Is it so bad that I tricked my older brother’s best friend into taking my v-card?
Maybe.
In my defense, it was Dante Reid—my crush, my first love, and the one I ended up pushing away.
Our paths split in opposite directions.
I went to college on one coast while he returned to work with the US Army on the other.
The end.
Or so I thought.
After graduating and attempting a bucket list of self-discovery, guess who I find standing outside the jail, bailing me out from a crime I didn’t commit?
Dante freaking Reid—this time with more muscles, more tattoos, and more demands.
One of which is to move in across the hall from him so he can keep me safe. Like I need protection after a little felony mix-up.
I don’t.
Unless it’s from him.
Because Dante has been my downfall before …
And living next to the guy I gave my innocence to a long time ago may actually end in my complete devastation.
Brother’s best friend protector romance with a bit of second chance and friends to lovers, topped off by a hint of love triangle? Sign me up! The blurb grabbed me so I one-clicked this and dove right in. This is a wild ride but fell a little short for me. Lilah and Dante have so much history, but life has gotten in the way, not to mention his top-secret mission and apparent involvement with her twin. Plus, there was the whole tricking him into punching her v-card before she’d even blown out the candles on that 18th birthday cake. Complicated is an understatement and despite the (copious) heat and delicious suspense, there’s a lot of angst here. Too much, in fact. Toning down the angst would have made this story so much better.
Dante and Lilah are hot together and make a great team — when they can stand one another long enough to cooperate. I enjoyed their story overall, but there were some things that didn’t work for me, like the love triangle and all of the unnecessary angst. Seriously, like so much angst.
I liked the characters and everything about the two of them together but some of the things that happened to them were just too much. Their chemistry is amazing and they’re both likeable characters, which is why I eventually lost my patience with all the obstacles in their way. At some point, it became overkill, which watered down the story for me. The plot was just pummeling them in so many ways and it was just too much. I probably didn’t like this enough to read the next book, but I may still give it a try. Sometimes a series starts off rough but becomes amazing, so I won’t rule it out completely but I’m honestly shocked at the popularity of this book. I just don’t see the appeal.
