Sabrina (semi-hiatus) 's Reviews > Love Redesigned

First things first

I started this shamelessly for Julian and stayed for him.. best decision.

“Turns out I'd rather build a home with you than a thousand houses by myself."

Two childhood rivals that have always been at odds, cute and cheesy banter (albeit unhinged at times) and pranks that will make you kick your feet up in laughter given the absurdity of it, a small town, second chance, both in the business of home improvement with Dahlia specializing in interior design and Julian in construction, Mexican-American rep, meddling families, mental health rep, mention of grief and loss and unresolved lingering feelings after years is what you can expect from this.

*Btw this review was supposed to be shorter lmao I was so lazy to write something but the words just kept flowing until I stopped myself and there’s no spoilers I just had many thoughts*

Before I go into explaining why I enjoyed this, I have to mention how I wasn’t a huge fan of the Dreamland Billionaire series(maybe just the second book). It lacked needed depth for me given a certain theme that was prevalent amongst all the mmc’s and it just got too repetitive in tone. Imo this second chance was done better than final offer.. so in all this feels like a winner for me when it comes to Lauren’s books as it was overtly nuanced in the best way than those books (even tho I haven’t read the dirty air series)

Anyways, to be totally honest, I found myself completely interested but simultaneously uninterested in this during certain points and while i believe it should be a crime that contemporary romances exceed 400 pages—I knew what I was getting myself into. Hoping book 2 isn’t so long but reflecting back on it mostly some of what happened early on felt necessary to me as it gave more depth to the characters story and so for me continuing on was worth it.

Julian- our praise kink and adoring man who undoubtedly stole the show here and I was swooning so hard for this man and everything he said and did. He’s a billionaire, in his 30s, and I couldn’t help but envision Julian as Rafael from Jane the virgin so do with that what you will. He struggled with loss/grief and what came with that but was absolutely aware of the detriment it posed to his life and past relationship with dahlia early on that it made me appreciate him so much because he took accountability for it and didn’t shy away from putting in the effort to make things work and being open to sharing more of himself as he was said to be so closed off. With that being said, I valued the way he communicated with her and in how he felt. Extremely grateful I didn’t have to wait until the end for that. His character development was felt fairly early on as well than I anticipated.

And the reassurance given? He delivered on it. Not once did this man give up on showing dahlia how much he loved her not only expressing so with his words but his actions. I mean come on, the man supported her dreams without her knowing and had a pro con list for years of how he felt about her with only ONE con. not to mention what he did in this scene

“Did you really buy a random house we both hate because you're that petty?" “No. I bought a random house we both hate because I'm that in love."

Otherwise, without revealing more I cherished EVERY single display of love towards Dahlia— he had my whole heart.

Dahlia I don’t know exactly how i felt but will say I did have a soft spot for her. I found myself connecting to her when it came to her mental health struggles and admired the strength she had in dealing with all that she did. She also had her fair share of loss in her life but it wasn’t a huge contributing factor like it was for Julian. But being an overthinker and battling the negative self talk is hard enough as is and thankfully she’s aware she’s engaging in it which was a perfect portrayal that felt realistic to me. Given that, I understood her hesitance to be with Julian because of it (you can’t expect much from someone whose had her confidence and trust etc impacted by a horrible ex who belittled and expected so much and in particular something she couldn’t give—he deserves a special place in hell) but I’m glad that didn’t drag on besides one other thing (check content warning).

it’s worth mentioning how I didn’t see her character development until after Julian’s settled in but I feel like in her case it’s validated in the way it was fleshed out as it happened organically to her persona and her scattered brain in overthinking until the pieces and reassurance started to click for her (hopefully this makes sense) idk if it’s just me?

Out of all things I didn’t see coming given some predictability—I was surprised by what he revealed to her towards the end as it was so so sweet. I truly enjoyed the interactions between them, the mutual pining, the support shown in actualizing their dreams, and the healthy communication because that’s so rare these days. They evidently felt entirely relatable and I appreciated that. As well as, their apparent self awareness when it came to their emotions, their struggles and what they wanted. I was living for their cute and fun banter as it had me grinning immensely. The spice level in this was a 2ish out of 5. Also, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the latino rep in this as I related to it (the moms in this were so meddling lol) and it gave this such a warm vibe. Brief mention of Lily and Rafael, I loved how dahlia and Julian had a voice of reason to turn to. This wasn’t so angsty like I would’ve wanted but it’s ok. I’m not a fan of footnotes but appreciate how inclusive it was for those that don’t understand the words mentioned. *worth noting how there was no third act*

overall, I enjoyed this and adored these two. Fortunately for me, it was a hit than miss mostly in second chance with how things transpired and how it ended as it felt true to what they deserved.

I’m so excited Rafas book is next (single dad x nanny romance) as I predicted and I already have an inkling Lorenzo will be next with a certain someone as he was mentioned in final offer and made an appearance here. Also, getting a cameo from cami was the cutest! (final offer)

a few quotes by Julian

*All his words of affirmations*

“Life without you was a series of pros and cons. Risks and rewards. Black and white with very few shades of gray.But then you came back and flipped a switch inside me, flooding my world with color after a ten-year blackout, and I don’t plan on giving that up. Not now. Not ever.”

"I will always fight for what's in our best interest, even if it means fighting you in the process."

"How long have you been following my career?" “Since you first learned your ABCs and 123s?" “I shake my head with a laugh. "I'm being serious." “So am I. I was always invested in your success."

"If you have to change yourself to fit someone's ideal version of you, then that's not love."

quotes by dahlia

“Every kiss feels like a promise. Every touch an oath. A vow that Julian will love me, cherish me, and protect me—no matter if I choose to believe it or not.”

“It could happen. You could slip back into another depression, and that isn’t something you can control.” “I know.” I fidget with my hands. He reaches over and interlocks our fingers. “But that doesn’t mean you have to go through that kind of feeling by yourself anymore.” His hand squeezes mine.” >>>

“Go with the flow, Dahlia. Easier said than done. I've never been that kind of person, thanks to my anxiety and chronic overthinking, so I'm not exactly one to roll with the punches and throw caution to the wind.”

“Who needs a winter coat when a few sentences from Julian have my temperature spiking like I’m running a fever? Girl same

“Sorry. The feminism left my body the moment you mentioned spiders."

quote from Lily

“From lovebirds to jailbirds in a single week” 🤭