ARC Review: Owning Violet by Monica Murphy

Publication Date: December 2, 2014
Book 1 of The Fowler Sisters Series

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy begins a sexy new contemporary romance series—perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Emma Chase—that introduces three sisters born to wealth, raised to succeed, ready to love, destined to make waves.

I've moved through life doing what's expected of me. I'm the middle daughter, the dutiful daughter. The one who braved a vicious attack and survived. The one who devoted herself to her family's business empire. The one who met an ambitious man and fell in love. We were going to run Fleur Cosmetics together, Zachary and I.

Until he got a promotion and left me in the dust. Maybe it's for the best, between his disloyalty and his wandering eye. But another man was waiting for me. Wanting me. He too has an overwhelming thirst for success, just like Zachary—perhaps even more so. He's also ruthless. And mysterious. I know nothing about Ryder McKay beyond that he makes me feel things I've never felt before.

One stolen moment, a kiss, a touch . . . and I'm hooked. Ryder's like a powerful drug, and I'm an addict who doesn't want to be cured. He tells me his intentions aren't pure, and I believe him. For once, I don't care. I'm willing to risk everything just to be with him. Including my heart. My soul.

My everything.

My Review: ♥♥♥♡ 3.5 stars

The synopsis for OWNING VIOLET really did its job very well.  As soon as I read it I was wriggling in my seat and was so eager to start.  I guess my enthusiasm was just so high to begin with that the actual experience of reading fell a bit short.

The story is actually quite good. It almost has a soap opera vibe to it, which isn’t actually a bad thing. The thought did made me chuckle! I thought it was different, and I appreciated that. Instead of a gut-wrenching triangle or highly angsty, emotional love story we get sneaky, conniving characters (one of whom happens to be the hero!) looking to overthrow a corporate dynasty (which happens to include the heroine). See what I mean about soap opera? :p

Violet is the second daughter of the CEO of Fleur Cosmetics. Her grandmother is the founder of this massively successful company. Out of the three grandaughters, Violet is the one poised to continue the family legacy and head the company someday.  To the observer’s eye her life seems perfect: she’s wealthy, excellent at a job she loves, beautiful, smart, well-liked, and about to be affianced to her boyfriend of about two years, Zachary.  Together, they were the ideal power couple who will take over the reins of Fleur someday. But the truth is Zachary is a cheating bastard and Violet is a settler, a mere shadow of her once lively self.

Then there’s Ryder. He starts out as this scheming SOB who has no one to think of but himself. He may be attracted to Violet, but in the greater scheme of things she is merely a pawn in his and Petra(his sponsor and sometimes lover)'s plans.

Sometimes you just really can't predict when pretend becomes the truth and lust has evolved into love... and that's the turning point in OWNING VIOLET.

As much as I enjoyed the idea of the story, and though I am a fan of Monica Murphy's writing, there are several things I disliked in this book which keeps me from giving it a higher rating.

One of them is the subplot about Violet's past. I got teased a lot about how it may come into play and add a sense of danger to the story.  None of the sort materialized, however, not even a tiny bit. It could still be mentioned in the next books, though…

It also got annoying how Violet and Ryder would get into a heated argument and declare that this is it, this is the end; but come afternoon or evening, Ryder would drop by and greet her with a kiss, then all will be well. They'll jump right into bed again. I get that it's supposed to show that their relationship is the one thing Violet is not being smart about, but the push-and-pull was just getting confusing, not to mention annoying. It made Violet appear annoying and Ryder a pompous jerk.

Lastly, the ending was too contrived for my taste. A last-minute misunderstanding that practically lasted about one or two pages, then a quick kiss and makeup. At the very least, I hoped Ryder had to grovel hard. He got off too easy, in my opinion.

Monica did an excellent job with Pilar though! I kept imagining her as Regina from Once Upon A Time! She's a nasty, scheming biatch but she's also the one who added spice and excitement to the story. I look forward to finding out what mischief she's up to in the next books!

Super last note: Monica said that this is the hottest book she's written so far, and I do agree! **insert eyebrow wiggle*** It just wasn’t enough to make up for everything I disliked in the book. Will I read the next book? I guess that would be about… 65% yes.

Buy Links