What do you think about romance and relationships in this book?

[Verna Coy]

I wasn't happy with either romance. By the end of the book, I felt that either the title should be changed, or the book re-written to match the title better. None of the characters seemed able to commit to one another or to the task at hand that the book is supposed to be about.

[Cardui]

I found Cynthia and Sky's relationship very off-putting. I think Sky is a shady type of character who is not authentic. There love is in no way believable and should not be seen as a healthy relationship. Cynthia is far too trusting.

I completely agree! Cynthia and Sky's relationship just didn't seem believable to me. I don't exactly know why, but it felt too stereotyped.

Yes. Unbelievable in so many ways. I felt that the progression and development was very jarring and unrelatable.

[Nisha Ward]

I found Cynthia and Sky's relationship very off-putting. I think Sky is a shady type of character who is not authentic. There love is in no way believable and should not be seen as a healthy relationship. Cynthia is far too trusting.

I agree. The relationship starts with a grownup essentially giving away her car.

I just started it and am on chapter 4. The fact that I've seen comments here noting that Dan gets villified at the end baffles me because Sky really does seem shady and controlling. He only knows her for a day, has sex with her while she's drunk knowing she's with someone and then basically gets her information without her knowledge? There are so many red flags here.

[cpru68]

There really wasn’t any suspense or romance in this book for me at all. So at this point, for me, I would never recommend this book to anyone. The “romance” for Cynthia and Sky was two strangers meeting and she goes to apartment...and then is pregnant. That’s romance? The letters from Sky were not romantic. They were odd and desperate. The “suspense” part as terrorism tracked down online was boring. The whole plot was not good, and I kept waiting for all of it to get better. It never did.

[briellejee]

I do agree with you that this book is all over the place. I don't like the romantic relationships in this book, especially about Cynthia and Sky. I mean, cheating on Dan just because Sky has a honeyed tongue is just no excuse. I found it unreasonable. Honestly, I gave up on giving a care about the romance aspect of the book and focused more on the cyber war.

[Nisha Ward]

I do agree with you that this book is all over the place. I don't like the romantic relationships in this book, especially about Cynthia and Sky. I mean, cheating on Dan just because Sky has a honeyed tongue is just no excuse. I found it unreasonable. Honestly, I gave up on giving a care about the romance aspect of the book and focused more on the cyber war.

Yes! There was also the part where he comes by the next morning and was all like, "You're not engaged or committed so we didn't cheat and it's not wrong" but like, they did cheat and it is wrong. Mercer tries to even justify it before the fact by noting that there wasn't any spark between Cynthia and Dan, but that doesn't excuse it.

[briellejee]

I do agree with you that this book is all over the place. I don't like the romantic relationships in this book, especially about Cynthia and Sky. I mean, cheating on Dan just because Sky has a honeyed tongue is just no excuse. I found it unreasonable. Honestly, I gave up on giving a care about the romance aspect of the book and focused more on the cyber war.

Yes! There was also the part where he comes by the next morning and was all like, "You're not engaged or committed so we didn't cheat and it's not wrong" but like, they did cheat and it is wrong. Mercer tries to even justify it before the fact by noting that there wasn't any spark between Cynthia and Dan, but that doesn't excuse it.

Ugh! That scene was like, "what??" Cheating is not justifiable. Just say that you cheated and go off. It's funny right? because they say there wasn't any spark but at the beginning, it was already established that DAn and Cynthia are a good couple who might get married already. I mean, it doesn't make sense. Seems to me that everything from then on is just a cover-up at how badly the romance aspect is written.

[Nisha Ward]

I do agree with you that this book is all over the place. I don't like the romantic relationships in this book, especially about Cynthia and Sky. I mean, cheating on Dan just because Sky has a honeyed tongue is just no excuse. I found it unreasonable. Honestly, I gave up on giving a care about the romance aspect of the book and focused more on the cyber war.

Yes! There was also the part where he comes by the next morning and was all like, "You're not engaged or committed so we didn't cheat and it's not wrong" but like, they did cheat and it is wrong. Mercer tries to even justify it before the fact by noting that there wasn't any spark between Cynthia and Dan, but that doesn't excuse it.

Ugh! That scene was like, "what??" Cheating is not justifiable. Just say that you cheated and go off. It's funny right? because they say there wasn't any spark but at the beginning, it was already established that DAn and Cynthia are a good couple who might get married already. I mean, it doesn't make sense. Seems to me that everything from then on is just a cover-up at how badly the romance aspect is written.

It doesn't help that Sky immediately reminded me of Christian Grey with the whole getting her drunk thing (that had to be more than an ounce of rum or Cynthia is an extreme lightweight) and invasion of privacy, and what is it with Cynthia not even knowing basic reproductive biology like pregnancy being a consequence of unprotected sex?

[briellejee]

Yes! There was also the part where he comes by the next morning and was all like, "You're not engaged or committed so we didn't cheat and it's not wrong" but like, they did cheat and it is wrong. Mercer tries to even justify it before the fact by noting that there wasn't any spark between Cynthia and Dan, but that doesn't excuse it.

Ugh! That scene was like, "what??" Cheating is not justifiable. Just say that you cheated and go off. It's funny right? because they say there wasn't any spark but at the beginning, it was already established that DAn and Cynthia are a good couple who might get married already. I mean, it doesn't make sense. Seems to me that everything from then on is just a cover-up at how badly the romance aspect is written.

It doesn't help that Sky immediately reminded me of Christian Grey with the whole getting her drunk thing (that had to be more than an ounce of rum or Cynthia is an extreme lightweight) and invasion of privacy, and what is it with Cynthia not even knowing basic reproductive biology like pregnancy being a consequence of unprotected sex?

Ohmygods, now that you have mentioned it, Sky really possess that vile character of Christian Grey. Taking advantage of weak-willed women to entice, and he thinks he's a macho for doing so. Ugh. I. KNOW. RIGHT. I mean, hello???? Though I was empathic towards her when she got pregnant and goes through that whole ordeal, I still find her unlikable.

[Nisha Ward]

Ugh! That scene was like, "what??" Cheating is not justifiable. Just say that you cheated and go off. It's funny right? because they say there wasn't any spark but at the beginning, it was already established that DAn and Cynthia are a good couple who might get married already. I mean, it doesn't make sense. Seems to me that everything from then on is just a cover-up at how badly the romance aspect is written.

It doesn't help that Sky immediately reminded me of Christian Grey with the whole getting her drunk thing (that had to be more than an ounce of rum or Cynthia is an extreme lightweight) and invasion of privacy, and what is it with Cynthia not even knowing basic reproductive biology like pregnancy being a consequence of unprotected sex?

Ohmygods, now that you have mentioned it, Sky really possess that vile character of Christian Grey. Taking advantage of weak-willed women to entice, and he thinks he's a macho for doing so. Ugh. I. KNOW. RIGHT. I mean, hello???? Though I was empathic towards her when she got pregnant and goes through that whole ordeal, I still find her unlikable.

Yup, that's why I'm stalled on chapter 5, lol. I just can't really find her believable at all right now and the fact that she's presented as so strong but immediately does whatever Sky wants doesn't help.

[Jo689]

To be honest, the romance scenes in this book was just a fluffing in the cake in many ways, and to me, has no relevance to the book. Though it was nice to read into the love triangle that Cynthia was creating, was it really that necessary? I should have added this to the thread I created where I asked what would you change. Maybe take out the love triangle scene.

[Katherine Smith]

I agree with the members who have posted ahead of me in the respect of cheating. Many studies have found that people cheat out of boredom, but even so this is never an excuse for breaking the trust of someone else. I also have a problem with a man teaching a women about her body and how it works. This seems unrealistic and annoyed me. I do like the computer geeks though and my vote is for them to be the stars in the next book.

[Nisha Ward]

It felt to me like vilifying Dan at the end was just a way to make Sky and Cynthia’s relationship more acceptable. She should have broken up with Dan before she did anything with Sky. Having a boring relationship is no excuse for cheating, since there was no evidence at that point that Dan was obsessive and controlling of Cynthia. Instant love is never likable or believable to me, because I don’t think you can truly love someone that quickly. Sky and Cynthia’s relationship felt ridiculous to me.

Not just that, but Sky's actions are paralleled against Dan's and remade to look more acceptable. For example, both Sky and Dan ask for her to go back to how they were, but only Dan is framed to look desperate and needy, even though Sky does something similar via letter.

[Nena_Morena]

I believe in love at first sight, but not how it happened between Sky and Cynthia. Their relationship like the characters was absurd since the beginning. Sky doesn't think that Cynthia cheated on her boyfriend, but at the same time, he doesn't want to have sex with her anymore unless they are married. Cynthia constantly lies to Dan, justifies her affair, and behaves like an impulsive teenage girl instead of the chief of security of a government official. I found Sky creepy and unrealistic, and Cynthia naive and immature. I felt pity for Dan, even though he didn't seem to know the difference between being friends and being a couple. I was very disappointed with these love stories and the characters implicated.

[Nisha Ward]

I believe in love at first sight, but not how it happened between Sky and Cynthia. Their relationship was absurd since the beginning as the characters themselves. Sky doesn't think that Cynthia cheated on her boyfriend, but at the same time, he doesn't want to have sex with her anymore unless they are married. Cynthia constantly lies to Dan, justifies her affair, and behaves like an impulsive teenage girl instead of the chief of security of a government official. I found Sky creepy and unrealistic, and Cynthia naive and immature. I felt pity for Dan, even though he didn't seem to know the difference between being friends and being a couple. I was very disappointed with these love stories and the characters implicated.

Yes. Dan was way out of line with his reaction to her disappearance being to yell and break up with her, but her justifying the affair and not even bothering to call anyone until the day after her one night stand was completely immature.