***Received an Advanced Readers Copy during a blog tour with Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for an honest review***
Whew. I am honestly not entirely positive on what I expected with this novel, I mean the synopsis was like 'whoa' and my curious kitty peer pressured me into needing to read this. And now my curiosity is sitting here thinking - well nuggets, what the heck did I just read? But not in a bad way.. I just was not expecting that...
I say this because let me admit that at the jump, I liked the writing style, I liked the intro to the characters but within the first couple of chapters it really made me question my sanity. I was not sure if this would be a book for me. This was mostly in part because once you dive into the prologue with Jordan, then meeting Oaklee and Law it more or less confused me. Like, maybe I was missing a piece to this puzzle of the plot, it made me feel like I was just thrown into a pit and hit my head because I did not understand why Oaklee needed this boyfriend. Though to be fair, I have not read books one and two, now I think I need to, but honestly I don't think that was specifically the missing puzzle - it was just how Oaklee treated Law in the first meeting, like - why? Which I don't want to say where my thoughts are because HUGE spoiler, but just felt like I was thrown in the middle of a story and maybe I was missing something...
On top of this, I couldn't get a feel on the characters. Normally in the first tidbits you always get that initial connection of who you anticipate on liking or disliking, a feel for the plot twist, but that definitely doesn't happen here. It is a build. Not disappointing in the least, just took a smidge to get invested, but once I kept trucking along I got the feel that this was going to be a whirlwind of fun, entertaining swoonage.
So what did I eventually pick up from the characters that made me keep reading? Honestly I can tell you I was on the fence about Oaklee for majority of the novel; she was slight crazy and borderline insane, but not unjustified. I liked her personality, she was fun, cunning and I really needed to be her best friend, that is for sure. I questioned her in a lot of moments because as the plot thickens of her brewing business, her nemesis Hanna, and her earth shattering growing affections for the charming Law who was supposed to just be a hired show boyfriend, she just has these awkward moments. So I was really back and forth with her, do I trust her, should we trust her, or is she playing a game too... couldn't quite put my finger on it.
And then of course, the delicious, charismatic Law. Lawton at first annoyed me. There I said it, I admit it. But he grew on me. My issues mostly dive from the fact that his inner monologue somewhat hinges on this awkward feminine view point. Literally his inside thoughts were what I imagine a woman to think like... it bothered me a little, but as the story developed, he started to appear more masculine. And please don't take that the wrong way, I just think at times he was more a valley girl and not this macho man meat. But again, as the story continues he changes a bit, and a bit for the better. I really liked how he treated Oaks, he was respectful and just a decent guy.
Though both have questionable motives for this contract they have in place during Jordan's Game, they still build a really great insta-love relationship that really felt real. As their chemistry really takes flight they become this all-consuming, just intense feels with that lean on me kind of romance. They build into this bubble together where they explore one another and grow together.
Seriously.... the sexy time - oh my.... delicious.
Overall, I liked it. I won't deny that it did take a bit for me to really invest in the characters, allowing myself to really connect with the characters. Even as the plot continued to twist and turn I was constantly thrown for a loop which definitely kept me interested through to the end. And even though Oaks was absolutely bat-shit crazy, she was fun, quirky (definitely my kind of crazy) and blended really well with Law. They just had this amazing build with one another that made the ending the perfect spot for them. And that ending..... just more shockers that just kept rolling in.
I definitely want to add more Huss to my TBR, after getting a feel for her writing style I think she is definitely an author I need more in my life.