I had a great spring break, which is a thing that I made for myself because for some reason we don’t get one as adults and that felt cruel this year for some reason. Anyway, the reason I had a great spring break is because I read a lot of good books, including these three. I was lucky enough to receive e and audio review copies from Avon of Enemies to Lovers, from St. Martin’s Griffin of While You Were Seething, and Montlake gave me just the e-ARC of How Not to Fall in Love via Netgalley. So let’s dive in to talking about them, shall we?
Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai
If you liked Ally Carter’s The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold or really anything Ally has written, I think you should pick this up when you’re in the mood for something similar. Essentially, this book follows Sejal, who is trying to fly extremely under the radar because her mom had her kidnapped a couple years ago and that was obviously a bad time. So color her surprised when the man she chooses to help her out of a sticky situation actually handcuffs her to her own bed because he needs her cooperation to help him figure out something related to her mom’s mafia business. Krish is only pretending to be a FBI agent so that he can find his brother, the actual FBI agent, and he’s trying really hard to ignore the fact that Sejal is nothing like what he was expecting and also she’s so very pretty. The two of them wind up on a cross country road trip from NYC to LA, by way of Las Vegas, and there are a bunch of hijinks in the meantime.
I listened to this book thanks to the audio copy I received from the publisher via Netgalley and I really did have a pleasant time. I think that there were definite lulls in the narrative that had me zoning out a little bit, but then it picks back up. I would also like to mention that this really is a sequel to Partners in Crime and while technically they are interconnected standalones, this book is not one I would really recommend not reading in order. The background information from Partners in Crime is pretty imperative and also it will help follow who everyone is to some extent.
I do think that the end of this book needed about thirty more pages or so to just explore a little more the aftermath of the main adventuring parts. But if you’re participating in #SpringIntoLoveBingo, this book features an Immigrant Main Character, works for No Marriage, and works for the AAPI Rep square.
While You Were Seething
by Charlotte Stein
Daisy and Caleb were not on friendly terms when they were in college together, but… Let’s just say if you like an Ali Hazelwood man who is obsessed with the heroine while she has NO IDEA, then this might work for you. These two cross paths again when Daisy is asked to be Caleb’s publicist for his book tour after he basically insulted romance readers while writing romance novels. Except, his last “romance” doesn’t actually sound like it was one based on the description in the book, but I don’t think that’s the point.
Anyway, Caleb is like a hermit and doesn’t like to talk to anyone, especially not Daisy, but because we only have her perspective, we don’t really know why. What I will say is that if you find books where the characters are incapable of communicating about their feelings, I wouldn’t recommend this. But the banter was pretty fun and I really enjoyed the narration of the audiobook! So, while this book wasn’t my favorite, I still had a good time. Charlotte Stein is a fabulous writer.
How Not to Fall in Love
by Karla Sorensen
Remi is a single mom who is also taking care of her grandpa and really just going so hard in basically every area of her life. It was stressing me out as a fellow people pleaser. When Archer Evans pleads guilty to a DWI where he ran into part of the animal shelter where Remi is interim director, the two cross paths after an initial steamy anonymous encounter on a very rare night out for Remi. We also get to know a couple of Archer’s teammates, we see Coach and Lily, and we meet Archer’s family. Then on Remi’s side, we meet her bestie, her son, and her grandpa. Plus some work people. One of my favorite things about Sorensen’s writing is the way she builds out the community for her characters. I really loved getting to know all of the people she introduced and seeing Coach and Lily again.
My favorite thing was absolutely the dynamic between Remi and Archer though. They start out electric and then when they meet again at the animal shelter, Archer is awful and Remi doesn’t stand for it. I’m going to include a spoiler with my Goodreads review just in case you may need details about what that conflict looks like. But anyway, from that meeting, the tone is set at first with Remi absolutely despising Archer. But we get to really understand why Archer reacted the way that he did, lashing out, and there’s some really great character work with him. I do wish therapy was involved, if we’re being honest.
There is a courtroom in this scene that had me SCREAMING with how wrong it was, but that’s just me being a lawyer who practices criminal law. But despite not being able to read this book on a bigger screen than my phone (seriously, why??), I devoured it. I loved it. Karla Sorensen’s writing always hits for me.
Closing Thoughts
Definitely fun reads have been had this month. Have you read or are you thinking about reading any of these three? Let me know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 