This was my first buddy read of 2025 with my bestie, and we both agreed that this is the book equivalent of plain boiled rice... It's there and provides something, but it is bland AF as nothing happens. It is very one note and that note is flat. Had I not needed background noise to help me complete mundane tasks I would've DNF'd.

I mostly liked Xander, I enjoyed some of the banter between the couple and the spice was good, but outside of that there was no plot, no build up, no tension and frankly Kelly's character irritated me at times as she seemed to have zero common sense. You're a celebrity, babe... of course, going off on holiday without security in place is a ridiculous thing to want to do. Of course someone within your circle is going to insist on it so getting pissy about it and trying to ditch said security is stupid, of course posting pictures of yourself with a way to identify exactly where you're staying etc is risky and stupid and your attitude towards Xander who is just doing his job and keeping a promise to your brother paints you in a very juvenile way.

I enjoyed book one of this series, so it's a shame this one is such a miss for me. I will continue with book three as I've read previous series by this author and enjoyed them, so hopefully, this will be the outlier, and book 3 will redeem the series for me. It was my first book narrated by Amanda Stribling and only the second book I've listened to narrated by Patrick Zeller, and i enjoyed their performances, just a shame the base material was lacking. 🌶🌶

"Slow down asshole, I told myself, recalling that pink vibrator. She wants tickling rabbit ears, she wants swirling beads, she wants 36 vibrational patterns! Dammit, I didn't have any of those things!"