please read your trigger warnings.

Quick Review (Spoiler Free)

This was the first spicy romance that I ever read and I had nothing to compare it to at the time. I feel like if I were to re-read it today I would have different feelings. I do like a FMC that can hold her own and for that reason I did like Sophie. I will say that I understand that “bully” tropes are not for everyone, but I do feel like they can be redeemed depending on the romance that is built. I ended up binging all three books in the series over three days because the plot kept me interested. This story had potential, but it is at its core just a spicy time with a little story beneath it. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I re-read it? Probably not.

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Now, let's get into the details!!

Again, this was my first spicy romance to read. It was also my first reverse harem to read. And with that said, I really thought it wasn't the worst way to be introduced into the genres. There were some quirks with it that are obviously unrealistic and a little absurd.

I felt two ways with this book. One with the romance and one with the storyline. The romance was very insta-love ish even though I think it was supposed to be more enemies to lovers. The bullying felt like it lasted way longer than it should have. And as I mentioned already, I think a good bullying trope can be redeemed if the characters have a good story arc behind them. But this one fell a little flat in that aspect for me. I do like that Sophie didn't back down though. I like that she had a strong backbone the whole time. Even though I feel like she forgives too easily.

As for the storyline, Sophie had great potential for a good mystery behind the romance. This felt very slow burn for me as far as the romantic relationships. But on the flip side, the sex scenes… those were a bit lusty. So it didn't feel very balanced with the underlying plot points. I wish we had gotten more depth to her family background and how her character is driven other than the typical "I don't care what others think" attitude.

This story had potential, but it is at its core just a spicy time with a little story beneath it. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I re-read it? Probably not.

Ratings