Enemies to Lovers 3: Tokyo Drift

I'm a hater, what can I say

Need I say more? Well, I could, which is why I have two other roundups of enemies to lovers goodness":

Enemies To Lovers | 10.28.22

Enemies 2 Lovers | 3.31.23

Check ‘em out if you haven’t already, then read on for even more spicy angry love.

Fight or Flight by Samantha Young. Remember that time an Icelandic volcano let out so much ash it grounded a bunch of planes? Well, Ava definitely remembers, because it’s delaying her flight home after attending a childhood friend’s funeral and she nearly comes to blows with Caleb, an arrogant Scotsman, who steals a first class ticket from right under her nose. Their antagonism escalates the entire flight, which can only be diffused one way: hot hot hot HOT layover sex. 

Then the volcanic ash continues to wreak havoc by stranding Caleb in Boston for longer than anticipated, making this lay(wink)over a little longer than expected. So after Caleb and Ava are reintroduced to one another by a surprise mutual acquaintance and tempers cool a bit, Caleb proposes an extended affair. Ava’s got her reasons to be skeptical of him specifically and relationships in general, so this is perfect: she’s in no danger of falling for him, and even if she was (but she’s NOT), he’s only in town temporarily. Except… she’s definitely in danger of falling for him because his first impression was far from a complete story and he may not actually only be here temporarily. 

While I can’t 100% stand behind my girl Ava’s behavior early in the book that leads to the enemy part of this enemies to lovers story, she’s got her reasons and I do love a sex pact story between two people who claim to hate each other but for whatever reason cannot stop sleeping together.

Rating: 4/5

How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Headliners by Lucy Parker. NEW LUCY PARKER BOOK WHEN. As of writing, several months. As of posting this review, however, a new Lucy Parker (the sequel to my FAVE, Battle Royale) comes out in FOUR DAYS! To future me, I say… congrats. Anyways.

Headliners is the fifth in her London Celebrities series and one of my favorites of the bunch. It’s set at Christmas and features rival TV presenters Sabrina Carlton and Nick Davenport, who we’ve seen circling each other and trading barbs in previous books. In particular, Nick has recently aired some pretty personal family drama of Sabrina’s (see: The Austen Playbook) and the resulting feud has roughened both sides’ reputation. In an effort to save their careers, they’re tasked with co-hosting a failing morning show and resuscitating it before Christmas Eve, but if their all-out workplace war isn’t enough, someone else on staff secretly wants them to fail as well. Soon, these rivals must band together to save their show from a mysterious assailant, save each other’s careers, and, finally, save their budding love story.

At one point Nick takes care of Sabrina while she’s on her period and it’s one of the best of those kinds of scenes I’ve ever read. I love these two hotheads, and while I think reading the rest of this series lends a lot more emotional catharsis to a few different storylines within, I think you can probably read this solo. Might I recommend waiting for the weather to turn a bit more, though? See, this is why I’m recommending this book in August (and writing about it in June): so you have time to read the rest of the series first before getting to Headliners in time for Christmas! This was all part of the plan and not at all arbitrary! Nope! 

Rating: 4/5

How hot? 🔥🔥🔥

Most Eligible Billionaire by Annika Martin. I got this book as a freebie from a fellow author’s newsletter, and quickly became obsessed with Annika Martin. I read a lot of books considered rom coms, but this was the first in a WHILE to actually make me laugh out loud, rather than give a sensible chuckle or amused nose exhale.

Let me set the stage for you: Vicky is broke, on the run with an assumed identity, and the sole caretaker of her teenage sister. So when a famously curmudgeonly older rich woman mistakes basic observation for Vicky’s supernatural dog whispering abilities, she has no good reason to try and talk her out of it. And when that same older rich woman passes away, Vicky ends up not only the sole caretaker of Smuckers, the dog allegedly being whispered to, but also his spokesperson now that he has inherited a multi-billion dollar corporation. 

Though Vicky’s naturally surprised and has every intention of immediately turning things over to the rightful heir, the old woman’s son Henry, Henry’s immediate suspicion of her intentions at the will reading changes the game significantly. So begins a battle of the wills where Vicky, as Smuckers’ mouthpiece of course, escalates a series of ridiculous antics to put Henry in his place, and Henry tries to get control of his company back by any means necessary. There’s a doggy throne, steamy sex in a construction site, and, best of all, a conclusion that doesn’t entirely center around the billionaire boyfriend using his vast wealth to make every problem go away. There’s some of that, but it also requires a fair amount of humanity as well, which I appreciated a lot.

Rating: 4.5/5

How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

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Next week, I’ll be recommending books about female pop stars in hiding (if I had a nickel for every time a romance heroine was a pop star in hiding… I’d only have 15 cents but it’s weird there are three books with this same starting premise!)

What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!

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