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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rue has a tendency to keep her circle small and focus on her career as a biotech engineer working on a food patent that could change the lives of many suffering from food insecurity. She doesn’t do relationships just one night flings with carefully chosen partners who she never plans to see again. When one of those nights goes wrong and that very same guy ends up being the face of the hostile takeover at her workplace Rue’s entire world is flipped upside down.
It should be easy for her to stay away from Eli as he’s a threat to her job but the attraction between them is too strong. But secret affairs never stay that way for long especially when the truth of his takeover comes to light changing everything Rue thought she knew about her tight knit work family.
It’s no secret that I have been a dedicated stan of Ali’s STEM books and this one is no different. Rue will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea. Her neurodivergence may make it hard for some readers to connect to her right away but I loved her straightforward and honest personality so much. Her goal to help make the world a better place than the one she grew up in and her intense protective loyalty of her friends won me over in no time.
Eli is such a simp for her and I love it. The way he is instantly obsessed with her despite her pushback and his willingness to gently work his way past her reservations and obstacles makes him an elite book boyfriend.
The spice in this one was spicing. This is definitely Ali’s hottest book to date. There are multiple detailed steamy scenes and I am here for it.
The only thing I struggled with in this book is that Eli’s POV is third person whereas Rue’s is first person. I had a slightly difficult time in my head transitioning back and forth between them as the chapters switched. This may have been more challenging as I was listening to the audio but it didn’t dim my love for this book. It’s still firmly secured as a top read for the year.
If a steamy forbidden STEM secret romance with a neurodivergent fmc and a boy obsessed mmc with some corporate espionage, a secret hockey romance plot line and even a little bit of patent law drama sounds intriguing then you will love this one too!
It should be easy for her to stay away from Eli as he’s a threat to her job but the attraction between them is too strong. But secret affairs never stay that way for long especially when the truth of his takeover comes to light changing everything Rue thought she knew about her tight knit work family.
It’s no secret that I have been a dedicated stan of Ali’s STEM books and this one is no different. Rue will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea. Her neurodivergence may make it hard for some readers to connect to her right away but I loved her straightforward and honest personality so much. Her goal to help make the world a better place than the one she grew up in and her intense protective loyalty of her friends won me over in no time.
Eli is such a simp for her and I love it. The way he is instantly obsessed with her despite her pushback and his willingness to gently work his way past her reservations and obstacles makes him an elite book boyfriend.
The spice in this one was spicing. This is definitely Ali’s hottest book to date. There are multiple detailed steamy scenes and I am here for it.
The only thing I struggled with in this book is that Eli’s POV is third person whereas Rue’s is first person. I had a slightly difficult time in my head transitioning back and forth between them as the chapters switched. This may have been more challenging as I was listening to the audio but it didn’t dim my love for this book. It’s still firmly secured as a top read for the year.
If a steamy forbidden STEM secret romance with a neurodivergent fmc and a boy obsessed mmc with some corporate espionage, a secret hockey romance plot line and even a little bit of patent law drama sounds intriguing then you will love this one too!
I had to skip the erotica bits, the dialogue was REAL bad in some parts, and I still think the romance genre just isn't for me. BUT. This had a pretty decent plot and well-developed characters for a book of this style. Not that I'm an expert, but most romance books I've read usually have super blank-slate protagonists, and I respect this for avoiding that trap.
(babe, if you're reading this, can you please read one of mine now? I've done my time
(babe, if you're reading this, can you please read one of mine now? I've done my time
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Rue was emotionally closed off for most of the story bc she doesn’t trust people and doesn’t care to make an effort. Except she’s drawn to Eli and it becomes complicated bc she feels good with him like no one else before but feels like she’s betraying her loyalists. It’s kinda a cop out that one of the people she trusted the longest turned out to be kinda terrible—at the very least self-serving and not worth her loyalty— bc Rue didn’t actually have to face a difficult decision of choosing between Eli and Florence. And of course Eli fell head over heels for Rue’s aloof, mean demeanor. I think it really did start with a strong physical attraction but then for whatever reason, he saw something more in her and couldn’t shake it.
We got our HEA with a little character growth in the end.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
I don't know what to write about this book.
It was sweet, it was spicy and I have no idea if the representation of the workplace was valid or not.
It was sweet, it was spicy and I have no idea if the representation of the workplace was valid or not.
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was really excited to read this because I read problematic summer romance before this. I was really disappointed and I feel this lacked SO MUCH DEPTH in the characters. I think this could have been an easy 4 stars if the plot was written about more, but it felt as if the main focus was sex and erotic scenes. I almost DNFed it but stayed to see what happens with the plot, although not really entirely worth it.