Lila couldn’t be happier that her best friend is getting married, but she can’t shake a nagging sense of anxiousness. Her career is thriving, and she’s proud of everything she’s accomplished, but she always thought she’d have found The One by now. So when her best friend and her wealthy fiancé surprise their friend group with a luxurious getaway, Lila is thrilled for the chance to escape her everyday life—though she’s less enthusiastic about one travel companion in particular, the groom’s friend, Harrison.
Intimidating, withdrawn, and definitely not a fan of Lila’s relentless cheerfulness, Harrison has never given her anything except snarky comments and a bad attitude. The fact that Lila has a tiny, unspoken crush on him? Purely an inconvenience. She’s determined to enjoy the sun-soaked shores of Santorini while ignoring him entirely.
But when fate intervenes and strands her alone with Harrison, Lila finds herself face-to-face with his rough demeanor. Without their friends as buffers, will the two be at each other’s throats? Or could their clashing personalities complement each other in ways they never expected?
Allison Speka's stories are light on the spice and heavy on the banter. She delivers realistic characters that you'll instantly root for, taking you on a roller coaster of emotions. With moments of passion, humor, and a fast-paced plot, her books will keep you hooked from start to finish, making it impossible to put them down.
Follow her journey. TikTok and Instagram: @AllisonSpeka
Visit her website AllisonSpeka.com for free bonus content and news on upcoming releases.
This book was so cute!! I really enjoyed the loathing to lovers aspect of this book and I loved the owner of the hotel modeling in their relationship. The MMC was sooo protective and I just loved it. I didn’t even mind the miscommunication or lack of communication because it seemed so real for two people who want more but aren’t sure how or if the other person wanted it.
Certain moments were a touch to cheesy for my taste but I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend! Especially if someone needs a vacation read.
Lila couldn’t be happier that her best friend is getting married, but she can’t shake a nagging sense of anxiousness. Her career is thriving, and she’s proud of everything she’s accomplished, but she always thought she’d have found The One by now. So when her best friend and her wealthy fiancé surprise their friend group with a luxurious getaway, Lila is thrilled for the chance to escape her everyday life—though she’s less enthusiastic about one travel companion in particular, the groom’s friend, Harrison.
Intimidating, withdrawn, and definitely not a fan of Lila’s relentless cheerfulness, Harrison has never given her anything except snarky comments and a bad attitude. The fact that Lila has a tiny, unspoken crush on him? Purely an inconvenience. She’s determined to enjoy the sun-soaked shores of Santorini while ignoring him entirely.
But when fate intervenes and strands her alone with Harrison, Lila finds herself face-to-face with his rough demeanor. Without their friends as buffers, will the two be at each other’s throats? Or could their clashing personalities complement each other in ways they never expected?
Thoughts Hear me out. I hate slow burn reads. BUT this book was soooooo good. I didn’t care about the slow burn! The banter, the friends, the side characters, and the could be drama! And then the slow burn that finally burned! This was just the book I needed for a little reading slump I was in! This is a new to me Author and I already can’t wait to read more!
First of all, huge thank you to Allison for allowing me to read an ARC of her newest book that comes out on January.
Lila & Harrison were supposed to be going with their friends on a conjoined bachelor/bachelorette trip and ended up going to a completely different destination than they were originally supposed to go (pretty sure they did that on purpose and wouldn’t outright admit it honestly, but I’m not complaining.) They met some interesting people on their journey and I’ll admit that during some situations they were in, I was in fact playing songs from a certain movie musical on repeat in my head. There was a perfect mix of angst and longing, with a dash of spice in the mix as well if you’re not much of a person that may enjoy a ton of spice.
One of my favorite quotes from the entire book: “Lila, if anyone could balance me out, it’s you.”
To keep it as simple as possible at the end of the day, I ate this book up in the span of a few hours and throughly enjoyed it.
Read this one in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down! Another hit from Allison Speka. Grumpy Sunshine, one bed, forced proximity all done SO well. I loved circling back to familiar characters from Love Linked & getting to see Harrison & Lila’s story. Both characters were so self aware about their own issues and it was so refreshing to see that, because it’s something I find mildly infuriating about romance as a whole when the characters can’t see the flaws & trauma we see as readers. I fell instantly in love with this grumpy/sunshine duo in their main character moment and was holding on by the edge of my seat by day one of their trip!
Thank you to Allison for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
This was a cute grumpy x sunshine romance. I thought it was a fun concept and enjoyed the story a lot! I do wish we got to experience more alone time between Lila and Harrison on their trip.
-ARC REVIEW- LOVED THIS BOOK! If you love banter and one bed romance books and an independent female main character and a tattoo artist. Then you definitely need to read this. This book kept my interest the whole time and I loved it. Can’t wait to read the rest of the authors books❤️
2.5 stars. This book was really cute and I really enjoyed the first half, but then it started to get a little repetitive to me. By the final 25% I was ready to be done. I loved the characters, don’t regret reading it. But it lost my attention by the end. I’ll probably try another one of this author’s books.
First I want to thank Allison for letting me read an exclusive ARC copy of her new book Trip Switch. Ever since I read Key Ridge, I have been hooked on her writing style and the way she writes her character's personalities.
This review may contain POTENTIAL SPOILERS, so I would caution you to skip this post until the book releases.
I loved Lila and Harrison's character dynamic, how at first they were frenemies and then it started to slowly blossom into something more while they were sent to the wrong vacation destination from Fiji to Greece; whenever I think of Greece I instantly get Mamma Mia vibes but without the father mix up. From the first chapter, I instantly felt a connection with Lila, how she was stuck in a toxic relationship and how she thought she wouldn't find someone who would make her happy or feel confident about herself again. But, she needed someone like Harrison to help her take risks and know that life is full of possibilities and that it can also have it's challenges.
Harrison on the other hand, I never thought he was the shy one. I loved how Allison included his insecurities about his past bullying and how Oliver was always there for him. I love how in books they make the male characters more vulnerable rather than a bad boy because in reality, everyone has their own insecurities and sometimes can be afraid to open up to someone since they may feel like a burden or that they will scare them away. I also loved how Harrison's love of art inspired him to be a tattoo artist. Art is an awesome way to help express yourself, and the fact that it helped Harrison get through some tough times is such an amazing thing.
I'm really looking forward to Allison's future books and characters, she never disappoints her readers.
Allison does it AGAIN! WOW I really enjoyed this one. The grumpy sunshine & forced proximity had me turning pages quickly (oh and the one bed… yes please) I ate this book up in 2 days! I really enjoyed getting to know Harrison and Lila more. They were actually my favorites in Love Linked and I’m so glad Allison decided to share their story with us. This was beautifully written, a story line that wasn’t far fetched and truly romantic.
The entire time I found myself longing for Oliver’s story.. and well.. fingers crossed 😜
READ THIS! But first read Key Ridge and Love Linked. You’ll appreciate this book and the ending more if you do.
Great work, Allison! I’m excited for more readers to get their hands on this next month. Thank you again for the ARC and trusting me with your work.
at the beginning, I was really confident that I was never going to like the MMC. Harrison just rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. as far as “enemies to lovers” he was giving me major ick. but in true Allison Speka fashion, she made Harrison kind of redeem himself. I still wish he wasn’t sooo mean to the FMC, it made it hard to be okay with their relationship, IMO. but the overall story and the trip switch aspect was good!
so I guess what I am getting it, just because I didn’t love the MMC Harrison, I don’t want that to ruin my rating/how I feel about the book overall.
Harrison grumpy tattoo artist Lila hopeless romantic
SLOW BURN but once it burned, it set everything on fire Grumpy/sunshine Haters to lovers (don't think it can be classes as enemies) Opposites attract Close proximity One bed trope
The banter was top tier. The chemistry between the two was off the charts. We have amazing side characters who like to meddle and I love that.
Loved it! Such a fun read! The characters were likable and I found myself rooting for them the entire time. As a Colorado reader and someone who has been fortunate enough to travel in Greece, the setting and descriptions in the book could not have been anymore perfect.
This was so cute. The perfect little summer rom com. The characters had such good chemistry without it feeling too cheesy. I was giggling and smiling like a dummy in some parts. I’m excited to continue the series!
Loved Lila and Harrison’s story! I’ve been waiting patiently to hear this! They were meant for each other! Opposites do attract! Now I cannot wait for Oliver’s story!!
I NEED TO GO TO GO TO GREECE! This book was really good, it would have gotten 5 stars but it took me 2 weeks to read the first 50 pages. I love the grumpy x sunshine trope
I hate to admit how long this took me to finish, not because I didn’t enjoy it, but more that I didn’t want it to end. I loved the characters, the story and everything in between. So far there hasn’t been a book by Allison Speka, that I haven’t enjoyed.
I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. I loved the grumpy/sunshine and protectiveness in this book. They were just the cutest couple. It was a quick and easy read. I definitely recommend!
If you enjoyed The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren and/or Shipped by Angie Hockman, I think you’ll enjoy this book, too! Who doesn’t love a forced proximity rom com with vacation vibes?
Grumpy/Sunshine is my favorite trope! Harrison and Lila complimented each other so well personality wise. They truly benefited individually by being in each other’s orbit. Also, the setting was perfection!