This is the second book in the All I Ever Duet, and since I loved the first book, All I Ever Needed (Pssst I gave it 5 stars) so much, I was looking forward to this book to continue the story, and it delivered. This is a story of enemies to lovers as Eddie does not like Isla. He thinks she’s too much, too wild. He’s in the Chicago PD and is quiet, regimented, and likes things a certain way. Isla is an Irish bartender with a wicked sarcasm that she’s not afraid to use on unruly men, a free spirit that lets her be spontaneous, and an attraction to Eddie that she feels isn’t reciprocated. In the last book, they kissed, so this book is months later, and neither of them has talked since that kiss. Isla feels like she might have gotten him out of her system since the kiss.  Eddie is a single detective working on a big case, and he focuses all his time on it. Some of the guys give him a hard time, and when it’s time to go to the annual Badge and Bloom Ball, he asks Isla for a favor… to be his date and pretend girlfriend. Her ability to put people in their place is just what Eddie wants to do with another officer who is always on his case. She agrees as long as he will do her a favor and help her with a customer at the bar who won’t leave her alone.  

I love the banter between these two, and when it’s time to play a pretend couple, they get along so well that you can feel the happiness between them. You just want to scream at Eddie for being clueless for so long. This book doesn’t have a lot of spice, but it’s not needed as you get so wrapped up in the fake dating that you become invested. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so between that and the fake dating, when the book wrapped up, it felt like a warm hug. I didn’t want the story to end.  If you haven’t read All I Ever Needed, you will want to start there.