I devoured several of Olivia Dade’s romances last summer, and I was super excited to see that she had another book coming out earlier this year.

Olivia often has plus size women in the FMC roles in her novels, this was no different. I really like how she lovingly describes larger women, their beauty and their problems. In this case, a 10 foot across house!

This was certainly more enemies than any enemies to lovers romance I have read so far. Athena has every reason to hate Matthew, like, tons of reasons. I’m not sure I see the initial arc for her to forgive him even understanding his traumas, but when he takes care of her at her most vulnerable and helps her get back on her feet certainly gives a compelling reason.

The reasons Matthew opposed her marriage to Johnny were very valid, and I think that throughout the book we saw more growth from him than Matthew. I hope that he gets his own Harlot’s Bay novel in the future.

Another thing I appreciated the hell out of while reading this, is that though Matthew is a virgin, there is no inherent value placed on him because of that. She’s just like, “Cool, let’s find out what you like then.” and doesn’t pull any of the possessive bullshit that drove me nuts in Hooked and other novels I’ve read.

I think I’m looking forward to the next Harlot’s Bay novel, though I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the Spoiler Alert series. I will still give this series another chance when the next book comes out.

And finally, I love the interwoven writings of Sadie Brazen. I know that non-human romance novels are a huge turn on for many, but in this particular book, I loved the comedic value they added to the story, to Athena’s revenge, and Matthew’s grand gesture.

I liked this one, but I think that I would recommend you start elsewhere in her work to get you hooked first.