Uncovering Her Cravings

Big City, Small World #1

by Rae Shawn

One night she called a mistake, but he's never forgotten...

Leilani Mitchell is obsessed with happily ever after … as long as it comes in a book, so becoming a social media manager for a publishing company was a no-brainer. It's safer and less complicated than real life. Seeing her dad alone after her mother’s death made her promise herself the best way to never lose love was to never go looking for it in the first place.

But when her friend asks her to be her maid of honor and partners her with the man who turned her world upside down in one night, the next six months will be torture.

Alexander Rutherford has crushed on his older sister’s best friend for more years than he cares to mention. But even after sharing one passionate night together, she still keeps him at an arm's length. Now that he's a successful business owner, he's out to prove he's worthy of her heart.

Leilani does her best to stamp out the fire his touch kindles in her, but the more time she spends with him the more she craves a happy ending that doesn't come from a book.

Genres: Forced Proximity, Contemporary, Second Chance, Romance

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2020

Reviews

[Turningcover · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning started off hot and heavy. Alexander was Leilani’s best friend’s little brother. He has always had a crush on her, but she never gave in until the night before his college graduation. She enjoyed the night she spent with him but didn’t want things to go further. She noticed a woman calling his phone didn’t help the circumstances surrounding them.

Alex set out to prove he had matured from the annoying little brother who used to do pranks.

For Leilani to be thirty-two years old, her personality was draining to me. Will she see Alex as an adult, or will she let the chance at love pass her?

I liked the story began strong, but then it lost its momentum for a while.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
My Rating 3.5

[✨ Brianna Raquel ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Romance Book Fest 2025 Reading Challenge 97/130

[readwithtrinnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️

this book definitely exceeded my expectations, i did not think that i would be as invested as i was with Leilani and Alex. such a well written book, can’t wait to read more books by this author 🤍

[Nock Leighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

started with a bang. literally

My first time reading this author and it dragged me in from the start. Well written and not predictable either.

[Jessica Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters did it for me

I've read another book in this series (clearly out of order) and was looking forward to this one. I wish I could say I enjoyed it as much as the other one. Amazingly, I hardly cared for any of these characters, with maybe one or two small exceptions. I despised Leilani's attitude. I hated how she, Justice and Chance treated Alex and how he let them (in large part). I was relieved when Alex finally told Leilani about herself but then he ruined it by begging for forgiveness, though she'd been rude to him the entire book. Everybody wanted him to be wrong for the Rumor situation (for which he owed no explanations but would've given one had Leilani not overreacted, twice) and for speaking his mind but it was fine for them to say whatever they wanted to him. I didn't care for that.

Also, Leilani told her father she didn't think she loved her friends, yet in the beginning she said she did. More than once. Not sure if this was intentional or not but it was a little confusing.

The story itself was just a little flat for me. I found myself skimming through a lot of the wedding planning details, or other conversations that seemed random. Like the Ego thing...it seemed forced in. Maybe she's in another book in the series, though.

This one just didn't do it for me, unfortunately.

[Shannan Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lelani and Alex had a memorable night years ago, but because she is best friends with his sister, Lelani decided to pretend it never happened. years later, when Alex's sister decides to get married, Alex and Lelani are forced to work together. Lelani tries to keep her feelings a secret, but you'll have to read to see if she's able to keep up the charades.

For my first time reading this author, I happened to enjoy the story line as well as the characters of the story. I also loved the pacing as well as the flow of the story. I will be looking for more stories from this author.

I received a copy of the book via booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky to meet Rae at a book signing and she told me all about her books. In case you were wondering, Rae is the sweetest!
I was so excited to read Uncovering her Craving, I read it right after meeting her. This story is so beautiful. It focuses on the growth of the two main characters together but also separate. This story reminds me of real life happiness. The reality of what we all desire but can achieve. The struggles we all go through and a main character who overcomes her struggles.
The plot moved at a normal pace with a beautiful progression. The character development was top notch. I don’t have anything I did not like about this book. It was so good! I highly recommend!

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this read. I’m already a sucker for best friend’s sibling, but I loved the dynamics in this one. Alexander completely got under Leilani’s skin from day one. As much as she wanted to deny their connection (and tried) she just couldn’t shake him. I also really enjoyed the play on forced proximity considering they had to spend so much time together even though Leilani was against it. Overall this is definitely a book I’d recommend and I can’t wait for book 2.

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

[LaTarsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was HOT from the very beginning. loved the story of Leilani and Alexander. Leilani and Alexander have a one night years ago. Alexander who is Leilani’s best friend younger brother has always had a crush on Leilani. Leilani although enjoyed the experience is determined to put it all behind her. But when both are put together to plan a wedding can those feelings stay hidden or will they both finally give in.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.as

[Airicia Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

🥵🥵 Don’t judge a book by its cover. However, judge it by its title. The book centers around Leilani and Alexander who shared one passionate night together four years prior. Leilani had not business in Alex bed years ago due to her attempt to forget. It is a realistic story. It had its highs and lows. At times I wondered if Leilani would ever take a real chance. It’s not love at first sight, well at least not for Leilani. This book was good from the first page to the last. I will recommend reading it to anyone who would listen.

[Mylene Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leilani can not and will not get over the crush she had on her best friends younger brother. Alex too had a crush on Leilani and it resulted in one night together. Since that night Leilani has avoided Alex at all costs. With Alexs' sister and Leilani's best friend getting married, they can no longer avoid each other. Truths are about to be revealed.

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

[TELA666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author. Overall I liked the plot, even if I wanted to slap Lani on many occasions. My only negatives were; i felt like prior dynamics weren't always explained, maybe this new series links to previous books and the word phrasing/lexicon used was unusual to me, possibly as I'm white British.
I would read other books by the author.. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kathryn]

The style of this book was really not for me - the writing kept me at a distance, somehow. I kind of liked the concept, but I think the rewrite probably made it clunkier. With adding a second POV, some characters came out of nowhere, talking about things I didn't care about, as they were not related to the central relationship. Probably a mood read thing.
This was part of the Romancing the Discourse lecture series, Only One Bed trope.

[Selena Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice laugh out loud read. The two main characters were a bit ridiculous at times with their game of cat and mouse. Then Leilani (FMC) was very delusional which contributed to most of my LOLs. Regardless of the past and her delusions, Alex said he’s getting his girl by any means. Loved it

Did I mention this has all the tropes you love: forced proximity- one bed- best friends brother- secret hookup

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unready for love

3.3
While Leilani was certainly not ready for a relationship, and sadly, her character never progressed, if a man throws all of your insecurities at your face when he is angry, he's not the one. While Alex, aka Alexander, complained bitterly that she never took him seriously, he never gave her a reason to. When she finally did, he blew it. I truthfully couldn’t get past his cruel words nor see how their love bloomed.

However, the writing itself was good.

[Katheleena · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit annoying and immature.

For a woman who was in her 30s I swear Lani was a teenager or a woman in her very early twenties, she was rather annoying. Alex had his moments but he showed more maturity than her, plus he was more likable. Her attitude really sucked at times, I finished this book because I liked Alex not because of Lani.

[Carolle Desroches · Rating 5 out of 5]

overall a good read

Initially, I had trouble with all the females with male names. Had to figure out who was who. The slang reference of “Da Block.” felt unnecessary. It felt like the author felt it was necessary to use slang to show it was about black characters. I think that was totally unnecessary. Otherwise, i enjoyed the story and how it was developed to HEAR ending.

[Manisha Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's my first time reading this book from this author it's a great read. The characters are great the storyline wonderful you won't regret reading this book.

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

[Jameil · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a distracting number of typos. Word spelled right but used incorrectly. The story also really drags because things that aren’t that interesting to read are written about in great detail. The logistics of the wedding planning, the actual wedding.

[Mary Ware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love and relationships

I didn't like the same sex relationship. But, overall, this book was a good read. I definitely, recommend this book for adults only. I rated this book four stars because of the typos.

[Angela Paggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

loveeeeee

This book captured me from the beginning. Leilani living her own rom-com and not realizing it , is hilarious. But I loved this book, especially Alex’s view of love. Highly recommend reading!!

[Teressa E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

This book is a masterpiece. It takes one on a ride like no other. The characters pull you in. The scenes are funny, serious, raw. The scenes keep you on your toes. Valuable life lessons are within this novel. Bravo Rae Swawn.

[Sage Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit hard to get into at the beginning but I’m glad I got through that. I think the characters were well written and found myself really enjoying the rest of the book.

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

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book from this author. What a great stort. I love the characters and can not wait for the rest of this series.

['The Book Queen' · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one

The author is new to me, but I liked this story. The couple was fun and funny and a pretty good read.

[Renée Dahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it in mf romance when the hero falls hard and does everything he can to prove his worth. Yes, please.

[Simone · Rating 1 out of 5]

immediately no

I couldn’t even get into the book. It’s really annoying when they avoid a problem hoping it goes away. News flash, it never does.*biggest eye roll*

[Tatyana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Idk. I just don't think this story was for me. The concept was cute but I just couldn't get into it. It dragged for me.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book! As some points I was yelling at Leilani, but very good book!

[Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet story

This was such a sweet story drama and all. I was cheering for them. Despite their stubbornness love won in n the end. It's time for part two.