Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟 Spice: 🌶️

by Alexis Hall

I was incredibly excited to have the opportunity to read and provide a review of this book for @NetGalley because Boyfriend Material, one of Hall’s previous books, is one of the most charming, heart-warming, and laugh-out-loud books I’ve ever read.

Sam is the manager of a branch of a kitchen and bath chain. He isn’t a great manager, and his team isn’t great either, but they are a madcap little family who all need their jobs for different reasons. They also all hate Jonathan, the super-boring, super-serious, super-dick-ish company owner. Jonathan has called Sam to corporate headquarters in London. During a heated argument about the state of Sam’s store, Jonathan accidentally knocks Sam into a shower display, rendering him unconscious with a severe concussion. With doctor’s orders to be monitored 24/7, believing he has amnesia, and a looming lawsuit, Jonathan has Sam move in for the duration of his recovery. But, as these two unlikely roommates discover more about each other, hate becomes begrudging appreciation and, ultimately, love.

Damn, I wanted to love this book. Alexis Hall is superb at creating a cast of quirky characters, which she does in spades with Sam’s co-workers and Jonathan’s family. However, the spark between Sam and Jonathan never materialized for me. If this was a dual POV book, it may have helped, but Jonathan seemed to lack dimension, and the amnesia-reveal third-act breakup was looming from the novel’s onset. That being said, I love the way Hall writes with quirky analogies and strange turns of phrase. This one didn’t hit the mark for me, but I’ll always come back for the next from Alexis Hall.