Building a successful wife and husband company together with his old friend Lila, Blake is seeking revenge on his ever dominating father. Lila on the other hand is hiding who she really is, putting her energy into making a successful business with the help of Brynn, the third person in the company.
Everything comes to a head when they are called in to try to rescue the struggling family business of Cassandra and her siblings. Blake and Cass meet by chance before the assignment starts and the chemistry is off the charts. Cass is horrified when she learns that Blake is their very married turn-around consultant.

This is the first book in the series and Wilder has created a great structure to build future books on. Little do we know now, which of the many clues mentioned in passing will form the key tenants for her future instalments in the saga about the Kelly family. There definitely are enough characters and personalities to make this an intriguing and exciting series to look forward to!

I’m so excited for the rest of this series after reading this book. Siblings take over their family businesses after their mother passes away. This first book follows Cassandra, who becomes the CEO after her mothers passing.
She meets with Blake after falling into muddy water and he rescues her. They have chemistry right off the bat. She comes to find out that Blake and his “wife” are the couple she is meeting later to help turn their by business around. Blake is only married in name/business purposes only and it never bothered him until he met Cassandra. Their push and pull relationship was all Throughout the book. The tension and steam between the two of them kept me sucked in and not wanting to put this book down. Cannot wait for the next book, which we get a little snippet at the end of this book! Very much enjoyed this book.
I received an Arc copy from the author through NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC copy in exchange for a review

I did come into the story open minded, since the blub does clarify (twice) that this book does not have a cheating trope. But 53% in, it became too much. The constant reminder that he isn’t really married threw me off, plus getting to 53% the had barely been any romance (for me). There had been tension, and I like there is the chemistry and will they/won’t they. Most of all when will they let their attraction take over.

I am very surprised, because this book had the phrase that always kills me in romance books. I just couldn't get into falling in love with Blake.

I might pick up this book later on and finish it. But at the moment, I’m just not into it.

QOTD: Have you ever remodeled your home?
My A: Nope! This is our last year (🤞) renting and then hopefully we'll buy our first home next summer! 😍
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My first Claire Wilder book, Level With Me was everything I expected and more! The enemies to lovers trope is always fun to read, especially when the chemistry is undeniable. I loved the meet cute moment between Blake and Cassandra and then sass that came after. I respect Blake SO much for selflessly sacrificing his own happiness to support his best friend and her wife. When he talked about the loneliness he felt in life, my heart strings tugged.
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Two smart, sexy and slightly sassy main characters who's slow burn romance is the perfect example of what a HAE should look like, Cassandra and Blake are worth the read!
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BLURB:
When I hire a husband-and-wife consulting team to help my family’s struggling business, I’m appalled to discover the handsome husband is the very man I shared a ‘moment’ with the morning before our very first meeting.

Firing him is obviously the first order of business. But when Blake confesses his high-profile marriage is a sham, and asks me to keep his secret in exchange for deeply discounted services, I know I’d be a fool to say no. Our resort needs major work, and I’m scraping the bottom of the credit accounts to make it happen.

But keeping Blake’s secret isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. The more time we spend together, the harder it is to deny my growing feelings for him. I promised myself I’d never get entangled in a messy situation again. But the deeper I get, the more complicit I become, and if Blake’s business goes under, my heart—and family business—could too.

- I had a really good time reading this book 😊 I enjoyed getting to know Blake and Cassandra’s personal lives so much that I didn’t even realize that I was already 50% in it. The tension between the two lead characters 🔥 was great because you have no idea when “that scene” will happen. It just kept me at the edge of my seat!
- Even though it’s technically a workplace romance, I felt like I was on vacation while reading it. I loved the small town and resort vibes. I wish we got to see more of their town and the different amenities of the resort
- I really enjoyed getting to know the Kelly siblings 💖 I didn’t expect to be invested in their lives but they all grew on me! I want Eli to find his person. Jude is soo funny. We love the single dad trope. And Griff is still a mystery to me. I hope the author writes a story about each sibling ❤️ I’ll admit it was odd that the epilogue is not about Blake and Cassandra but I can’t believe it ended like that 😮 What a cliffhanger! I can’t wait to read more about Chelsea and Seamus in Fall For Me! Release date is June 27, 2022.

Talk about a spicy pairing! This contemporary romance hits the spot in all the right ways. It’s got enemies turned lovers, secret meet ups, and even a ghost story. This easy read is well written and enjoyable from page one!

He wore an expensive looking gray suit but had taken off the jacket and was in the process of rolling up his shirt sleeves with his broad hands and tapered fingers, revealing smoothly muscled forearms. He looked right at me as I walked in, his gaze burning my skin.

Blake Harrington is an Adonis of a man and a shark in his field of business. So when he’s hired to help renovate how a hotel is operating, he’s excited to make this his 100th makeover. The only problem - the CEO.

I’d taken plenty of business risks before. I’d handled disastrous situations before, too. Whatever happened, I could handle it. Then the front doors swished open. What I wasn’t sure I could handle was Cassandra Kelly, looking like sex on a goddamn stick.

Cassandra Kelly isn’t just the CEO, she’s the no-nonsense and independent woman who gets roaring mad when a mysterious man saves her from a river. They quickly become enemies and find themselves fighting their growing attraction the more they start working together.

“Tell me to stop,” Blake said.
I should have said it. I should have. But the way he was touching me, all I could think was more.

I found myself quickly growing attached to these two. They are both so wonderful in different ways that I was rooting for them in various stages of the book. And that cliffhanger - woah! It definitely sets the stage for the next book which I will be diving into the day it comes out!!!

Claire Wilder hits all the right buttons with this little romance novel. The protagonist, Cassandra, recently took over as CEO of her family's hotel, alongside her four siblings, and they're desperate to save the place.

Enter Blake and Lila Harrington of Harrington Consulting--a husband and wife team who specialize in taking a failing business and revitalizing it, making it better than it ever was. They're smart, talented, and gain a lot of their business because they're married.

Except for the fact that they're not. Married, that is. At least not to each other. Lila is happily married to her wife, Brynn, but has kept her sexuality a secret from her parents since she and Blake were in college. And after a decade of living in a marriage of convenience, and after fishing Cassandra out of a river, Blake finally found a reason to risk it all.

Overall, this book was well-written, the characters were realistic, and the emotional turmoil of what they were going through was evident throughout. I look forward to seeing more from Wilder as this new series progresses!

As a character driven reader., this book was a more difficult one for me. Blake was written to be a patsy really. He was suffering from feeling inferior because of his father, he was fake married to his best friend, which means he couldn’t live his own life and through it all, didn’t try to fight it. Cass is the CEO of the company that he and his fake wife/ partner are trying to save and Cass and he fall for each other but he can’t be with her because of the fake arrangement. Can he overcome his weakness so he can find happiness? I wish it was a shorter novel so I didn’t have to stew in how he was so unable to rise above and find a solution to his issues beyond blind acceptance.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the early read.

Typical romantic fare - a good vacation, weekend, or beach read - a bit of heat thrown in, which didn't seem to really fit the characters - but if you like a quick read, go for it.

Level With Me is a book about a family trying to save their mother's hotel after she has died. Cassandra hires a husband and wife team to come in and review the business in order to help restore it to greater profit than is it's history. A chance meeting with a handsome stranger who rescues her from a fall into a river is also the "husband" of the team coming to save the hotel. The two are attracted to each other from the start, but Cassandra is not interested in a relationship with a "married" man. The two main characters, Cassandra and Blake try their best to keep it just business, because there is more at stake. There are secrets on both sides that will destroy more than a business if they give in to their attraction.

This book was fun to read as their attraction burned through the pages. It was a quick read but very entertaining to watch their relationship slowly ignite to an inferno. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

After falling into the water during a jog along the shore, Cassandra Kelly is rescued by a fisherman and the two share a heated moment. When she discovers the fisherman is actually Blake Harrington, part of the husband and wife team of consultants she and her siblings have hired to review the family owned Rolling Hills resort in an effort to keep it afloat, she rejects the idea of cheating with a married man, particularly one she has hired to save the resort. But things aren't what they seem as Blake's is a marriage of convenience, an arrangement that gives his business an edge while protecting a friend. No cheating appears in this book despite first impressions.

Cassandra and Blake share an instant attraction with a slow burn ultimately igniting like fire. Their relationship evolves from enemies to lovers but both are holding back from going all in. Cassandra has been hurt in the past, keeping her from trusting another man. Meanwhile, Blake sacrifices his own happiness for the sake of his fake marriage, precluding him from finding love and starting a family of his own.

A great start to a new series, Level With Me reflects upon self worth, deserving love unconditionally, forgiveness and learning to trust. Beautiful moments of sweetness combine with intense sexual tension and I couldn't wait for Cassandra and Blake to realize they could no longer fight their feelings for one another. The sex is super steamy with elements of power and control along with tender moments and an underlying deep level of emotional intimacy. But there's also anger and pain, and a sadness lying underneath the surface, adding to the obstacles on the journey towards a HEA.

I loved how the characters are more complex than they initially appear, each with a story of his or her own worth telling. Both Cassandra and Blake are smart and successful yet they learn more about themselves as they discover their own strengths and weaknesses, helping them overcome past hurts. Family dynamics also play a large role as they shed some light on the motivations behind the thoughts and actions of the characters, shaping the people they have become.

I also need to point out that the sexy eye candy on the cover is the epitome of absolutely everything I envision Blake Harrington to be. And my heart breaks for the feelings Blake needed to work through in order to open himself up to the possibility of love and true happiness.

I really enjoyed the story of Blake and Cassandra. Blake is hired with his wife as part of a husband/wife team to consult with Cassandra and her family to help them with their family owned resort. Cassandra and Blake have a moment when he rescues her after falling into the river. This moment is before Cassandra realizes who Blake is and once she finds out Blake has to work hard to earn her trust and for her to understand the story of his marriage....or non marriage. I really did like the story line and the chemistry between the 2 main characters. I did feel like there were a few things missing with the stories of the additional characters and not following through with things. I also felt the ending of the book focused more on the characters and storyline for the next book rather than fully ending the story of Blake and Cassandra.

This book kept me engaged in its charming back and forth views between the main characters- it was refreshing to see both the man and woman’s side of interactions which made it more whole and less one sided than most stories. I appreciated the love story and the work up to it which is also refreshing. Yes they had immediate chemistry but they also built a foundation for their love interest so it wasn’t just another superficial love story. Well done and well thought out, leaving the readers with a conclusion yet setting up for additional tales at the same time, can’t wait to read the next!

Level With Me by Claire Wilder

★★★★★

◆ Enemies to lovers
◆ Romance
◆ HEA

Level with Me follows the story of Cassandra and Blake.

Cassandra is the CEO of her family's struggling resort. After losing her mother, Cassandra's father deals with the loss by going AWOL, emotionally and physically, across the world, leaving Cass and her siblings to deal with everything on their own.

Blake is the Mr. Shark to Lila's Mrs. Shark, however their marriage is not what it seems.

After hiring Blake and Lila to help bring the resort back from the brink it becomes obvious that Cass and Blake have major chemistry.

Truth comes to light but it also comes with great conflict. Should we? Shouldn't we? As the book progresses we watch as our HEA couple get intimate (🔥🔥) and struggle with the reality of what they must hide and why. (Side note: Did I find it funny that the first sex scene ended at 69% of the book? Absolutely. IYKYK.)

Thankfully, Blake and Lila come to terms with their respective situations, resolve them and move onto the next journey of their lives - Lila starting her business with her partner Brynn and Blake dealing with childhood emotional damage from his father and as he comes to terms with his mother's state of mind.

Blake and Cass' first reunion after Lila and Blake resolve things was lovely to read.

I found this book to be well written and I enjoyed seeing the different POVs

The ending epilogue was an extra bonus because now I absolutely need to get the next book to follow our next couple on their journey.


Book received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In "Level With Me", by Claire Wilder, Cassandra and Blake have sparks flying upon their first meeting. However, Cassandra is horrified and enraged once she discovers that Blake is married. But once she finds out the truth about Blake's relationship with his business partner and "wife", will Cassandra be willing to find out what could develop between the two of them?

This book is heavy on the physical chemistry but a little too light on the development of an actual relationship. We're told that they're in love, but why? Also, several of the side characters are just not likable. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.