The Art of Awkward Affection

The Richmond Brothers #1

by Alina Jacobs

I admit it was me who shouted, “Looking good, hot stuff!” at Mr. Richmond this morning, but I didn’t mean it like that.
Honest, I was paying him a compliment! That’s kind of what I do: I’m a proud, small-town Floridian, and Manhattan is craving some Florida sunshine—nothing like a sincere compliment to turn those New York frowns upside down!

Grayson Richmond needs some positivity.
Have you seen how grumpy he is?
Disgustingly wealthy and unfairly hot, the man wears an arrogant snarl almost as well as he wears a suit.
Drool!

The word tyrant doesn’t do him justice, though, when he has me dragged into his office to be reprimanded.
Just FYI, the exact wrong thing to do in that situation is to tell him you’re the one who’s been leaving notes of positive affirmation in his underwear drawer.
As the lowly assistant of the assistant to the secretary of Mr. Grumpy Pants himself, what else do you expect me to do while I’m in his swanky penthouse dropping off the dry cleaning and rehoming Grayson’s food?

No, I am not making a mockery of this company or of him. Believe me, my credit card debt and I are very happy to have this job.
And to have a chance to sprinkle a little joy in Grayson’s life.
I am a kindness fairy on a mission!
Cupcakes, corgi stickers, and surprise visit from my emotional support iguana? Only scowls.

But when he catches me in his penthouse with my blouse undone?
That earns me a genuine, panty-dropping smile.

However, as the cracks form in his carefully controlled life I realize…
Grayson has a dark secret.
And I don’t know if there’s enough sunshine in the world to save him.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Chick Lit, Fiction, Rom Com

625 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2023

About the author

If you like steamy romantic comedies with a creative streak, then I'm your girl!

Architect by day, writer by night, I love matcha green tea, chocolate, and books! So many books…

Sign up for my mailing list to get special bonus content, free books, giveaways, and more!
http://alinajacobs.com/mailinglist.html

Reviews

[caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

just so everyone understands the mental stress this book had on me: I stopped reading in the middle of a sentence to go queue valorant on *georgia* servers.. i literally risked getting hate crimed to take a break from this book D:

first of all, the smut was actually the worst thing i’ve ever read. 15 yr olds on wattpad have written better smut … like actually made me want to crawl out of my skin bad

the two stars are for grayson and grayson alone. grayson and his background could’ve made for SUCH a good book but LEXI was the worst fucking character ever. she had the emotional intelligence of a teaspoon. I was literally yelling at my phone bc how can you be SO insensitive around someone with layers upon layers of childhood trauma… she would not shut up ab her masters degree and i fear it was in idiocy!!! I didn’t even rlly want them to end up together but also grayson deserved a happy ending after all the shit he went through so ig it’s fine ;-; she rlly was a toxic waste of good air..

[Ana Stasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF@48%
I honestly don't know how I got this far. The heroine felt like a 5 year old in a grown woman's body. When your fmc is that childish, reading about her having even mildly sexual thoughts gives me the cringe. This girl was the epitome of "Quirky Manic Pixie Dream Girl ™️". She is literally quirky for the sake of being quirky. The hero would have been okay if the heroine weren't so extreme in her wannabe quirkiness.

[Mia S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairy Tale?

Ok, the story drew me in even though the FMC was a little too Pollyanna, it was a tad much but it was balanced with a very dark Grayson. Grayson’s story is what kept me pulled in and honestly I was a little on his side when she pushed for that one visit- yeah she went too far into that lane. But still a good story!

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh I do love me a damaged and tortured MMC. Grayson is a very angry man who is miserable. Cue the “I can fix him” comment (cause yes I’m certain I could fix him).

What I don’t like is a FMC who is obnoxiously chipper. She’s obsessed with Disney, everything always has to have bright colors (even her paper and gel pens), and she only ever has a positive outlook. Happy go lucky is her default setting and she’s exhausting.

That third act breakup had me gagging though 😂. Usually one person makes a mistake, but noooooo. BOTH of them were at fault after all was said and done. They both said some foul shit to eachother and I was living for the drama. 😮‍💨

I don’t know how these two will make it work for the long run, but I wish them the best. 🫡

[Jess Morgan]

Storytime: Our end-of-year assignment for high-school drama was to interpret a two- to four-minute dialogue from a movie or TV show with all the directions removed. One year my partner and I got the scene from The Office in which Jim confesses his love for Pam. We played it straight, because we didn't think the dialogue lent itself to any other tone. Our teacher challenged us to play it for laughs, which she insisted could be done if we just exaggerated everything. We tried that. It still wasn't funny. She had us perform both versions for the class, and the sincere version came across a lot better.

I'm sharing this tale because I believe author Alina Jacobs shares our teacher's philosophy on comedy. In that spirit, in The Art of Awkward Affection she has transformed the typical grumpy/sunshine dynamic into an oh-God-get-over-yourself-before-I-kill-you/oh-God-shut-your-gob-before-I-kill-you dynamic. And, no, it's not funny.

Today sunshine will be represented by Lexi, a small-town Floridian working as a third-tier personal assistant in Manhattan. She believes it's her duty—nay, obligation—to spread sunshine to all the grumpy Manhattanites. She does this by screaming compliments at everyone she passes.



She's also wearing Minnie Mouse ears and Tinker Bell wings at the time. Her profanities include "Jiminy Cricket," "crap-a-dee-doo-dah," and "heffalumps and woozles." Yes, she's one of those Disney adults. She may be the one entity on Earth that Disney would outright refuse to own. Let Viacom deal with her.

Lexi fails to recognize one unlucky catcall victim as her boss, Grayson. He's furious, not because she called him "hot stuff," but because she's willfully talking to strangers and thereby putting herself at risk of getting kidnapped. She's not. Maybe that would have been convincing during the crack epidemic, but not now. That's not to say she's not putting herself at risk as she berates him:

"You grouchy, depressing Manhattanites will not suppress my Florida sunshine. I will continue to bestow compliments. In fact, I'm giving you a new compliment right now. You have a very lovely deep voice and nice eyes. Does anyone else here think he has beautiful eyes?" Everyone else in the park was studiously ignoring us. "Well, you do. Beautiful green eyes. So there. And you'd look better if you smiled."

She's putting herself at risk of getting her ass fired and on the next plane back to Kissimmee. Most people will do exactly what these poor people are doing and ignore her. And not just in Manhattan, either. Try it in Portland and see what kind of response you get.



Wait, better idea: Try it in Philadelphia.



What I wouldn't give to see her cry the seventh time some fat guy in a cheese-stained Eagles shirt screams DA FUCK IS WRONG WID YOUS?! in her face. For now she'll persist in thinking she's not out of step with the band, but they're all out of step with her. Even so, she can't be the only overdressed weirdo in Manhattan. It's one of the few cities in the world where masses of overdressed weirdos and normies minding their business both roam freely. The difference is that she's getting up in the normies' faces without being mentally ill. Diagnosed mentally ill, anyway.

Lexi is the lowest-ranked among Grayson's three assistants. Chief among them is an evil, joyless whore named Anthym (BWUH?). Grayson has already spoken to Anthym about Lexi's catcall, and he wants her gone. She protests that she's trying to make him and everyone else "appreciate the power of uplifting declarations." When he insists again that he's only worried that she'll make trouble and get herself entangled with the Special Victims Unit, she asks, in front of Anthym and the HR director, no less,

"Why do you care so much? Is this some of weird way of hitting on me? Do you want to drag me back to your sex dungeon? Now I'm feeling threatened. He's the one catcalling me. I want to file an incident report."



Oh my God. I've seen drunk Karens screaming through DUI arrests who are more professional than this. But Anthym thinks Lexi only catcalled Grayson because "she's trying to become the next Mrs. Richmond." So she's the asshole here. And Grayson decides to keep her on staff because she has a nice rack and he's afraid of getting sued. Don't overthink this, Grayson. No arbitrator in hell will side with her if she keeps performing like that.

As much as I would gladly suffocate Lexi in a crawlspace just to shut her up, she's not the only problem here. Grayson's objections to her sunshine aren't those of a well-adjusted pro who wants his workplace to run smoothly. See for yourself:

All these billions, and for what? It hadn't meant a damn thing, hadn't gotten me what I wanted more than anything in the world....

...when Lexi was gone, I was going to figure out how I was going to survive the rest of my miserable existence....

Anyone who had that positive of an outlook on life could not be trusted. Life was endless suffering. At least for people like me....



Am I supposed to root for Lexi to fix him? Because it's not working. He's just as insufferable as she is, but in the opposite way. He's joining her in the crawlspace. And so are six full bottles of Raid.

Lexi's main responsibility as Grayson's sub-sub-assistant is to do some of his less prestigious household chores. He never eats the fancy food she cleans out of his fridge once a week. She decides to inspire him to enjoy himself more by bringing him different food and leaving even more "motivational" (read: judgmental and overbearing) glitter-pen Post-Its around the penthouse:

I shouldn't leave him to wallow in his grumpiness. I needed to bring him out of his shell. That was the type of good deed Lexi Collins liked to pride herself in. But he was just such a drag.

Perhaps, Lexi, your attempts thus far have shot the moon and pushed him deeper into grumpiness out of protest. Being more irritating than most yeast infections can have that effect on a guy.

Grayson happens to be in that exact block when Lexi gets accosted by some creeper. She tries to use compliments on him. He still goes for the creep lunge. Grayson rescues her by yelling at her, then picking her up and stuffing her into his car. She responds by attacking his grumpiness even more, demanding the slice of cake he's secretly handing out to poor people, and using her phone to play Disney songs on his stereo.



Grayson has some childhood trauma relating to an abusive father and five estranged brothers, all of whom run extremely successful startups thanks to his secret investments. Yeah. That old childhood abuse story. This background makes Grayson feel protective over this rash of a woman, even as he describes the car ride as "hell." Never have I heard a better argument for therapy. If you don't get that, you get Lexi.

There's also an unspecified she for whose sake Grayson built his own empire. But she wasn't interested. Can't imagine why.

While Anthym is out for the day, Lexi breaks protocol by bringing food and beverages to a client meeting. That's a rule? How bad is the vermin problem in this office? No objections here to iced coffees and soft pretzels. Strong objections to stalking every attendee's home life so she can offer compliments and physically slapping stickers on everyone, including Grayson. SHE IS A LIABILITY. CAN HER. NOW.

Grayson starts writing snarky replies to Lexi's notes. He describes her as exhibiting "toxic positivity." This may be why she's still a virgin and—oh God, this is beautiful—not even Disney would hire her.



I won't go into too much detail about Lexi's next visit to the penthouse, except to note that it ends with her five-foot-long pet iguana licking cupcake frosting off Grayson.

Yeah.

Then Lexi has a pratfall in the impractical heels Anthym makes her wear. Grayson buys her some conservative black shoes in every size that might possibly fit her. This makes her feel like Cinderella. You know what else would make you feel like Cinderella, hon? Getting locked in an attic with only mice for company. Let's make that happen.

Am I spending too much time describing every moment in this story that makes me want to punch Lexi and/or Grayson? If I am, it's because nothing is happening. Having two strong characters just work off each other through everyday goings-on can be fun, but only when we already know and enjoy the characters. Not that adding a plot would make this any more tolerable.

Grayson yells at Lexi for sunning herself on the deck of his penthouse in a thong bikini. Her disregard for this man's boundaries is itself boundless. She yells at him for hoarding fancy restaurant food that he never eats and probably never actually donates. He angrily explains that he does indeed donate it, but he keeps it in his fridge first because he grew up hungry and needs to see food every day. And he secretly leaves free money and toys around for his estranged mom and half-siblings to pick up. I assume Mom is the she who won't accept anything she knows came from him, because he looks like the man who forcibly impregnated her with him.



Now Lexi feels bad. But the only tragic backstory she can share in return is that she didn't get hired at Disney and is lying to her parents that she's more than a sub-sub-assistant. Sorry. Grayson wins.

From here they start doing stuff together. Mostly he follows her around and looks gobsmacked while she tortures the populace with stickers. But she's so pure and light-filled that he actually wants her presence now. Lexi credits herself for being the Belle to his Beast. I'll just point out that Belle left the castle the second she got the option to do so, and she never stickered her way into his good graces. Nobody understands that movie, do they?

Eventually it's all too much and Grayson just has to seduce Lexi:

"I want to fuck you, Lexi. I want to fuck your tight little cunt."

"Okay. Um, I just... That actually sounds like a dandy idea."



This happens twice. Twice he nearly fucks her and she ruins it with overwhelmingly childish behavior and language. The second time involves hand puppets. If anyone ever wanted to create anti-porn, now you know what it would be like.

Sex actually happens the third time. But the first thing she says when they're done is "Hot dog." And then, when they see the blood all over his sheets, she adds "Minnie's tits."



Jesus, Alina, do you want us to get horny to this shit or not?

Grayson goes on a multi-city trip through Europe with Anthym in tow. Lexi's not with them, but he video-calls her constantly so she can travel vicariously through him. Anthym takes the opportunity to get her flirt on. He's not interested. I hope he's aware that he doesn't have to choose between a freckle-faced kindergartner and a man-eating she-freezer. There are other women in Manhattan. Some are nice and competent.

He's going with the kindergartner. Now that they're together-together, she wants him to watch Disney movies with her. He won't because his traumatic past involved a TV that was always on. This is going to be a pattern for a while, isn't it? "I brought you mouse ears!" "I can't wear those, Lexi. My abusive father had ears."

We learn that it's not his mom who was the she, but some girl named Samantha with whom he went on a few dates. He only liked her because he thought she was the type of girl who could make his mom proud and want him back. That didn't work because Samantha thought he was too depressing. Smart move, Samantha. You have no idea how lucky you are. Buy yourself some diamonds.

Grayson and Lexi go to her hometown in Florida. Her parents have a Disney-painted van. They tickle Lexi and put sunscreen on her.



You made your princess canopy bed, Grayson. Lie in it.

All is well, somehow, until some lady turns up with a true crime book about Grayson's upbringing and accuses him of being a kidnapper himself. Nobody buys that, so it's fine. Then Lexi plans a reunion for Grayson and his brothers behind his back. That's also fine. Most of the brothers seem fine, until one of them flirts with Lexi and another one starts a brawl over Grayson mimicking their father so he could get out of the house first.

And that's how we learn why Grayson is so protective over Lexi: because his mother was also an obnoxiously cheery airhead who got herself kidnapped.



Lexi's still in. She wants Grayson to confront his father so he can get over himself. He agrees to that too. I don't like pushover Grayson any more than I like emo Grayson.

Anthym is concerned because Grayson is spending too much time with some unnamed girlfriend and not focusing on her. I mean, business. She wants Lexi to use her access to the penthouse to find out who the girlfriend is. Lexi panics, certain Anthym knows about the two of them. And I can't wait until she finds out. She may have a stroke.

Grayson visits his dad at the prison. Dad has a brilliant idea: Grayson can buy the prison and get him a better cell. Grayson's not having it. He leaves in a fury that Dad isn't actually monstrous, just arrogant enough to convince himself that he's indirectly responsible for Grayson's success. He blames Lexi for putting him in a position to learn this. And now he snaps:

"...you're not helping anyone; you don't really care about anyone. You just want to be able to pat yourself on the back and tell yourself that you're better than the rest of us unenlightened sons-of-bitches walking around under a storm cloud. News flash, Lexi, no one likes your compliments. No one likes your positive notes. And I can see through that charade, see the selfish, self-absorbed person you really are."



AT LAST. I couldn't have said it better myself. Nobody has ever asked for a reason-you-suck speech as eagerly as Lexi.

Anthym tries to fire Lexi for harassing Grayson. The only evidence she has of their relationship is Lexi's sexts, which she found by having some guy in IT hack Grayson's account. So Anthym's fired too. I would have fired her long ago for walking around with the name "Anthym." She sounds like a sleeping pill.

Lexi goes to yell at Grayson for not admitting the truth:

"You think I'm the one peddling toxic positivity, dipshit, when you're the one trying to rewrite history, like you weren't fucking me in your shitty penthouse.... when shit hits the fan, spoiler alert, you're just daddy's little boy. Your mother is right about you, and if I were her, I wouldn't want you in my life either."



Grayson wins again. Not that Lexi's wrong. It's just that his reason-you-suck speech was better.

Anthym turns up at the penthouse. He turns her down. That was pointless.

Lexi goes back to Florida and tells her parents the truth about her job. They don't mind. They continue trying to pump her with their own brand of bullshit. She doesn't blame them for raising her this way. She really should. They haven't equipped her for the real world at all.

Grayson has one of his brothers offer Lexi a communications job with his firm. I hear he's also hired Jeffrey Dahmer to oversee catering. Hope he likes blood sausage. Then Grayson goes to have a conversation with his mother. She was mad with him for turning up at her favorite restaurant over and over at first, but now it's cool because he's brought Lexi there a few times and she proved he was capable of joy. So Lexi actually fixed everything. Christ.



And Mom's grandfather was a Disney adult himself. CHRIST.

Lexi and Grayson get back together. He even lets her put vintage framed Disney posters in the penthouse. Ah, compromise. God bless it.

They deserve each other. I hope they stay together until death. And I hope death comes soon. With wildebeests.

[Maya Holsopple · Rating 1 out of 5]

BAD BAD BAD, disney adult FMC, weird ass MMC, terribly written UGH. DNF it at 78% idk how i got that far but it just continued to get worse

[Liz | lizzuplans · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really tried so hard.

But I did not *enjoy* reading this book at all and that is really a bad sign for me.

I love a good billionaire / office romance and I like sunshine x grumpy.

This sunshine though to me felt unhinged, over the top, crossing social norms, and ugh a childish Disney adult manic pixie dream girl is way too much for anyone to have to deal with.

I also have a very sunshine-y disposition. I also like pink and glitter and things that some might deem immature.

But I sure know not to put semi-motivational glittery pink pen notes in my boss’ underwear drawer????

She would have been fired so quick, he would not even have heard about it.

Perhaps it is a slow burn, but I did not see any romance and also did not want to read any romance because she acts like a child and that is not to my interest.

DNF at 27%. PROUD that I got that far…

EDIT: changed to one star.

I received an ARC of this book (thanks!) and these are my own opinions.

[Yesmina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My comfort author, enough said!

[Marguerite · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️, 🌶️🌶️🌶️
This was a mixed bag. A weak 3 stars. The MMC, Grayson, was 4 stars. The FMC, Lexi, was 2 stars. It’s a grumpy/sunshine trope. Grayson’s story was tragic and all you wanted for him was peace, love, and happiness. Lexi was annoying. She’s a Disney fanatic which got old fast. The book was way too long at over 570 pages.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

holy shit i hate this book so much. I already wrote a review and it got deleted. I hate it so much I'm writing it again

I wanted to DNF this so many times:
a wanna be manic pixie dream girl Disney adult who wears princess themed underwear at 23? dont worry she's not an idiot, she has a masters degree. she was referred to as a child or child like so many times it was some kind of fetish at some point and I bet the editor was like eeehhh we should probably move her age from 12 to 23. but dont worry, she's hot because the 1 shirt she wears to work (shes poor, so so poor) keeps having a button pop on her GINORMOUS tits. got it? child like pixie, big boobs, crazy red hair, horrible selfish bitch ass personality. she had red messy hair. did you catch that? really messy red hair. and omg disney just won't freakin hire her, life is so hard but she's sooooooooooooooooooo positive. freckles. shes sooooo random 😜 queue the brooding hot billionaire with a very traumatized childhood and that had literally no personality and was still the almost only likeable character? ew. why give this man such a wild background if you're not going to make the plot of it worth while. he falls for her, only her. she tries to fix his life. it goes terribly wrong. they are both awful people and should never talk to anyone every again for the rest of their lives. also there is a "best friend" who isn't really a friend? dont know, couldn't tell. she didn't even need to be there.

okay so you wait 200+ pages for the romance. they hate each other soooooooo much because she gave him a very stupid "compliment" while crossing paths and I should have known that this book would be absolute shit based on both of their reaction to that one event. shes a virigin. because why wouldnt she be....child remember. and hes rough. but thats okay because her totally believeable virgin ass loves it. she also looooves the very bad and cringey dirty talks that comes out of nowhere. so they are fucking. and fucking. and fucking. fucking for 10 pages at a time every 3 pages. I'm barely exaggerating. between the copious amount of really bad smut and the horrible plot, I have never skipped so massive chunks of reading. I cannot even get into the romance, or trauma, or toxic positivity, or their asinine fights, or literally any interaction or conversation they had because i cannot put it into words. unlike how the author should not have put the book into words. who the hell wrote this. a pre teen? a basement dwelling fedora? oh its so gross.

my previous review mentioned that I put my dog down today, and that was easier than finishing this abysmal book. I deleted it because obviously losing my dog was way harder than dealing with this shit book, but then rewrote it in because that is how mad I am about having this book exist in the same rehlm as him. i only finished this book to see how the absolute donkey show of a train wreck was going to end. a real train wreck would have been better. how the hell was this almost 500 pages. also it deserves negative stars. all the negative amount of stars. author is blacklisted because what the actual fucking hell was that. bye forver.

[Dizzyingly Dani · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am...very concerned about how many good reviews this book has received. It was the good reviews that led me to read it, but I was mislead. Ooooof....this book has a lot to unpack. Besides having the writing style, maturity, and depth of a Middle schooler's diary, this novel has some really problematic issues with boundaries. The FMC is a Disney loving ditz with no life experience, no real empathy, and no insight. She is blindly positive to the degree that it's harmful for herself and others. Honestly, a person like this doesn't lift others up, she washes away their truth and their experiences. The FMC is just willfully blind and naive to reality and it's not a way to be an actual positive force in this world. She makes some very bold moves (like the family reunion scene) which is just so boundary crossing that in real life, her actions would cause major harm.
Additionally, why can't this character ever be given clothes that stay on her body! They're always tearing off! You're dating (fake/real/or otherwise) a billionaire, and though she finally gets ONE pair of functional shoes, her too tight, threadbare clothes are always ripping or being removed because she's falling out of them anyway.
Why???
The FMC is ridiculous and yet we're supposed to believe she's life changing for our MMC? She's barely a functional person. And worst of all, she only barely learns a lesson in the end, so she doesn't have a lot of character growth.

[Marcela Alfonzo · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF AT 28% and I really tried, but the heroine or female lead is just so not worth it, she is childish, annoying, quirky just for the sake of it, like " I have a rescued pet iguana" type of thing. She is described as someone who just gets people, and the way she does is because she gives them compliments and that's how everyone should be, like girl I get it, its better to hand out compliments than to be rude, but that is not a way of solving everything and everyone.

I couldn't even imagine her having sex (considering she was a virgin) I would feel creepy reading about it since she behaved like a prepubescent child.

Not my thing.

[Monica Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually always finish a book, even if I don’t really enjoy it, but I couldn’t finish this one after getting halfway through. I’m not sure how this book got so many good reviews because the whole dynamic is controlling and disturbing. I didn’t find any of it romantic. It’s about a ridiculously childish main character who’s obsessed with Disney Princesses and a successful business man twice her age. There’s nothing romantic about it and he only wants to sexually dominate her and “own” her. Very rapey vibes and disturbing. I also don’t know what woman reader finds the word c**t sexy… yikes. It’s a No Thanks from me.

[mary hammonds · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two words, Disney adult.

[Olivia S · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is absolutely dreadful. I found myself rereading pages multiple times, thinking I was missing something, but it was simply a result of the book's incoherence and poor quality.

[Stress Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

on one hand, I had fun reading this. the pet iguana was fun and different (plus the rock). I loved Greyson, but Lexi was just too much for me. as someone with childhood trauma, that aspect was frustrating for me - the way she pushed and didn't seem to grasp the countless ways, and depth, it can have. I appreciated the wacky parts, but it almost got to be too much.

the spice was more than I prefer - but if you're a person who appreciates a lot of spice, you might enjoy that aspect more.

idk, I need to think on this some more.

[Wishy Thir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowzers.
INNOCENT BOOK COVERS CAN HAVE SPICY CONTENTS!!
This was such an unhinged book. I loved how it made me feel reading it

Also considering all the other reviews don’t like this book, please take this with a grain of salt lol. My taste could be shit

[Mari · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished the book… I don’t know why.
I’m not happy about it.
The main characters are both chaotic opposite that take everything to the extreme.

[Olivia Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a heads up the main character is a full blown Disney adult, and so are her parents. It’s a major plot point throughout the book. Wish I knew before I read!

[Kristin Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, Alina Jacobs really makes all of her MMCs have the absolute worst upbringing she can think of. Grayson is no exception, and the way his life began has crippled him as an adult until he meets the FMC. He’s basically forced to confront his past and get his shit together in order for him to have any long term chance with Lexi. I think this was also a bit more emotional than her books typically are, but it was no less humorous.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

1st reading: Decently well written prose from the standpoint of grammar and punctuation, although there are some errors scattered throughout. The plot is predictable in the way most romance novels are, though there are plenty of subplots. The main characters are well-developed, and one or two of the secondary characters are fleshed out; however, most of the side characters are stereotypes and caricatures.
WHAT A COLOSSAL WASTE OF MY TIME. This book took me way longer to read than it warranted, simply because I didn't want to read it (but I'm one of those people that must finish after I've passed a certain point). I remember at one point feeling the book was interminable, when to my shock (and dismay) I discovered I hadn't even reached the halfway point.
The FMC is absolutely ridiculous. Don't get me wrong; I have a good sense of humor, and I enjoy witty banter in a rom-com. This is not a rom-com - it's a FARCE. Slapstick. Lexi is supposedly an adult, but she's Disney-obsessed, radiates "toxic positivity," screeches, and can't mind her own business. Most scenes featuring her are just cringeworthy, and she makes reading this book painful. Having said that, most of the other characters are just as bad as she is in their own ways.
The MMC Grayson is more palatable and presents a fascinating study. He and his five younger brothers had a horrific childhood, where they and their mothers were victims of a sociopathic father. Grayson has driven himself to become a billionaire to prove he could overcome his past, he secretly supports numerous charities, yet he fears he is an unlovable monster. From that perspective, one can understand his draw to someone who is an eternal optimist... but I'm sorry, Lexi is just too much. I would have wanted to strangle her.
I'm disappointed, as I was initially intrigued by the second book in this series (The Art of Marrying Your Enemy), which is about Aaron, the oldest of Grayson's brothers, but I'm going to have to give it a miss. I can't risk wasting a week or more on another ridiculous set of characters.

[Adrienne · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. This is awful. I can’t spend another minute with this annoying woman.

[M Hurford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A New Alina Jacobs Series!
Meet the Richmond’s, well the eldest son anyway, Greyson and his billionaire empire which includes his second assistant to his secretary, Lexi. Lexi who is a Florida transplant to Manhattan. She is obsessed with all things Disney and leaving positive affirmations posted in the most unusual places. Greyson is as warped as his half-brothers, the Svenssons. Too bad he’s estranged from his mother, her new family and his five other brothers, Aaron, Spencer, Finn, Graham, and Connor. Can Lexi, and all her imperfections (including her pet Iguana), humanize Greyson enough so he can move forward in life with friends, family, and furniture? Or will he continue to let all his idiosyncrasies rule his life?
My only criticism is the cover. Where’s the “frizzy red hair” that Lexi has and is on display and talked about throughout the storyline? Other than that…
I am wholeheartedly recommending this book for your reading pleasure and satisfaction.
PEACE.

I received a free copy of this book via Cherrylily ARCs and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Migeldy Mauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐️ Hilarious and Unhinged

This was the most unhinged romcom I’ve read in a while and I mean that in the best way.
Lexi has the survival instincts of a toddler. She’s walking around Manhattan, handing out compliments like free Costco samples, and nearly gets into a white van because the driver smiled at her. BABE. NO.

Every scene felt like watching someone try to pet a rabid dog while quoting Disney. I wanted to shake her and also protect her at all costs. Like girl, stop smiling at strangers in NYC. I'm from Jersey and we are not nice people 😂😂

Grayson? Fully losing his mind. Every time she spoke, you could see the vein popping in his forehead but also he’s weirdly obsessed? His brain says “fire her” but his dïćk says “keep her forever.” It’s a mess. I loved it.

Reading this felt like watching my intrusive thoughts win.

[Lottie Hildenbrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was really good! It was very entertaining from the first page and I was really caught up in the story. I loved the quirky characters but Grayson’s tragic backstory added a lot of depth and emotion that was unexpected in a rom com. I laughed a lot throughout this book but I was also really caught up in the emotions and it made me cry too. I wouldn’t call it a light read and some of the events revealed from Grayson’s childhood could be disturbing to some readers. I don’t think they are bad enough to need content warnings, but you should be aware that it’s more emotional and a little darker than a standard rom com.

[Gladys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is sure to brighten your day and steal your heart. The humor is witty and banter sparkles as this delightfully fun romance unfolds. The chemistry between Lexi and Grayson was undeniable and I loved that she was the grumpy to his sunshine. These two were impossibly cute together. I simply adored them.

[green bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly......... meh. once i put my perspective on grayson instead of lexi it got better, but boy was she quite the character. i'm glad grayson had his moment 82% in but kinda wish it had ended there

[Beth Armstrong · Rating 1 out of 5]

the main female character in this book acts like a toddler. in no way did I find it charming or adorable. It was weirdly baby -like and the fact that the MMC found it attractive gave me weird vibes. big ick.

[Anupama CN · Rating 5 out of 5]

* sigh *

[Marlinda Shurback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had a little too many spicy scenes and I wasn’t 100% in favor of Grayson most of the time. It ended well.