3.5 stars… close to 4.

I really, really, really wanted to like this book more — and thought I would, as it’s by a popular bestselling author. It was good, and the writing itself was excellent, but the storyline had the potential to be great and just fell short for me.

The Pros & Cons

I’m grateful that the male character Jaime wasn’t unnecessarily super-alpha as many male leads seems to be these days, and loved his character. He was just the right mix of cocky and cute to stay with you long after the book was over.

…But I struggled with the female character Quinn. Mind you, I LOVE having characters that are difficult to love, so I have to explain this properly. She seems to be all over the place, getting what she wants but wanting it her way, and having what she needs and pushing it away. No problem; I can be like that sometimes, so I was happy reading about a messed-up chick for no evident reason. It was refreshing and I was going along for the ride. It’s just… well, I thought it was all going to lead to one big reveal… but it just didn’t. I kept waiting for that part of the plot… and it didn’t happen. She figures out her past led to how she is today, but her past was so banal that is isn’t even a spoiler for me to mention it here. It went from “Let me try therapy” to “Hey, I’m cured”… and the reader is like “OK… WHAT JUST HAPPENED?”

So an entire star fell off for me, because of that. It was going SO, SO, SO GOOD… until that point. It’s a shame, as I wanted to give this a higher rating.

Conclusion

Apart from that major plot point in my mind, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The writing is fast-paced, the characters are easy to fall into, the sexy scenes are just the right mix of naughty and sweet, the supporting characters fill it out nicely, and it ticked a lot — a lot — a lot — of boxes for me. The author is talented, I understand how she’s so popular, and I would love to read more by her.

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