Making Up by Lucy Parker

 

DNF @ p.254

Have you ever kept reading a book you weren't into because you liked the author and you were kind of gaslighting yourself while reading? Like, for me, I love Lucy Parker. I think she's an intelligent woman who tackles tough and difficult subjects in her romance novels and she's exceptionally witty and good at banter. But the whole time I was reading, I kept thinking, "I don't know, man, the chemistry's kind of off... maybe it'll get better? It feels like the author is trying too hard to make these two a thing and I'm just really not feeling it... ?"

It's enemies-to-lovers, which I'm a sucker for, and I loved that the hero was African. It's also cool that they have unusual jobs. Trix works as a performer in a stage act that's kind of like the Cirque du Soleil. And the hero, Leo, is a makeup artist. The portrayals of stage makeup and special effects makeup and what it's like doing aerial acrobatics were really neat and probably the best part of this book after the anxiety rep and the way that anxiety can intensify your impostor syndrome and make you really susceptible to emotional abuse and criticism.

But I just didn't feel the chemistry. It felt like they didn't like each other, even after they allegedly made up. And Leo was a huge douche. When I found out what the misunderstanding was between them, I was kind of like, wow. I'd hate you too. He doesn't exactly grovel for it either. IDK, man. I thought these characters were okay and the writing was certainly technically good but where's the passion? The first book in this series was so much better...

2 to 2.5 out of 5 stars