Read Completed 1/24/25 | 3.75 - 4 stars | Book #7 of 2025

I was nervous about starting this because I've really grown out of enjoying enemies-to-lovers, and the last Sarah Adams book I read with this concept was... not my cup of tea. This definitely went much better, but I still feel like this trope prevents me from experiencing the feelings right off the bat. 

I did appreciate how Sarah Adams worked in some affection while the two were still insisting they were arch rivals. We get snippets of emails back and forth in between some chapters and we get to see that Emily & Jack did have some feelings for each other, but started off on a terrible foot and just kept carrying it on and on. 

I did enjoy their relationship and chemistry! Maybe not as much as I would have liked immediately, but this was back to some great Sarah Adams feels later on and I connected much more to everything in the second half of the book. 

I would have rated this 3.5 stars, but I was very impressed with the ending of the book! I LOVE when an author is able to insert a 3rd act conflict without a 3rd act break-up. Something happens here where both characters need a little time and space, but it wasn't about a miscommunication, misunderstanding, or something someone else did. They're both growing and learning how to be in a relationship, especially while still maintaining their own personalities and desires. I was highly impressed and it really gave me fond feelings for the book overall! 

I don't think this is still the most memorable of her books for me, but I did enjoy the read. I haven't read a romance book in a few months (October! Whoa.) so this was quite a mood shift.