Book: The Devoted Dastard (The Destin Dastard) by K.E. Monteith
Reviewed by Anonymous
Rating: 4.5/5
💚Accidental Pregnancy
⚽Golden Retriever MMC x Black Cat FMC
💚Found Family
⚽Dual POV
K.E. Monteith has done it, yet again. Someone needs to look into how she writes things, because it's unfair that she's yet again made it onto my favourite authors list, and become a significant factor in traumatising my bank account.
I think the thing that's stood out most to me within this book is the accidental pregnancy trope. It's been done in a way that I've never read before, and truth be told, it's something I've adored from the start. I have no doubt that there's similar books out there with the trope being done in the same way, especially since it's a book that is there to have a happily ever after, but that's besides the point right now.
I've not read the first book in the series but I do plan to do so, but the found family aspect hit HARD in this book, it was banging, and I absolutely adored it. I fell in love with each and every character and the way they played a significant part in the story. You find your MMC (Niall) being a man who has always been focused on his team. As far as Niall is concerned, he's there to make and enforce rules, and with previous managers leaving him to pick up the slack, you find that Niall is much harder on himself than he needs to be. I love that I got to see Niall go from a man who felt as though he had the world on his shoulders, to a man that could take a step back from his team and appreciate the bigger and finer things in life. Was it an easy thing to do? Absolutely not! But the acknowledged that, and the fact that this man went to therapy about his troubles warmed my heart. I love that he wasn't afraid to be honest about his anxieties, and it just hones in on the fact that mental health is a big thing for men.
As for the FMC, I found it a little harder to love her in certain chapters, but I feel that it was more down to me rather than the author. I understood her trauma, and I understand why she felt undeserving of love, but I also felt that her reasoning didn't necessarily warrant that trauma? It's hard to explain, and as I said, I think it was more down to me than the author. Despite this, I think the way K.E. Monteith wrote her character development was brilliant, and the thing I loved the most about Leah is her opening up and being honest about her feelings. It wasn't a thing that she managed to do overnight, but she managed to do it, and she should be proud of herself for it. Her character development made me smile at times, and by the time the story had finished? I found myself wanting to carry on reading about Leah. I also REALLY loved the scene where she found out she was pregnant, I think it was beautifully written, and it really honed in on the fact that Leah needed someone, and how seriously she needed the found family trope to come into her life.
Finally, the smut was 100/10. I'm a sucker for a man who isn't afraid to eat his woman out, and the fact that he tasted them both together? YUM. OH AND THE WAY HE PHONED LEAH IN THAT ONE SCENE AFTER HE DID SOMETHING? OBSESSED.
All in all, I loved the book, I'll be going back to read the first book in the series, and I seriously recommend it for someone who loves an accidental pregnancy trope.