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A review by hopeamarsu
Stripped Down by Mae Harden
4.0
Olive and Brooks meet during a bachelorette party where Brooks is mistaken as a stripper. His only goal was to get the girls in the hotel room next door to grow quiet but he ends up taking off his shirt and kissing the gorgeous woman.
It was supposed to be a one-time thing but when they meet again, now as the owner of a bakery and the contractor doing the addition to it, things go south because Brooks puts his foot in his mouth, indicating that the kiss was a mistake (when in reality, he's been thinking of ways how to contact the mysterious woman again). It doesn't start well for their professional relationship. But slowly, hopefully, Brooks can change her mind.
The book is a surprisingly slow burn, despite the explosive beginning. I actually enjoyed that aspect a lot, seeing the two of them build on their relationship while slowly revealing things to one another. I could understand Olive's hesitations because of her past and I'm glad Brooks stuck around long enough to not only understand them himself and do what needed to be done to strip down her walls. The secondary cast was fun also and I'm happy that Olive has her bakery people and siblings by her side!
The one thing that was a huge highlight for me in the book was Brooks and his dirty talk. Whoa, that was really something! The man knows how to use words and makes it his mission to reduce Olive (and the reader) into a mess with them. Omg. I had to pause at one point because I loved it so so much. He also knows exactly what he wants and that's Olive, though it takes him a moment (and nudging from Olive's sister) to really understand how to get there. That flip getting switched was amazing.
It was supposed to be a one-time thing but when they meet again, now as the owner of a bakery and the contractor doing the addition to it, things go south because Brooks puts his foot in his mouth, indicating that the kiss was a mistake (when in reality, he's been thinking of ways how to contact the mysterious woman again). It doesn't start well for their professional relationship. But slowly, hopefully, Brooks can change her mind.
The book is a surprisingly slow burn, despite the explosive beginning. I actually enjoyed that aspect a lot, seeing the two of them build on their relationship while slowly revealing things to one another. I could understand Olive's hesitations because of her past and I'm glad Brooks stuck around long enough to not only understand them himself and do what needed to be done to strip down her walls. The secondary cast was fun also and I'm happy that Olive has her bakery people and siblings by her side!
The one thing that was a huge highlight for me in the book was Brooks and his dirty talk. Whoa, that was really something! The man knows how to use words and makes it his mission to reduce Olive (and the reader) into a mess with them. Omg. I had to pause at one point because I loved it so so much. He also knows exactly what he wants and that's Olive, though it takes him a moment (and nudging from Olive's sister) to really understand how to get there. That flip getting switched was amazing.