loved the characters and the wider story.

This was fun!
I enjoyed Rye and Brenna’s story. It stayed pretty “surface level” in my opinion, I would have loved something a little deeper, but it was still fun!

I was hoping that by the time I got to this series it would be complete- and maybe it is, but we didn’t get Whip’s book, which is kind of a bummer. Maybe one day??

i want to preface this review and point out that what bothered tf out of me with the book was a me thing. i think a lot of other people could either overlook it and not give it a second thought, or not even notice it really in the first place. i am not one of those people lol.

i have waited eons for this goddam book. Brenna and Rye had me hooked from book one and i literally craved their story.

this book made me so giddy in the beginning. i had a constant smile on my face. i was internally squealing the whole damn time. i thought i was in for an easy five-star read.

until we find out the real reason Brenna hates Rye... and my enjoyment plummeted.

my feelings reading this book were extremely reminiscent of when i read [b:Inked in Lies|50256015|Inked in Lies (The Fallen Men, #5)|Giana Darling|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593552231l/50256015._SY75_.jpg|75168838] last year and [b:The Fourth Time Charm|56518257|The Fourth Time Charm (Fulton U, #4)|Maya Hughes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609608617l/56518257._SX50_.jpg|70559671] earlier this year. as in, the feeling of anticipating your favourite couple in a series you’re utterly invested in... only for them to fall flat and be underwhelming af.

i can’t really get into why i didn’t enjoy this and what ruined it for me without going into spoilers. so some serious spoilers ahead if you plan on reading the book and would rather not know!

*************

Brenna, early on in the book, notes the reason she truly hates Rye: bcos she walked in on Rye and her aunt, Isabella, sitting snuggly and kissing... looking like they had fucked or were about to.

immediately all of that giddiness evaporated. all of my sunshiney emotions for the swoon-worthy cuteness dissipated and i was left feeling pretty frustrated.

i was hoping and praying it was a misunderstanding. literally anything. i was making up all kinds of shit in my head as to how Brenna could have misinterpreted the situation— i even came up with a fabulous dream sequence lmao. *spoiled alert* that didn’t happen.

the reality wasn’t as bad as i thought... but i still wasn’t a fan. it turns out, Rye drunkenly flirts with her, detailing how she’s the most beautiful woman in the world, blah blah blah and Isabella kissed Rye before he pushed her off and turned her down, and nothing actually happened... but this isn’t discovered until pretty late in the book. and by that point, it was too late

EXPOSED - KRISTEN CALLIHAN

One of the most anticipated books of my TBR pile, for the last, I don't even know, maybe four years?!
A long while ago, I fell in love with Kristen's writing while reading one of my all time favourite romance novels, penned by her MANAGED. I love that book, it is one of my comfort reads, I frequently reread it. So, I had high expectations, especially because the adversary the characters portrayed in the previous books of the series.

I admired Brenna before she was a main character, she seemed fierce, put-together, had no time for shitty people or things. Rye was seen as kind of a polar opposite of her - goofball, free-spirited, a people's person and a big peronality all rolled into a macho player.
Going into the book I knew the two had tension, not just the sexual kind, but there was definitely something that once put up the hostile environment the two seemed to share.

The book was everything I really love about Kristen's writing. That being paired with an enemies to lovers trope was just magnifique . Her stlye is simply just right up my alley, I get lost in her stories, only needing one or two days to finish them, then craving more. So afterwards, I usually tend to reread something of hers to lower my appetite. I'm honestly a junkie when it comes to her books, I've considered reading her earlier paranormal work, even though it's really not my cup of tea.

The catalyst for Brenna and Rye's story was a simple overheard conversation. After years in the industry, and being an all around epic girl boss, Brenna realises she needs a different outlet. She craves human contact, that is different from anything her friends can provide. She doesn't want a relationship, has no time for it really, and one-night stands simply lost their appeal.
Luck should have it, Rye overhears this outburst, and realising they are in the same boat, proposes her. I was really glad, that their romantic relationship didn't begin right in that moment, that their platonic relationship was put forward, regardless their attraction.
Kristen dealt the right cards, by making the brooding hero and preppy herione both simultaniously realise their jealousy towards any potential new partner of each others. And boy, does the smell of a possible waste of a chance pull them together!

The characters have depth, they are both having low points, uncertainty in their life, and seeing their friends accomplished and thriving in their respectable relationships only fuels their fire. I enjoyed their journey, how they rediscovered that the have a nice foundation in the form of their friendship - doesn't matter how fractured it is -, how they are all too familiar to each other, yet have sides the other one couldn't have seen prior them being romantically involved.
Rye was a pleasant surprise, I think in the series before, he was largely overlooked, as he had little "screen time". He was nurturing, intelligent - his knowledge and passion for music is immense -, his care for his family and friends is refreshing, his old wounds and recent mental and health problems made him less of a rock star and more of a flawed human. His drive for success in his life made his persuasion of chasing the girl of his dreams even more sweet.

The big confrontation before the "and they lived happily ever after" was honestly anticipated, and maybe even needed, because the balance of the MC's relaionship was weighed down a bit more on one side, and them not being mutually on the same page about their intentions and hopes would've made them miserable.

The book didn't disappoint, I'm hoping we could meet the pair in the last instellation of the series.

4 stars

Brenna was so annoying. The female narrator also really annoyed me so the combo wasn’t great. I also thoroughly dislike a miscommunication trope. So there’s that.