4 Stars
I basically dropped everything to devour this story after I read that amusing synopsis – and devour it I did.
The romantic pairing of the rich playboy with the geeky girl has always been one I enjoy exploring in my romance reads and I believe this is a very successful venture where this combination of character archetypes is concerned.
I have to give Nix props for writing what I found to be a really likable female heroine in Melody. She was a bit geeky and a little quirky, but wholly relatable to me. I loved that she was representing women working and thriving in STEM fields of employment, although the specific field related talk was at a minimum here, so don’t expect any technical talk.
I also loved that Melody had a good head on her shoulders and although she aimed to please and did her best to make new friends, she didn’t suffer fools lightly, holding those around her to a standard of moral behaviour that I could totally understand. Some reviewers have referred to her as a bit judgemental at times, but I 100% agreed with her reactions of shock and even disdain when those around her conducted themselves in questionable ways - which many of them did, several times over.
Jeremy was harder to like and I feel this was mostly due to his lack of POV. The whole story is told through the lense of Melody’s perspective and experiences, and because of this I felt Jeremy remained a bit of an enigma throughout.
When Melody (and the reader) first met Jeremy in the past, he was sweet and charismatic and I could totally see why she threw caution to the wind to spend a steamy night with him, even though they were strangers at that point. But once the time jump occurred and Jeremy re-entered Melody’s life after her move to L.A., she learned some not-so-positive things about his past behaviour that made her question his character and whether he was in fact the type of person she wanted to be sweet on, let alone be friends with.
Honestly, learning to love Jeremy was an uphill battle for me and Melody alike, but he eventually won both of us over, even though he made it tricky at times.
It must be said that this book was super trope-y. What I assumed would be a simple playboy/geek romance, turned into a bit of mixed bag of common romance tropes. Thankfully, a lot of the crazy and/or disagreeable behaviour occurred in characters other than Melody herself, who simply played witness to all of the drama going on around her with her new friends, of which Jeremy was smack dab in the middle of. His group of friends, of which Melody became close to over time, were an incestuous bunch, with lots of past cheating scandals, and scorned lovers, ruined friendships, and even strained familial ties happening at every turn. But what amazed and amused me the most was how even the most questionable characters worked their way out of my scorn and into my heart as the story unfolded.
What worked for me the most was the slow progression of Melody and Jeremy relationship, from one-night stand, to work colleagues, to tentative friends, and eventually to lovers. The fact this was a slow-burn romance certainly helped matters. Regardless of the fact that Melody and Jeremy had a one-night stand at the beginning of the story, everything real and lasting that developed between them occurred three years later and unfolded in a believable manner, which I greatly enjoyed and appreciated.
Although I wouldn’t personally refer to this story as a rom-com (I didn’t laugh once), it was certainly fun, fresh, and utterly charming, and I look forward to exploring more of Nix’s stories in the future.
ETA: I should also state, for those playing at home (AKA my more pervy GR friends *wink-wink*), that the steam levels are non-existent here. All bedroom related activities were either off page or fade-to-black, but, surprisingly, I didn't find myself missing it in this instance.