DECEMBER 2022 UPDATE: I have decided to knock a star off my initial review after having sat with my feelings for a while. I do not plan to read more from this series.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 UPDATE: ok. A few things have remained in my head that have bothered me. Mainly how terrible it is they Hayes makes Ali read his sexts from his dates. They often include nude photos and other explicit messages - commenting on his dick size and what not. That’s wrong for so many reasons and I can’t get over it. Next, his dick size is always being mentioned. We - as a community - need to get over dick size. People with huge dicks aren’t better lovers than folks with smaller than average or just average penises. Next! There is so much gender essentialist language (see dick size note).



CW: A lot of alcohol consumption, death of family member (not on page), difficult family dynamics (both MC's), cheating (not on page - both MC's had partners that cheated), gender essentialism ( )

Enemies that must work together what could possibly go wrong? Tali has this dislike for Hayes because of all the hearsay with his reputation and the way he seems to dislike her as well. Tali has had a rough year coming off a breakup, struggling finishing her book, while also being the provider for her family since her father’s death. When her friend Johnathan offers her a job as Hayes assistant she can’t refuse the pay, but really doesn’t want to work side by side with Hayes. Hayes is a workaholic, egotistical, playboy w flaunts his conquests in front of Tali while also talking down to her, but the best part of Tali was she saw through this and handled him very well. Tali could give him back just as good, so this became their thing, the banter where they kind of flirted while making sure not to cross the lines. The more time they spend working together the more Tali sees that Hayes has been hurt too he’s just afraid of showing any weaknesses, so she starts to take care of him in smalls ways to show he deserves much more. They are both broken from past hurts who are afraid to try form more and at times I wanted to shake them both and tell them to just tell each other already, but they both had to overcome their insecurities. Can Tali show Hayes how to slow down, take care of himself, and allow good things to come to him? Will Hayes never stop his ways and allow more? Can Tali stand up for herself to truly be happy? This book was such a fun read while I enjoyed their back and forth (especially some butchered British accent by Tali), I truly felt the pain they endured from their pasts and was pulling for them to overcome their fears of living again. Truly I ended up loving Hayes so much because deep down he had a heart of gold and you could see the changes he gradually made for Tali. ( )

This was not quite a four-star book, but I rounded up to four stars. Because it was really good. It was enjoyable, it was funny, it was romantic. I really enjoyed reading it and had a good time with this one. Just a couple of issues to shave it off from a full four-stars.

So you basically have this girl, Tali, who just got out of a bad relationship with a guy who on the surface did not appear to be bad. So needless to say she’s worried about her judgment of people, especially men. She ends up working for Hayes, who she thinks is Satan, purely based on one encounter they had where he, in her mind, glares at her and storms off. The two partake in some hilariously witty banter for a few weeks until it turns into something more. But they both have a lot of emotional baggage and have some doubts about their future.

Tali annoyed me a little in the beginning, but she quickly grew on me. Hayes was a gross manwhore in the beginning, but he REALLY changed for Tali. I ended up loving him. One complaint that I did have was that it was really hard to tell what Hayes was feeling or thinking because the story was told all from Tali’s POV. It would’ve been nice to have heard his side of things. The ending also fell a little flat for me. I think maybe the big conflict came at the wrong time or something. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the happy ending, but I think I wanted something different. Not necessarily better. Just different.

But so much made up for the things that I didn’t love. Their banter was hilarious. They had me cracking up the whole book. Even when situations were kind of serious, they’d still joke their way through it. And I loved how the book she was writing paralleled her life. I loved the pacing of the book. The author really took her time setting up and building this romance in such a satisfying way.

A good very good story. ( )

4.4 stars

What an unexpected surprise. I loved the banter and witty comebacks in this story. I was completely engrossed in the story because of it. There were a few areas I wished had been fleshed out more and the ending felt rushed but this was still a fun story.

I'll look for more from this author in the future. ( )