Water Under the Bridge
Series: Perks and Benefits
Authors: Kels Stone, Denise Stone
Genre: Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Books in Series: 4 as of April 2024
Spicy Levels: Fair to High
Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers, Workplace Romance, Grumpy x Sunshine
Pacing: Fast
Summary:
Avery Soko, a bright-eyed and ambitious do-gooder, is on the cusp of getting her dream fundraising job at the Oceanic Research Organization. Luca Navarro, a former corporate lawyer with an extravagant tie collection and an irritatingly handsome smirk, holds Avery’s future in his very large hands. When he calls with the news of her rejection, Luca seems to revel in crushing her dreams.
But Avery will do anything to pursue her passion, even accept a job at a struggling start-up. Her spell of bad luck finally changes when a competition is announced at a grandiose gala that could save her and her new team from going under. Of course, Avery’s least favorite person, Luca, also joins the running for the multimillion-dollar prize.
At the height of the competition, Avery and Luca realize they’ve met their match. Will the tense moments, absurd attempts to out-do each other, and the string of games and bets they’ve concocted turn into a series of failures, or will it make them into something more than adversaries.
My Thoughts:
This is one heck of a debut novel for two writers. Seriously. It is also the epitome of never meet your heroes, because Avery’s hero? Yikes.
It is written stream of conscious which I understand some people don’t like but for me it allowed me to get to know the characters even further, including how unreliable Avery could be when it came to her opinions about Luca. Before I even get into the romance, rivalry of it all I will say I truly did appreciate the focus on how a big company or non-profit can help or hinder environmental issues versus a startup. Also, side note: I love the people from the startup so much, I wanted their stories.
While I did label this as enemies-to-lovers it’s important to note that while Avery thinks of Luca as her enemy, he really doesn’t think of her that way. In fact, almost in spite of himself he is completely and utterly charmed by her and it’s freaking adorable because men fumbling themselves over the women they love will always be one of my happy moments in reading.
These two are honestly hilarious together and there was more than one moment when I found myself laughing out loud at their antics and the way they acted together. It is a quick read, with a minor slow burn, and of all amazing things in modern romance, there is NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP.
There was also asking for consent. I know! Wild?!
In short, this was a very satisfying read both from a romance standpoint and from a background story standpoint.
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