Another entertaining story by Jae
Jae is one of my auto-read authors who writes in a diversity of genres such as contemporary romance, suspense, paranormal, and historical fiction. If you are looking for slow-burn romances, you cannot go wrong with Jae.
Hannah Martin is a professional cuddler. Winter Sullivan is an aloof workaholic. When Winter’s estranged father dies, he leaves a surprise: Winter and Hannah will inherit a building if they manage to live together for 92 consecutive days. Their first interactions are far from friendly but slowly Hannah’s warmth starts to melt Winter’s heart. Will they have a happily ever after?
This is an opposites-attract, enemies to lovers, slow-burn romance with an ice queen thrown in the mix. Beyond that, one thing you can count on is that Jae explores uncommon themes in her books, this time the world of professional cuddlers. I have to admit that I’ve never heard of professional cuddlers before and I had doubts about how it would fit in a romance, but once I started reading this book my uncertainty dissipated.
The unusual themes don’t stop there, apart from being a professional cuddler, Hannah has aphantasia, the inability of the brain to form mental images. Kudos to the author to introduce a neurodivergent character as there are few Sapphic books that feature them and most are about people on the autistic spectrum. The more diverse the genre, the better.
Jae takes her time to introduce the characters whose personalities are a result of their life experiences and backgrounds. Even though the reason for their forced cohabitation might sound a bit strange, their subsequent actions make perfect sense in the context of the story. The author balances the tension of their forced proximity with a good dose of humour which includes a very funny “doormat war”.
The romance itself is at a very slow burn pace as it’s usual with this author. The main characters couldn’t be more different in age, personality, family background, and life experience but Jae manages to make their attraction realistic and convincing. And their first kiss happens in one of the most unusual places I’ve ever read.
Overall, another entertaining story by Jae. 4.5 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
