Tag: insta-attraction

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Vi Keeland’s What Happens at the Lake ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A- / B+

Tropes: small town romance; grump-sunshine; insta-attraction; he falls first, but reluctantly; overcome the past; neighbors/close proximity

Overcoming the traumas of our past is a continuous theme in literature. The power the past holds to keep us from experiencing the depths of our present impacts almost all of us. In her newest story, Vi Keeland wraps up the truth about letting go in a simmering, spicy romance replete with witty banter, an interfering small town, and a dose of angst. What Happens at the Lake is everything we’ve come to love in a Vi Keeland contemporary romance. She entices you with a beginning that piques your curiosity with its light-heartedness, and she wallops you in the middle with the depths of “life.” Marrying the congeniality of fiction with the emotional gravitas of real life, Keeland engages her readers easily. 

And it’s easy to love Josie and Fox, her main characters. These are not simplistic renderings as trope titles and blurbs would assert. While Josie is the light to Fox’s dark, she holds gradients of both. Fox is no different. When Keeland writes him at his grumpiest, there is still a charm and humor in his characterization. It’s difficult to dislike him even at his most churlish. Keeland has deftly woven his backstory throughout the romance so motivations are understood and sympathy granted to the hard-hearted, emotoinally unavailable Fox. She further showcases her adeptness at drawing complicated characters in making him the first to fall. The relationship-allergic becomes the most emotionally incapacitated by it. While Vi Keeland’s characters first inhabit the pages of her stories as enemies or opponents, she carefully plots to unwind that tension so as to draw the emotions out of her readers. And she succeeds every single time. 

Along with the capable rendering of her characters, in this book, she gifts us with the ameliorating power of the found family in the small town, Laurel Lake, America’s Friendliest Town. Incorporating various characters adds humor to the story as well as wizened guides for both of the characters. This setting is key to undermining the tension between Josie and Fox, and it provides a respite when the story becomes emotionally difficult. There is wisdom in adding this “found family” to both Josie and Fox’s journey. 

Vi Keeland’s What Happens at the Lake is a wonderful read, one that warms your soul and steams your glasses (or panties). The strife, the spice, and the tomfoolery conspire to remind you why you can never pass on a Vi Keeland story.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 Two things I LOVE in contemporary romance: a grumpy, emotionally closed-off MMC and his foil, the sunshiney, independent, charming FMC who ROCKS his world. The other thing: small-town antics that add heat to the fire of the couple. You’ll find all of that deliciousness in Vi Keeland’s What Happens At the Lake. Let’s just say that I INHALED this book…and it’s LIVE early on on the ‘Zon. ✍🏻

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Title: What Happens at the Lake
Author: Vi Keeland
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Trope: Grumpy-Sunshine
Release Date: January 15, 2024
BLURB
When life took an unexpected turn, I decided to get out of New York for a while. What better place to go than the idyllic small town my father spoke about so fondly when I was growing up? Laurel Lake held the title America’s Friendliest Town for seventeen years running, and friendly was just what I needed right now.
Unfortunately, friendly wasn’t the welcome I got when I arrived.
Instead, I got Fox Cassidy. My tall, dark, and burly neighbor, who grunted at me instead of saying hello.
Okay, so I might’ve had his mailbox in my hands the first time we met. And it might’ve been a little crushed after removing it from under my tire. And I might’ve needed his help breaking into the place I was staying in after the key broke off in the lock. But still…he didn’t have to be so grumpy.
As time went on though, I started to notice things about Fox other than his glares. Like how he watched me when he thought I wasn’t looking, or how fire ignited in his eyes whenever we bickered. Though I was in Laurel Lake to escape my problems, not create new ones. And getting involved with a man like Fox screamed trouble, even if he was gorgeous and unlike any man I’d ever met.
But alas, problem seemed to be my middle name this year. So why not have some fun while I was here for the summer? It seemed like a good plan. At least until it was time to go home…
They say what happens at the lake, stays at the lake. But it’s not so easy to walk away when what stays behind…is your heart.
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AUTHOR BIO
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria, Israel, and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
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new release

✍🏻 Ash Kelly is Rebecca Jenshak’s most congenial MMC of her Wildcat Hockey series. You can’t help but fall in love with him in In Your Wildest Dreams. Grab it NOW! ✍🏻

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In Your Wildest Dreams by Rebecca Jenshak is now live! 

He’s the cocky, pro hockey player that tried to get my number during a game. Now he’s sidelined with an injury and I’m his new nurse.

The first time I met Ash Kelly, he stripped off his jersey and gave it to a little girl in the crowd, charming an arena full of fans in the process. Then he tossed me a puck and asked for my number. I was with my jerk ex-boyfriend, who was less than impressed with the whole thing.

The second time he crashes into my life it’s as my patient. There’s no way he should remember me, but he does. Being Ash’s nurse is torture. He’s stubborn and frustrating, and he won’t stop flirting with me now that he knows I’m single. He’s even recruited the entire hospital to help him win me over. And it’s working.

The more time I spend taking care of him, the more he breaks down my defenses. He’s kind and considerate, and he makes my heart race.

But I’ve sworn off dating and getting involved with a charming, handsome hockey player like Ash feels like a terrible idea. We go our separate ways again, despite our undeniable connection.

I should have known it wouldn’t be the last time. For some reason, the universe keeps throwing us together.

I’m finally ready to give him a chance, but there’s one little problem. My ex-boyfriend just got a new job as the assistant GM of the Wildcats. And the only thing he wants more than me is to screw over the man I’m falling for.

In Your Wildest Dreams is a hockey romance with a cocky, cinnamon roll hero, spice, banter, and a happily ever after. It’s the fourth book in the Wildcat Hockey series and can be enjoyed as a standalone.

  Download today on read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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Meet Rebecca


Rebecca Jenshak is a USA Today bestselling author of new adult and sports romance. She writes sexy, feel-good stories with lots of swoon-worthy moments.

Rebecca lives in Arizona. When she isn’t writing, you can find her cheering on local sports teams, hanging out with friends and family, or curled up with a good book.

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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Helena Hunting’s Where It Begins, an origin story for Hunting’s Pucked series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A

Tropes: single mom; single dad; insta-attraction; prequel

Helena Hunting’s Where It Begins is the romance you didn’t know you needed. This engaging novella, a tome under the 1001 Dark Nights press, is the prequel story of Skye, Violet’s mom from Hunting’s beloved Pucked, and Sidney, Miller’s father from that same book. There isn’t much complication in this story; it’s one of those reads that will put a smile on your face because it breeds nostalgia for one of Hunting’s favorite series. Skye is the OP to Violet’s characterization. If you loved Violet in Pucked, you will adore Skye because Violet is a carbon copy of her mother. This means lots of nervous, inappropriate chatter, gut problems, and huge ti…knockers. Sidney’s characterization is underwhelming in this story because he’s simply her love interest. That isn’t to undermine his character development. Where It Begins is a love note to Hunting’s Pucked series fans. It’s intended for you to read and feel nostalgic for that series (at least that’s the case for me). I finished this fun and entertaining novella, pining for a re-read of Pucked. And that is the brilliance of this story.

Even if you haven’t read Helena Hunting’s Pucked series, you can read Skye and Sidney’s story. When you’re done, jump into the Pucked world. You will not regret it.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 Love an origin story? Fan of Helena Hunting’s beloved Pucked series? Where It Begins is HERE! This story is everything you LOVE about that series. ✍🏻

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Single dad, hockey coach, and the last guy this single mom should fall for.

Where It Begins, an all-new swoon-filled Pucked novella from New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting, is available now!

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Helena Hunting comes a new story in her Pucked series. The untold story of Skye and Sidney, and the origin story where Vi and Miller are teens when their parents start dating and fall in love…

I accidentally grabbed the wrong drink at the coffee shop. On the upside, the hot guy it belonged to chased me down to kindly swap with me. On the down side, the reason I grabbed the wrong drink in the first place is because the hot guy had just caught me checking out his ass…sets.

In my defense, his rear view is rather magnificent.

In true, humiliating form, I word-vomited a bunch of horrible nonsense. Including an unnecessary explanation of the trauma I’d evaded thanks to his chasing me down. Nothing could ruin my lactose-intolerant day faster than my one true nemesis: dairy.

I did not expect him to ask me out on a date after that.

I also didn’t expect the date to go well since my tendency to truth-vomit is high, and not everyone finds that quality endearing.

But apparently he does. Because he asks me out again.
And again.

Sidney Butterson (yes, it’s a weird last name) ticks all my boxes.
He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s employed and he’s ridiculously hot.
There’s one catch.

We’re both single parents. With teens.

And if our kids don’t like each other?
Well, we’re doomed.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

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Keep reading for a look inside Where It Begins!

Hubert, the barista, calls out, “Skye and Sidney! Your lattes are ready!”
I rush forward and grab mine, muttering a hasty, “Thanks!” Then beeline for the exit. Of course, that’s the moment a hoard of teens barrel through the door, forcing me to hold it open until the entire gaggle has stormed the café.
Once outside, I hustle to the crosswalk. I punch the button and glare as the sign counts down from thirty.
And then I hear my name being called.
I glance toward the café and, much to my horror, the attractive man whose butt I was admiring is rushing toward me, coffee in hand.
“Hey! You’re Skye, right?” he asks.
“Yes. That’s me.” Maybe he didn’t mind my checking out his butt.
“You took the wrong coffee.” He taps the side of the cup with the name SKYE written in Larissa’s lovely cursive.
“Oh.” I turn mine around and see Sidney scrawled on the side. And it’s a pumpkin spice latte. Half sweet, skim milk. “Wow. I would have spent the rest of the afternoon working from a bathroom stall if you hadn’t caught me.” At his questioning expression, I continue with the embarrassing word vomit. “I’m lactose intolerant and this much dairy would mean stomach cramps for days.” I bite my lips together and close my eyes. “Sorry. You didn’t need to know that. I haven’t taken a sip. See. No lipstick prints.” I thrust the cup toward him and reluctantly crack a lid.
He’s smiling. Widely. “I’m very glad I caught you when I did then. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for an afternoon of prolonged discomfort.”
We exchange takeout cups. “It would’ve been my fault for not checking more than the S, but I was trying to escape my embarrassment. Seems like it’s following me around and making things worse.” I step away from this exceptionally hot man who inspires an unprecedented amount of word vomit. “Thank you for stopping me. You, uh…you didn’t drink out of mine, did you?”
“I didn’t.” His eyes are blue. So vibrant and pretty and his teeth are straight. I glance at his hand. His ring finger is bare. Then I realize he’s giving my hand the same inspection. “Do you work around here?”
“Just across the street.” I thumb over my shoulder. “You?”
“No, but I’m in the area often.” He tucks a hand in his pocket. “Maybe you’d like to grab a coffee later this week?”
I blink at him. Then open my mouth and ask a stupid question. “Are you asking me out?”
“Unless you’re already seeing someone. I didn’t see a ring, so I was hopeful.” His bottom lip slides through his teeth and for a moment, he looks boyishly handsome.
“But…you don’t know anything about me.” I don’t know why I haven’t said yes yet. He’s attractive and thoughtful enough to stop me from drinking the wrong coffee. His kindness saved me from ending up curled in the fetal position on a bathroom floor.
He rubs the back of his neck. “I’ve seen you here before. I’ve been working up the nerve to introduce myself. Looks like the universe gave me a push in the right direction.” He holds up a hand and gives his head a little shake. “I’m probably making this awkward. I’ll be here Wednesday at eleven-thirty. Hopefully, I’ll see you then.” And with that, he turns and disappears into the crowd.

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new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Stacy Travis’s Love You More, book 1 of her Buttercup Hill series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: B+

Tropes: single dad; grump/sunshine; insta-attraction; small town romance; romantic suspense

Stacy Travis’s newest book, Love You More, the first book of her Buttercup Hill series, adds to the tradition of small-town romances found in stories by authors such as Devney Perry, Catherine Cowles, Elsie Silver, etc.  Travis has deftly crafted a regional small-town romance much like the authors noted above. Given that I live in California, I’m excited about this series because it sits at my geographical back door. Even more, she has set up a compelling series, starting with Jax and Ruby. Here’s what I loved about Love You More:

  1. There is nothing better than grump/sunshine. Ruby is the light to Jax’s dark, and Stacy Travis has drawn their chemistry well in this story.
  2. I’m also a fan of the single dad (or parent) trope because we know cute encounters with the heroine are a deciding factor for their future. Ruby and Jax’s daughter, Fiona, are adorable together, instantly hitting it off, given their shared experience of losing a parent. Fiona adds levity to Jax and Ruby’s fraught romantic journey.
  3. This is small-town romance at its best in a wine town such as Napa. Stacy Travis has carefully created this town, making us fall in love with it while also wanting more.
  4. The plot and character development are the most important parts of this story. I know readers will want more steam from these two, but, given that this is the first book of the series, Travis has taken the space to set up the region of her series while also doling out the beginnings of a mystery certain to thread through the other books of this series. She’s made some keen decisions with the development of this series in this first book.
  5. Small-town romance needs a combination of fun and angst, and I think Stacy Travis has balanced those two well in her first book.

My biggest criticism of Love You More is the inconsistency in her characterization of Stella. There are moments in her story when her want for Jax versus the pull of her responsibility for her sister is confusing. She would accept Jax in her life to quickly turn around and spurn him out of her need to care for her college-aged sister. It was story whiplash, and I thought it interrupted the flow of her plot. 

As the first book of a new series, Stacy Travis’s Love You More, was a delight. I’ve read Stacy from the beginning and her growth as a romance writer is paying dividends in Stella and Jax’s story. I can’t wait to find out Jax’s dad’s secrets. I imagine, though, that Stacy Travis will keep us guessing.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Catherine Bybee’s The Whole Time ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: B

Tropes: insta-attraction; opposites attract; friend’s brother

Catherine Bybee’s The Whole Time gifts us with Salena’s romance. If you’ve been reading her The D’Angelos series, Salena has been a breath of fresh air amongst the old charm of the D’Angelo’s romances. While her best friend, Chloe, is the requisite rule-follower, Salena marches to the beat of her own drum. She’s independent (seemingly so) and knows herself well. She’s a $exual being who doesn’t apologize for it. Instead, we find through her story that she leans into it, and it’s her superpower. 

It would make sense that she would need a partner such as Ryan who would accept her as she is and be attracted by it. The self-professed “black sheep” of his family, Ryan is an apt match for Salena. The Whole Time is a story of instant attraction and a journey of becoming. The story begins with Salena sneaking out of her parents’ home to find the independence she craves from her old-world Italian family. It ends with her having found that independence and a whole lot more. 

What I’ve loved about The D’Angelos series is its location, the charm of its characters, and the real-life feel of Bybee’s characters. These are characters whom you expect to meet on your street. While we might not be Italian, we understand the difficulty of growing up with a certain amount of respect for parental expectations while also wanting to find our own space. Bybee deftly crafts this struggle in both Ryan’s and Salena’s lives. She makes it palpable and understandable for her reader.  Whether you’re the son of a wealthy wine owner or the daughter of traditional Italians, we can understand the want to be our own person on our own terms. 

Throughout The Whole Time, we are once again treated to the lives of the D’Angelos after the conclusions of their stories. I love the relationships that Bybee has created through these stories. The theme of family is the foundation of these stories, and they add a layer to Salena and Ryan’s romantic journey. 

My biggest criticism about this story is its heavy-handedness in chronology. In the former D’Angelos stories, they don’t read like a time diary. This one, however, walks us through each month of Ryan and Salina’s lives. It sometimes makes the story feel tedious. While I believe the character development and the capacity to place them in the space of this world are these story’s strengths, there were times when the story read slow, and I believe it has to do with the plodding of its chronology.

Catherine Bybee, however, did not disappoint with The Whole Time. My favorite moments come at the end when Ryan and Salena find their happy ending on their own terms. Even though this book and its predecessors are set in San Diego and Temecula, neither of which I’d describe as traditional “small towns,” this newest book from Bybee gives you all the feels of a small-town romance.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland’s The Rules of Dating: My One-Night Stand ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-/B+

Tropes: one night stand (ONS) to more; close proximity/neighbors; insta-attraction; surprise baby; grump/sunshine; cinnamon roll MMC

Who knew? Who knew that the big, busy grump of the friend group in Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland’s series, The Law of Opposites Attract, would have the biggest heart of his friend group? In the series’ first two books, we learn that Owen, the MMC of their newest story, The Rules of Dating: My One-Night Stand, works A LOT. To be a successful real estate mogul would require it. We also see him as the voice of reason, sometimes the “stick in the mud”. However, in their newest story, Owen is a good guy who falls instantly for Devyn, a woman he meets in a bar. When she ghosts him after their one-night stand, he believes he won’t ever see her again until he finds her in an apartment in his apartment building. He is drawn to her, and she is drawn to him too. However, her life is complicated. 

What sets Owen apart from his friends is his instantaneous commitment to wooing and winning Devyn’s heart. To date, he is the swooniest of Keeland and Ward’s MMCs in this series. The traits of tenacity and perseverance emphasized through his work ethic become the main reason why Devyn falls for him despite a list of complications. Keeland and Ward draw this couple so well in The Rules of Dating: My One-Night Stand that you cheer them on through the entirety of this book.

What’s compelling about Ward and Keeland’s stories is their second, sometimes third-act plot disruption. It happens in all of their books. Given the predominance of it in their stories, one would think this might cause their readers to grow bored of their storytelling. However, the plot disruption is usually something you don’t expect. In this newest book, you might think it’s the surprise baby plot device. But it isn’t. It’s something I didn’t expect, and it added emotional gravity to Ward and Keeland’s romance. I find their ability to create these moments in their stories compelling and one reason I adore their romances. The Rules of Dating: My One-Night Stand is another example of Ward and Keeland’s genius at crafting spicy, ingenious, and compelling romances.

In love and romance,

Professor A

Excerpt/Sneak Peek

✍🏻 The Rules of Dating: My One Night Stand by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland is coming in 3 days. This is my favorite of their The Law of Opposites Attract series. Check out this sneak peek. ✍🏻

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Title: The Rules of Dating My One-Night Stand
Authors: Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: November 12, 2023
Excited about Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland’s 
upcoming release, The Rules of Dating 
My One-Night Stand? 
Check out this SNEAK PEEK!
“Can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“Were you jealous that I was out with another woman?”
Devyn looked away. “No.”
My lip twitched. “No, huh?”
“I wasn’t jealous.”
It was difficult to keep a straight face, because she was so clearly full of sh$t. But…if she wasn’t jealous, a few details wouldn’t bother her, right?
I sipped my wine and watched Devyn’s face. “Tarryn asked if I wanted to take her back to my place.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s nice.”
“We’ve had sex before. So I don’t think she wanted to sit on the couch and watch TV.”
Devyn’s face flushed red.
I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see her get pissed—admit she was damn jealous.
“Yeah, that Tarryn’s a real wild woman in bed. Last time she visited, we broke a lamp. Knocked it right off the end table from the bed bouncing around so much.”
I watched the muscle flex in her cheek, the same cheek that was turning a lovely shade of crimson. Yet she still wouldn’t look at me.
“Devyn?”
Her lips pursed as she stared straight ahead.
“Devyn?” I said louder.
“What?”
“Look at me.”
Her head whipped to face me, and she stared with daggers in her eyes.
I smiled. “It wouldn’t bother you if I…fu¢ked Tarryn?”
That did it.
She broke.
But she didn’t yell at me like I expected.
Not at all.
Instead, she smashed her lips against mine.
It caught me so off guard that I took a few seconds to catch up. By the time I did, Devyn was hoisting herself over, climbing me like a freaking tree.
Fu¢k yeah.
This.
This was the chemistry we’d had from the very start.
I grabbed her a$s with one hand, lifting her higher, and guided her legs around my waist, so lost in the moment that nothing existed in the world except this kiss.
Which was probably why I didn’t hear the door open…
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BLURB
Rule number one for having a one-night stand: Don’t fall for the girl.
After a lengthy dating slump, I finally met someone who sparked my interest.
Well, first the sparks flew when we argued. Later in the evening those sparks ignited into something more.
I was drawn to Devyn, in a way I hadn’t felt in a really long time.
Needless to say, I was disappointed when she abruptly left after our amazing night together.
I couldn’t stop thinking about her. But she hadn’t even given me her number.
In a city with eight-million people, I figured I’d never see Devyn again.
So imagine my surprise when I knocked on the door of an apartment in the building I lived in, and none other than my one-night stand stood on the other side.
If I thought Devyn didn’t want anything to do with me before, that was nothing compared to how she felt after finding out I was the landlord and she was about to be evicted…
And that was just the first surprise that would rock my world when it came to the mystery woman in apartment 410.
PENELOPE WARD
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance. 
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over thirty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
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VI KEELAND
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
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Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Review: Lexi Blake’s Love The Way You Spy, book 1 of the Masters & Mercenaries New Recruits ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: B

Tropes: next generation; insta-attraction; bdsm; romantic suspense; found family; grump/sunshine; forced proximity; fake relationship

Lexi Blake’s Love The Way You Spy is a much-anticipated read. If you’ve read her Masters and Mercenaries series (all iterations), you know this is the next generation of spies. I went into this book excited for Tasha Taggart and her love story. And I enjoyed the suspense of it, the curve balls that Lexi Blake loves to throw at her readers. For me, the suspense portion of the story was the most interesting, but I struggled with the love story. Honestly, I don’t think this is Lexi Blake’s fault…well maybe a little. The pacing is a bit slow. I didn’t need the constant reminders from Dare that he wouldn’t be able to have a future with Tasha even though she provided him comfort and a safe landing space for his feelings. Even though he feels seen by her, he “can’t have her.” Dare’s admonishments went a bit too far in this story.

Additionally, must Ian Taggart always save the day? I love him. Really I do. The found family trope of this story is the common thread of the Masters and Mercenaries universe. It’s one of the main reasons I continue to read these stories. And Love The Way You Spy is no different. The next generation, while struggling with fraught connections, has the comfort of the found family trope. The best part of Dare’s journey is his realization that he can be loved, not just by Tasha, but also by a broader group of people including Ian Taggart. But I’d love for Papa Taggart not to be the ultimate rescuer. I recognize the forthcoming characters are young, but I’m hoping there will be other former Masters and Mercenaries characters to guide this talented crew through their professional and personal journeys.

Overall, I liked Love The Way You Spy, but it was a slower read than I expected, and I found that to be disappointing.

In love and romance,

Professor A