[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Katrina King values her privacy and anonymity. Privacy protects her from people who would use her for their own gains. Like the guy who kidnapped her a few years ago for a big ransom from her rich husband when he had been alive. Or like her father who manipulated her as a teen so he could make money off her in her modeling career.
Katrina thought the conversation with the guy at the café was fun. Harmless flirting. Then she found out someone at the café had taken pictures of their interaction. They were shared online along with a fabricated story of new love. And it went viral. Now Katrina is terrified that someone will recognize her and her carefully constructed life will crumble.
Jasvinder, Katrina’s bodyguard, was with her at the café. He questioned the wisdom of chatting with a stranger. He couldn’t have predicted what happened, though. But now that it has, he can offer Katrina an escape. Jas takes her to his family’s farm where no one will see her or recognize her. Sure, it means he will have to face some family issues that have been building lately. But at the same time, Jas has some issues from his own past chasing him down. Katrina isn’t the only one who could use an escape.
But the close quarters on the farm threaten to expose the feelings they’ve each been reigning in tightly. She’s his boss. He’s her bodyguard. There’s no space for romance between them.
Review
This was so good! This is a sequel to the delightful The Right Swipe, and part of the Modern Love series.
I loved the characters in this! Katrina has been living quiet and small, drawn protectively in on herself. But that couldn’t protect her from a random stranger in a café with a cell phone and an imagination. The situation pushes her to decide how she wants to live her life. Does she want to continue to live small and sheltered?
Jas is suffering from events in his past, too. He gets by, but doesn’t really live. He stuffs his feelings down deep which protects him for awhile from the pain. But it also cuts him off from relationships that could bring him a lot of joy.
I loved the inner work each of them does in the course of the story. I was frustrated early on, feeling like I was missing vital backstory. It’s been awhile since I read book one, and I thought I might have forgotten some things. But I think the backstory was just doled out slowly. It felt like it was too slowly in the beginning for me, but it all becomes clear over time.
The viral photo/story felt like a plot device moreso than a major part of the story, at least to me. It moved Katrina and Jas to the farm which pushes them to deal with their individual issues while also addressing the feelings between them. And I was completely okay with that plot device. The character development was the star of the book for me. Fans of the first book should not miss this one. If you missed book one, somehow, be sure to pick that up, too. (Language, sex, LGBTQ+, TW: Anxiety/panic attacks)