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.

“The bedrooms have locks on the door so you don’t need to worry about me taking advantage of you”

Aaaaaaand that’s my queue to stop reading

I DNFed this book at 33%. The writing was simple and not engaging. I felt that the characters were not complex or endearing. The story did not pull me in at all. Life’s too short!

I wish this book had been a little bit longer. It felt like it ended abruptly. Read in pretty much one sitting.

This was a quick easy to read novella. There was some good character development towards the end for Xander and throughout for Jess. I enjoyed the setting and thought that added a nice extra layer to the story.

This book hit all of my favorite tropes in a really concise way - that being said, I am DYING for more. I really wish this book had maybe 50 more pages just so I could get more from Jess and Xander.

I enjoyed the spice that was present but I do think that as advertised I was expecting a bit more, though it was definitely not a dealbreaker for me personally but for some it may come as a surprise and leave them feeling as though it wasn't what they had anticipated

I loved how fast paced the book was, there was never a moment while reading that I was just hoping to hurry up and finish the chapter so I could move on - I literally didn't want to ever put it down.

Forced proximity is one of my absolute favorite tropes and pair that will opposite/feisty characters and there was no hope for me. I felt like it was a good mix between the vibes of Sally Thorne (Hating Game) and Christina Lauren books - the characters and the workplace setting just fit so well.

I don't think this will be for everyone, workplace romance and rom-coms in general can be hit or miss but I do think if you enjoy any of the comp authors (Tessa, Christina, Ali, etc) that its really worth giving it a chance and finding a new fun author to add into your romcom rotation like I did!

A quick, spicy novella that could well have done with being a full length novel!
Jess is a journalist at the beginning of her career. She's not filled with confidence, but has many dreams. Faced with possible redundancy, she puts herself forward for a project so far removed from her comfort level that even she questions whether she will fulfil the job.
This is an attempt to interview artist Xander Heaton, who is also hot, a bit of a playboy, and a notoriously closed book regarding his personal life.
The story sees her kinda mess up, then she is given chance to redeem herself, by joining him in Italy for a few days to complete her interview, in return for her being his motel.
Lots of sexual chemistry there, and a few touchy subjects approached, but none in enough detail for them to become a matter of care and concern for the reader.
This is where I wanted ta full novel, to explore a bit more about both characters, so I could really understand them.
The spice factor is pretty high, if you want a quick, sizzling read, though!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

Jess is a journalist, who is close to losing her job, when an opportunity arises to interview bad boy artist, Xander. She must get close to him in order to write a career saving article about the famous artist. Xander needs positive attention from the media after his last exhibition left him with a bad reputation, whilst also finding his new muse.

I enjoyed the premise of this book - Bad boy artist X good girl journalist. However, I think it would’ve benefited by being longer. Both of the characters fell rather flat and lacked a lot of development as this was only under 200 pages.

The MMC, Xander, honestly wasn’t very likeable at all? I was hoping he would get better throughout the book but I was utterly disappointed. Jess was definitely more tolerable than Xander. She deals with body image struggles, which I felt was represented well throughout the book. But overall, I didn’t believe their characters belong together and I didn’t connect with them at all.

Although, not a dealbreaker for everyone, this book definitely lacked spice. There were a couple of scenes but definitely nothing to shout about.

This was written in third person, which is not my preference when it comes to romance books and I don’t feel like it was used as effectively as it could’ve been. There was a lack of Xander’s pov, so I never knew what he was really thinking and it was often confusing whose pov I was reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for the ARC 💌

2.5
It's a cute story, and I found the FMC to be highly relatable. I appreciated the disordered eating and body image issues representation. But beyond that the story felt a little lacking.

In many instances it felt like the scenes or story as a whole was cut short. 185 pages is too long to be a novella, and it was properly paced and written to be an effective shorter novel.

Once I closed the book, I could not remember a single instance of spice, but I had taken notes on it. So clearly it wasn't memorable, and here the gist of my notes;
The spicy scenes ended so fast, with no satisfaction for the reader, likely due to there being very little tension or build up. The act between characters also involves little to no foreplay. There were no hot kisses, barely any flirting before the act, though there was banter elsewhere. And the act itself was very quick. Also, who says " woah woah WOAH" as they come?

It was written in 3rd person which is rare for romance these days, and even though it is my preference, I didn't think it was used effectively. We rarely get his pov, and the switch of the narration subject is sometimes unclear. Additionally, he just acts so cold and weird it's hard to like him when we don't know whats going on in his head, the few times the story is focused on him, explains his actions, but doesn't successfully make us care about him properly.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC! 💌

Okay, let me just say this upfront... I really WANTED to love this book. I went into it with high hopes — spicy forbidden romance? Bad boy artist? Sensible journalist? Sounds like a recipe for a guilty pleasure masterpiece, right? Sadly... nope. 😭

The romance was flatter than a week-old soda. Like, where was the tension? The buildup? The swoon?? Jess and Xander got together faster than I could blink, and I just didn't buy into their connection at all. 🙄 There was no slow burn, no real chemistry — just instalust that never quite convinced me they were actually falling in love. 💔

The characters? Meh. 😐 Jess was... fine, I guess? But she lacked any real depth, and Xander gave me more sleazy than sexy vibes for most of the book. I wanted to root for them, but instead, I kept side-eyeing their relationship, wondering when the spark was going to show up. Spoiler: it never did. 💥

Tropes & Themes:
🔥 Bad boy hero
🎨 Forced proximity
🔥 Opposites attract
🎨 Working together
🔥 Temptation
🎨 All the spice

But here's where things really went off the rails for me... 🚨 Towards the end, there's a scene that absolutely killed any remaining goodwill I had for this book. So, Xander, the MMC, is an artist, and Jess, the FMC, is a journalist trying to interview him. He agrees to the interview if she becomes his muse. Okay, fine, I can roll with that. But Jess suffers from body dysmorphia, and after they sleep together, she finds nude portraits of herself in his studio — her body covered in paint, her face in a provocative look. And when she confronts him, he acts confused like, “I thought you’d like it. You look amazing.” Sir... what?? Knowing she’s self-conscious, he still uses their most intimate moments for commercial gain without her consent. Then, when she says how violated she feels, his response is basically, "So what do you expect me to do? Pull them off? They’re my best work." EXCUSE ME?! 😡 The audacity!! 💥

Yes, he takes them down later, but the fact that he was so nonchalant about it made me absolutely sick. 🤢

So yeah... this book was pretty boring, and I was going to give it 3 stars, but that scene? Nope. Down to 2 stars. 👎

If you love cheesy, fast-paced romance and can overlook some... questionable consent issues, maybe this will work for you. But for me? Hard pass. 🚫

Jess is a journalist who is on the brink of losing her job. She gets a chance to prove herself when her boss gives her a piece to write about artist Xander Heaton. She has to go to his studio to interview him. Though when she gets there, she doesn’t get much. He invites her to Italy where he is going to get away and paint. This is out of the norm for her. She’s a bit reserved and conservative. However, her job is on the line, so she goes. While Xander is attractive, Jess needs to stay professional so she can write her story. Xander keeps flirting with her. She’s always had her walls built up and doesn’t break her rules, but maybe once won’t hurt.

This was such a cute novella! It’s described as being a “spicy forbidden romance” but I think this novella is so much more than that. Jess struggles with body image and confidence issues. McKellen doesn’t go into details about what exactly she doesn’t like about her body, but does state that she is uncomfortable showing it to anyone. Xander has some things he’s going through as well. He still has so much anger and so much hurt from his childhood. So even though these two characters that were seemingly very different, what they really needed was the same thing – someone to show them love, caring, understanding. And they find that in each other. Xander learns to put someone else before himself and Jess learns to let her inhibitions go a little bit, and accept that someone could find her as desirable as Xander does. For me, this was the best part about this book, and I could have read even more of it!

The book does have a little bit of spice in it, but honestly, it was done very tastefully and it made sense. It wasn’t just spice for the sake of having spice. I do feel like the ending was a tad bit abrupt. I would have liked to see it extended just a little longer.

I think romance readers will really enjoy this one!

This was a story that I definitely think would have benefitted from being a full length novel. I am not opposed to novella’s in anyway, but this one needed the room for character development and even pacing.

Whilst the story was a quick and easy read with a cute premise that ticked the spice required box in some areas, that was about all I felt I could enjoy. I didn’t connect with the characters and I wasn’t invested in their romance; taking opposites attract to the extreme in my opinion.

Being the first time I have read this author, I am definitely now intrigued to check out some of her other works and see how the land lies over there.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read this one early!

I was so excited to pick up this book as forbidden workplace romances are one of my favourite romance tropes, but unfortunately, this one fell a little short for me.

Stuffy journalist Jess is close to losing her job at a magazine when she's presented with the chance to interview bad boy artist Xander. Xander's last exhibition gained a lot of negative attention and is keen to find a new muse to create something to prove the critics wrong. The two seemingly need each other to get their careers back on track - but their whirlwind romance must have an expiration date - must it?

I struggled to connect with the characters in this book from the beginning and both felt pretty stereotypical. Jess was quite pathetic in places and I was willing her to grow a backbone through the book which didn't happen, and Xander often came across as sleazy rather than sexy, especially in the first 2/3 of the book. I didn't find myself rooting for their story because I simply didn't like them.

Both of the main characters have a lot of baggage from their childhoods which explains their characteristics, and I felt like the hard topics were dealt with well, but there wasn't enough time in the book to completely unpack it all, and the resolutions to them felt rushed. It was also so fast that some of the decisions Jess made towards the end of the book felt totally out of character and gave me a bit of whiplash.

All in all, it was an okay quick read at under 200 pages. Will I remember it in a month, no. Was it a quick, easy read to keep me occupied for a couple of hours? I guess so.