Member Reviews
4/5 Stars
I had a lot of fun with this book. I loved the occult and archeologist vibes. Enemies to lovers was great. I loved the banter and the tension between Riley and Clark. The English accent that Clark had in my head was everything. This was just a great time overall. I would've liked to see more banter and more built-up chemistry between these two. I do feel like everything felt a little rushed and would've liked the book to be a little longer than it was to account for more time building their relationship. Overall though I really did have a great time and would recommend giving this a read.
One of my favorite romcoms EVER, and somehow the only one centered around hexing and curses that isn't trying to be too cute for its cauldron (what is with that particular literary trend?). Definitely worth reading as a legit enemies to lovers and a believable, loveable, worthwhile character development process for both leads.
I LOVE Rosie Danan so I was so excited to learn she was writing a paranormal romance!
Do Your Worst follows Riley, a curse breaker and Clark, an archeologist. Riley and Clark cross paths as they do their separate jobs in a cursed Scottish castle that has a complicated history. Clark thinks Riley is scamming this small Scottish town and promising something she can't truly fulfill so he tries to get her fired, but as the two work around the castle, their relationship goes from enemies to something more.
I really enjoyed this paranormal romance! Riley and Clark are fully fleshed out characters with complicated family dynamics. Both Riley and Clark have to face many personal fears and challenges as they work together, and eventually decide to pursue their relationship. The Scottish castle setting is so fun. Danan is able to create a setting that feels real and convincing without it feeling too try hard, meaning the setting feels more true to life and not like the author is throwing stereotypes at the reader to convince them that book takes place in Scotland. The only slight critique I have is that the timeline felt a bit off. It is implied that Riley and Clark are at the castle for months, doing their work and building their relationship, but it doesn't really feel like that. So when Riley and Clark start confessing their deep love for one another it kind of felt like it was out of no where. Again, this is just a slight critique as their romance is very sweet and believable.
Danan is one of my favorite romance authors so I will always recommend her work. If an enemies to lovers romance with slight magical elements sounds up your alley, pick Do Your Worse up!
I just loved this book!! I don't think Rosie Danan can do wrong. I can't wait to read other books by her as she is becoming one of my favorite authors. I love her characters and the banter they have. Highly recommend.
This sounded like a fun twist on a romance with a light paranormal element. I enjoyed some aspects of this story, and the fun banter. Unfortunately, the enemies part of the enemies to lovers trope was too exaggerated for my preference and I did not particularly enjoy the power differential.
Y'all, Do Your Worst is bananas. Riley Rhodes is a curse breaker hired to investigate and cleanse a Scottish castle, which would be hard enough without an extremely hot archeologist following her around who thinks she's a scam artist. Clark Edgeware has to salvage his disgraced career, and this castle could be his redemption if Riley's paranormal bullshit doesn't disrupt his dig.
A lot of romances market themselves as enemies-to-lovers stories but don't fulfill that premise. That is not the case here. Y'all, Riley and Clark hate each other. They hurt each other and lie to each other and sabotage each other's investigations, and then they have wild kinky hate sex. I cannot wait to see how Danan brings these two together at the end, because right now they couldn't be farther apart.
Throw in some notes of The Mummy (1999) and Indiana Jones, and it's perfect. I love it.
Do Your Worst is a book I couldn't put down once I started! The banter, steamy moments, and them researching the curse had me hooked to this book. If you're looking for a new book I definitely recommend this one.
Both Riley and Clark have their reasons for needing the job at the infamous Scottish castle. Clark doesn't believe in all of the curse nonsense and tries getting Riley fired. When that doesn't work, they're forced to work in the same place. The forced proximity gives us quite a bit of fun banter. It's clear there's an attraction and the curse wants them together more than not.
Riley just wants someone to believe in her work and she needs to believe in herself. Clark's career suffered after someone he was working with made up finding a lot of things and setting a scene. Both are trying to prove what they're worth and that's something they end up helping each other with without even knowing it.
The only thing I would've loved a bit more of in Do Your Worst is the curse. We got bits and pieces of it, but I needed a little bit more at the end. The curse did add some fun elements though. Forcing them together and even locking them together with old manacles. Also, there is a sex ritual that gets very steamy when they try and break the curse.
All in all, Do Your Worst was a lot of fun. Even if the cat who loves bananas was my favorite character. Riley and Clark have a special place in my heart now and I definitely want to visit a Scottish castle after that, haha.
My full review will also be published on https://thebookdutchesses.com on February 15th.
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I love a good enemies to lovers. Add in magic, ancient fae meddling in current events, and breaking curses in Scotland? That is a total no brainer for me. Oh. And the spice? On point. and listening to this with Shane East growling in my ear in a Scottish accent? Whew. Even my husband liked me listening to this one. The story was great and I enjoyed the growth of the main characters. I loved the sparks between them when they were enemies and the flames between them when they became lovers. Overall, a winner!
โค๏ธTropes โค๏ธ
๐Enemies to lovers
๐Opposites attract
๐Grumpy vs Sunshine
๐Forced Proximity
Riley Rhodes is looking to turn her family's talent for cursebreaking into a career. Shes even got an official website and business cards. Sure she is still working as a bartender, because honestly, it's hard to get the word out about your skills without people looking at you like you're crazy. But that's all about to change. She's being flown over to break a curse at an old castle in Scotland so that it can be restored. Several have tried and quit because of the curse. Only one thing stands in her way: Clark, the guy she met her first night here and had a great night with is the one and only archaelogist that tried to get her fired before she even showed up on the first day. Will she ever be able to prove to a science only mindset that curses are not only real, but that she can break them?
The insta love romance in the first 3 chapters took me immediately out of this book. When done well, I can get behind insta-lust, if there is still some "will they or won't they" aspect to keep me interested. But since the reader knows they are already attracted to each other, my interest in seeing the enemies turn to lovers play out was completely gone. I loved Danan's other books but this was a miss for me.
4.5/5 stars
I really liked this book. Iโve read a lot of paranormal romances, but never one specifically about curses, so that was a really interesting concept.
I would totally read another book about these two breaking curses in France and I definitely need a book about Ceilidh and Patrick
I feel like these two really had to overcome a lot so I loved that there was no third act break up.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
โ3 stars
I had whiplash reading this book. I was bored, then intrigued, fine, then laughing, tired, then swooning, so I was unsure of how to rate this other than neutral.
some things I liked about this book:
-> rivals (enemies) to lovers
-> English accent in the audiobook had me on the floor
-> fmc, Riley, had loads of confidence, we love to see it
-> passion and pining off the charts
-> learning about Scottish culture/ lore and curse-breaking
some things I didn't like:
-> the plot felt like it jumped around too much, trying to do too many things so it was hard to stay focused on the main problem
-> Riley was like borderline cringey, "I'm so quirky" vibes
-> one scene where they're trying to break the curse through a certain kind of ritual, if you've read you'll know what I'm referring to, gave me terrible secondhand embarrassment
-> the ending felt off-putting like it should have ended sooner or at a different scene bc it just was like boom that's the end and it didn't feel complete or cohesive
overall, it was one of those books where I didn't completely hate it or love it. I liked parts of it and not other parts, but it was ultimately a forgettable read. I do like this author's other books though so I look forward to what she will write next!
Do your worst is such a fun detour from Rosie Danan's last series (which I also loved). Do Your Worst is steamy, full of humor and fantastic tropes that are wildly popular. Danan does a great job meshing two very different characters with complicated lives to a place that felt believable. I loved the paranormal aspect combined with the Indiana Jones vibes.
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๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐๐๐ช๐ก๐ฉ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ค๐ก๐ค๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ-๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐-๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐ฎ ๐ง๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐.
๐ Read if you like:
โข Enemies To Lovers
โข Workplace Romance
โข Opposites Attract
โข Forced Proximity
โข The Mummy Vibes
This is my first book by Rosie Danan, but Iโve been meaning to read some of her backlist books. Iโll definitely be picking those up since this was such a fun romance.
Enemies to Lovers is my favorite trope so I was very excited to pick this book up. I absolutely loved the Scottish Highland setting in this and the curse breaker x archaeologist characters.
I havenโt read too many books set in Scotland, but oh my goodness, the atmosphere in this was so good. The castle vibes from this had me so intrigued.
The characters in this were very interesting and well-developed - Riley and Clark. I loved how they had that hateful relationship at the beginning and how their feelings evolved throughout the book. I havenโt read a book with a curse-breaker character, but I really enjoyed the way it was written in this.
I enjoyed the gripping take with this unique story and the steamy scenes were great. I was hooked right away and loved how all these tropes wove together.
There were a few silly moments here and there, but I enjoyed this book as a whole. The story was enjoyable and I loved The Mummy vibes this book gave.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!
โข๐ง๐ช/๐๐ช: Sexual Content, Abandonment, Sexism, Emotional Abuse, Grief, Fire/Fire Injury
Riley Rhodes is a curse breaker and occult expert. Clark Edgeware is a disgraced archaeologist, They meet in a bar one night and have a great time without sharing too many personal details with one another. When Riley starts her new job in the morning (breaking a curse on an infamous Scottish castle) lo and behold who she overhears questioning her credentials. This starts an immediate rivalry that borders on enemies, and they are forced to work in close proximity through the entire job.
This book was an all new concept for me. I loved the fresh take on a romance, and the characters had immediately likable quick wit and banter.
This book was written for you if:
1) You like enemies to lovers
2) You get bored with your characters in romance having boring jobs
3) You want a bit of spice and a bit of sweet and a bit of adventure
This was a cute read from Rosie Danan that follows a curse break and a somewhat disgraced archaeologist. I really enjoy the enemies - lovers trope and throw in the curse element made this quite fun and spicy at times. My only real complaint would be I wanted more of a solve for the historical element. I look forward to reading more from Rosie Danan in the future.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.
I really enjoyed Rosie Danan's previous two books but this one fell a little flat for me. I like the premise of an occult expert falling for a disgraced archeologist while they are forced to work together at a desolate Scottish castle but I found I just didn't click with the characters as much as I had hoped to. Still, a fun read and one you should check out if the premise appeals to you!
<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>
I enjoyed this one! Far fetched but fun. Iโm looking forward to reading more from Rosie Danan. Thank you for my copy!
I hate to say it, but this one did NOT do it for me. While it was absolutely filthy in the best of ways, the plot was justโฆyeah. It was definitely a story with a timeline!
Iโd been anticipating this one so so bad, and the authorโs previous book is one of my absolute favorites, so going from such a smart romance to thisโฆheartbreaking, I tell you.
Guess Iโve read worse, but Iโd like to read better. I know itโs in there!!!!
This was a fun and easy to read rom-com, and I thought that the characters were very cool to watch change as the book progressed. The magical elements of this plot left a little bit to be desired, since there were several things that happened which were not explained satisfactorily, but I loved the setting of the castle and the way that the history mirrored the present. The vibes were immaculate for this book though, which was just what I was looking for when I started reading it.
This one fell a little bit flat for me, compared to Danan's other novels that I loved. I think I had a hard time following the backstory and action, which made it a bit difficult for me to make it through this one.