Alyssa Cole hit it out of the park yet again with Can't Escape Love. The core aspects of this story: its characters, romantic chemistry, and execution were excellently crafted. My only quibble with the book was how constrained it felt because of its economical page count. But, overall it was a great read.

Can't Escape Love follows Reggie, the self-assured CEO of a media company, and Gus, a puzzle enthusiast and architect. Reggie is an insomniac and Gus's voice is the only thing that can put her to sleep. Gus barters nightly phone calls in exchange for Reggie's expertise as he designs an escape room based on her favourite anime.

I absolutely adored Reggie and Gus as a couple. One of Alyssa Cole's strengths as a writer is creating well-realized characters that slot perfectly into each other's lives. I was sold on how prickly, controlling Reggie softened under Gus's blunt and straightforward charm. Their banter and fast affection for each other melted my heart.

Another strength of the writing was the execution of their eventual miscommunication. The conflict came from established character flaws, Reggie's reserve and Gus's reluctance for confrontation, rather than a manufactured external force. This made their blunders feel like the natural growing pains of a relationship rather than a plot contrivance. It also helped that Cole didn't draw this piece of the story out for too long.

I would recommend reading this novella after its predecessor A Duke By Default. While the story stands alone some of the character motivations and plot points feel more well-realized with the context of the previous novel. The novella also somewhat spoils aspects of that book so if you're wary of spoilers it's best to avoid this one.

I will also warn if you're not fond of nerd culture references in books I would steer clear of the story entirely because it is packed with them. While this can feel forced in some stories Cole captured an earnest love for nerdy shit in Reggie that made her referential nature feel like an authentic part of her personality. Though my love of the nerdy shit Reggie referenced may make me more tolerant of this than most.

Can't Escape Love's only weakness is its length. While Cole does a great job within the constraints of her page count there were a handful of moments I felt could have been fleshed out more for greater impact. The story needed more room to breathe, especially in its second act. I also found the lack of real resolution frustrating. The story was missing a chapter tying everything up with and felt lopsided and rushed as a result.

All in all Alyssa Cole wrote another fantastic romance. Reading Can't Escape Love was a great way to spend the day and I can't wait to get to A Prince on Paper next.