Review: Coming of Sage (10/10)
10 Stars for a laugh out loud romance that will have you sighing, smiling, and swooning! As a lover of riske humor, sweet-n-sassy love stories, and lots of laughs, Coming of Sage made my day! Author KB Cinder always puts a smile on my face, but she’s taken the laughs to new levels with this fantastic twist on a big-bro’s-BFF romance!
The Basics
Title: Coming of Sage
Series: Holly Hearth Romance
Author: KB Cinder
Genre: Romance
Tropes: Best Friend's Brother, Enemies to Lovers
Kindle Unlimited?: Yup!
Cliffhanger: Nope--each book is a standalone in this series.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082RGSMJL
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50131004
PLOT (10/10)
A classic tale of falling for your big bro’s BFF with a touch of enemies-to-lovers, this story centers around the super sassy Karine (a kickass entrepreneur making herself known in the adult toy world) dealing with her feelings for Sage (a gymrat whose immature attitude toward loves drives Karine crazy while somehow drawing her to him). The two are total opposites, but their attraction is obvious from the start—even if neither want to admit it aloud. While it’s not a new story, Cinder manages to imbue a classic trope with twists and turns that will keep you on your toes, ready for more throughout the whole book.
The subplot of Trey the Jerk’s misplaced interest in Karine also adds a serious note to the story and manages to speak on issues that real women face every day, not unlike the Jerk Ex did in Dashing. I really love how Cinders always manages to pull this touch of reality into the stories, making them feel exceptionally relatable (rather than the pure fairy tale that so many romances come across as).
CHARACTERS (9.5/10)
I absolutely LOVED Karine, and I can never get enough of Juni and Dash, of course. I even liked our “bad guy” as a character (though I hated him as a human being!). I also really loved Sage, and that was the only (tiny) downside for me in the book: I really wish we’d gotten a chance to see from Sage’s POV or at least to learn a little more about him and his thought process.
The prologue was a great way to even out some of the heavy focus to Karine’s POV and allow me to understand more about Sage, but I still would have liked to get to known him beyond the protective big brother with an immature side. However, this is probably a bias for me as I usually stick to two person POV books. (As a dude, I like seeing from the dude’s eyes myself!) ;).
I still adored all the characters, I just wanted more Sage. (I think he’s my fav male character that Cinder has written so far, which is saying something since I looooved the Barrett Brothers so much).
PACING (10/10)
The pacing of COS was amazing!!! I was on the edge of my seat throughout the book, wondering what would happen next in both the plot and with the relationship. Oh yeah, and I couldn’t stop laughing!
WRITING (10/10)
Cinder's writing in this book was fantastic! I cannot get enough of her wit, and I swear I find myself thinking back to one-liners from her stuff throughout the day. Jackson Pollock will forever make me think of airplane restrooms... ;P
Overall, this one is a must-read and is definitely going on my Golden Rereads shelf for those days when I need to laugh out loud and snort soda through my nose!