This was a very interesting read. I will admit it was not exactly what I expected (a HEA). I will try not to spoil too much....

However, I realize now that the book is more about the transformation Cara makes & what she learns - about herself, gaining confidence, etc...

I love how she played both Luke & Elliott at the end... I also love how the lady at the adult store became someone to give her advice & gain confidence. I enjoyed the BDSM aspect to the book, and how Cara was learning throughout the book.

Overall, would I read it again? Yes. Did I love it as much as I would have if it had a HEA? No... but that's my 2 cents. Some will love it more this way, I know. Wouldn't mind seeing a sequel to the book!! (Hint, hint! 😉😉)

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to the author (M K Rivers), publisher & Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Okkkkkk this book was nothing I expected at allllll!!! But let me say it was everything I needed the spice was on 100000000👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾 I loved it I usually donut read spice but it was so good I will recommend

The chaotic-ness that is Cara Devine speaks to my soul in the best way!! A very refreshing rom com that I devoured in 24 hours.
Being looked over, used and manipulated in every way possible by her boss, her counsellor and the billionaire her company is trying to get on board, humiliated by all of those people and then completely girl bossing her way out of it by giving them all their just desserts was absolutely amazing. I giggled and kicked my feet in glee!!
Massive shout out too to her best friend Charli, their relationship was so wholesome and filled with love I actually started to feel jealous that I couldn't be their friend too!

This book completely surprised me and I completely ate it all up! The story follows Cara Devine, a young personal assistant working in a high pressure finance company on Wall Street. She is ambitious in her own way, even if she does not fit the typical image of a polished professional. She leans into what she loves, embraces her femininity, and tries to make her place in a world that constantly underestimates her.

What starts as a simple mistake quickly turns into something much bigger when Cara finds herself entangled with a powerful and very influential man. From there, the story shifts into something darker, more unpredictable, and far more intense than I expected. Cara is pushed into unfamiliar territory that challenges her confidence, her identity, and the way she sees power and control. Watching her navigate these situations while trying to hold onto herself made the story feel engaging and layered.

What stood out the most to me was Cara’s growth. She is not the helpless woman that others assume she is, and the way she begins to take control of her own narrative was incredibly satisfying to watch. This book blends dark humor, tension, and emotional moments in a way that keeps you hooked. It is bold, messy, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys darker stories with complex dynamics and a female main character who refuses to stay underestimated.

Miss Devine bills itself as “a very different kind of rom-com,” and it earns that description by gleefully refusing to behave like one. M. K. Rivers drops readers into the fluorescent-lit underbelly of Manhattan finance and introduces Cara Devine, a heroine who is chaotic, yearning, self-aware in flashes, and deeply messy at heart. Cara’s voice is sharp and self-mocking, and the novel’s early chapters crackle with humour as she navigates her humiliating position at a finance firm and her all-consuming fixation on her boss. Rivers excels at skewering corporate culture and the way ambition, attention, and validation blur together in high-pressure environments.
The inciting incident—a very public slap delivered to a billionaire—sets the book spinning into stranger, darker territory. What follows is less a glossy fantasy than a study of power, performance, and desire, told with a wicked sense of humour. Rivers handles the imbalance between Cara’s vulnerability and the wealth and influence surrounding her with deliberate intensity, forcing the reader to sit with discomfort rather than smoothing it over. The glamour is seductive, but it’s never free, and the novel is at its best when it interrogates why Cara craves this attention so badly—and what it costs her to receive it.
What truly distinguishes Miss Devine is its refusal to provide easy answers. The book is funny, provocative, and often unsettling, building toward an ending that feels both inevitable and surprising. Readers expecting a traditional romantic arc may be thrown, but those willing to follow Cara down her spiral will find a sharp, high-voltage novel that has more to say about control, desire, and self-worth than its playful packaging initially suggests. Miss Devine isn’t just a rom-com with an edge—it’s a confident, daring debut that knows exactly how risky it wants to be. I cant wait to read more about Cara !

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫💫 (4.5/5) 🥵🥵🥵🥵

“These weren’t shoes. They were a flex in leather.” 👠

“Apparently, Elliott had no firewall – they were all auto rejected, never reached his sprain.”

“Oh, shit. My balls just dropped.”

Thanks so much to @miss_devine_books for my gifted copy of this book…it wasn’t one that was on my radar so I’m so glad it fell into my lap. It was a sexy good time. Holy shit.

Picture it…pining for your boss who treats you as less than. Then making another dude jealous…said dude is a billionaire, who just so happens to be your bosses boss but you don’t realize that and end up slapping him across the face BUT no worries, even though he’s the big boss…he gets off on you slapping the shit out of him. Then BOOM, next thing you know you’re a BDSM Mistress. I don’t make the rules…I’m just here flipping the pages in rapid succession 😂😂😂😂

This book so was much fun. I loved Cara, her bestie and Simone. In fact, I think I just loved the entire cast of characters in this one.

I loved how Cara did some sexy soul searching and took matters into her own hands.

If you’re into spicy dark romance then this is the book for you. Def check it out, I highly recommend.

This one is described as DARK, FUNNY, FILTHY and I wholeheartedly agree with that. I’d also say it’s a genre bending very witty dark revenge romance with a badass FMC.

Quote from the description that hooked me: "She slapped a billionaire. He sent Louboutins"... and it's not a romance? Cara Devine is an icon with her colorful wardrobe, imposter syndrome, and cheerful optimism.
I was a little concerned when I started reading about a young woman who gives up her pajamas on a Saturday night to cater to the off-duty needs of her boss who is clearly oblivious to her crush on him. While sitting at the bar a man makes a proposal so indecent she slaps him right in the face then storms out breaking her heel on the way, she gathers her moxie and sails on. The slap makes her a hero, the heel makes her relatable.
This spicy erotica was so fun to read, filled with fetishes, sex used as a weapon, and more content warnings than I could shake a stick at. And still I clutched my pearls and soldiered on for Mother England (or my own fantasies).
Thank you to NetGalley and M. K. Rivers for the advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions shared here are entirely my own. I am a librarian and I will excitedly share this title with my fans of dark romance subversive patrons.