Rating: 2.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Aiden Reed, owner of Bay Window Books, is in a rut. Every guy he dates is boring, and no one keeps his interest. And then Aiden meets a stranger whose arrogance gets under his skin. By chance, they are both on a dating app, and Aiden learns Derrek Luna’s name. When they meet again, they have a whirlwind date.
Aiden and Derrek both think there’s something between them, but there’s one major hurdle. Derrek is a professional racecar driver, and Aiden cannot be in a car without suffering a major panic attack. When Aiden tries to watch one of Derrek’s qualifying races, he panics and bolts. But both men want to see if they can work out a way to be together.
With communication and patience, Derrek and Aiden come to an understanding that allows them to move forward. But there are forces at work threatening to keep them apart. Aiden’s life is in danger, and he fears he’ll never get to tell Derrek how he truly feels. But when love is real, it will always find a way.
Okay so, I have to be completely honest and say that the blurb for this one intrigued me, but from the moment I started reading, I had some major issues. The writing style was not for me. It was choppy and the storyline was underdeveloped. There was a juvenile quality to it that really didn’t work for me. So where the story could have been compelling, it fell short.
I did like that there was something huge the men faced that seemed insurmountable, and that both Aiden and Derrek had to work to find a compromise. I loved that they actually talked and communicated with each other, as that is something that seems rare in a genre where the big misunderstanding fuels so many plots. We definitely don’t have that here, and that’s the only thing that works to this story’s advantage.
But unfortunately, the chemistry that should have been there to make a love at first sight story work was simply missing. There was clear attraction, but I just couldn’t see what would make these two MCs fall in love so quickly. There was nothing binding them together, except for the fact that they said so. For me, this just wasn’t enough to make the story work.
Add to that, there were some rather distracting side plots that I’m not sure were needed here. In fact, for me, they worked against the story. I don’t want to give anything away, but the storyline surrounding Aiden’s best friend seemed wholly unnecessary to me. And then, toward the end, and seemingly out of nowhere, there was a kidnap plot. This could have worked had the lead up been better foreshadowed, but there just wasn’t enough to make it believable and it felt like it came out of left field. Ultimately, it was just too underdeveloped to seem like anything but far too extreme.
Unfortunately, this story just didn’t work for me. As much as I wanted to enjoy it, I couldn’t get into it and the lack of chemistry made the major plot just seem ridiculous. I can’t recommend this book.
