Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: March 2020
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripp’s are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.
James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripp’s and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.
Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripp’s up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…
My Thoughts: Good story about people who work under less-than-ideal conditions, making the best of it and managing to keep their sanity and find love. Working for America’s favorite couple isn’t easy under the best circumstances but trying to keep your employers on their best behavior while on a book and television show tour proves to be more than it should be. Melissa and Rusty Tripp used to be the ideal couple. Starting out their home design concept with a single store, they have been married for a long time. Unfortunately, it’s all a façade as they can’t stand each other. Excessive drinking and Rusty’s infidelity could bring their house of cards tumbling down and cause them public embarrassment and ruin everything they have worked toward.
As assistants to the Tripp’s, Carey and James are put in the awkward position of getting their employers to play nice and behave in public. They both need their jobs so they try to make the best of it. I kept thinking throughout this book that no job is worth this nonsense. The Tripp’s give a whole new meaning to dysfunctional relationships and even take it to new levels, but really, enough is enough! Life is short and I was surprised Carey and James put up with it for as long as they did.
I enjoyed this story though much of it felt like a train wreck that you just can’t walk away from. I think, like Carey, I hung on, hoping things would get better. I started wondering if the Tripp’s enjoyed the attention and didn’t care about any repercussions their bad behavior would bring. I enjoyed the blossoming romance between Carey and James and felt they were good together.
The character development overall was good and I had a lot of empathy for Carey and James due to the situation they were forced to participate in. Surprisingly, I also had empathy for Melissa and Rusty. They were probably great together at one time, but over the years, they lost their way and by the end of the book, I still was on the fence if they should even try to make their marriage work or cut and run. The story moved at a good pace, leaving the reader in anticipation of what was going to happen next and if Carey and James had scouted out the locations of the nearest exits.
My Final Verdict: Overall, an enjoyable book for fans of contemporary romances and women’s fiction. This author has many books that also look interesting and will likely end up on my to be read pile in the future.
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