Hero has great hot friends too and a hot younger brother who is a cop (Lucian-sir spare me a hand in marriage?? Nash-daddy handcuff me to your bed???) I’d lost myself while trying to convince someone else that I was what he wanted. I’d forgotten who I was because I’d let someone else take over the definition.” Nash is in a funk as the book begins as he is trying to heal both mentally and physically from a gunshot wound that occurred in the first book. He cannot seem to get his head on straight or enjoy what he previously did, not even his work.

This could have been an ok, sweet story if she just had dialed it down a notch, had not repeated herself 300 times and written normal, down-to-earth characters.

Games

This book descends into Life Lesson territory so fast. I don't read books to feel lectured, and I didn't need every single character to have a drawn-out heart-to-heart with each other to grasp the main meanings behind this book. I'm starting to think that subtlety in writing is a lost art. Waylay is such a good kid ! Smart, intelligent and witty that there’s no way you don’t fall in love with her and cheer for them to be happy … The characters were so one-dimensional and every issue/inconvenience felt extremely contrived. For instance, the ongoing subplot of Naomi trying to impress the CPS lady. In the end, it turned out to be a non-issue and only existed so the CPS lady could give Naomi advice about Knox. I don't even really want to talk about this book a lot, so I'm just going to list what I didn't like:

Lucian is a power seeker, always bent on revenge and erasing the damage his father did to the family name. He’s bonded with the feisty librarian over a dark secret from the past and their current hatred for each other. And the spice, well, if you like it… it’s very much there. This was, at its core, a romance of two unlikely people, and the witty supporting cast that surrounded them was more than entertaining. I just felt like Tina's grand thing could of been something else. Which is why after all these points the book didn't give me that 5 star feeling. It feels bad saying this but the writing in this book isn't anything special like people say it is.here’s how I picture Knox… you know that guy on TikTok with the axe who breaks apart those tree trunks??? THAT MAN???? In my head, that’s him 🤪 (If you don’t like fan casting, then just forget I said anything 😐) There’s a difference between taking care of someone because you love them and taking care of someone because you want them to love you”