By: Christy McKellen
Many thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!
Jess is a journalist who is on the brink of losing her job. She gets a chance to prove herself when her boss gives her a piece to write about artist Xander Heaton. She has to go to his studio to interview him. Though when she gets there, she doesn’t get much. He invites her to Italy where he is going to get away and paint. This is out of the norm for her. She’s a bit reserved and conservative. However, her job is on the line, so she goes. While Xander is attractive, Jess needs to stay professional so she can write her story. Xander keeps flirting with her. She’s always had her walls built up and doesn’t break her rules, but maybe once won’t hurt.
This was such a cute novella! It’s described as being a “spicy forbidden romance” but I think this novella is so much more than that. Jess struggles with body image and confidence issues. McKellen doesn’t go into details about what exactly she doesn’t like about her body, but does state that she is uncomfortable showing it to anyone. Xander has some things he’s going through as well. He still has so much anger and so much hurt from his childhood. So even though these two characters that were seemingly very different, what they really needed was the same thing – someone to show them love, caring, understanding. And they find that in each other. Xander learns to put someone else before himself and Jess learns to let her inhibitions go a little bit, and accept that someone could find her as desirable as Xander does. For me, this was the best part about this book, and I could have read even more of it!
The book does have a little bit of spice in it, but honestly, it was done very tastefully and it made sense. It wasn’t just spice for the sake of having spice. I do feel like the ending was a tad bit abrupt. I would have liked to see it extended just a little longer.
I think romance readers will really enjoy this one!
Publish Date: March 9, 2025
Find the book here.
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