3-ish stars

it was alright, I was expecting more? Each book in this series could have been shortened by at least 50 pages. I guess I'll keep going bc I just want to get to Jules and Reuben's book - their dynamic has been hyped and teased in every book so I assume I will be excited to read but ultimately disappointed lol. ( )

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 (bonus)
🌶🌶🌶/4

**Summary & Thoughts**

Livvy is a charismatic marketing genius, and an extremely successful one at that. She's a people person and everyone loves her....... except for her work nemesis. Gareth Blackwater (yes he's related to the other blackwaters we've met in the series before) is a powerful Grim and is now forced to work directly with Livvy for a marketing competition grand prize.

Sparks fly between these two as they work together and learn more about each other, and these enemies definitely know how to turn up the heat to become very steamy lovers.

**Spoilers start here**

I'm writing this before book 6 comes out, but so far this has been my favorite. Livvy is strong and confident, but that comes at the cost of having to fight tooth and nail to be taken seriously in a male dominated field. Seeing Gareth come to bat for her and respect her so highly for her brain, and not only wanting her romantically, was fantastic. All of the male counterparts to the Savoie sisters in this series end up being supportive of their eventual mates, but rarely do they work together in the same field.

Other things I loved about them: Livvy giving us badass Bi-rep, their use of bdsm/ sub-dom play in the bedroom to add some extra 🌶 to the steamy scenes, and the layers of their connection (not just work but their musical interests, style & décor choices, and on and on). All of our couples so far have really seen each other as they come to love each other, but Livvy and Gareth just seemed to have a deeper connection to me. It wasn't just a mate bond, it was a shared passion for so many different things that really cemented their connection and I loved getting to explore that.

I also loved getting to explore more about the Grim lore and powers in this book. We've been hinting around them for the whole series but to finally peek behind the curtain was very cool. It also added an extra layer of connection and trust to their relationship because of the true darkness that Grims have to keep at bay. There is so much about these two that made me love them and if I pick up any of the books in this series for a re-read, this will be first.

** Author quirk: See full note on book 1 of this series... but the brand name callouts continued to be jarring in this book as well and disrupted my reading experience a few times. It became evident that a particular brand of bourbon is the author's favorite... even though it didn't match the persona of the characters to be drinking it. Highly personal opinion here but it just did. not. make. sense. This is my favorite so far despite the continued name dropping... definitely not because of it. ( )