Blurb:

Pretending to be engaged to my enemy might not be my brightest idea.

But it is definitely necessary.

On the brink of the biggest car show of my career, I start to panic because it’s the first time I have to see my ex since our break-up.

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t clean or amicable.

Then when Elliot Thorne’s ex-fiancé shows back up in town, I devise a plan for both of us to get what we want: a buffer from our exes with a dash of revenge.

The problem is Elliot takes his role to protect me too seriously.

He brings me food while I’m working to make sure I eat. He even silences the self-doubt I feel on a day-to-day basis.

And before I know it, he has me on my knees in my garage, and on my back on the hood of my car.

The hate I’ve harbored toward him melts away as fast as my panties, and I soon realize we have more in common than I thought.

Then he tells me a secret that makes me reevaluate our entire relationship.

Now I’m left to consider if something fake could be real…

And that maybe it’s about time I admit that Elliot isn’t my enemy after all.

Read the Blossom Peak Series here: https://geni.us/hPJqEO

(Will BEST be enjoyed having read the first 3 books in the series)

*****

Review:

I loved the hate-flirting between these two, especially the specialty messages on the desserts. And the way Dilynne supports Elliot after he’s left at the alter is perfect. She doesn’t coddle him but her brand of tough love is just what he needs and helps him put one foot in front of the other & move on. It also starts to change the way they see each other. Of course, their pretend engagement only complicates things further.

A bit predictable? Yes. Because of course they started catching feelings for each other. But was it enjoyable anyway? Also yes.

James does a good job of giving us hate-to-love with a reasonable transition and without the hate being mean. And I loved Elliot so much for all the patience and support he gives to Dilynne. He’s proud of her and wants everyone, including her, to know it. And I love that Dilynne isn’t willing to settle for being less that who she is.

We get a lot of spice with this one – gotta love a dirty talking man and a sassy woman who isn’t afraid to own her sexuality – but there are a lot of issues too that both of them have to work thru as well. It’s balanced well as the two of them learn to trust in themselves and each other and get to the point they are willing to take a chance on love again. I got this as an audiobook and the narrators do a good job of delivering all of those feels and tension and heat. Very satisfying ending as the last of this friend group finds their HEA.

~I’ve only read Test of Time (Book #3) but I didn’t have any issues keeping up with this one. If this is your first of the series, I think the biggest issue would be spoilers for previous stories because a lot of their issues are brought up here.~