I think I need to just close the idea of reading any JS Cooper books. They just haven’t been for me. I keep giving her books multiple chances and they’ve pretty much all have disappointed me though Aria and Arabella’s stories seem promising but I guess time will tell. I’ll keep giving this author chances because I have faith that one of her books must get good at some point, right? Or maybe I’m just hoping for something that won’t happen. As it is, I think I’ve read maybe 3-4 of her books, and all have been disappointing. This one wasn’t an exception. First off, there were hero and heroine character flaws in both Ava and Theo. Ava had this personality that was like a teenager’s. She didn’t make sense and would go off and ramble about things that didn’t add anything to the plot or story. She kept repeating things and there was no depth to it or any revelations. It felt like she was whining about being single the whole time, complaining about a girl she went to school with when she shouldn’t even be worrying about her. She held on to grudges with this girl and had this intense passion to be on the same level as her and was obsessing over making an impression than worrying about her business. On top of that, she kept complaining how she has no money and that her bookstore is going down but yet she didn’t want to do anything about it. She just went on and kept doing what she’s doing even though none of it was helping her and she was focusing on the wrong things, I’ll even say Theo was a culprit in this too. She was naive in that she thought a few events would help raise money for the store and felt strongly about not selling to a corporation but let’s face it, she needed help and was too stubborn to admit it or ask, even give in. At some point, if a dream isn’t working out for you, and you’ve tried everything to revive and make it survive but nothing comes out of it then I’d just throw in the towel, sell the place, cut you losses and find another passion. You can take the money you got from the store and invest into something else, or just save. I admire her positivity but sometimes that can only get you so far. In this case, it was used as her way of putting rose colored glasses on and thinking everything was great but was just a band aid for the issue at hand. I think she was just too innocent and overly nice to the point where I think it didn’t help her. I’ll agree with Theo on this because she was too giving and it only made her lose money. I’m not part of, or have my own business but even I know that when you give away things and make them free multiple times a day, then it’s no wonder you’re losing money. Moving on to Theo, he wasn’t as naive as her and to a degree knew what he was doing when he offered his advice to Ava regarding the bookstore. It was his motivation and attitude he had regarding Ava, her bookstore and the town that rubbed me the wrong way. He wasn’t a bad guy, but the way he goes about trying to convince her to sell was wrong. It was also his denial that annoyed me. This is what he turned to every time he tried to talk himself out of admitting having feelings for Ava and when anyone questioned him about it. Honestly, it was immature and I don’t know why he didn’t just admit he was attracted to her from the very beginning. I can understand not revealing that to his partner, especially with how callous he was being about the whole takedown but to his assistant and the way he acted like a petulant child not wanting to say anything wasn’t necessary. What is his assistant going to do? Judge him? She didn’t seem like that type. In fact, I liked her because she tried to get Theo to admit there was something he felt and was drawn to regarding Ava and wasn’t afraid to put him in his place. She did it in a motherly and nurturing way while also saying what she really felt about it. While he didn’t come out and admit anything to her, it did get him to rethink his whole operation and what was more important. Aside from that, the book felt like it was written in a choppy and unorganized way. It didn’t flow easily through the chapters, and again, it was hard figuring out who was talking, losing my interest. It had Theo and Ava’s thoughts blurring together with no break so it made it confusing to follow the conversations between Theo and Ava. I had to re-read several segments, all because I wasn’t sure whose point of view we were in and who was talking so this needed more editing. I also wish you could feel their chemistry more, because it just felt calculating and unattached, almost robotic. The passion and emotion was missing in their love making, plus their conversations were confusing and would go on tangents and include these cryptic questions. It was almost like they were figuring each other out. I guess in a way they were, but it fell short because it sounded more like a questioning you would experience at the police station and not between two people who are attracted to each other or desire each other. Ava went about it in an innocent way whereas Theo got a little bit more detailed with his desire. It honestly felt at some points one sided which was confusing. To top it off, I think this went overboard with claims of Ava being the “fall queen” and too many pumpkin spice latte mentions and the passion for them with just pumpkins in general. There is a way to have a fall theme without making it a big deal or obvious. I think this and the last book played too much into fall. I ultimately gave this a 3, because there were some moments in the story that were romantic and sweet but also the little spice we did get between Ava and Theo was a nice touch but needed more emotion. It was just ok to me, maybe even a little bit less than ok but not enough to warner a 1 or 2 rating.