This is my first Melissa Brayden book and I really enjoyed her writing style! She has been on my TBR for awhile and I definitely want to check out more of her books, especially knowing that some of the side characters in this book are from her other published novels. 

The connection between Leighton and Jamie was evident from the start. They had so much chemistry! I truly loved the beginning of this book and watching those initial sparks light up. I was hooked and couldn’t wait to read more of their story. I knew based on the description alone that this book was going to be rife with drama - and I was not wrong! However the drama was not quite what I expected it to be and I love that Brayden took some of these familiar tropes and packaged them up in a different way.

This was a unique book in that it was kind of almost two stories in one. The first 1/4 or so is not quite insta love, but definitely insta connection, but then the story skips ahead 3 years and becomes more of an enemies-to-lovers, second chance, slow burn kind of romance. So you get the opportunity to see both their first and second chance at love which was kind of cool. But it was also very jarring when the time skip happened and it pulled me out of the story and took me a bit to get reinvested. 

I really liked Jamie and Leighton as people, but when it came to their relationship I found myself more frustrated with them than anything! Jamie is a big grudge holder and I felt like she reacted way harsher than the situation warranted. And the lack of honesty and communication about feelings was killing me at times! There were moments where I wanted to NOT want them to get back together, but they were just so dang good together that I couldn’t help but root for them even when they were driving me up a wall!

I loved getting to see their connection rebuild and their friendship blossom, but I wish we would have gotten to see them as an actual couple more. I don’t mind a good slow burn romance, but because I’d already gotten to see how good they were together I didn’t like having to wait so long for that spark to reignite. But I did love the way the story wrapped up! 

I also truly enjoyed a lot of the side characters, especially the regulars at  Bordeauxnuts - Genevieve in particular. That woman was spicy and had some great one liners!

I’ll definitely be checking out more of Brayden’s books, and I think I need to start with Kiss the Girl so I can get to know Jessica Lennox and Brooklyn Campbell! 

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books. This is my honest and voluntary review.

🏳️‍🌈Rep: Lesbian and Bi FMCs, queer SCs

📝Tropes/Themes: Femme/Femme, Second Chance, Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Coffee/Wine Bar, New York, Sapphic Romance