Pageant by Lilith Vincent (enemies to lovers/mafia/abduction/captive/poly/cruel hero)

I really, really enjoyed Pageant by Lilith Vincent. It had me hooked from the start with its dark, intense vibe and storyline. The tension between Elyah and Lilia was so good, and their dynamic kept me turning the pages. The spice level was definitely a 4.5/5—those scenes were hot and added just the right amount of heat without taking over the plot.

I really loved the plot of Pageant. The FMC was amazing!!! She was badass and knew how to stand her ground, which made her feel so refreshing compared to the usual weak FMCs you find in a lot of enemies to lovers books. Loved Kirill & Konstantin as individual characters. Elyah was so well written, and I really loved him as well. The plot was actually really good too, I haven’t read a book with the same arc before. Most of them are just copy-paste and boring, but this one kept me engaged and interested.

I also loved how Elyah and Lilith had a positive romantic past, and I kind of wish the book focused more on them and explored that relationship more deeply. I think it would’ve made the book even more interesting. That said, I get that it’s meant to be a poly book, so I understand why it went in the direction it did.

However, I felt like the story started to feel rushed and a bit all over the place towards the middle and end. The part where Lilia suddenly wants to do stuff with Konstantin felt super random and weird, especially since she hated him just moments before. It came out of nowhere and felt really forced. Also, I didn’t like how Elyah and Lilia went from hating each other to being lovers way too fast. It didn’t feel like there was enough build-up for that shift to make sense, which was a bit disappointing because their tension had so much potential. I couldn’t bring myself to finish the book after that, which is a shame because it started off so strong. It had so much potential, but the rushed relationship development really threw me off.

The book had so much potential to be amazing, and while I still really enjoyed it, I just wish the character development and pacing had been a bit more fleshed out.

BOOK RATING: 3/5, had so much potential.