Steven Salvatore

What happens when a simple deal gets...complicated?
I didn't have many feelings at all about this book...neither good nor bad. The chapters are way long and there's very few of them considering the length of the book. It’s all dual POV that switches within the chapters, sometimes multiple times, and that, at least to me, bogged down the storyline.

Somehow the mix of a horticulturist who lost his booming plant business to his ex-husband’s family and is now broke and broken and a show more high-profile owner of a sex-positive app who is also the app’s top-earning worker did manage to work. We have Teddy who grew up poor and built his business through years of hard work and his love of plants. Then we have Cole who grew up rich and was expected to step into his father’s shoes to take over the family business. Instead, he went his own way and became a success. These two men just seem to understand each other. Their first meeting and the ensuing night together is sweet and builds an intimacy between them that carries out through the rest of the story.

When things get rough, the reactions were completely understandable on both parts, but with all their insecurities. They somehow...sometimes, managed to keep others from thinking or saying things before acting. They weren’t irrational or immature, but they didn’t always react before speaking or acting. There was also lots of realistic emotions. So what was the problem?

There were too many times when the background characters got to be too much. For me, they took away from the story. Although many of them were integral to how things ultimately play out...it became hard to remember where it as supposed to be going. I had to remember who was being talked about and what "big thing" was happening. That may have been an issue with me and not with the writing.

Ultimately the romance was good...and the two sweeties have their happy ever after...although Cole's father would probably disagree with me:) show less

I came into this book finding the main character, Chase, just a little insufferable—having had some big Disney Fan™ roommates myself in college, I was experiencing some teeth-gritting flashblacks—but ultimately who wants to spend their time throwing hate on someone else's joy? Chase definitely grew on me, and I became really interested in their world and their friends new and old. The romance was great, and each character's coming-of-age struggles with finding their places in their show more families, friend groups, and communities were really well-written and relatable. show less

Fake boyfriend trope--check
Rich man/poor man trope-- check
Hot, fit, city mouse/chunky, sexy, county mouse--check
Hot sex-- check
Grand romantic gestures--check
Loving, lesbian sidekick in a poly relationship --check
Crystal healing, plants, meditation, and grounding exercises used liberally throughout-- check and check

My soft, romantic, witchy heart ate this M/M romance with a spoon. It hits all the familiar beats of two heartbroken heroes from the opposite sides of the tracks falling in love show more again. Throw in treachery, sneaky exes, suspicious parents, and a dash of snark, and a perfect summer read is born. show less

This was a lot of fun :) but I expected it to be - after all - it's a retelling of "Pretty Woman". The author makes lovely tongue-in-cheek references to the film and managed to make the story their own.

The sparks flew when these two met, but I adored how different they were! Cole and Teddy couldn't really have been more different but that's part of what makes this tale work. They make each other laugh, the just work... I loved the dialogue and really appreciated how different the characters show more were.

The story itself is a roller coaster ride. There's a lot of emotion jammed into this romance. You'll get your hot and steamy scenes but there a lot of deeper themes woven through.

Loved it. show less