3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC of this novel. Regardless of the way I acquired the novel, the thoughts, opinions, and views stated in this review are completely unbiased and one hundred percent my own.

This review might start off sounding negative, but I promise it turns itself around. Hang in there with me.

I could not get into the beginning of this novel. The writing style kept throwing me out of the story, I didn’t feel actual tension between our two main characters, even though I was told repeatedly that it was there (and as a marketed hate turned to lovers novel that was a pretty solid issue for me). I really struggled for about 60% of the novel, and then I either go acclimated to the tone of the voice/writing style, or I got too swept up in the story to care.

There were a few distinct things that bothered me at first. I had a hard time keeping up with the setting or seeing what was around our characters. I didn’t get the distinction when they moved between rooms, or where they were spatially in scenes, and would oftentimes get thrown out of the story and surprised when they either ended up much closer than anticipated or farther away.

I also found some of the writing or scenarios to be a little more immature than I would have thought for a book of this genre. Sure, most romance novels have some suspended sense of immaturity, and I can accept that for the genre as a whole. But this one explained that our MC’s had had previous relationships, and it still felt like they had never dated before? It was a weird dichotomy of two people being well versed in sex, but who still talked and acted like they were in high school. Which might be okay for some, and if that’s your cup of tea, boom! This book is perfect for you!

Despite everything I just said, I did really enjoy myself while reading the latter half of this book. There were a few things in here that had me going, “Hey, I’ve had this fantasy before!” and it reconnected me to our characters. I also adored that they were stark contrasts physically. The representation in this novel is so wonderfully done, and the culture of both characters is appropriately appreciated. The author also dealt with how our main character handles being a woman in a male dominated industry, and how being a girl boss is crucial to her success, and OKAY! I loved these themes throughout, and thought it added some much needed depth to our female MC. Our male MC was deliciously swoon worthy, and it was nice to watch him come out of his shell.

Overall, I’d probably end up recommending this book to someone looking for a cute, steamy office romance. It’s not the best I’ve ever read, but it’s also no where near the worst. Seeing as this is a debut novel, I’ll definitely be keeping the author on my radar. I’m excited to see what she comes out with next, and to see if any of the things I took issue with in this novel sort themselves out in the next.