Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Why can I never learn to check reviews before I one-click? Seriously. The sample was good and I got suckered and oh man, I regret it so hard I want to ask for a refund. Yes, I loathe the fact that I paid 99 cents for this. I got snookered by Linden's filthy mouth because I have ten million soft spots for a guy who can talk dirty and now I feel like I had a terrible one night stand. Penelope pretty much has it spot on with her comment that they don't get together until about halfway through the book. They only start dating at the 51% mark and they split up due to the "crisis" at about 79% in. So they're only really together and being a couple for less than 40% of the book. They spend the first half the book dating people that you know aren't good for them or aren't right because hello they're the MCs so duh, so about half the book just feels like a complete waste of time. Honestly, I didn't really buy the back and forth angst over whether or not to do friends to lovers because: 1. If the way you clearly like this other person in a sexual way is making your relationships with your significant other problematic to the point where you CAN'T be friends with the other person anymore... then why not just go for it? What's stopping you? You clearly can't be besties anymore because her boyfriend hates you and your girlfriend hates her. So might as well go out with a bang, right? 2. If everyone else doesn't measure up, then for heaven's sake, grow some gumption and just bloody go for it. Argh. All this waffling is giving me acid reflux. 3. And I still stand by the "if your best friend stops being your best friend because you guys had sex at one point in time then they weren't really your best friend". I say this from the standpoint of someone who HAS dated their best friend and then broke up with them. Seriously, if you get out of a romantic relationship (amicably, yes, amicably) and you really just want them to die in a fire, then I'm not sure you ever really loved that person. Unless, you know, they were a terrible human being and now you loathe them but honestly I can't see how you wouldn't already know whether or not they were terrible human beings before and CLEARLY you could cope with it before when you were just friends SO WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? So I bought this book expecting some light-hearted fun where two people navigate their new relationship after getting married and maybe run into issues with the whole marriage thing and...nope. It was half a book of angst that I didn't need to see (why did this person's editor not say "hey, the story needs to start here rather than way back there because seriously no one gives a damn" because we really do not need half a book to get it drilled into our heads that these two really truly belong together) and then there's some relationship stuff where of course everything's awesome until it's not and then it all falls apart (due to the stupidest reason ever, by the way) and then stuff happens and they get back together again (when stupid reason removes himself from the equation because honestly these two were not intelligent enough to fight for each other before that). Loathed, loathed, loathed this book. Would I reread? Hell no. How much did I pay and was it worth it? 99 cents and I want my money back How much would I pay for it in retrospect? I would not even read it in retrospect. That's time out of my life that's utterly lost. If in a series, does this standalone? Yes Would I rec this story? Nope. Will I buy the next book in the series? If I got amnesia / a lobotomy first.