Okay! Let me start by saying that I’ve been waiting for the audiobooks to come before I read either of Karmen Lee’s books. Since they both released on the same day, I didn’t think anything about the order of the books. So I read The Relationship Mechanic first, because it sounded perfect for my mood rn. I didn’t realize that characters from book 1 would be in this one… I don’t know why. But overall, I don’t think it took away or gave to the story at all that I read them out of order.

Knowing that Jessica’s time in her city is limited, because she’s only a visitor, staying on her friend’s couch while she’s there, Vini agrees to a friends with benefits situation. It is definitely obvious from early on that the girls like-like each other, but commitment isn’t on Jessica’s menu. Their entire friend… relation… situationship is spent sneaking around, because Vini’s sister, Ava, kept warning her off (being a little too overprotective and demeaning). But where there is a will, there’s a way!

This story was sweet and steamy AF! I honestly expected it to be a little more surface level sexy, but it was FULL ON!!! I’m a gay man, so I sat back cheering them on, like I was a roommate or friend. You could see their connection (in more ways than one), so if they weren’t endgame, I would have been pissed.

I definitely feel like Ava was a lil too much. I’m not sure her personality from the first book, but I’ll have to read it and save my feelings for her until after 7-10 Split.

This was really cute and I loved their relationship! I can’t wait to read more from Karmen Lee.

I read The Relationship Mechanic and The 7-10 Split back to back and it made for such a joyous reading experience. Vinny and Jessica were such a fun pair. Thinking that they only wanted a casual sexual relationship? Classic. We all know that feelings are sure to follow.

I didn't love the narration this time as much as I loved the narration done on The 7-10 Split, but I still enjoyed the audiobook.

Big thanks to the publisher for the ARCs of both the book and the audiobook! I didn’t realize going in that The Relationship Mechanic was a sequel to 7-10 Split (or that Dani will be getting her own HEA in book three later this year), but that was a pleasant surprise.

I really enjoyed getting to know Vini—her shop, her family, and how she slowly fell for Jessica. Vini is grounded, hardworking, and easy to root for, while Jessica could have easily felt like a one-dimensional stereotype: the privileged city girl who’s never had to deal with real consequences. What saved her character for me were the thoughtful gestures she made toward the people she cares about. That said, it’s hard to ignore that her ability to be generous and carefree is entirely due to her financial privilege, which kept me from fully connecting with her.

Still, this was a fun read, and I have to give credit where it’s due—Lee knows how to write a spicy scene. If you’re looking for a small-town sapphic romance with a solid mix of heart and heat, The Relationship Mechanic is worth a read.

I’m not going to lie to y’all…… This is going to be a really short review. Why? Because there’s not much to say. For the most part they were just doing it every 10 minutes. Now before you get all up in arms about this, I didn’t say it was a bad thing. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. But I know one thing. I will never sleep on another Afterglow book again lol

Ok so the main characters were just ok to me. They were so secretive, but were getting it in every chance they got. A friend of mine messaged me and said. “they can’t stay off each other.” And yeah, that’s accurate. And this was all before they even wanted to admit they liked each other lol This is a certified hook up book that turns into more. And I was here for it. I was also glad that they both stood up for themselves, but also each other. They might have let themselves down, but they didn’t let anyone else come for them. I think it was then that they realized that there were real feelings.

I was ok with it because the characters didn’t try to make it seem like they were more. Until they were. Does that make sense? The way this is written, this is a hook up book. And they were fooling around in places like the garage and the truck in some instances. But when things started to get real, the author did a really good job of showing that progression between them. Usually I would say this was like instalovey, but this was a very clear depiction of one of the characters coming to town for a while and then finding someone to hook up with. As someone who was expecting an actual romance book I was a little shocked, but it worked. Lee did a great job depicting this type of relationship.

I do wish we got more of the Mechanic part. LOL I think I was thinking she was going to be fixing some relationships for people, but she was an actual mechanic. And that was all there was to it. I guess i wanted some more creativity in the title or something. It just seemed really easy to throw in something there, but it was all left on the table. And I know this has nothing to do with anything, but I still wanted ot. I just think with a title like this, there should have been something more creative to do with it? Does that make sense?

This was a fun little romp. I laughed and swooned and clutched my pearls the whole time. But what I liked most of all was the fact that it gave me a whole new way to look at ways to see romance. There was no build up and no angst, but this worked because of the type of book it seemed to be. And that’s something I’ve never even thought about before. I hope y’all come to this conclusion too and don’t knock this because of it.

This was a SPICY opposites attract, small Southern town Sapphic romance between Vini, a badass Black mechanic and Jessica, a biracial Black and Korean influencer who start a fling that turns into more after Jessica leaves town. Good on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Talia Hibbert or Synithia Williams. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!