A review by justmevictoria
In Walked Trouble by Dana Hawkins

4.0

Rivalries are all fun & games until feelings get involved… 

 

Home for the summer before pursing her masters in nursing, Maya is both excited and nervous about her first day working as a bartender for her mother's oldest friend. Her nerves kick into overdrive when she meets senior bartender Remi, who's cold exterior gets positively icy when their boss informs them that they'll be working together for some healthy competition to earn a bonus. Remi has been waiting for a promotion to help her secure a loan for a house, while Maya has already put her studies on hold several times because of the tuition. Both could really use the extra money to take the next step in their lives. What neither expect is a mutual attraction as they realise that neither is the enemy they perceive, and that both fill a hole in each other's lives in a way they never expected. But between friendly bar rivalry, a rule about no colleague romances, and the prospect of Maya returning to college come Fall, jobs and hearts are on the line. 

 

Annoyed with myself that I waited so long to read this second installment, but also glad I inadvertently waited until the third book came out? It was so enjoyable to be pulled back into Dana's world of Seattle, filled with fun queer characters, lots of swoon, and plenty of heart. I absolutely adored Mack and Charlie's story in the first book, and diving into Remi and Maya's story was just as enjoyable. Dana knows how to write beautiful characters with lots a depth and a generous serving of glorious queerness! 

 

Where I struggle with enemies-to-lovers, the rivals-to-lovers trope is filled with the right amount of tension to deliver ALL the sizzling moments in any great romance. Remi and Maya had so many swoony and lust-filled moments that paired nicely with developing sweetness of their relationship. Both characters have their fair-share of past trauma and emotional baggage that closes them off to prospect of truly opening themselves up to new people, but together they are each other's strength. 

 

This is a closed-door romance, which I totally forgot about, but Dana does give a small and steamy build-up to the fade to black moments that focuses so much on the connection and chemistry between these characters, rather than it being a purely spicy moment. It's a testament to how well Dana has crafted the chemistry and Maya and Remi in the way these scenes come together to balance out with the everyday connections and chemistry. These two are so flippin' cute and fun together, and the kind of characters you'd want to bump into IRL and become friends with! 

 

Trigger warning for diabetes - not the diabetes itself, which Dana gave great representation to through Maya's sister Harper, but a diabetic episode which leads to hospitalization and minor injury. Warnings also for parental abandonment and overdose, leading to a child being raised within the foster care system, as well as parental death and grief - all these take place prior to the story but are touched on and discussed on page. There's lot of raw and poignant moments for these characters, and Dana fills each scene with so much emotion and heart. 

 

The only downer was that the ending felt rushed and short - while Dana does include an epilogue, she rushed over the conclusion of Remi and Maya's story's and relationship, and I felt like they needed more to give their story a better sense of closure. With the next book, So Not My Type, following Maya's bestie Sophie, I'm hoping we get more of a wrap up on Remi and Maya's relationship. 

 

Start the new year off with a sweet and swoony sapphic read that will have you falling in love with these characters and jumping on the first plane to Seattle!