I really love Olivia Dade's indie titles (40 Love is amazing) but for some reason I haven't felt as drawn to her Avon releases. I've tried to get into All the Feels a few times and its just not working for me at the moment. I'm hoping one day this series will work for me! Especially since the Leni Kauffman covers are perfect. DNF for now.

I was a super huge fan of Dade’s first book in this universe, Spoiler Alert. So when I saw the story would be continued following Alex and Lauren I was really excited! I didn’t end up loving this one to the extent I loved Spoiler Alert, but it was still a very enjoyable read.

Honestly the biggest reason this was a four star instead of a five star was the first third of the book felt like a recap of what happened in Spoiler Alert, and it didn’t feel like it added enough content to be as long of an overlap as it was in the story. Once we moved on to continuing the story I really enjoyed it though.

My favorite thing about Dade’s romances is the way she writes the spice. Her ability to write about pleasuring fat bodies is just utter perfection and I wish more authors were able to write consent and emotional check ins during intimacy the way she does. It’s still fluid and sexy, and doesn’t break the flow of the moment.

Happy to give this one 4 stars, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

The body positivity in this book and Olivia Sade’s other book spoiler alert is amazing. It isn’t very often you find a book that represents everyone. Along with body positivity I also really liked the fact that hero was so protective but also wore his emotions right on his sleeve. He cried, and laughed, he had ADHD and didn’t hide it. This book was so inclusive I really enjoyed it and it was a super quick read. I’m ready for the next book now.

This book was so wholesome on so many levels. I loved Alex’s character so much and thought the romance in this book was adorable. I love this author’s writing style so much and the way she writes these characters. There’s so much going into this story with some representation and I really enjoyed them!

I would probably read anything Dade wrote. Alex was awesome in the first book and he did not let me down here, either. I found Wren a bit annoying and struggled through part of the book due to that, but overall the characters were lovable with an entertaining, adorable dynamic.

Of course I loved this one! Olivia Dade is a fantastic artist, and I really appreciate her portrayal; of a fat heroine. We need more of these in romance!

Thank you to Avon for a copy of All the Feels.

I originally started reading a physical copy of this book back in November and for some reason just could not get into it. However, I really enjoyed Spoiler Alert, the first book in the Spoiler Alert series so I decided to give it another go. This time I listened to it on audio and ended up really enjoying it! Something about someone else reading it to me must have been the trick!

Lauren is hired to keep actor Alex in line. Of course, spending a lot of time together, they developed feelings for each other! I loved the playfulness between Lauren and Alex and love how protective Alex is of her.

I went into this one with high hopes. While I have not read Spoiler Alert, I had only heard positive reviews about the romance and the representation that Olivia Dade writes. However, All the Feels just didn't quite hit it for me.

Alex, Lauren, and the rest of the world seem to constantly remind the reader that Lauren is short, round and certainly not attractive. While Alex does a fine job of defending Lauren from the rest of the world, it doesn't seem to cross his mind that he should be checking his own comments and actions. Lots of negging on all sides, and it's tiring to read another story where the male finds himself attracted to the heroine despite her many physical "flaws." In general the chemistry didn't work for me as a result.

The fandom references were fun, and I loved the ADHD rep. Overall, just an okay romance, as negging and pegging just aren't for me. Maybe I'll borrow Spoiler Alert from the library in the future to see what the fuss is about, but today is not that day for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful book full of adventure, action, and thrills. Fun to read, engrossing world building, and very descriptive imagery made it feel like it was cinematic. It's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. Would recommend.

I can never say enough good things about Olivia Dade's books. Her characters are wonderfully flawed, and it shapes the plot beautifully. Both protagonists have to deal with past demons, and they help each other examine their flaws and become better people. And, as always, deliciously steamy.

Loved the characters and plus-size representation! My first Olivia Dade book but certainly not my last.

I can’t lie, I was a bit disappointed in this one. I LOVED Spoiler Alert and I was hoping it was more like that. But as a character driven reader, this was a little grating on my nerves. I wanted to know what made Alex tick from the beginning and we don’t get it till the literal end.

Alex lands himself in trouble (again) and his producers and directors seem to think he needs a babysitter now. In comes Lauren Clegg. She’s being charged with watching him to try to make him behave. It’s proving to be more work than she thought it might be. But as they spend more time together, they start to realize that neither is what they thought and they now know each other better than they thought.

Ok, so let me explain what I meant earlier. I did like Alex, but only when he was with Lauren. I didn’t care for either of them by themselves. Which is so different from the other one. I loved the first one. Both Marcus and April are were good together and apart, the romance was hot, and the story was interesting. This wasn’t really the case here. The story was a bit repetitive because she was constantly talking people out of getting him in trouble, Lauren without him was boring, and Alex without her was way too much. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. But when they finally got together and brought out the best in each of them, it was so much better.

The smexy times were ehh. I take that back. They were good, but not as great as Spoiler Alert. (I think this is my problem. I loved Spoiler Alert and I keep comparing this to it when Marcus and Alex are two different people.) But I did like the way they were together. As a short girl, Alex made even me feel pretty lol He kept mentioning it and making fun of her, but I know an “I like you so I make fun of you” when I see one. And this was definitely that.

This leads to the body positivity that I also loved. Lauren didn’t let Alex fight her battles and I did like that. This is when her spunk showed (like that ending was BOSS!) and that was more than what we had seen? Idk how to explain it. But the way she put people in their place and didn’t let people get to her, I admired that. As someone who is also plus size and short, everything people said about her reached me a little and I tried reacting like her instead of getting mad at them and I felt a lot better about it. She was a real inspiration.

As a character driven reader, I was a bit disappointed in this one. I wanted so bad for it to be its predecessor and when it wasn’t, it upset me. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked it and I still want to read the next one, but I definitely won’t hold this one against it.

I really appreciate romance that has plus size heroines, so I'm very glad that Dade is writing such wonderful books. Spoiler Alert was great, and I also enjoyed All the Feels.

This was adorable and I loved getting to actually see into Alex and Lauren's relationship which was hinted at in Spoiler Alert. I think I might even like this couple more than April and Marcus. I hope there will be more for this series!

Yes! Olivia Dade take my money. The more books I read by her the more I like the writing style. Plus sized female representation?? Give me more.

Olivia writes some of my favorite characters and this was no exception! One of my favorite books of 2021.

The Good, The Bad, and Everything in Between

The Sitch: Alex is a troublemaker on the set of Gods of the Gates. Or at least that is how it seems to everyone. And Alex isn't about to explain himself to anyone. Much less the keeper his annoying boss has given him to watch him during the final days of the show. Lauren wasn't looking for it, but she ends up helping out her annoying cousin (and showrunner) by taking on the task of watching Alex. Time is spent in forced proximity, one bed trope is activated, and when their personal walls come down and they get to know each other, guess what? Romance happens.

The Good: When you have a hero who's the fanfic writer AND appreciates the tropes as they're happening? *chef's kiss* That's when you know you have a keeper. It was so fun to see Lauren's dry sense of humor come up against (heh) Alex's hyperfocused ways. They're both characters that I like. Both characters that I wanted to see find their happy, and not just with each other. And when the heat needs bringing, Ms. Dade supplied by the shedload.

She also brought the great little fanfic snippets or text chats and such to start off each chapter that just gives that added dimension to the story. Love those. I just really appreciate the quality of her writing. These are smart characters that don't dumb it down for brevity. And yes give me all the snark regarding Game of Thrones. It gives me joy.

I've said this before so I won't belabor the point, but I also find joy in a story that gives me that fat rep that I adore and need in my life, while NOT making the book all about that fat rep. It may surprise some people, but fat folx don't think about being fat 24/7. For some of us, it's just a fact of life. And reading a book where the heroine is fat and yet not spending her entire time fixating, is refreshing when I find it.

The Bad: Points off for <spoiler>no full pegging scene.</spoiler> Is this just my complaint and would it have made the story better? Probably not but I wanted it anyway. 🙃

Everything in Between: There are moments of frustration with both Alex and Lauren because of their personal journeys. It's a fine line to dance between frustration and oh lord I just want someone to slap them upside the head, but it all worked for me.

The Bottom Line
I loved this entry into the spoiler alert series and I can't wait to see what else Ms. Dade has in store. If you're into actor-actress romances and still harbor a wee bit of anger towards Game of Thrones lol, I think you'd like this series.

I loved this book so so much. Their chemistry was great. And I loved the depth of the characters and humor.

Olivia knows how to write fat representatiion. I really love All the Feels. The audio is excellent. Olivia was a guest to the podcast where she promoted this book.

I adored this book. I loved having an apple-shaped heroine, a body type that's very underrepresented in romance. This is a book where both the MCs are healing from trauma, and they' both start the book better at standing up for other people, than themselves. I was worried that this would be a therapist/client pairing, but Lauren doesn't have a therapeutic relationship with Alex. She is both super duper competent, but also vulnerable in a way that just sucked me in, and made me love her.

I liked the bits we saw of Alex in Spoiler Alert but he's just fantastic here. Snarky, ridiculous, impulsive, protective, and occasionally clueless. I loved the way these two have misunderstandings that are quickly resolved and apologized for. For example, Lauren often assumed that Alex's snark about her height, is about her weight or large nose.

As usual for Dade, she handles the surreal dynamics around dating a celebrity exceptionally well. If you like celebrity romances, this is a great one.