A review by chai_and_books
That First Night by Jenn McMahon

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Everyone in this book needs to stop stuttering. Why was every other sentence something like “I, I-”. Also, somehow everyone in this book was unlikable. Peyton was the definition of a pick me girl. Literally, her introduction sentence is about her not being a ‘dress’ girl because she’s so different. Thomas just gave me the ick. His conversations with his friends and brothers were downright disrespectful. I didn’t particularly like Peyton’s friends either; they were so annoying oh my goodness- except they did redeem themselves towards the end. James was cute, but that kid was definitely not 3 years old. Also he was missing for a major chunk of the story for no reason? Drama with the mom was unnecessary considering it lasted for a whole of 2 pages and came out of no where. And the ex appearing in the last part was predictable but, again, unnecessary as it added nothing to the overall storyline. The good thing is that there was no third act break up. The story set up a miscommunication but stopped before the issue was blown out of proportion- since Thomas used his brain for once. Overall, this was an okay read for a debut book. 

tropes:
- billionaire romance 
- single dad 
- workplace romance 
- boy obsessed 
- dual pov 
- insta love 
- ‘the one who almost got away’