4 Reverse Cowgirl Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5

This is the second book I have read by Emma Rae and it is good. It's not amazing, but it's not bad. Given that it is related to movies, the best way to describe it would be to say it's not going to be a blockbuster or win any Oscars. But it's not going to get any Razzie Awards either. For those of you who don't know, those are the awards given to the worst of cinematic failures. It's a standard homework Christmas movie but without the Christmas. You know, a run-of-the-mill romcom that is sweet in the end and you're not going to regret reading it, but it's not going to rewrite your brain chemistry.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Lexi Hart is an Oscar-winning documentary director who has been asked to step in to film a documentary about a boy band on their "Heartbeats" tour which is funded by the network that is funding her next project. The issue is Lexi would rather pull her teeth out without anaesthetic than do this, but she doesn't want to jeopardise her next project. So she acquiesces and she, her handy dandy cameraman (who also happens to be her ex) and her assistant fly halfway across the world to follow some men around. The issue is none of the men want anything to do with the film crew, especially Aidan McArthur, the band's UBL (unofficial band leader).

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
Lexi was very relatable as a character. I enjoyed that she felt real because she didn't have her shit together and that she was trying to do the best of the situation. She compromises her well-being for others and has this innate ability and magic that makes people's lives better without releasing it. She has this charismatic personality that people cannot help but be drawn to. She has a way of fixing people's problems or giving advice that ends up making them happy. It was through these little acts and gestures that slowly persuaded the band to like her and accept her as one of their own.

Aidan is initially a dick. You think he's not a very nice person, but as Lexi spends more time with him you realise that he is just protective of his boys and take time to open up to new people. He is VERY SLOW to trust and it does take him a while to open up to Lexi. He is an actual sweetheart at times and down to earth even though he is so famous, he ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT PEOPLE. He wants the best for his bandmates in everything they do - personal and professional. He is one of their biggest cheerleaders, the literal daddy of the group, even though he's 25. And you can see that he's just trying his best in the situation that is thrust on him.

There was a small moment where I thought the book might be missing a few chapters because Aidan and Lexi went from hardly talking to being so in lust - it almost gave Insta-lust vibes. I honestly thought that I'd skipped a couple of chapters.

But putting that aside, I will say that the writing is pretty addictive and I couldn't put the book down. It was so entertaining to see how Lexi navigated everything and I was just sucked in. THIS BOOK MADE ME SQUIRREL, (which always makes me rate a book higher because it means that ANY FREE TIME I HAD, any moment, I was opening my Kindle or iPhone and squirrelling away reading). The writing had this way of drawing you in, it flowed and effortlessly conveyed the character's emotions. Considering this is told entirely from Lexi's POV, Emma Rae did a fantastic job of portraying Aidan.

This DOES have a third-act breakup so prepare for this...

but it allowed the book to take an interesting direction. I loved that Lexi reconciled with her father. It was sweet how he was there for her and dropped everything to take care of his daughter. In so many books, those types of relationships go in the direction of splitting further. And the fact that they were able to come together and she was able to find forgiveness, love and compassion with him was sweet.

I think a lot of this book is not just about Lexi finding love with Aidan. It's about Lexi finding love in herself. She is so quick to help other people find love, that she doesn't focus on it for herself, but in this she finds friends, she finds, family and she finds love and I think that message made this book really sweet, really cute and enjoyable.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Celebrity Romance
▶ Enemies Hate to Lovers
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Age Gap (Lexi 30, Aidan 24 - 5.5 Years)
▶ Backwards Cap
▶ Director X Boy Band Singer
▶ Rolled Sleeves

Overall, as mentioned, this was good. I enjoyed it and have sinched Emma Rae into my must-read author's list!

Thank you to Emma Rae, Netgalley and Hera Books for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.