Tis the Season for Revenge by Morgan Elizabeth Series: Seasons of Revenge #1
Published by Morgan Elizabeth on October 25, 2022
Genres: Romance
Pages: 304 •Format: E-Book •Source: Kindle Unlimited
Goodreads
Abbie Keller thought that Richard Bartholemew Benson the Third would be her forever. In their four years of dating, she never doubted that she would end up with his grandmother’s engagement ring on her finger. Sure, she had to change a few things about herself to fit that mold, like dyeing her hair, dressing more conservatively, and finding golf enjoyable (honestly the most difficult of the changes), but she was sure that at the end of it all, it would be worth it.
That is, until he leaves her crying outside her apartment wearing a Halloween costume, having broken it off with her because she’s just not serious enough. She was just fun, he tells her - and now that Richard has becoming a partner at his law firm in his sights, he needs to focus on work.
So she does what every girl does when she’s broken up with: she calls her friends, gets drunk, dyes her hair, and formulates her plan for revenge. It just so happens that the universe supports her efforts and gives her the perfect match to prove to her ex that he made a huge mistake: his boss.
Abbie starts dating the founding partner of Richard’s law firm, Damien Martinez, with one thing in mind: convincing him to invite her to the huge annual Christmas party as his date.
But when the relationship starts to become something more than casual dating and Abbie sees that the tough New York lawyer has a soft side, will she be able to follow through with her plan of deceit?
Did I have any idea going into this one that it was inspired by Legally Blonde? No, no I did not. Did that probably make me love it. Yes, there’s a good possibility lol. As a lover of romance novels AND of Legally Blonde (I object!) it was so fun to read a novel that is inspired by/a retelling of a more “modern” classic piece of media.
The story follows Abigail, a makeup artist who’s contorted her life into a pretzel for her uppity boyfriend who clearly does not think she’s good enough for him and his blue-blooded world. Like it’s inspiration, the novel begins with Abigail getting cruelly and abruptly dumped. After wallowing in despair for a bit, Abigail concocts a plan with her two BFFs to get back at the Warner-knockoff; except instead of going to law school, the plan consists of dating a partner at his law firm and proving she is indeed good enough to be a part of that world.
This book was honestly SO fun. While the main premise of the book ends up being Abigail dating Damien, founding partner of her ex’s law firm who can’t stand him (and vice versa), there’s also a lot of other hilarious revenge shenanigans that take place (glitter in the car air vents, anyone?) Of course, since this is a romance with a HEA, Abigail starts catching feelings for Damien which means things are definitely going to blow up in everyone’s faces at the annual company party (that she had always dreamed of going to with her ex).
I think this may be my first foray into an age-gap romance, and it was fun! Damien really encouraged Abigail to be her girly, glittery, pink self and was confident and secure enough in his career to not need her to be focused on being a reflection of him. It was nice seeing how her passions that she felt ashamed of due to her crappy ex (like her career in makeup, her love of all things pink, fun clothes, etc) were totally cool and even encouraged by Damien, and seen as desirable and not frivolous or childlike. Abigail honestly just seemed like a whole lot of fun, and as a millennial who is very much into many of the same hobbies I was as a teenager, it was refreshing to see.
I didn’t realize this was a spin-off series from a previous series by the author until the Thanksgiving chapter, when Abigail and Damien go to visit her family and I got total I-should-know-who-all-of-these-people-are-vibes. You definitely DON’T need to read the other series (Springbrook Hills) but I definitely want to go back and do so now!
Overall: A fun, spicy holiday romance with many fun sequences of revenge, I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to check out more by the author!
Tropes: Age-gap, Holiday
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