e-Audio, 9 hr 14 min
Narrated by: Vance Goodwin & Anna Lynn Wright
Release Date: March 28, 2023
Published by: Carina Press
Read from: March 28-29, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Audible Credit
TW: Colorism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual Harassment, Harassment at the work place, racism
For Readers Interested In: Black Romance, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Workplace Romance, HGTV, Architecture, Fat Leads, Dual POV, Adult“Plenty of sexy chemistry and sensual sizzle in a story line that celebrates family, friends, and food.” Booklist , starred review
A truly unfortunate first day of work leads to unexpected love in this sparkling debut from Romance in Colour podcast cohost Tati Richardson .
Rumpled and ragged was not how architect Ari James envisioned kicking off her first day at a new firm. And few things can top the horror of her new—and extremely hot—colleague walking in on her at the worst moment ever. Learning that she’ll be working with him on the project that’s supposed to get her career back on top makes it harder than ever to focus on her big comeback.
With a partnership at his firm on the line, nothing is going to stand in the way of Porter Harrison absolutely killing it on his new project: not his obnoxious rival, not his unpredictable brother and definitely not his new coworker whose gorgeous curves he accidentally saw and now can’t get out of his head.
Though neither of them is looking for love, once their creative juices get flowing, Ari and Porter’s connection is obvious. But when their shared goal has always been winning at work, building a solid foundation for a relationship might end up costing them everything…
*MY THOUGHTS*
I knew this book was going to be a hit with me because it literally checked all my “Nikki boxes.” And I mean it had all the things I like: Romance, Black Romance, Plus Size main character, and it counts as Foodie Fiction. Literally all the things I love. And once I finally read it, let’s just say, I was right. I really enjoyed this!
Ok so first things first, let’s talk about the characters! Ari is a MOOD! The things she loves (Wonder Woman!) the food she eats!, all of it is me. I related to her so hard. I really felt like she could be like my bestie or at the very least we could have a real good conversation about life. And then there’s Porter. I knew I was going to like him from the moment he was a goner when he met Ari. That boy was down bad y’all lol And I loved it. They both had issues that we didn’t know about in the beginning, but they both have to confront those things by the end.
The romance was very cute! I loved seeing the two of them fall towards each other. Its like they were magnetized but they both held the opposite ends, if that makes sense. I say that because they were so attracted to each other, and they were feeling each other so hard, but they kept finding reasons to repel away from each other. It was like a slow burn torture. But at the end I did feel like it took Porter too long to realize what happened. Like be for real. This person has been grimy the whole time, you think they changed overnight? But I can admit it made for a great ending.
The writing style was also really comfortable. I felt like I was getting a big hug type comfort. It was easy to fall into Ari’s mind and her experiences, yes because it’s a contemporary romance, but also because I could fully relate to Ari’s character. The way she slid down the door in that one scene, the music she loved, just everything. This is the power of writing our own stories. Representation matters. It was refreshing to see Ari’s character being loved the way she deserved.
This book was so cute but had lots of more indepth themes. I really hope y’all check it out to find out more Ari and Porter. I also hope to get another book out of this one, for Ari and Porter’s besties. I’m almost positive that’s what was happening, but I don’t want to make any assumptions. But I’m not above begging. How do I make my plea?
Overall, I give this
My Review Didn’t Convince You to Read It?
Maybe This Will!
See my interview with Tati from before her release!: