Aleveria / KarenL

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Adriana Locke has been on my "TBR Radar" for a while, but with so many books to read, I never really got around to picking anything up. I was given the opportunity to check this book out, so I leapt at it. I figured I couldn't lose. It's in a universe I already love, it's not an 800-page epic, and it's one of my favorite tropes. Done and done.

The book jumps right into the meat of the story, which I absolutely love. The readers learn about the characters throughout the book organically. We also get to see the raw side of both leads straight off the bat - which allows them to develop along the way.

Carver Jones is an entitled somewhat lazy executive. Used to his position and becoming complacent. The President of his father's company, he's always known he was meant to take over when the day came to do so. What he doesn't count on is that his father's partner doesn't nominate him to take over as CEO. He nominates his own daughter.

On the other hand, Amity Gallum has been working quietly on her own, to make a name for herself away from Jones + Gallum. She's more than ready to compete for the position of CEO and step in where she belongs. Especially if it means usurping Carver, the guy she's hated for half of her life.

From the very minute the leads come together, they keep each other off-balance and challenge the other's resolve. It was truly a battle of equals, and they both underestimated the other.

Carver is very unattractive (not outwardly of course) at the beginning, because he's threatened by Amity, but he remembers the times they spent together when they were young, and how much she's done with her life, and his respect soars.

Amity utterly despises Carver because of an incident from their past. However, she's not vying for the CEO position out of spite, she's there because it's her legacy and she deserves it. If it takes Carver down in the process, all the better.

I loved the interplay between Amity and Carver, both at the beginning and then later on, and then there was a bit near the end of the book that had me wondering if onions were being cut in my kitchen. I got a bit misty. There was a great little epilogue with them a few months down the road too.

This book was delightful and funny, with a lot of steam. Five happy stars.