I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK!!!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Quantity of spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Quality of spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Our two main characters are Gen (Genevieve) and Jake (Jacob). Gen is a corporate lawyer and Jake is a tattoo artist/bar owner/gallery opener (/all around entrepreneur).
Up the Ladder starts with Gen’s boring ass boyfriend of 5 years breaking up with her because he has a small penis and can’t handle his girlfriend putting her career above him. On a cheap shot parting blow, he tells her that she’s boring in bed. Gen isn’t upset about the breakup but she IS upset about the blow to her sex-esteem. Her best friend, Hana, comes over and she tells her about the “boring in bed” dig, to which her hype woman BFF is like, hell no you’re not boring! And sets her up with a 50 question sex quiz to prove it. Only the sex quiz makes Gen realize how uneventful her sex life really is. The obvious solution is to get drunk and create a dating profile to find men to fulfill the 50 items on this sex list.
Enter Jake - the man with the Jacob’s Ladder 🥵 Gen’s dating profile attracts A LOT of creepers and unwanted dick pics, but among the nasty, Jake’s best friend, Eli, finds her profile. She’s very specifically looking for someone with a Jacob’s Ladder, and Eli doesn’t have one but he says he’ll pass on her info to his mate. They meet at The Plaza Hotel’s bar and when Gen first lays eyes on Jake she’s like WOWZA! But also judgy because she comes from a posh world and Jake is covered in tattoos. Tall, Greek god handsome, green eyes, piercings, AUSTRALIAN! My jaw would have been on the floor fucking drooling. Did Ana write my dream man? Yes, yes she did.
This book is longer than your average contemporary romance because you actually get a fully fleshed out story. It starts as a one night stand, turned fuck buddies agreeing to monogamy to complete this list of 50 items, to a full fledged relationship. You get all the in between shit they deal with, and it’s lovely! There is no third act break up 👏🏻 but there is a very big fight towards the end.
More things I absolutely loved about this book:
• The secondary characters - I just love it when our main characters have great, supportive, and funny friends and both of our characters did. I loved Hana, Eli and Killian, just as much as I loved Gen and Jake.
• Mulligrubs - what’s hotter than a gorgeous, tattooed god of a man? A gorgeous, tattooed god of a man WITH A DOG! Loved this aspect of him so much!
• The “wombat” and “red” nicknames. Also, every time Jake called Gen “love”. *SWOON*
• Both MCs having fully fleshed out back stories. Gen’s with her twin sister’s passing and Jake’s with his troubled youth turned successful adult.
Things I didn’t love (only one):
• Gen’s mother. I wanted to tit punch this woman any time she was on page.
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I want to thank both Love Notes PR and Ana D’Arcy for the ARC of Up the Ladder! My friend recommended this book to me & told me ARC requests were still up, so I ran on over to it.. boy, am I happy I was approved! I clearly loved it so much, and already have the paperback preordered!