This book was chosen for the Grumpy/Sunshine book discussion in my reader's group. I had NEVER heard of Lucy Score and to be honest I the cover did not appeal to me. I ASSumed this would be a basic office romance read like all the other ones where the underling shows her boss the light and they fall in love and have their HEA.

Welp, you know what they say about ASSuming. This book had so much more depth than I was prepared for. So many fantastic social themes were examined. Poverty, Pet Adoption, Feminism, The Me Too Movement, Senior Care, Dementia, Sibling Adoption, Disability Awareness, Sexual Harassment, Transparency, the need for affordable healthcare, and Mental Health Awareness to name a few.

Our female lead, Ally was fantastic. She was a bad bitch with a sunny disposition. She was hard working, confident in her abilities, comfortable with her body, honest, not only did she respect herself, she demanded respect.

There is a scene where she tells dude that she does not owe him anything and I was there for it!!!

Our male lead, Dominic was a grump, but he was in no way toxic. I HATE and I mean absolutely HATE it when an author allows toxic behavior. Dom like many male grumps had a bad father figure who left him with hang ups. With the exception of our female lead, he disengaged and held his tongue, leaving him with the reputation of being a bit of an ice king. He was funny and thoughtful yet a bit self-righteous and had a bit of a caring for others complex. Dude wanted to feel needed. He was a giver who didn't always have healthy boundaries. Don't worry this is address and at one point his mama tells him that at his age he has NO business trying to use his childhood as a shield.

Again, I was there for it because YASSSS, no one's childhood is perfect, that's what therapy is for. Stop being a victim and become a survivor, we all need to learn our triggers, set boundaries, and have coping mechanism. Self-awareness is the first step towards self-care. JMO

There were some obvious cliche office romance themes. Poor girl, rich boss who wants to take care of her but not claim her. There's a bit of Pride and Prejudice mixed with The Devil Wears Prada.

Overall I highly recommend this book, will be looking into this author, and would love to see this as a Netflix Limited series.