A special thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.Melissa and Rusty trip are a dynamic power couple with their home and design business. They are broadcast into homes across the country with New Spaces, their home renovation TV show. With another show premiering, and a book launching, the Tripps are on the verge of being the next Chip and Joanna Gaines. But there is only one problem: America's new favourite couple can't actually stand each other.
Carey Douglas is Melissa's right hand. She's been working for them since their first store opened nearly a decade ago. It's an understatement to say she's got her hands full with Melly.
James McCann, an MIT graduate, was hired on as a structural engineer. But he's not really doing any engineering, and the job isn't what he thought.
Both James and Carey are summonsed to go on the Tripp's book tour. It is their job to basically babysit Rusty and Melly, ensuring that keeping up the facade. They are both stuck because they both need their jobs—Carey needs the health insurance, and James has been promised a higher profile role. They vow to keep everyone playing nice in order to keep their bosses' secrets as well as their jobs. But there's an attraction brewing between them...is it their turn to build a life instead of constructing one for their employers?
My first Christina Lauren book was Twice in a Blue Moon and then I devoured Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating (which was my favourite so far). So when NetGalley came a callin' with this one, I was all over it. Until I wasn't.
Let me explain... The duo that are Christina Lauren are a gift! I completely understand why they are so popular and have legions of fans (including me). I get it, I really do. But...this book fell completely flat in the romance department. And what I mean by that is that I don't think the romantic storyline was given enough legs. It was completely derailed by the drama surrounding the Tripps—it didn't feel fresh and I don't know whether it is because home improvement shows are saturating the specialty channels, or because society has an obsession with reality TV, but I struggled to maintain interest in Rusty and Melissa's story. And quite frankly, I didn't care enough about them.
I was also confused at the genre, I assume it's classified as "romance," but there was this mystery/thriller vibe with the police interviews that were dispersed throughout the book and I wasn't sure where that was going and thought that someone died.
Christina Lauren, I wanted more! More romance, more spark, more attraction, more banter, more tension, not more Tripps with their over-the-top antics and ridiculous book tour.
BUY NOW
CHRISTINA LAUREN is the combined pen name of bestselling authors and best friends, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings.
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