Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Publishing for the ARC of Here Comes Trouble in exchange for an honest review!

While I loved the idea of the book, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the execution of the entire story. Jess is a journalist, and is struggling to find her groove as a writer. Her boss Pam tells her that if she fails to write a great article, and soon, she will lose her job. Jess is obviously scared to fail, but she is given the opportunity to interview famous artist Xander, then publish an article about this. Jess jumps at the chance, and goes to interview him ASAP.

Xander has a complicated past with journalists, and struggles to have meaningful relationships with women due to his life in the public eye. He expects Jess to be just another journalist, but when he meets her he is fascinated by her. He determines that she is the cure to his artist block, and invites her to Italy to be his artistic muse for a few days in exchange for an honest interview. Jess looks the tickets, and meets him there the next day.

A huge part of this book is the insecurities that both Xander and Jess have. Jess hates her body image, and would rather cover herself up and hide, covering past trauma from relationships. She has a hard time trusting Xander due to his playboy nature, and is worried he is going to use her. Xander has been mistreated by the press in the past, when they twisted his words and made him into something he wasn’t. They called him uninspired and lacking talent, and he wants to prove them wrong.

The part that I disliked about the book was that I felt like Jess was so back and forth with her insecurities. One moment she is flirting with Xander, the next she is panicking and covering up. This entire time in Italy she has only known Xander for 3 days, and is already incredibly romantically invested in their relationship. From understanding her past trauma, this doesn’t make sense, and she makes herself so vulnerable. When she sees Xander's art of her back in London, she believes that he took advantage of her vulnerability, and loses trust in him.

I feel like Christy McKellen did a lot of telling us that they were in love and such a good match, and never showed me how perfect they were for each other. Everything moved so fast, and I hate the insta-love trope more than anything. At face value, this is a cute romance, but I dislike the execution and the speed at which they actually fall in love.

Thank you for the ARC! This was just okay... it had me wanting to finish it but I wasn't that attached to the characters and storyline. I didn't like the perspective it was written in as it made it a bit more difficult to connect with the characters during certain scenes. Overall it was a good romance but I'm not too sure how much I'll be recommending it!

A cute premise, a baby journo gets their big break interviewing a notorious badboy ‘artiste’ who invites her to Italy for the week, from whence a sexual awakening of sorts happens. It sounds fun but it fell flat for me.

Straight up, as a novella length was very difficult to capture the emotion and attraction between the two protagonists. I simply didn’t connect with the characters.

Third person omnipotent voice leans to “telling” but the intimacy and emotion the characters are meant to be sharing might have read better from a first person perspective.

Despite the delicate way disordered eating was approached, the converstaion around body image felt superficial and almost an ‘excuse’ to include a prim or dowdy dressed character who sheds her insecurities in a short space of time.

The locations, London and Lake Garda, could have been anywhere.

Here Comes Trouble isn’t a bad novella, but it might have better legs as a full length script.
2.5-3*

With thanks to the author, Christy McKellen, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the eARC to read ahead of publication. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a beautiful read. The storyline drew me in quickly and I enjoyed seeing how the characters developed - how they grew to recognize childhood traumas, and how to get past them.

I really enjoyed this book! The back and forth between Xander and Jess was well done and fun. Our main girl, Jess, gets an assignment to interview artist and known playboy - Xander. While at first, Xander seems to know exactly how to get under Jess' skin, they quickly develop an understanding between the two, that definitely leads to much more. I love Xander being an artist - it really brought a fun twist to this romance (I mean, paint fights? Count me in!).

While the characters both had their own baggage (don't we all), I don't feel like their pasts were overtly dark or heavy - a nice change in the romance books space for me.

If you're looking for an enjoyable read with good chemistry, likable characters and a bit of spice - definitely give this a read!

Quick fun spicy romance! Perfect summer beach read! Hits on some delicate topics well but also doesn’t bring down the overall sassy tone of the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Christy Mckellen for this ARC! This was a quick read that I couldn’t put down. Jess and Xander don’t make sense, but their attraction and difficult pasts bring them closer. The characters mutually use each other as a muse for their work that has been struggling . Jess writing an article about Xander and Xander creating paintings inspired by Jess. I thought there could have been a bit more build up of the characters in the beginning, but otherwise really enjoyed this slow burn romance. The characters had great chemistry and the spice was excellent. The end comes together well, but I really wish we could have read Jess’ full article that she submitted. Trigger warning - childhood trauma and eating disorder. I really look forward to reading more from this author!

REVIEW: Here Comes Trouble by Christy McKellen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First five-star read of 2025!

I devoured Here Comes Trouble in just a few hours, and I loved every second of it! This novella is the perfect mix of spice, romance, and self-discovery, wrapped up in a deliciously tempting bad-boy-meets-good-girl dynamic.

Jess, the main character, is so easy to connect with - her journey of self-acceptance and growth was one of my favorite parts of the book. And her chemistry with Xander? Off the charts! Their relationship builds through forced proximity and opposites-attract tension, making for an irresistible and steamy read. The book doesn’t hold back on the spice either, it jumps right in and keeps the heat coming.

At less than 150 pages, this was a super quick and engaging read, though I honestly wish it had been longer just because I got so invested in the story! Beyond the romance, the book has a wonderful message about self-worth and taking chances, making it more than just a spicy holiday fling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC!

Here Comes Trouble is out on March 9th, and I 100% recommend it, especially for fans of Tessa Bailey, Christina Lauren, and Ali Hazelwood. If you love bad-boy heroes, forbidden temptation, and all the spice, this one is a must-read!

Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC 🫶🏼 I’m always so grateful for having the opportunity to read books before they go public.✨
So… I really wanted to love this book. The premise sounded so fun it gave me “how to lose a guy in 10 days” vibes but it fell flat 😞.
The FMC wasn’t developed enough for me to care about her and her potentially losing a job.
The MMC wasn’t developed enough, just described as “hot” and his dialogue was cringe at times. Even tho in the book we are told he was trying to respect the FMC boundaries I felt like he was pushing her till she said “yes” it left me feeling anxious and nervous at the intimacy scenes.
The story happens in Italy and we got to see none of it… it could’ve been a fun thing to add to the story to see the characters explore the place.
The story has potential, I think a bit more pages would help to explore the characters emotional baggage better and make us care for them.
Don’t let the review detract you from reading the book, I can se why some romance readers would like it.

"Here Comes Trouble" by Christy McKellen is a romance between opposites; Jess, a hardworking journalist, and Xander, a rebellious artist. This books is definitely tailored toward readers looking for quick, passionate connections between characters. Jess is quick to change her opinion of Xander after initially meeting him. Their romance sparks almost instantly, leaving little room for tension or build-up and comes off rushed. The story is filled with steamy moments, but the plot is quite predictable. The characters have potential, but their development is somewhat surface-level, making it hard to fully connect with them. Those looking for something deeply emotional may find it lacking.

This was a quick easy read, However I agree with other reviews that it lacks something. I didn't find myself getting lost in the pages. But overall it was an okay read.

This book is very shallow, features smarmy characters, a heroine who doesn't feel beautiful and hero that insists he is, pure privilege and did I mention there's nothing to it? It's thin. Very easy read though.

They are basically just perving on each other trying to sell the reader on sexual tension and it's very tiring.

I absolutely ADORED this book! The characters were well developed and I found myself staying up way past my bedtime to sneak a few more chapters in. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this amazing book! I will definitely be sharing it with all of my fellow book lovers!

Journalist Jess is on the verge of being let go from her current post for her highly professional but uninspiring writing style when she seizes an opportunity to create a feature on an elusive artist with a mercurial temperament. The subject informs her as she arrives late to his studio that she’ll have to travel to Italy for the interview as he’s spending time in a friend’s villa for a change of scenery.

As the buttoned up Jess spends time with the enigmatic Xander, they find their mutual attraction impossible to deny. Will their physical relationship fizzle with the conclusion of Jess’s filing of her story? Or is there something more to keep them together?

I was furnished an advance reader copy from NetGalley, and I’m sharing my honest review, giving it a rating of 3 and a half stars rounded up to 4.

This was a super fast read and that is because I think it lacks a bit of a solid plotline and is an escapism style book where you can get lost in the pages and also let your mind wander at the same time. It was fun to escape for a bit, but it did fall flat unfortunately.

Jess is a journalist about to lose her job. She loves what she does, but her writing is not what it could be. As a last chance, she takes on interviewing an artist, who is notorious for not being keen on the media.

Xander is an artist, who has a bad reputation. Some of it is warranted, some not, but Jess can't afford to give up now.

He has struggled with his art for a long time, but being close to her, makes him want to work again. So they make a deal. He agrees to answer questions if she agrees to pose for him.

I wanted to love the story, it has all of the right ingredients, but I just couldn't. There is very little chemistry between them, there is no tension or anticipation. Everything happens and unfolds too fast. The dialogs were not it... and some scenes were hard to read.

3 stars for what it could have been.

Thank you Boldwood Books for granting me an ARC! All opinions are my own and not theirs influenced by the publisher.

Enjoyed this fast and short forbidden romance. I wish it was a bit longer so we could read more of his redemption story.

⭐️ rating: 4.0
🌶️ level: 3.0

TW: ED, Death of a parent

ARC Review
DNF @ 30%

Thank you so much to NetGalley and
I really tried to power through this book but it was just not for me. The characters, the plot, the romance, and just the way it’s presented to the reader did not appeal to me at all. There was no connection to characters for me and it was just very flat and didn’t capture me. I really tried to power through to see if it gets better but I really couldn’t.

Here Comes Trouble was an adorably short but sweet holiday romance! It’s easy to connect with Jess in her desperation and her confusion over her annoyance with Xander being mixed with a sense of attraction towards him. Italy is, as always, the perfect setting for a holiday romance!

The undertone of this story is all about self love and acceptance. Watching both Jess and Xander grow in their love for themselves is a powerful thing. I always have a lot of love for characters who are patient with their partners and their body insecurities, and I was so touched by Xander in this book.

This book was a quick read and really well done in less than 150 pages. I will absolutely be reading more of Christy McKellen’s romance stories to get lost in the magic of falling in love unexpectedly that she does so well.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this book! I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a short and and easy to read novella. It took me a little longer than usual to get into it and then I didn’t want it to end. The dialogue for the first 30% of the book felt forced and awkward, but it changed towards the last half of the book for the better. It was easy and felt more natural. I appreciated the deeper themes that the author brought in and the character development for both main characters.