When socialite Alexandra Gold finds herself in desperate need of a plus one for her best friend's wedding, she has to resort to asking for help from the last person in the world she would ever want to see, especially in her situation—Ryder Carson. She’s had a crush on him for the longest time and considering the last time they were alone together led to some boundary crossing, she’s not so eager to ask him to play pretend couple for the weekend.

Ryder, for his part, is just as anxious to play the part, especially after the last time that they were together. His entire focus at the moment is to prove to himself and, essentially, to his father that he can be successful. Ryder seems to be dealing with a lot of his own baggage when it comes to his past and his father, which provides a large source of his inner turmoil while dealing with the guilt of wanting to cross the line with his best friend’s sister considering all he’s done for him. A sentiment that doesn’t sit right with me makes some of the justification and relationship feel a little more superficial.

But with a one-night stand a long time ago, feelings get involved, things get complicated, and their weekend away at her friend's wedding turns into something more.

I wanted to like this one more than I actually did while reading it. The premise had promise, but between the pace moving at a breakneck speed without getting to dig into the characters, some of the insistence on keeping them apart stopped making sense about part of the way too.

All of the pieces were there – the tropes, and the romantic dynamic, while a little shaky at the time, was fun. But the execution was lacking.

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

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5.0

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced