"I wasn't worried about her moving on, and even if she did, I knew she would leave them for me. I was the one for her. It was obvious." - Sean ( )

I'm going to be honest, this was a hate read for me. Have you ever read a book that was oddly readable yet you despised almost everything about it? Well, that was this book for me. The writing was strangely compelling, even when I absolutely despised the characters. So, I guess, let's talk about what happened...

SPOILERS BELOW. Don't say I did not warn you...

There's Scarlet, the "heroine". There's quotes around the word heroine, because while Scarlet is ostensibly the main female protagonist of the book, she is a vile human being and not at all a heroine. Vile. We meet her when she's talking to the fiancee of her best friend, Sean. The fiancee's name is Penelope, and she has met someone else. Penelope will be leaving Sean, she tells Scarlet. Well, Scarlet is just BURNING WITH RAGE at this news. Scarlet calls Penelope a whore and a slut, and wishes horrific STDs on her.


I'm offended on behalf of our womanly sisterhood.

Shaming a woman for her sexual choices is offensive to me. Scarlet also takes this opportunity to wish death on Penelope, who has done nothing wrong but realize that she loves someone else and that she and Sean are not right for each other.

Anyway, apparently Scarlet is frighteningly devoted to her friend, Sean, and treats him like a boyfriend even though he wants to marry someone else. That sentence should tell you everything you need to know about the Sean-Scarlet dynamic right there. She's a doormat and he walks right over her without apologies.


I find doormat/a-hole romances unappealing.

The story essentially is one where Sean, having his heart broken by Penelope, is obsessively cared for by Scarlet -- until he thoughtlessly breaks her heart by sleeping with Scarlet's co-worker. He sleeps with the co-worker right after he sleeps with Scarlet. It's pretty gross. Also, WTF?????? Who sleeps with their BFF, then decides to go after their co-worker THE NEXT DAY? The worst part is that after Scarlet tearfully confronts him with her pain, he yells at HER. Because he didn't know she loved him!!! It's not his fault!!!!! Scarlet should have known better!!!


I'll see you in hell, Sean.

After that, I couldn't. There's also Scarlet's boss. Who isn't a human being, just a plot-device villain so poorly drawn it's useless to talk about him in depth. This book was just...clearly not for me. By the time Sean is man-whinging to Scarlet that it's her fault that he broke her heart, I wanted to do actual violence to something. And that's when I stopped.


Yeah... The book went on, but I could not.

I can't recommend this. The female-bashing was too offensive for me. Sean was awful. Scarlet was equally bad. Good day to you, book, good day.


Would that I go could back in time before I read this book, to save myself some heartache. ( )

Sean and Scarlett are best friends until. . .
An easy read for the beach or when you don't want to think. ( )

I too received this book in exchange for an honest review. I just finished Only for you by E.L. Todd and not only was it the first book I've read by this author it was also the very first contemporary romance book I'd read. I'll admit it took me a little bit to get into it but please keep in mind that I'm used to reading YA and New Adult type romance novels and without all the usual teenage angst drama I was a bit lost. Not to say there isn't plenty of drama here because there is but it took me a bit to realize that "my hangups" were exactly that: my hangups. Once I finally let go and let myself just enjoy the journey I had a blast. I don't know why but I'm just not used to reading about mature adults, adults who are looking for a life partner and love. Adults who have somewhat stable jobs, etc. I just want to say it was a very nice change of pace and I enjoyed it very much. I've been wanting to expand on what I read and Only For You was the perfect place to start. Now onto the good stuff :)

Scarlet's best friend Sean who she's known forever is going through a breakup. The love of his life Penelope has just left him and has been cheating on him with another man. Scarlet and Sean have weathered many breakups before and have always been there for each other but this time it's different. Penelope was the love of Sean's life and he's devastated. So like any good friend would do Scarlet is there for him. She keeps him busy and helps to keep his mind off of his pain. They spend a lot of time together and sleep in the same bed which is not unusual for the two of them being such close friends but eventually after a night out on the town they cross a line and end up having sex. Scarlet realizes that she's always loved Sean and that is part of the reason she hasn't really been looking for anyone else. Afterwards Scarlet is happy, she's in love and believe Sean loves her back but he's still confused, torn over Penelope and just thinks they were friends comforting each other or friends with benefits.

Scarlet is an Editor and she's great at her job. Unfortunately she has a total scumbag for a boss and she tries to tell Sean her problems concerning her boss that night that they had sex but Sean wasn't paying attention because Penelope walked into the same bar and after a bad day at work involving that total douche of a boss and a robbery she comes home only to find heartbreak and betrayal. She realizes that Sean doesn't love her the way that she loves him and does the only thing she can do at the time which is to flee. With nowhere else to go Scarlet moves from the city, leaving her job, her apartment and the only man she ever loved and moves halfway across the country to her brother Ryan's house. She and her brother had always been super close but she'd been so busy the last year that she had kind of lost track with him. Together they begin to rebuild their damaged relationship. Scar's brother is awesome, he instantly accepts her into his house and makes her feel welcome. He's kind, honorable and protective over his little sister and exactly how all big brothers should be. Slowly Scar starts to get her life back on track. She goes into business for herself, she makes some new and interesting friends - Cortland and seems to be doing great except she still misses Sean but just can't go back to being friends.

On the other side of the country Sean is not doing so well. His work is suffering and he's in a lot of pain. He made some serious mistakes with Scar and is just starting to realize what an idiot he was. He realizes that Scar is perfect for him and he loves her more than he thought but he is still torn over Penelope. Can Sean find a way to make Scarlet forgive him and give him another chance? Will she forgive him or has she already moved onto someone else? Will she accept Sean knowing that he still loves Penelope and can't fully give 100% of his heart to her at this time? You'll just have to read to find out :)

I just want to say I really liked Ryan and Cortland. Cortland is a great guy, he's honest and is such a good friend for Scar to have. Scar's business is doing very well but she still has a lot of debt from her student loans and if she can't start making payments on them soon she could be in a lot of trouble. After the tables are turned and she is in a position to help her brother she does so without a second though. I love how they are always there for each other. How they accept each other no matter what is going on and are so supportive of each other. I hope Scar will go back and fight not only her ex-boss for what is right but also her mom who is just horrible. I'm not sure which one I hate more to be honest. All in all I had a really great time reading Only For You. If you enjoy a good romance with plenty of drama and lots of emotion then you'll love this book. Now that I reflect back on the story which is still hopping around in my mind I really enjoyed reading about Scar and Sean. I love how they're both good people who are mature but still make mistakes. I loved the fact that E.L. Todd has decided to tackle such difficult subjects as sexual harassment and parental abuse/neglect and can't wait to see how all of those issues are resolved in the next book which should be out the day after Only For You is released so we don't have to wait long to find out what happens next. Yay!!! Great book and a fun journey I'm glad I took. ( )