Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is a cute contemporary romance that is a quick and easy read. Nova and Riley are both hiding from something. Riley left witness protection and is still laying low from an east coast mafia and Nova was just dumped by an A-list pop star. They seek solace at Nova’s grandmother Gigi’s house. Both are nursing heartache and the last thing they are thinking about is getting into a new relationship. So of course, when they meet again (they met when they were much younger), the sparks fly.

The main characters are fairly well-developed and their actions mostly made sense. Gigi and her chef were less developed, but they were both a hoot and added much needed levity to the book. They were great characters and since this is a series, I hope they are further developed in future books. (Although, this is book 7 in the series, so they could already have storylines that I’m unaware of.) I enjoyed Nova’s character arc and her journey to gain more confidence in herself, both physically and mentally. A lot of people are their own worst enemy, and not having supportive friends either can make a lot of people spiral. So, it was great that she started being better to herself.

One reason for rating this down a bit from a 4 was the insta-love between Nova and Riley. They spent a good part of the book having “almost” moments, but once they kissed and started having sex, their feelings seemed to go instantly from 1 to 10. Considering how determined both were to not get into a relationship and talked a lot about how their current circumstance was temporary, the insta-love seemed inconsistent. Also, without giving away any spoilers, some actions by Riley later in the book were really far-fetched, as was the conclusion of one of the storylines.

All that being said, I did enjoy this book. The characters were sweet, the comic relief of Gigi was awesome, and the ending was all good fun.

Thank you to Katie and Brey PA and the author for the complimentary e-copy of the book. All opinions are my own.