I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Once Upon a Bad Boy by Melonie Johnson is the third book in her Sometimes in Love series. This time it follows actress Sadie Gold as she returns home to film her first leading movie role. This book has every contemporary romance trope I love: star-studded, second chance, first love. Seriously y'all I was hooked from the start and finished the book in less than 24 hours. If I hadn't desperately needed sleep, I would've finished it in one sitting.

Sadie Gold is an easy character to like. She's not the typical, full of herself actress that the tabloids portray. Instead she's the girl-next-door type. She keeps to herself, has a few very close friends, and doesn't really date. This movie she is training for could make or break her career, and she is ready to tackle it head on. What she is not ready for is working with the man that broke her heart all those long years ago.

Bo Ibarra is, quite simply, a good man. He works hard for everything he owns and for the business he is a partner of. When Sadie reenters his life, he is as prepared as he can be. He knows he must face her, and he's ready. Maybe fate throwing them together is a second chance, if she'll have him.

The tension between Sadie and Bo drive this plot. Sadie never stopped loving Bo, but she never forgave or understood why he left her all those years ago. Bo never stopped loving her either and his reasons for leaving are flimsy at best. Yet Sadie is willing to put her heart on the line and pursue a possible future with this man. The problem: there is a big secret hanging between them that once brought to light could unravel that future Bo is building.

Now about this secret….I have to talk about it because well it bugs me. So I'm putting it in spoiler tags. If you've read the book, feel free to read and message me your thoughts because I want others' opinions. If you haven't read the book, click and read at your own risk 😉

Spoiler

Why oh why did the secret have to be about abortion?! I get that right now it is a big topic in our country, but it seriously could have been anything. It could have been a miscarriage or an adoption. But abortion?! Really, you bring that up at the end of the book, like literally the last three or four chapters (if even that!). It didn't fit the story. Sadie claims she sure of the decision she made, that it was the right one and she isn't remorseful….at the end of the story. BUT during the whole book, she has panic attacks over little things that remind her of what could have been. I like that the author shows this side of abortion, but it doesn't fit with Sadie's attitude, and the whole thing is rushed as a plot device at the end of the story. NOT cool!

Overall, I enjoyed Once Upon a Bad Boy. I enjoyed it so much that I'd like to go back and read the previous stories of the series. While the book can be read as a standalone, the characters from the previous books pop in and out and there are spoilers to those books in this one which is why I'd like to go back and read those. If you enjoy contemporary, second chance romance, I highly recommend this one.