Author: MJ Duncan
Genre: Contemporary Romance 🌶️
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Sports, Workplace
Series: The Symphony Series #4
Pages: 664
Published: August 1st, 2023
Format: ebook (KU)
Started: 04-15-2025
Finished: 05-08-2025
1 2 3 4 5
character
1 2 3 4 5
readability
1 2 3 4 5
writing style
1 2 3 4 5
plot
synopsis
After seven years as Nina Devereaux’s executive assistant, Serena Bowers is finally getting her shot at her dream: producing shows for The Royal Ballet. The problem is her promotion depends entirely on the success of Illyria, Nina’s latest original ballet, and that means working closely with the Honorable Rowan Alexander—Olympic fencer and Serena’s arch-nemesis from University. Rowan needs the ballet to succeed for her own reasons, but working with Serena just might be a bigger challenge than defending her Olympic gold. Will they be able to push past grievances aside, or will Illyria be their downfall?
rant
- liked this but didn’t really love this
- I love MJ Duncan her writing style is great, and I’m almost always interested in the stories she tells and this one wasn’t the exception
- Rowan was just the right amount of cocky rich jock (which is like barely at all lmao) and humble / funny / caring friend ‐ she was honestly very sweet, understanding, and giving especially to someone she knew didn’t really like her ‐ she kind of was the only one trying to keep the peace ‐ I say kind of bc she was trying to rile Serena up too which she probably shouldn’t have done lmao
- Serena . . . I don’t really know what to say about her or really how to describe her ‐ she was fiery when it came to Rowan ‐ with everyone else (and eventually w/ Rowan) she was pretty chill just gave standard workaholic vibes ‐ was a good balance between serious and playful
- Griffin was the best side character besides the previous couples from other books ‐ Serena’s friends were meh ‐ I really liked Evie (Rowan’s coach) too we love a good supportive coach
- The pacing and the plot of this are what really deterred me from loving this ‐ it wasn’t too slow in the romance aspect it was timed and executed well ‐ just like the overall plot of this was boring to me ig ‐ maybe it’s bc the last two books basically had the same plot line of like make and produce a brand new ballet that I was kind of over it and bored by the whole Illyria thing ‐ I loved the plot line that followed Rowan and her Journey to the games tho‐ I liked her descriptions of the fights to it had just the right amount of detail to keep me locked in w/o being too much (boring) ‐ I was so anxious reading her final even though the outcome was obvious
- This definitely read a bit slow to me towards the end too ‐ I didn’t have like this overwhelming urge to pick it up and finish it kind of had to force myself lowkey
- I love yous felt weirdly placed and I was not expecting Serena to say it first like at all
- Overall I liked Serena and Rowan, but I didn’t love them ‐ like I wasn’t obsessed w/ them and don’t like need to see more of them or their wedding like I did w/ Mal & Addy or Nina and Clara
- After the epilogue I feel like I NEED to read Evolution again ‐ I’m not going to, I think, but they were literally so cute in this I loved seeing them as a couple through other ppls POV
- I lowkey was in the middle of making this site while reading this so I probably would’ve finished it much faster otherwise
- Would read again but only if I wanted to read the whole series (2-4) I wouldn’t just pick it up in its own
noted & quoted
- “‘What do you want me to say?’ Rowan asked . . . ‘Whatever you want,’ Serena answered gently. ‘Whatever you need.'” ‐ ch. 45
- locker room scene (I thought that shit was funny)
- Rowan getting Serena flowers and scotch 🥹
- the whole first showing of Illyria (before during and after)
- Their car rides together (honestly so sweet)
- The Olympics + proposal
- My Heart Belongs to U ‐ Jodeci
Rowan saying that Serena is one of the few people in her life that is truly able to see her for her and just the full circle moment that’s come from that statement😩🥹. Serena saw her for who she truly was in uni which was arrogant and she didn’t really fuck w/ that which is valid but now that she’s become more humble and centered Serena is seeing a new side of her that she truly likes. Or, now she’s allowing herself to fully like her bc Rowan’s definitely her type (according to her friends) so she probably would’ve messed w/ her from the beginning if she wasn’t bratty in uni lol.
It’s so interesting to see how other people view Nina vs how she’s portrayed in Evolution. Maybe it’s bc she’s basically always around Clara, which makes her softer, but other ppl view her as extremely tough / strict (not in a bad or scary way just different) . I just didn’t get that vibe really from her book vs this one and Pas de Deux. And Clara and Addy are a bit more playful in this which I like.
Why am I barely noticing there’s a fricking sword on the cover 😭