The cover of this book makes it seem like a rom-com, which is probably what the authors are going for considering the whole charming-facade-dark-secrets the synopsis has going on here. That's not a problem, though. The problem is that this excerpt gives me very little to look forward to in terms of the actual story. The synopsis sounds intriguing, and makes me eager to see Mat's development as a character. But in terms of the 25 pages I just read: The people read like caricatures (particularly the MC; she's a boring narrator), I see no enemies-to-lovers tension between Ava and Matt (or any chemistry at all), and there's not even the slightest bit of unease or conspiracy to draw me in to the mystery.
Also: The authors are white as snow and they've already managed to make the one Black woman character a stoic boss-lady stereotype. Whoop-de-doo.
Also: The authors are white as snow and they've already managed to make the one Black woman character a stoic boss-lady stereotype. Whoop-de-doo.