Thank you so much to Atria and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

Book 1 in this series was a shocking favorite of last year. So I was excited to get more from this author and world! Sadly this sequel didn't hit the way the previous book did...

The beginning of this romance was ROUGH. I even considered DNF-ing multiple times because I was struggling to get on board with this heroine and romance.

My biggest issue was the way the heroine practically forced the hero into a situation he didn't want anything to do with, and then tried to play it off like he could have walked away at any point...

The lack of consent until he finally caved just left me feeling very uncomfortable. She pushes when he says no, she lies to get him to show up to public situations that essentially strong arm him into her plot, and overall just doesn't seem to respect his boundaries or reluctance...

And it's all brushed aside because the hero has been secretly pining for her...

My other issue is that in contrast to her "never take no for an answer" attitude for the hero, she was a complete and utter pushover with everyone else. To the point it got frustrating watching the MCs deal with the most ridiculous PR plots.

I love a pining hero, and this definitely delivered on that. But overall I just wasn't left loving this story or the romance.