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Review
3 stars
The latest book from Keeland and Ward, this is a fun roommate/friends-to-lovers romance with just the kind of chemistry-filled, entertaining and heartfelt story that I have come to expect from these authors. But in this one, the love story was lacking, I missed it, and it wasn’t as amazing as I was hoping.
Molly is looking for a roommate, and when every single applicant turns out to be a dud, she is swayed into her only male applicant, Declan. The fact that he leaves cupcakes at her door is a big bonus, but it’s the fact that he’s in love with somebody else (just as she is crushing on a workmate), therefore avoiding any unnecessary sexual tension, that finally seals the deal.
Declan and Molly quickly settle into life together as roommates. They laugh and banter, and every moment between them is pure delight. But their love-lives are stalling, so Declan suggests that they use their close relationship to make their crushes jealous, in the hopes that they start paying attention. They admit it’s a little juvenile, but it works like a charm and they soon find themselves on the path to romance with the ones they want… except they can’t stop thinking about each other.
This book has a fun set-up, and all of the epic banter, fun moments and thoroughly enjoyable inner monologues that I love so much about these authors’ books. Declan and Molly are both completely likable characters, and the chemistry between them is just fantastic – even if it takes them a little while to figure it out. I was so excited for them to finally see what was building between them and realise how amazing they could be together… but it didn’t happen the way I was hoping.
They saw it, they acknowledged it, but they agreed to walk away from it. And despite Molly and Declan’s mad attraction to each other, they both spend most of the book in relationships with other people. Then what begins as a love square (of sorts) becomes a dreaded love triangle that I just found frustrating. I couldn’t understand why they would persist with relationships that clearly aren’t bringing either the feels or the chemistry (neither of them sleep with the person they are with), when they have such strong feelings for somebody else!
There’s other stuff going on in the story too – Molly has family dramas which really bring the feels, and Declan is there supporting her through it all. Declan has issues at work which play into his and Molly’s non-relationship, but their friendship remains strong through it all.
The moments between Declan and Molly are sensational – they are open and honest, they laugh and tease, they have this really entertaining playfulness between them, and the chemistry is fantastic!
Declan, in particular, is so gorgeous! He is sweet, funny, smart, sensible, and deeply caring with a huge heart. He’s a wonderful friend, and would be a phenomenal boyfriend, and what made me sad about this book is that we never really got a chance to see that.
I wanted more, I needed to see them actually together, but it doesn’t come until the final stages of the book. The slow burn does create great build-up, and the anticipation as the big moment drew nearer had my heart pounding, but it wasn’t enough. I never got a chance to see them once they actually got together, and I missed seeing all of the loved-up, relationship stuff that I love about romance.
The audiobook is narrated by Sebastian York and Erin Mallon, and they do a great job with it, but this one just didn’t have the romantic ‘oomph’ that I needed.
Still a good read though – 3 stars.
Check out our Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward Author Spotlight for more great co-writes from this duo