All the Feels

I am very much here for plus-size representation in romance, less so when the internal monologue for the MMC can't seem to describe the heroine without calling her “round” or “plump,” even things like her arm. I also never got a sense that these two had any real chemistry - the story goes from him needing a “minder” (this man is almost 40 years old, somehow in Spoiler Alert I'd thought he was in his 20s) and constantly teasing/mocking her to them supposedly being in love? Please show your work.He's ridiculously protective of her and it's described as him speaking to her angrily when she doesn't defend herself after someone's treated her badly, and dude, yikes. It's not up to you how someone else handles a situation, especially one they've been in more often than you have. If you don't like that they're in that situation, maybe be angry with the person who put them there. Honestly, while there are backstory reasons for it, it didn't make it any more fun to read, and also, being upset with a person you're in a relationship with for how other people react to them is kind of potentially abusive, pal. Even if you say it's because you love them so much. Also, especially in the beginning of the book, Alex really says some mean things to Lauren (calling her a shrew/harpy/bird-woman), and even if it's teasing or displaced anger at his bosses, it's still not great.So basically, I don't understand why anyone would like Alex, and the book doesn't show me enough of that development from enemies-ish to friends to lovers to make it believable. Lauren's POV thoughts about Alex are mostly about how hot he is, which sure, but that doesn't seem like a recipe for lasting love with this 39-year-old man who still thinks using a short woman as an armrest is funny. I was really looking forward to this book because from the glimpses of these two in [b:Spoiler Alert 50496918 Spoiler Alert (Spoiler Alert, #1) Olivia Dade https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584239588l/50496918.SY75.jpg 75471187], this seemed like a bantering/fun relationship where they each gave as good as they got and were having fun. None of that chemistry made it into this book, which is really disappointing.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I read the first one, and I am not going to lie. I wasn’t impressed. BUT I kept hearing good things about the second one, so I thought I’d give it a shot, and I will say… I really liked it. The story was cute, the characters funny, and it all was grounded in a way that seemed real. It also wasn’t just an excuse to write a ton of sex scenes like the first one was (no shade if that’s what you want, but I like a slower build). I won’t say that this book had the most groundbreaking plot (it was pretty meh), but the characters were really well done, so it made the plot interesting. Lauren and Alex were such a odd duo, but they worked so well. They had similar humor, and their banter was really cute to see. I love seeing a Grumpy X Sunshine trope where the guy is the closest thing to a golden retriever as you can get. I really liked the plus size representation that Lauren brought. She wasn’t ashamed or trying to lose weight or anything like other plus size books normally do. She also wasn’t constantly talking about it either. She just was, and I loved that. I also really appreciated I liked the representation of mental health and ADHD. I feel like it was done in an interesting way. You can really see the impulsivity and certain aspects of ADHD in this book, and it was an interesting plot device.

After reading this book, I can genuinely say that I recommend it. I’ll probably try the third installment just to see if it gets any better. I can’t say that I would recommend the series…but this one was good. (Afternote: I think this book is the only saving grace of the series. I tried to read the book after this one and DNFed it SO….take that for what it is.)