Author: Anna Premoli
Publisher: Aria
Publication Date: June 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Buy The Book: Amazon | Audible
Description: What happens when two people who hate each other are forced to cooperate by law?
Amalia and Ryan met at Yale Law School, from which their mutual dislike for one another was born.
Amalia Berger is a successful, high society New York lawyer. Chicago based lawyer Ryan O'Moore is the eldest of four sons whose chaotic family run a pub in the heart of the Big Apple.
New York beckons after Ryan is offered a promotion. But when the defense lawyer of his first case is the one and only Amalia Berger, things become complicated.
The courtroom clash escalates between them to the point that the judge sentences them both to a punishment of community service, forcing them to spend time together...
My Thoughts: Ryan and Amalia have known one another since their Yale Law School days. Both Amalia and Ryan are extremely head-strong over achievers and that’s pretty much where their mutual commonalities end. Amalia sucked up the courage back in college to ask Ryan out for a drink, for which she was rejected by Ryan in a most condescending manner. Afterward, Ryan gets the coveted spot as the editor for the Yale magazine. It’s safe to say that when Amalia and Ryan meet a decade later in court on opposing sides of the aisle, neither one is happy. Their acrimonious bickering doesn’t sit well with the judge either so he finds them both in contempt and sentences them to 50 hours of community service each, to be served together. This forced time spent together will either result in them killing each other or falling in love.
This was a fun, cute and charming story. Amalia comes from a family of wealth and has a trust fund but she doesn’t want to succeed on her family name or their money. Her relationship with her parents are that of practical strangers. Ryan comes from a large close-knit Irish family that works hard for everything they own and don’t have the luxury of wealth. I was really surprised by how much Ryan resented Amalia for her wealthy upbringing and thought it highly unfair how much he judges her for it.
I was anxious to know how they would resolve their issues to not only work professionally with one another, but also see if the chemistry they are feeling can amount to something special outside the courtroom. The community service they are forced to work was quite entertaining, from cleaning up a park with inmates, making and serving meals at a soup kitchen, volunteering at a kindergarten, retirement home and the Humane Society shelter. I liked that Amalia wanted to show Ryan that she wasn’t above getting her hands dirty or afraid of hard work. I didn’t like that Amalia felt like she had to prove anything to Ryan because of his bias against wealthy people.
In spite of Ryan’s bad attitude, I liked him and understood his feelings about wealthy people were more a self-projection of himself and his feelings of inadequacy and wanting to be successful without a trust fund. I liked Amalia and how she comes to terms with what being in a serious relationship means and whether she is brave enough to take the leap.
These characters were very believable and easy to relate to. I really liked getting to meet Ryan’s family and Amalia’s grandmother. The plot moves at a good pace and kept me engaged and curious to see what would happen. This is my first book by Anna Premoli and I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and voice. I look forward to reading more of her work.
My Final Verdict: Overall, the opposites attract trope can work if done correctly and this story illustrates that very well. I highly recommend this book to readers of contemporary romance as well as stories involving characters who are outspoken in their opinions and staunch defenders of their positions.
Thank you to the publisher, Aria, who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
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