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DO YOUR WORST


ROSIE DANAN

3.63
4,318 ratings1,032 reviews
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Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become
enemies-with-benefits in this steamy romance.

Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the
supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on
an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation,
she's pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrival—until he
tries to get her fired.

Fresh off a professional scandal, Clark Edgeware can’t allow a self-proclaimed
“curse breaker” to threaten his last chance for redemption. After he fails to
get Riley kicked off his survey site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for
him, she vows to get even.

Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead,
they keep finding themselves in close proximity. Too close. Turns out, the only
thing they do better than fight is fool around. If they’re not careful, by the
end of all this, more than the castle will end up in ruins.
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GenresRomanceContemporaryFantasyContemporary RomanceParanormalAdultFiction

...more

317 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2023

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ROSIE DANAN

5 books2,572 followers
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Rosie Danan is the award-winning, bestselling author of The Roommate, The
Intimacy Experiment, and the upcoming Do Your Worst. Her work has been optioned
for film as well as translated into 9 different languages and counting. The New
York Times describes her writing as "warmly funny and gorgeously sexy."

When not working on her next book, Rosie enjoys jogging slowly to fast music,
petting other people’s dogs, and competing against herself in rounds of Chopped
using the miscellaneous ingredients occupying her fridge.

To receive first look updates on Rosie's books as well as bimonthly musings on
savoring the good stuff, looking respectfully 👀, and building a creative
practice that embraces unapologetic striving, subscribe to her newsletter:
https://rosiedanan.substack.com


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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

3.63
4,318 ratings1,032 reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,032 reviews
SK
356 reviews4,553 followers
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December 6, 2023
STOPPPPP that cover? Cursed castle in the Scottish Highlands? He's a cat dad?
The Mummy (1999) vibes? Enemies with benefits? How did I not know this existed?!
👀


95 likes
15 comments
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Kate ☽
78 reviews95 followers
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August 22, 2023
SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS MYSTICISM + ROMANCE. This is not-your-mother's scottish love
story. It's a contemporary rom com set in the haunted highlands with all the
amenities of modern day *spice.* If I didn't already have a literary obsession
with Scotland, I do now because why else would I have ten browsers open about
booking a flight to Inverness to find a cursed clan castle? Thank you to
NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest
review!

This is how you do enemies-to-lovers, folks. He's a logic based, straight
shooting, no nonsense English archaeologist who doesn't believe in anything you
can't prove with good ole science and facts. She's the granddaughter of a curse
breaker, which is exactly what it sounds like: she comes from a line of women
who can sense, smell, feel, and fix cursed places and things. Throw them inside
a 300 year old haunted Scottish Castle together and sit back with a glass of
glenfiddich scotch and watch as (spicy) chaos ensues. He's trying to make sure
the castle doesn't have any ancient Gaelic artifacts that need collected. She's
(literally) sniffing around trying to figure out why the castle seems to have a
mind of its own. It's so fun and chaotic watching her unstoppable force meet his
immovable object, ESPECIALLY when they figure out what the secret to achieving
both of their goals might entail...wink wink WINK WINK.
😉🤍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🥃🔥🌶️

The writing is clever and interesting in its description of the art of
professional curse-breaking. Rosie Danan weaves and parallels the romantic
history of the castle with Clark and Riley's love story in a way that makes you
forget this is simply a fictional rom com. Also, as an obsessive Outlander fan I
loved feeling like I was back in the clan days reading about mystical standing
stones, the fae folk, clan battles, and people with red hair speaking gaelic.
I'm a simple woman okay? Anything that reminds me even slightly of Jamie Fraser
will pull me in. And this book, while not similar in any other way besides the
setting, gives you those highlander vibes.

Such a cute rom com. Would i have loved this even more if it were in first
person POV? Probably. But the dual third person works okay. For this reason and
the fact that I didn’t feel a *ton* of chemistry between the characters and felt
that there were unnecessarily slow parts in this, so solid 3.5-4 stars. The rest
of the plot more than makes up for this though. Here's to hoping the ending sets
up another book about a certain couple that I definitely want to read about.
Such a fun read!
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Nilufer Ozmekik
2,407 reviews48.5k followers
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November 30, 2023
I am always on the lookout for a well-executed romance that employs the enemies
to lovers trope. It's my guilty pleasure, and authors like Rosie Danan never
fail to captivate me with their creative storytelling.

In her latest book, Danan masterfully blends the allure of Highlander and
Outlander, infusing the story with Scottish legends, charm, curses, magic, and
mystic elements. It's an irresistible combination that immediately piqued my
interest.

The two main characters, Riley and Clark, hail from vastly different
backgrounds. Clark is the son of a renowned archaeologist whose groundbreaking
discovery caught the attention of movie makers, turning his story into a screen
adaptation. He is well-educated, a believer in science and tangible evidence,
and still reeling from a devastating betrayal that jeopardized his career and
tarnished his family's reputation. On the other hand, Riley comes from a family
of occultists and curse breakers, making her an outsider who was shunned by
society during her childhood. When she seizes an opportunity to use her family's
gift to alleviate their financial struggles, she finds herself unable to resist
an offer to break a nearly 300-year-old curse, leading her to an infamous
Scottish castle nestled in the Scottish Highlands.

Little does Riley expect to be stabbed in the back by the very same charming
stranger with whom she shared a passionate kiss after a wonderful night filled
with genuine conversation and a few drinks. The man who swept her off her feet
turns out to be the same person who attempted to have her fired from her job,
convinced that she is nothing more than a delusional fraud, dredging up painful
memories of betrayal. Fortunately, the castle's owner sees things differently,
and Clark's plans to remove Riley from his survey site are destined to fail.

Determined to prove the authenticity of the curse, Riley finds herself at odds
with Clark, who is equally determined to debunk her claims. The knives are out,
and Clark becomes a thorn in her side, but Riley is prepared to do whatever it
takes to thwart his scheming ways. However, what neither of them anticipates is
the undeniable sizzling attraction and growing chemistry between them. As their
guards slowly come down, they realize that they may be able to help each other
honor their family names and find a common ground, all while their palpable
attraction intensifies with each passing moment.

Prepare yourself for a thrilling adventure that blends the essence of Outlander
with the enchantment of A Discovery of Witches! I extend my gratitude to
NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing me with a digital review copy in
exchange for my honest thoughts.

Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming
series, astrology:

medium.com
instagram
facebook
twitter<
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Angie Cox
395 reviews2,575 followers
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November 22, 2023
4 ⭐️ This was such a fun read!!!


"It doesn't have to be a battle between us."
"I promise you," she said, "it does."
"Very well then. Enemies it is. Do your worst."


Summary:

Riley Rhodes is an American occult expert who recently arrived in Scotland to
turn her family's knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business. She's
hired to break the 300 year old curse at Arden Castle but runs into a bit of a
problem: Clark Edgeware.

Clark is a disgraced English archeologist also hired for work at the castle, and
he doesn't need a self-proclaimed 'curse breaker' threatening his last chance
for redemption.

After failing to get Riley fired on day one, Clark decides to avoid her. But
Riley, and the castle's curse, have other things in mind. Turns out the only way
to get what they both want is by working together.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Scottish Highland setting
✨ curse breaker x archeologist
✨ curvy FMC
✨ instant attraction
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ opposites attract
✨ grumpy x sunshine
✨ forced proximity
✨ snarky banter
✨ dagger to throat (but not what you think)
✨ paranormal: curses and rituals
✨ mystery plot
✨ 3/5 🌶️
✨ HEA
✨ dual pov / third person


My Thoughts:

This was my first book by Rosie Danan and certainly won't be my last! I had no
idea what to expect, but I truly had a wonderful time and only wish I could have
stayed longer in this story.

What I liked:

I LOVED the Scotland setting and the overall atmosphere. I'm absolutely obsessed
with Scotland, so from the moment I read the blurb, I knew I had to read it.
From the moody weather to the creepy castle, the vibes were immaculate and I
truly felt like I was there.

The curse/mystery plot was fun. While Arden Castle isn't real (at least after a
quick Google search I don't believe it is), there are many castles in Scotland
with interesting lore behind them that could easily have been the inspiration
for it. Scotland is known for its myths, so it's interesting reading a story
that features a castle with a romantic history featuring clans, fae, and curses.

The characters were well developed and had interesting backstories/hangups.
Curse breaking has run in Riley's family for years, but so have failed
relationships. So it was really interesting seeing Riley break free of this
notion that she has to choose between her calling or love. Clark has spent his
whole life seeking the approval of his famous archeologist father and was also
recently betrayed by someone close to him. So Clark's character arc was
relatable (if you're a people pleaser) as he was able to stop seeking validation
from others and he also learned to trust again. Both Riley and Clark had the
similar issue of not fully being able to open up to people, but against all
odds, they were able to do that with each other.

The enemies to lovers romance was steamy. The tension between Clark and Riley
was palpable. I legit didn't know half the time if they wanted to fight or f*ck.
Honestly, it was a little bit of both. These two knew exactly how to get under
each other's skin and hurt the other (their verbal sparring sometimes cut so
deep it was painful to witness). But beneath all that hate was undeniable
chemistry and lust. Jumping ahead to their love confessions . . . I couldn't
help but smile like an idiot. They're so different, but have the same fear of
opening up. So when they finally put their guards down and trust, it was lovely.

The spice was HOT. Enemies-to-lovers is the superior trope. I don't make the
rules. And from the beginning, there is so much tension between Riley and Clark,
you can cut it with a knife. Like I mentioned earlier, you don't know if they
want to fight or f*ck. So when these two get together, it's explosive. They just
can't help themselves. I knew the sex was going to be steamy, but it was also
kinkier than I expected. There's some light choking, biting/marking, edging, a
tiny bit of self-deprecation, hate sex, and sex in some public places. Oh, and
the MMC eats p*ssy like a champ.

What I didn't like:

While I loved the hate/enemies aspect, sometimes it felt like they were forcing
themselves to have these negative feelings even when you could tell there were
things they liked about one another. Riley and Clark definitely say some hurtful
things to each other and use their vulnerabilities as a weakness, which was so
not cool and definitely added to the whole enemies vibe. However, there were
also a lot of sweet, gentle, and vulnerable moment's between them that would
immediately turn spiteful within minutes. I don't think this was even bad. They
just went back and forth so much in such a short amount of time that I honestly
forgot the specifics each time it happened and didn’t truly understand why. I
think it would have been more memorable if there were fewer small fights and
more big ones.

I'm not sure why, but the 3rd person POV made it a little challenging for me to
connect with the characters. Both characters have a lot going on internally, so
it probably would have translated better if it was 1st person POV. Because it
wasn't, I sometimes felt a bit detached while reading.


Overall, if you want an enemies-to-lovers story that takes place in the Scottish
Highlands, definitely read this book! It's highly entertaining, very fun, and
sexy as hell. You don't want to miss out!


Thank you, Berkley Romance and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest
review. As always, all opinions are my own.



Favorite Quotes:

Sometimes his face made her want to punch his mouth with her mouth.
_______

"I'm not your sweetheart."
"No. But you'll let me wreck you anyways, won't you?"
_______

"An enemies-to-lovers sex ritual with a smoldering Englishman? Why are the
requirements of your job so much better than mine?" (I'm wondering the same
thing lol)
_______

"You better keep that mouth occupied. If I see one hint of a smirk, I'll . . ."
"You'll what?"
"Fall in love with you."
_______

He'd been happy before. [But] none of it felt quite like Riley Rhodes in his
arms, telling him she loved him, whispering it over and over against his lips,
his cheek, his jaw.
_______

"You're cursed as long as you believe you're cursed."
_______

As it turns out, sometimes what you needed was someone who brought out the worst
in you. There was a gift, she realized, that could only be exchanged between
former enemies - permission to forgive yourself. Because if someone could see
all your failures and somehow still come around in the end, well, maybe your
worst wasn't so bad after all.
_______
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booksnpenguins - lia (wingspan matters)
833 reviews3,406 followers
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December 12, 2023

> Clark fought to keep composure amid his rising internal temperature. “You’re
> saying this curse might have antiquated ideas about what acts would qualify us
> as paramours?”
> Riley gave him a sardonic grin. “I’m saying I think the ancient, horny fae
> magic might not be satisfied until you rail me.”
> “Jesus.”



Suspend your belief and brace your panties, Rosie Danan is coming!


***
🏰𝗗𝗢 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗧 - 𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗡🏰
★𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: ⭐⭐⭐½
★𝗬𝗔/𝗡𝗔/𝗔: 🅰
★𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦: 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰𝙻𝙾𝙽𝙴
★𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦: 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙾𝚁𝙼𝙰𝙻 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 -
𝚁𝙾𝙼-𝙲𝙾𝙼 - 𝙷𝚄𝙼𝙾𝚁
★𝗣𝗢𝗩: 𝙳𝚄𝙰𝙻 𝙿𝙾𝚅 - 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝙳 𝙿𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙾𝙽 - 𝙿𝙰𝚂𝚃 𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚂𝙴
★𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: 𝙳𝙸𝚂𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂 - 𝙲𝚄𝚁𝚂����𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳
𝙲𝚄𝚁𝚂𝙴𝙱𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚁𝚂 - 𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝙶𝙸𝚁𝙻 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙾𝚆𝙽 -
𝙶𝚁𝚄𝙼𝙿𝚈𝚡𝚂𝚄𝙽𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙴 - 𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙷-𝙿𝙾𝚂𝙷 𝙱𝙾𝚈/𝙿𝙾𝙾𝚁-𝙵𝙻𝙰𝚂𝙷𝚈
𝙶𝙸𝚁𝙻 - 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚂𝚃/𝙳𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙼𝙴𝚁 - 𝙲𝚄𝚁𝚅𝚈 𝙵𝙼𝙲 - 𝙲𝙰𝚃 𝙳𝙰𝙳
𝙼𝙼𝙲 - 𝚁𝙴𝙻𝚄𝙲𝚃𝙰𝙽𝚃 𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙴𝚂 - 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴𝙳 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚇𝙸𝙼𝙸𝚃𝚈 -
𝙵𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙴𝚇𝚄𝙰𝙻 𝚃𝙴𝙽𝚂𝙸𝙾𝙽 - 𝙾𝙷 𝙽𝙾 𝚆𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴
𝚃𝙾 𝙵𝚄𝙲𝙺 𝚃𝙾 𝚂𝚃𝙾𝙿 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝚄𝚁𝚂𝙴 - 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴 𝙲𝚈𝙲𝙻𝙴𝚂 - 𝙼𝙴𝚃𝙰
𝙹𝙾𝙺𝙴𝚂
★𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘: While other women inherited a knack for singing or
swearing from their grandmothers, Riley Rhodes received a faded leather journal,
a few adolescent summers of field training, and the guarantee that she’d die
alone.
★𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: 👥👥👥½/𝟱
★𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼/𝟱
★𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧: 📜📜📜/𝟱
★𝗦𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️/𝟱
★𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗦 & 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦: 💀💀/𝟱
(𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙸𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙲𝚄𝚁𝚂𝙴𝚂 - 𝙾𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚈𝚂𝙼 - 𝙳𝚈𝚂𝙵𝚄𝙽𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻
𝙵𝙰𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙸𝙴𝚂 - 𝙰𝙱𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙾𝙽𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃/𝙳𝙰𝙳𝙳𝚈 𝙸𝚂𝚂𝚄𝙴𝚂 -
𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙻 𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚂𝚂𝚄𝚁𝙴 - 𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙳 𝙸𝙽𝙹𝚄𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂)
★𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🌻🌻🌻½/𝟱
★𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🌹🌹🌹/𝟱
★𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘: ❌
★𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘: 𝙵/𝙼
★𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗦-𝗧𝗢-𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦: 🖤🖤/𝟱
★𝗦𝗠𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧/𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🔥🔥🔥/𝟱
(𝙺𝙸𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙶 - 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙻𝙸𝙲𝙸𝚃 𝚂𝙼𝚄𝚃 - 𝚃𝙾𝚄𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶 - 𝙾𝚁𝙰𝙻 𝚂𝙴𝚇
- 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙲 𝚂𝙴𝚇 - 𝙿𝙰𝙸𝙽 𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙺 - 𝙸𝙼𝙿𝙻𝙸𝙴𝙳
𝚅𝙾𝚈𝙴𝚄𝚁𝙸𝚂𝙼)
★𝗦𝗠𝗨𝗧 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🚒🚒🚒🚒/𝟱
★𝗦𝗠𝗨𝗧 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗬: 💣💣/𝟱
★𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦: 🤐🤐🤐/𝟱 (𝙼𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙶𝚄𝙰𝙶𝙴 -
𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙻𝙸𝙲𝙸𝚃 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝚂𝙴𝚇)
★𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟: 💔½/𝟱
★𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚:𝙷𝙴𝙰 - 𝙸𝙼𝙿𝙻𝙸𝙴𝙳 𝙿𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙽𝙴𝚆
𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙴𝙽 𝚂𝙴𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙳𝙰𝚁𝚈 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂?
★𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘: “Oh,” she said, flushing prettily. “Well, I guess it runs
in the family.”
★𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗚: 🎶𝙷𝙴𝚈 𝚂𝚃𝚄𝙿𝙸𝙳, 𝙸 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄 - 𝙹𝙿
𝚂𝙰𝚇𝙴🎶
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
***I always try to be as objective as I can with my ratings for DARK THEMES &
TRIGGER WARNINGS, SMUT TECHNICAL CONTENT/INTENSITY, SMUT QUANTITY, ROMANCE
QUANTITY, ANGST LEVEL, ENEMIES-TO-LOVERSNESS; the ratings for CHARACTERS,
WRITING, PLOT, WORLD BUILDING, SETTING, SMUT QUALITY, ROMANCE QUALITY, are
instead tied to my own subjective reading experience and final opinion of the
book.

If the penguin won't come to Scotland, then Scotland must come to the penguin.

Absurd, absurdly cute and absurdly spicy, Do Your Worst is one of those reads
you'll either love or hate, but one that will definitely won't fail to make you
laugh out loud if you decide to give it a chance.
It's an unpretentious book (even though, it has it's pretty interesting moments)
and a rom-com that doesn't take itself too seriously, so I suggest extending it
the same courtesy.
Let's just some coincidences are too convenient and the I love yous come a
little too fast, but the humor is on point and the two main characters are
adorable both in their own way.
What I'm saying is, don't expect it to change your life in terms of plot or
substance; just get into it, enjoy the quality banter, bask in the warmth of a
well placed spicy scene, and let it bright up your mood for a couple hours.
There were moments I felt a little unsatified because, in my opinion, some
situations were too rushed or exaggerated to the point they felt a tad too
ridiculous. For these same reasons, I don't feel like giving this book more than
3,5 stars, but that half missing star is probably more tied to my personal
preferences than the book itself.

I'm a complete disaster when it comes to history so I can't tell you how many of
the facts I've read were accurate, but I appreciated how Danan merged historical
facts (true or otherwise) and romance so easily.
I love both Riley and Clark, love how they're close to my age, and rooted for
them right from the start. I simply adore how they're so different on the
outside yet so similar on the things that matter, and think they worked
perfectly together as a couple, despite the insta-thing they had going on since
the moment they locked eyes.
Plus homeboy, who's always so collected and tidy, surprisingly turned out to be
a beast in the sheets (and one who likes to talk dirty and being watched, no
less).
Call me romantic but unexpected spicy turn of events make me happy lol.

Rosie Danan writing is fresh and cute when it needs to be; the overall story,
the romance and the mystery are wrapped up quite nicely and, mixed to the
fiabesque Scottish Highlands setting, they've effortlessly given this little
funny gem a place among the happiest 3-star reads of 2023, for me.
Definitely recommend it to the fans of the genre.
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✨⚡ Kelcey ✨
372 reviews91 followers
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November 14, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this arc in exchange for
an honest review!

4.5 stars

This was a really fun read and perfect for the fall. I thought this was a good
representation of enemies to lovers, and I liked the development of their
relationship. I thought Clark's transition from thinking she's a scammer to
somewhat believing her was a little abrupt, but I liked everything that came
after that.

I enjoyed both character's inner dialogue. They were both funny in their own
ways, and Riley was very entertaining, though she was temporarily quite a savage
to poor Clark. And of course their banter when they were getting along was
great.

I also enjoyed the back story of the curse they were trying to break and was a
little disappointed that we really didn't get closure on that. Did they both
just die there? Were they able to sneak out and live happily ever after?

Would recommend for any romance readers, and I kind of hope Rosie writes
something else in these series!
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Hannah B.
965 reviews1,455 followers
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October 26, 2023
I tried again and while the audio is definitely 100x better (the narrators are
fantastic like my man Mr. Shane East has a biblical voice), I did not pay
attention at all and it was super instalust so combine the two and I was like
WUT is happening so I’ll pick it back up later idk or maybe I won’t perchance
it’s just not meant to be. I think maybe got to 10%?

_____

Well it did its worst in the 3% I managed to read before DNFing. It’s not a hard
DNF bc the premise sounds fun, but I need the audiobook to bring these words to
life bc rn the writing style is so choppy and oversaturated with filler.

I’ve read enough to where I’ve realized that unlikeable writing is worse for me
than unlikeable characters, so I really don’t think my opinion was going to
change if I kept reading. In my experience, the writing never gets better as the
book goes along, it normally falls apart even more *womp womp*

It’s been so long since I read The Roommate that I’m not sure if the writing
style is a feature or a bug. I think a sentence per paragraph at least could be
removed…and that’s just 3% in lol. Also for some reason this read like third
present rather than third past tense (which means it felt very unnaturally
worded and I couldn’t get lost in the writing like I like to). But it also felt
like it was trying SO HARD to be first person! Dare I say that would’ve been
better?? The dialogue and dialogue tags were just so present, if that makes any
sense. There was no flow and it was very telly not showy.

I simply have too many other ARCs to read and if there’s even a hope the
audiobook will be better…I’m more than okay with hitting pause. It’s actually
probably recommended by doctors. But if the audiobook has two narrators
though…well then it’s a goodbye not a see you later :,)


,,,,,,,also if you’re literally traveling to Scotland to break a curse, you’d
think you’d have researched the lore ahead of time. Bella researched vampires
before jumping on that monkey man’s back!! Only a cursory internet search
babes??? Way to give nothing 🫶



Thanks to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and
my own.
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megs_bookrack
1,690 reviews11.5k followers
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December 27, 2023
Do Your Worst is a recent Adult Romance release from Rosie Danan. In this story
we follow Riley Rhodes, a young American woman trying to make a go as a curse
breaker, and Clark Edgewater, a disgraced young archaeologist trying to rebuild
his tarnished reputation.

The setting is Arden Castle, an infamous Scottish castle known for its
centuries-long curse. Riley gets the opportunity to travel there to try her best
to break the curse before the new owners turn it into a luxury getaway spot.



Meanwhile, Clark is there working for the HES, surveying the site, making sure
anything of historical significance is found, documented and handled properly.

There's instant attraction, but also a healthy dose of animosity. This is
definitely an opposites attract scenario, with their personalities clashing hard
and often.



They're both trying to drive each other away, but the chemistry keeps bringing
them together. There are some silly moments, where you can hardly believe
they're making the choices they are, but as they begin to open up to one
another, their personalities truly blossom.

I loved both of these characters. Riley is head strong and determined. She's
pushing to try to prove herself and I think she saw a bit of that reflected in
Clark's personality.

Clark is such a sweetie. He's been hurt, so he has a bit of a wall up, but
there's also an innocence about him that is so charming. You can tell how much
he is intrigued by Riley. It's cute as heck.



I really loved this set-up and the setting. The story kicks off very quickly. I
liked that Danan didn't waste time before getting us to Scotland. The idea of
the curse and the history of the castle were both interesting. I would love to
get an assignment like Riley had here.

I also really enjoyed how different these two characters were, but how well
their personalities played off one another. The banter was great, as were the
steamy scenes. I think Danan did a fantastic job building out the relationship
dynamics. Their push-and-pull was enticing.



The conclusion to this was very cutesy as well. It got me in my feels, but I was
also intrigued by how it left off. Could we be seeing more of Riley and Clark in
the future? I definitely think it's a possibility.

Whether or not we are getting more with them, or maybe getting some stories with
side characters involved, like Clark's brother, whatever it is, I will read it.
This was a strong Romance for me. It had just the right mix of humor, steam, and
inclusion of work and family issues, for my taste.



Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to
read and review. I had never read from Danan before, so this was a delightful
surprise.

I am looking forward to picking up more of her work.
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Debra
2,524 reviews35.5k followers
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November 14, 2023
Do Your Worst is simply the best! I enjoyed this gripping, rom com, set in the
Scottish Highlands. I found this to be a fast and enjoyable read as I did not
want to put it down. I loved the humor, the banter between the two main
characters, the protective cat, the steam, and the atmosphere the castle and
Highlands provided.

There is an infamous Scottish castle that has been cursed for hundreds of years.
It is the stuff of legends. The locals believe it to be cursed as does curse
breaker, Riley Rhodes. She comes from a line of curse breakers. When she is
hired, she quickly flies to Scotland to do what she does best. Upon arriving in
town, she meets Clark Edgeware, an English archeologist. He is intelligent, a
firm believer in science and wants to redeem himself after his career took a
hit.

Sparks fly between them when they meet, but when Clark learns that Riley is not
a tourist but a curse breaker, he tries to get her kicked off the site. Riley is
not going to be deterred that easily!

As I mentioned, I loved the atmosphere in the book. A castle in the Scottish
Highlands with an interesting past! I was hooked right there! A curse put in
place that is as strong as ever! I loved the paranormal vibe the curse brought
to the book. I also enjoyed the two main characters. Riley is instantly
likeable. She is bubbly, determined, quick witted and passionate about what she
does. Clark comes off as grumpy and aloof but under all that is a nice,
intelligent, hardworking, guy who hopes to redeem his professional reputation
and make a name for himself. I found myself rooting for both characters.

This book had a little bit of everything: a mystery, family drama, romance,
humor, steamy scenes, personal growth, and a sense of community. Romance books
are all about the journey for me and I completely enjoyed the journey the two
main characters went on during this book.

Well written, well thought out, gripping, steamy, entertaining, fun, and hard to
put down! I look forward to what Rosie Danan writes next!


#DoYourWorst #NetGalley #BerkleyPub, #RosieDanan

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy
of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are
my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
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Elizabeth
2,238 reviews148 followers
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August 11, 2023
This is such a darling, sweet, unique delight of a book!

I am a sucker for enemies to lovers. But this was a little bit different. They
meet and are completely attracted to each other and then meet again at the
worksite where they proceed to try to undermine each other at every turn.

I was really surprised that this book had some paranormal to it. I did not
expect that but it was a lot of fun and it was a great vehicle for both of them
learning about themselves and growing and falling in love. I really enjoyed both
the character and relationship development and how the paranormal aspects pushed
them into deeper sharing/vulnerability with each other.

The timeline is very short but I thought it was completely sweet and I loved it
a lot!

This is one of those books that I was offered as an advanced reader copy and I
have no regrets! I highly recommend this one. I really liked how decent and kind
the hero was even when they were fighting. Here are a few quotes:

"Clark as a cat person made sense. He too was prickly, standoffish, and
arrogantly territorial."

---

"No matter how many times she pushed him, how many ways she tried to prove she
didn't want coddling, he always found a way to be careful with her."

---

"As it turned out, sometimes what you needed was someone who brought out the
worst in you. There was a gift, she realized, that could only be exchanged
between former enemies-permission to forgive yourself. Because if someone could
see all your failures and faults, could actively seek out every possible reason
to dislike you and somehow still come around in the end, well, maybe your worst
wasn't so bad after all."

---

Safety deets
- There's an epilogue with them together.
- No OW/OM. And we don't hear about past partners.
- No third act break up.
- Consent done well!
- there is some spice and a wee bit of kink
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RLbooks (on an end of year break)
684 reviews201 followers
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December 3, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up

A couple of friends really loved Do Your Worst and the premise is so unique and
fun sounding, I had to pick it up! A curse over a castle and land to be
developed in Scotland and both an archaeologist and a curse-breaker brought in
to work in the area, it's so neat. This had a lot of humor and was bursting with
character. I really thought both Riley (h) and Clark (H) were adorable and
likable. They were brimming with secret self-doubts and family sensitivities.
Their first interaction was insta-attraction, followed immediately by a rude
awakening as they learned they were on opposing sides when it came to handling
the project. Clark's trying to regain his professional reputation and feels like
Riley threatens that (besides not believing in curses) and Riley's trying to
prove herself and continue her family legacy (while battling all the
non-believers). They sniped at each other, made sabotage attempts that each
immediately felt guilty about and tried to make amends for, and generally fought
off their attraction while fighting about the alleged curse. Written in third
person, dual POV. No ow/om drama and neither are virgins (limited history given
that I can recall).

Some of my friends love the bickering tension and having characters fight, while
secretly wanting to tear clothes off. I'm more of the sappy type of romance
reader that wants them to banter and bicker but start getting soft fairly early
(usually). So the feeling of Riley and Clark being adversaries lasted longer
than my preferences lie. Despite their fighting and betraying of each other,
they also found ways to connect and peer beneath the other's protective walls.
Riley was esp adept at digging into Clark's uncertainties and sad history, then
feeling remorseful. They also cared for each other in sweet ways, even after
riling the other up. It was adorable and slightly bizarre.

Even though there were these moments of reluctant sharing and bonding, I
personally needed more of a transition from trying to get the other run off to
exchanging exclamations of deeper feelings. Although some of how they tried to
run the other off was really entertaining. There is on page explicit steam and
both like a bit of roughness with their bedroom (or semi-public) activities,
just FYI. It was all very consensual and came with a side of dirty talk. Again,
this is my preference, but I generally like for spicy times to happen after
characters have resolved more of their differences.

I thought the historical story surrounding the curse was more interesting
honestly. Blame it on my love of history and that my early romance reading
centered around Scottish romances mostly lol. The curse was fascinating and the
paranormal aspects of how Riley sensed it, how it reacted and adjusted to the
characters' actions, and the ultimate breaking of the curse all captured my
attention completely. I did think it was pretty obvious early on how the curse
needed to be broken and I wanted to shake Riley, but that's ok, her hang-ups
hampered her a bit for sure.

Side-character wise, there were some fun locals who added to the story. Clark's
family also played an important part, even when they weren't on page. So did
Riley's family, although her grandma was gone and her mom was only on page over
the phone. Clark's dad though was temple-poundingly frustrating and I loved that
there was confrontation to call out his poor behavior. Also, there's a grumpy
adopted cat of Clark's that Riley has some downright hilarious encounters with.
I was dying laughing.

The ending was great and left me very satisfied. There's an epilogue that's a
year later and both Clark and Riley are living the way they want, after choosing
each other, and there's even a family meet-up happening at their current job
site. I ended the book with a smile and I completely see why my friends
recommended this read!
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Jessica
2,203 reviews14.5k followers
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December 25, 2023
4.25

This has a lot of low ratings, but I found this one to be so fun!!! I wouldn't
say it's like The Mummy like it says, but I loved the setting at the old
Scottish estate that is haunted. The hero and heroine have obvious chemistry
when they meet, and I loved how it quickly turned to hate when they realized
they were working with each other. They both have a lot of baggage and I liked
how they worked it out together and confided their fears with one another. They
do use that information sometimes as weapons, but that forced them to work
through their issues and really find the root of their problems. I had so much
fun listening to this audiobook and I'm happy I gave it a chance!! Such a fun
premise with an archeologist and curse breaker!
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;3
443 reviews1,137 followers
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Shelved as 'dnf'
June 19, 2023
booktok will eat this up no doubt about it but me personally im gonna have to
put the author on a blacklist bc girl just can’t write chemistry! insta love u
will never be my thing


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Ana
255 reviews212 followers
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November 13, 2023
I’ve been a fan of this author since her debut novel, The Roommate, so when I
saw her new book was an enemies to lovers in a cursed castle in Scotland I knew
I had to read it asap.

And Do Your Worst didn’t disappointed me, this book had everything I love in
contemporary, a lovable main character, a grumpy love interest who deep down has
a huge heart, amazing side characters that bring the book to life and a
chemistry between the main characters that was off the charges.

Riley’s a curse breaker, her family has a gift of seeing and breaking
supernatural curses, but Riley is the first one to make a business out of it,
that’s why when a big company asks her to get hid of a curse on Arden Castle,
she jumps right away on a plane and travels to a small village in Scotland,
there she meets Clark, a disgraced archaeologist, who’s looking for a way to
redeem himself after a scandal.

The banter between Riley and Clark was so much fun, I couldn’t stop smiling the
whole time they interacted, Clark is absolutely convinced Riley is a charlatan
and Riley is ready to make him see the errors of his ways by any means
necessarily and that leads to a lot of fun scenes.

Overall Do Your Worst was a very entertaining book.

Thanks Netgalley and Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest
review
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PlotTrysts
709 reviews260 followers
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November 16, 2023
OK so. We liked a lot about this book, but were also frustrated by a lot of it.

The good:

Curse breaker + archaeologist pairing was very fun
Sexual compatibility was through the roof
Their bonding over similar (but different) family trauma

That said, we're both skeptics when it comes to the supernatural, so reading a
book where one of the main ways the hero shows his love and support for the
heroine is defending her curse breaking abilities was a little tough. But look,
it's fiction, we can accept that /in this world/ curse breaking is a thing. (We
can read about haunted houses and stuff, that's fine, it's fine.) But - and
here's the hard part - Riley is supposed to be /good/ at curse breaking, right?
So why (whyyyyyyy!?) did she have to be so stupid about it?

We've talked before about how we don't read mysteries with the expectation of
figuring out whodunnit - we like being in the dark and maybe having a guess at
the end. In this one, the answer to breaking the curse is so obvious that
Riley's inability to get it was frustrating to the max. It also made her seem
really dumb, meaning that when Clark defends her choice of career, it made HIM
seem dumb.

Do we think this is a fun book? Sure! And we think in general, readers will like
this one. But feeling frustrated with our characters is not usually the way to
make us fall in love with their love story. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

4-Word Summaries:

Meg: Opposite of enemy = conquered?⁠
⁠
Laine: Capitalism can ruin hobbies.⁠

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
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Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)
2,307 reviews3,904 followers
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December 19, 2023
2.5 stars rounded up

This was a fine book, but for whatever reason didn't really work for me. Part of
what I loved about Rosie Danan's other two books was how the felt very modern
and included interesting and well-executed social commentary. This feels like a
departure from that formula, and while I imagine it was a fun experiment
(archaeologist vs. curse breaker in an enemies to lovers story) something about
kind of fell flat for me. Their interactions were often entertaining and I think
if you go in expecting a light take on this trope you might do better with it. I
was just hoping for more from this author specifically. And I felt like their
relationship was a lot more sexual than emotional. Which is fine, but I would
have liked more emotional depth. I received a copy of this book for review via
NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
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Monte Price
712 reviews1,986 followers
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October 8, 2023
Both of the Rosie Danan's I've read have been very good romances, and so while I
might not have loved this the way I loved The Intimacy Experiment, this is
definitely a good time. It also delivered the fall vibes I wanted from it when I
held off on reading it until the fall months.

Here we are following Riley, a curse breaker from New Jersey as she's in
Scotland to break a curse on a castle so developers can move forward with their
plans. It's here that she meets Clark, an archaeologist there to ensure that the
developers don't destroy anything. He's also licking his wounds from a previous
project that would have made him an even bigger laughingstock of the
archaeologist if his father wasn't archaeology royalty. Or that's what I took
from the exchange.

Overall I think that this book did a fun job at throwing Riley and Clark
together. I like their dynamic, it was fun and light and entertaining to read
about. It's also the true strangers to lovers that I am always in favor of. Sure
they're technically employed at the same location, and I guess you could call it
workplace romance if you wanted to reach, but they didn't know each other and
they had to come together to break the curse that Clark doesn't really believe
in. I also thought that it incorporated the paranormal/supernatural/spiritual
element of Riley being a curse breaker without ever feeling like it was going to
veer into full-on fantasy romance territory. It felt like it made sense to be
grounded in a contemporary setting.

The only con that I really had is I wish Riley could have had something going on
outside the romance too. Clark has a whole family situation that is slowly
parceled out through his section, and the way it relates back to the romance and
the reason as to why he's at the castle in the first place is all very well and
good, but it leaves Riley with nothing to do outside of Clark and the work
they're doing together. It's not the biggest problem in the world. In some ways
the story does mirror some of that back at her with the storyline with her
mother, but it's not as prominent and it's not quite the same.

Overall I had a fun time with this, the smut was excellent, and while I do not
believe that Clark and Riley are a couple that would last the test of time
sometimes that's not as important as the fun we had getting to see them at this
point in their shared journey.
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Jenn (The Book Refuge)
1,984 reviews2,989 followers
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November 12, 2023
So... this was a bit of a miss for me. I don't want to rag on about it. So
here's a few things I liked and a few that I didn't.

Positives:
The location. Got to love a spooky, Scottish castle. I was here for it!
I also liked Clark and that he was an archaeologist. That was unique and fun. I
also really liked that he had a camper on site. Practical and convenient. There
were also a few fun side characters. I was also glad there was no 3rd act break
up and the way that Clark had Riley's back.

What didn't work for me:
I just didn't feel the chemistry between these two.. and the "enemies to lovers"
felt completely one sided. So it left me feeling a bit salty towards the Riley.
Of course he's going to be skeptical about a "curse-breaker". So would I! Why
did she need to "get even with him?

I was also very unsure if this actually had some paranormal elements or what...
I just felt like whatever the author was going for in that regards felt
lackluster to me.

There was some interesting spice and we had a few unique scenes.. but because
the chemistry was lacking, they fell flat for me also.

I have liked Rosie Danan's previous works and I would still read her again, this
just happens to be a miss for me.

3 stars
2.5 on the spice scale
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2023-arcs 2023-read


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Krysta
344 reviews
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September 22, 2023
I’ll start off by saying I actually did like the characters and their banter was
top tier, but their connection felt surface level to me — more sexual than
romantic. the fmc and mmc both had jobs that I don’t see often in books (curse
breaker and archeologist), so that was a fresh perspective that I liked. the
cursed Scottish castle setting was fun as well as them trying to figure out how
to break the curse, especially since Clark is a skeptic. even though the
characters had met and liked each other beforehand, they actually do become
enemies in a sense and there’s moments when they’re both genuinely trying to
sabotage the other person. I just didn’t like the writing since it was dual pov,
but in a third person narrative that felt very detached somehow. it delivered on
the “enemies with benefits” 😏 .. but something about the story itself fell
flat.

thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc, all opinions are my own.
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arcs romance


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Maren’s Reads
615 reviews980 followers
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November 29, 2023
3.5⭐️ When occult expert Riley Rhodes is given the opportunity to turn her
family’s curse breaking business legitimate, she jumps at the chance to break
the curse on an old Scottish castle. Archeologist Clark Edgeware, looking to
boost his credibility, has other plans - as in getting her booted from the job.
As these two clash, sparks fly in this enemies to lovers, paranormal romance.

If you are a fan of the adventurous style rom-coms, mixed with the paranormal
and you enjoy full-on, off the hinges steam, Do Your Worst is for you my
friends! While this would make a great spooky season read due to the plot line,
it makes for a really fun read all year round, especially for those who are
interested in the occult. And with such a unique premise, and a very atmospheric
setting, don’t be surprised if you end up binging this one.

ʀ ᴇ ᴀ ᴅ ɪ ғ ʏ ᴏ ᴜ ʟ ɪ ᴋ ᴇ :
•enemies to lovers
•witty banter
•intense chemistry
•Scotland setting
•original stories

Thank you Berkley Pub and PRH Audio for my gifted copies.
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Sara the Librarian
786 reviews456 followers
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June 10, 2023
Rosie Danan could publish a shopping list and I'd read it. "The Roommate" and
"The Intimacy Experiment" were two of the most wonderful, and unusual
contemporary romances I've read in recent years. Her writing is full of heart
and such refreshing sex positivity. I can't stress enough how invaluable it is
to have a writer who can make sex sound like the absolute joy it is no matter
what you're into. Danan makes sex a necessary, even vital component of a
successful relationship. In a time when it feels like half the population would
like us all to become Puritans again I truly feel like I can't emphasize enough
what an incredible service she does with the subjects she writes about. That her
books are never anything less than totally delightful, beautifully written, and
genuinely entertaining just feels like an added bonus.

"Do Your Worst" is no exception and if anything it only proves that's there's no
genre of romance Danan can't write in. I am the last person who would willingly
read fantasy romance. When I learned that Danan's latest book would be about a
"curse breaker" trying to learn the secrets of a haunted Scottish castle my
first reaction was definitely "oh c'mon why can't she keep writing about the
porn industry?"

But after reading this sweet, slightly kinky modern fairy tale I will never
doubt again. Leave it to Danan to take an often corny as all hell trope and turn
it into a modern day fable about personal growth and belief in things even when
there isn't a logical explanation for them. Like love.

I adored her leads. Riley Rhodes, a take no prisoners, ass kicking curse breaker
desperate to prove her magical gifts do have a place in the "real" world and
curmudgeonly Clark Edgeware, a young archeologist desperate to come out from the
shadow of his father's legacy are the perfect enemies to lovers pair. The charm
of their witty tete-a-tetes is only matched by the scorching heat of their
chemistry. The two of them tramping around the wilds of Scotland digging up fae
secrets and mysterious artifacts sniping at each other the whole time is pure
pleasure. The course to true love is of course never smooth but there's
something so lovely about how hard and fast they fall for each other while
totally failing to notice its even happening that just kills me.

Lest you be put off by the fantasy part I'm here to tell you that magic in this
case is treated just as seriously as archeology. Riley is just as much a
professional as Clark and we come to see magic in this case is more like
"magick," something old and respected, part of the bones of the world and every
bit as powerful and worth studying as chemistry or geology or archeology.
There's no tinker bell here I can promise you.

The sex is hotter than the fire's of hell and tinged with a touch of tasteful
(and totally consensual) bdsm which readers will be happy to know is handled
with both delicacy and spice. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find some of it
kind of inspiring...ahem.

If Ms. Danan would like to set her next novel in the midst of an intergalactic
civil war or under the sea with a school of mermaids I will happily, happily
come along. Clearly every genre she touches turns to pure gold.
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contemporary-romance fantastical-realism hot

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Natasha is a Book Junkie
684 reviews4,756 followers
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November 14, 2023

> “Very well then. Enemies it is. Do your worst.”


Rosie Danan proves once again to have a real knack for crafting intriguing
storylines with deeply complex characters that feel both wonderous and real, and
in her latest novel, she pairs a tenacious expert in the occult with a wary
archaeologist in need of professional redemption. Add a cursed Scottish castle
to the mix, an ancient magic with its own cryptic agenda, and the result is
downright spellbinding. I loved this book before I even read it, but I never
expected it to become one of my favourite reads of the year.

Continue reading this review...



Follow me on Facebook! | Follow me on Instagram!

I received a free ebook from the author/publisher with no obligation whatsoever
to read and/or review it. My reviews are always honest and fair.
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all-time-favorites enemies-to-lovers paranormal-romance


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Abi Allan
112 reviews5 followers
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November 24, 2023
Look, I know your average reader probably doesn’t care about the accuracy of
this book, but I guess it just really hits diff when, much like the MMC, you’re
also an Oxford-trained ancient Mediterranean archaeologist who now works in
country houses, including country houses which used to be medieval fortress
castles. I really do wish the author had done a little more research into
archaeological things, rather than just name-dropping random techniques and
hoping for the best. You CANNOT carbon date inorganic objects - like, say, a
silver filigree dagger. And even if this dagger did have a wooden handle, why
would our lovely archaeologist MMC even want to carbon date it when he had
already dated it stylistically to the 18th century? Your carbon dating is never
gonna be more accurate than that. The most laughable bit for me, though, was
when, while standing on the first floor of the building, he complains about how
he’d love to dig, but he doesn’t have a permit. What are you gonna dig? The
floorboards?? Clearly, though, he later thinks, ‘fuck it’, and goes down to the
dirt floor dungeon and starts randomly digging with a shovel. A* archaeological
technique there, babes.

I feel like when writing a book like this, you really need an archaeologist
friend on hand to ask random questions (or a nice online forum). I will
absolutely be giving the author credit for the palaeontology-isn’t-archaeology
joke at the 45% mark, though.

As you may have gathered, the research for this book is lack-lustre. I mean,
this isn’t literary fiction, so perhaps it doesn’t need to be perfectly
researched, but I feel like a bit more of an attempt would have been good. As
another reviewer pointed out, even the research into the setting - Scotland -
was lacking. We’re set in a little village somewhere around Inverness and Loch
Ness, yet we ping all across Scotland, visiting the Isle of Skye and St Andrews.

And when we get onto the LiDar, lost Temple of Hercules, and the Bay of Cadiz
stuff, I was horrified to see that this is ripped from an article on the
Smithsonian’s website, which seems a little shady to the real life archaeologist
who did that work. And yet the information presented in this book about LiDAR
still makes no sense, which is unfortunate, as a key plot point somewhat hinges
on what a character did with some LiDAR scans.

But enough about archaeology. I also found the rest of this book confusing. The
characters seemed to keep randomly changing their minds about things, including
important things like what the curse was trying to do. I kept asking myself, am
I stupid? Am I too tired to be reading this? Am I periodically blacking out?
There were times when I felt I had whiplash from the interactions between the
FMC and MMC… also, the melodrama and cliched phrases, my god. The book was also
too long - strange twists kept happening just as we seemed about to wrap up, but
rather than being pleased by these plot twists, I was just annoyed.

Does this book have potential though? Absolutely. I loooved the ambiguity of the
original curse and the whole curse mirroring thing. And I’m obvs a fan of an
enemies-to-lovers trope and spooky season ambience, which is why I picked this
up. I also thought the dual POV was really well-executed and I loved each of the
character’s voices.

So, all in all, it’s 2 stars from me, because I really do think it has
potential.

Finally, a word to the publishers / NetGalley at large: please, for the love of
god, sort out the formatting on the Kindle download ARCs. I simply cannot bear
to read another ARC where the paragraphing is all over the place - often making
me confused about who’s speaking - and the words randomly run together.

P.S. You don’t need LiDAR to take 3D scans of a cave and its paintings /
inscriptions. There are much easier and cheaper ways of doing it.

P.P.S. Also I’m sorry but, as an academic, I simply cannot condone having sex in
a rare books room.
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netgalley-arcs spooky-season


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Inés Molina
299 reviews56 followers
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August 14, 2023
I was quite entranced in this magical story. This was a "I can't put this down"
book. It had the enemies to lovers that gets your heart beating and a tension
that'll make melt. A world of romance with magic, secrets.I also love the
settings of the Scottish Highlands.


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Jen's Quick & Dirty Reviews
229 reviews25 followers
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November 29, 2023
4 curse-breaking stars

✔️ Dual POV (Riley x Clark)
✔️ Set in Scotland
✔️ Tropes: Enemies to lovers
✔️ Read alike: Fans of “A Wolf at the Door” by Charlie Adhara would love this
book, too

Riley and Clark meet at a cursed castle in Scotland they have both been assigned
to work at for curse breaking and archaeology, respectively. They both have a
ton of issues that magically go away once they fall in love (not with therapy
though!).

This was cute, and it really only works when you’re invested in the
300-year-long backstory that is the curse’s origin. If a mysterious B-plot isn’t
your jam, then this book might not be for you.
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fantasy-romance libby workplace-romance


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Stacee
2,772 reviews733 followers
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June 12, 2023
Rosie cemented herself as an auto-buy author after her The Roommate, so there
was no way I wasn't going to drop everything and get this book into my eyeballs
as soon as I was approved for it.

I love love loved Riley and Clark. She's friendly sunshine and he's crunchy
grey. They're both looking for respect and acceptance and neither thinks they'll
find it in the other. I loved their banter, the flirting disguised as
antagonizing, the chemistry so thick you could cut a knife through it, and the
actual conversations and consent.

Plot wise, there are a few moving pieces and I was here for all of it. The
layered approach worked really well and I adored how this slow burn of emotions
didn't come close to matching the flaming inferno of physical. The curse and
it's backstory were interesting, the effects of those things, even more.
Obviously, I could have done with a million more pages of these two, but I'm
probably being greedy because Rosie just does rom-com perfectly for me.

Overall, I woke up thinking about this story and I'm already wondering about
reading it again, so clearly, it's made it's way to my top ten of 2023 list.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing a digital copy free of charge**
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hair-swoons netgalley read-in-2023

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Mia
2,320 reviews881 followers
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June 12, 2023
I just couldn't get into this book, there is little redeeming I can say about
this book. I am aware that this is just a fun read and not meant to be taken
seriously, but honestly I couldn't stand it. The selling point of this book is
smut and BookTok will love that. I wanted to be entertainment by this book, but
it was complete flop for me.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest
review.


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Georgia
57 reviews982 followers
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November 30, 2023
This is such a personal gripe, but I need everyone to know that this is the
third book released in 2023 that has been pitched to me as having The Mummy
vibes, and fucking-a, y’all, I fall for it every fucking time😭 Alas, I’ve been
duped again. I should say, I don’t even know what my expectations are when
someone tells me a book has The Mummy vibes, but it’s not whatever Do Your Worst
gave.

Marketing aside, Do Your Worst was such a let-down for me. The book just never
fully took off, and my interest while reading never peaked. I think the
enemies-to-lovers set-up was the first big disappointment. The characters having
an antagonistic relationship didn’t really land and felt super flimsy and
forced. I also just didn’t love the characters as a whole. I don’t think they
were flat, and I don’t think they were unlikable, but I just didn’t love either
of them, and I especially didn’t care about any of the minor characters.

I’m gonna be honest: after a certain point, I mostly stuck around for Steve
West’s narration (since I was listening to the audiobook). Having Steve West as
a narrator is always a win.

[image error]
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Sylvie {semi-hiatus}
704 reviews1,437 followers
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Want to read
August 9, 2023
Why am I looking forward to read this book:

- I wanted to read a book by Rosie Danan for a long time.
- Enemies with benefits.
- The Mummy vibes (I really need to re-watch that trilogy).
- Cursed castle in the Scottish Highlands.
- Paranormal rom-com (a genre that unexpectedly become a favorite).
- Lastly, there is a cat!
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adventure crime horror

...more

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Hailee
165 reviews100 followers
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Shelved as 'dnf-2023'
August 2, 2023
cannot do it i’m sorry 😭 this should have been in first person


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