1.5 rounded up
Did not like the lead. She had multiple examples of why it was time to get rid of the asshole "best friend" she had been hung up on for nearly a decade and yet, she never truly kicked him out of her life until the last possible moment. It just dragged on so much with the lead and her back and forth. It was a lot of, "She can't get over the supposed love of her life, that's why they are "best friends," he gets her better than anyone else." Then it was, "She can't truly have a chance with the kind older brother, the older brother can't possibly be attracted to her, she doesn't have enough info to judge the feud between two brothers." Argh! I was not a fan of being inside her head.
The "best friend" was a manipulative shit. Every reveal about who he truly is was somehow not enough for the story to have that ultimate EUREKA moment of clarity. It was almost glossed over, every time he pulled some shitty behavior out, and I was waiting for ANYONE to crack him across the face, because it wasn't just one person he treated like shit, it was all of them, anyone who didn't do things the way he wanted. If this is indeed a series, I pray we readers never have to suffer though a book with a focus on him. I am not a fan of stories that take a villain, which is essentially what this guy was, and then try to rewrite them as some kind of misunderstood hero with a heart or gold. Blegh.
I will say that the writing was concise, there was a good flow to the story even if I ended up hating the lead. Could also appreciate all the San Antonio references, as it's where I'm from, so it was nice to see an area I'm familiar with as a setting. And can't forget to mention the poc representation, and how it was incorporated into the lead's work as a librarian, because again, it felt like pieces of my life that I could recognize in a book. However, I prefer pineapple empanadas, not pumpkin, but to each their own.
I'll keep track of this author. There is talent here, no doubt about that. I'll read other books of theirs in the future and keep my fingers crossed.
Rating: 1.5 Stars
Looking Back: I'm always on the lookout for a new romance author that can be a comfort read for me, in the sense that I read the book over several times and then usually buy all the releases I can find from that author. This didn't work out that way for me but maybe something in the future will be just the right fit for my taste in books.
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