Pride and Papercuts by Staci Hart [Review]

Pride and Papercuts (Austen #5) by Staci Hart
Format: ebook
Source: provided by the author for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 11, 2020

Austen
1. Wasted Words
2. A Thousand Letters
3. Love, Hannah
4. Love Notes
5. Pride and Papercuts - Paperback | Kindle

Staci Hart
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Synopsis (Goodreads):

Hate is a strong word.

Depending on the company, loathe is a good substitute. Abhor might be a little fancy, but it gets the job done. But the word that really sums up how I feel about Liam Darcy is, without question, hate.

He doesn’t seem to think much of me either. The second he lays his fault-seeking eyes on me, he sets out to oppose me. Everything about him is imposing, as if he consumes the nearby air to power the rise and fall of his broad chest, and it’s clear he resents my presence on his advertising team. Every idea I have is shot down. Every olive branch I offer is set on fire by nothing more than the blistering coals he calls eyes.

In return, I light him up with my words.

It’s not as if he can dismiss me, since I work for his client, Wasted Words. Instead, he’s forced to tolerate me, which seems the closest we’ll ever be to friends. Fine by me.

I can be civil and still hate Liam Darcy.

But if there’s more to him than his exterior shows, I won’t be able to hate him at all.

I might stumble over that line between love and hate and fall right into his arms.

Thoughts on Pride and Papercuts: It *might* be said that Laney Bennet (of the boisterous Bennet clan) and Liam Darcy DO NOT start off on the right foot. Darcy is buttoned up and wears a wall of ice around him to keep everybody at a distance. Laney isn't afraid of a fight and doesn't know how to keep her opinions to herself. Especially when it comes to Darcy and his attitude.

But truth can be slippery sometimes. The things we think we see can be viewed differently from a slightly different angle. Laney might *think* Darcy is cold and unfeeling and shoots her down because he has nothing better to do, but that's not the case at all.

And the more time she spends with him, the more she begins to suspect there's more to him than a supercilious attitude and a cold heart. (His sister might have something to do with that. Georgie is the exact opposite of Darcy and if she says there's more beneath the surface, she'd be the one to know, right?)

On Darcy's end, he's...weirdly awkward for all he's a powerful man with a powerful position. He knows he's saying the wrong things as he says them, but he can't seem to stop himself from using words as a weapon when Laney's around. Mostly because she dishes back just as much as she takes. Fortunately for everyone, he does learn from his mistakes. Eventually. It takes some doing and some serious soul-searching, but he figures things out.

These two have a bumpy road, but they're both stubborn enough to keep fighting (one another, most of the time) long enough to uncover the truth about, well, everything. Their feelings. What they're willing to sacrifice to make sure the other is happy. The actual truth. There's just a whole lot of uncovering, okay? A whole lot.