Stealing Her: Covet, Book 1

Absolutely loved this book. The twins father is horrible! Cannot wait to read the next book. ❤️ ❤️ 🌺 🌺

This book is well written and definitely held my attention, however...SPOILERS******I just can not find myself liking the H or h, simply because of the way the story was written. I suppose the whole “pretending to be Julian” created dramatic tension, but if things had been clarified- The breakup clarified, with Bridge letting her in on what was happening at the outset and the two of them working together, the whole thing would have been acceptable to me. As it was, I just can’t respect a man who would fall in love and “steal” his brother’s fiancé while the man was in a coma—no matter how guilty he feels about it. And no matter how “villainous” the coma brother was made to be.And then there is the way that the author attempts to redeem Julian towards the end. The fact was, he was abusive, mentally, if not physically. Not just neglectful, but manipulative and hurtful. Izzy even uses the word abuse in her own mind. She wishes he hit her so people could see on the outside how he made her feel on the inside. That abuse was created so we could justify her behavior with his brother.Then towards the end, he’s written sympathetically to where we are supposed to feel bad for him and understand he wasn’t quite as bad as we thought he was. This is setting us up for the next book, obviously. But it muddies the waters. He WAS abusive. He has patterns of behavior that will make the next book difficult to “buy into” regardless of his history or why he was an a-hole. We are supposed to forgive him.If we can buy that Julian really was mostly misunderstood and should be forgiven and given a second chance, then it stands to reason that that chance should be with Izzy.It’s freaking gross that the thing that Izzy falls in love with with Bridge is that he reminds her of the old Julian from college...before he became obsessed with his father and the company. Not only is that sick, but it would have made more sense to have her fall in love with someone who was so totally different from Julian, at least in personality - not someone who was like Julian was in the past.At the end, by having Julian acknowledge his father’s poisonous influence and acknowledge how his lust for approval and power had led to bad decisions, the author, essentially makes it clear that the old Julian is on his way to returning. If that is true, then he doesn’t deserve to have had his brother steal his fiancée.In the end, Bridge and Izzy took so much from Julian. Not just that they were together, but they constantly rub it in his face and Bridge constantly reaches out to him instead of leaving him alone. They stay in his apartment, even. Yes, Julian gave it to them. But it was because he couldn’t stomach the idea of ever returning there knowing his brother had slept with the woman he loved there. The author would have had to create such a villainous character in Julian that he murdered puppies and kittens to make that okay.No matter how much guilt they feel, Bridge and Izzy aren’t sympathetic characters. If they feel constant guilt, it’s because they know they did something wrong (even referring to Bridge as the “evil” twin). No one can have a healthy relationship with guilt constantly gnawing at them. Yet, if they don’t feel guilt, then they are straight up selfish, bad people.There were ways this could have been saved- with a more definitive and acknowledged breakup prior to the coma, and Bridge being honest from the outset and definitely if Julian no longer loved Izzy, accepted her breaking up with him and didn’t grieve her loss.This whole relationship made me feel dirty. Yuck.

I will never doubt Rachel Van Dyken again because this book was AWESOME. I’m going to be honest and say that when I saw the premise... it seemed like a lot (and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart). She is the master of complex relationships and this one asks a lot of the reader. It’s twisty, tension-filled, and angsty without being dark. Nothing is black and white in this book; there is a whole lot of gray going on and I was absolutely riveted to see what happened next.The story follows Isobel, a woman who fell in love with a normal guy from a wealthy family when they were in college. Izzy and Julian had a great love, but once they graduated and he joined the family business, his whole personality changed. After staying with Julian through late work nights and numerous affairs, Isobel has reached her breaking point and knows it’s time to end things. When Julian gets into a serious accident right after the breakup, Isobel isn’t sure what to do. He comes home bruised and battered with a whole new attitude and seemingly foggy memories of their time together. Unbeknownst to her, Julian’s estranged twin, Bridge, has agreed to temporarily take his place so that the business doesn’t suffer while Julian fights for his life. What follows is the complicated dance of Bridge playing a role while struggling with his growing feelings for a woman who isn’t his - and Izzy’s struggle to understand why she seems to be falling for her fiancé all over again.I felt for both of these characters and their complex feelings for each other. Bridge is a great guy who is disgusted with the way his brother has treated Izzy, and he is not so easily pushed into following his father’s commands. Isobel has endured a lot in the name of love already and Bridge knows this will destroy her when it all comes to a head. Their complicated relationship was heartbreaking and beautiful all at once with a sizzling, tense slow burn and great depth of emotion. It ended up being much easier to relate to this story than I expected, and I will never doubt Van Dyken again when she comes up with a seemingly crazy premise. She struck the perfect balance of wrong/right here, with fantastic writing that makes it nearly impossible to put down. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review of this complex, romantic book.

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.

Yet again a phenomenal storyline from this talented author. We have twins, good twin , protective twin. We have a revolting overwhelming and over powering father, who’s only desire is to manipulate his family, rule the world , financially and have as many liaisons with the opposite sex as possible. He, the father splits his family apart when his first wife leaves. She has one twin, Bridge, and he Edward has Julian. Izzy is the fiancé Julian has groomed, to marry, but fate plays another hand. The story is full of deceit, lies, mistrust, flirting and affairs, but true love sees through. There are so many curve balls, and the plot morphs into an immense storyline, full of enjoyment , unpredictability and has quite an ending that you can’t truly believe would happen. Julian’s story is next, I hope some of the loose ends are tied off. However, not to detract from this epic journey, of sibling loyalty, maternal love and total commitment of relationships and dishonesty, that overshadows correct decisions that lead to a devastating ending. A really enjoyable read.

4 StarsGreat story with loads of laughter and angst.Bridge has been estranged from his Father and twin brother for years but when an accident happens he is thrust back into that life in order to help his Mum.As much as Bridge does not like pretending to be his twin brother he does enjoy spending time with his fiancée Isobel, the only problem he likes her too much.Isobel does not recognize this new Julian, he looks the same but acts different and she likes it.What will happen as these two grow closer and Julian recovers?

Born as identical twins they live there lives together until their teen's. Then their parents divorced, one stayed with their father the large company Director, the other went with mother who walked away with nothing but a son.This is a strong emotional story, with both brothers fighting to build their lives to the best of their ability. Until disaster strikes. Mother ends up in hospital fighting to hold onto life, with little hope, and a son is brought in fighting for his life after a horrific car crash. But that's only the beginning....This is a really good read. I first read when it came out. I have to say I have enjoyed it as much this second time around. I hope you will also enjoy!

3 Stars.The plot was ok - slightly reminded me of the movie “while you were sleeping” with Sandra Bullock. One brother falls into a coma and she the female love interest falls for the other brother. I found myself really wanting to root for one character over another but didn’t really feel connected to any character.Listened to most of it on Audible. Was not a huge fan of Bridge’s voice and the way he does his mothers narration in the book, feels almost like the voice is emphasised for a children’s book. Apart from that, it was a light read :)

Another amazing read!! I loved this story of finding unexpected love. When events put you in a place you didn't think you would willingly go back too. When one twin takes the place of the other and falls for his brothers girl, it's not going to be any ride trying to keep things together and keep her from the truth. There is consequences when everything comes into the open but there's also a happy ending. Totally deserves 5 Stars!! Can't wait to read the next book.