Quinn actively pursued men who are married in order to avoid entering into a relationship where she was the one who loved the most or in terms of marriage, who loved the least. She felt that the only sort of fulfillment she needed was at her job of being the sommelier at Persimmon. That and her friendship with Dezi was enough. Then enters Marcus. The man who wants what he wants and dictates the time of which that want is satisfied. Throughout the book, Quinn consistently compares her height and figure to that of Dezi. Marcus made her feel beautiful and seen. He wanted her for her and despite her sceptical nature, she feel in love. However, it was an electricity she felt when Marcus walked into the room but she was not one of a kind. He was selfish and there was the person at the restaurant who was her person. As stated in the epilogue, he knew she was truly special and he was lucky to have her. That type of love is not circumstantial.

A 3.5/5

After going through a bit of relationship trauma, Quinn now only dates married men (with certain rules) for the detachment to avoid the heartbreak of her previous relationships. Then she meets Marcus and experiences an earth-shattering, never-seen-experienced-before romance with him. Except the fact that he is married, and Quinn now has to decide if being the Other Woman is enough for her.

I thought this book was very different from the other romances I've read in the past, and that's what drew me in. This also required a certain level of open-mindedness from me to focus on Quinn as a person rather as a mistress. That being said, Quinn is a good person who's gone through a lot romantically and is trying to protect her heart from further damage. When confronted with the consequences of her actions, she does try to make things right, even if it ends up hurting her. We see her grow as a person, making the hard decisions and trying to break from this unsustainable mold that she's created for herself. I was really rooting for her to find her own happiness, and I honestly didn't know what was going to happen but was pleasantly surprised with how things turned out. However, I felt like the ending/epilogue was kind of rushed and left me with some questions.

Thank you to Black Rose Writing and NetGalley for the ARC!