AUTHOR: Amy Lea GENRE: Adult Romance PAGES: 384 pages RELEASED: 10 May 2022 SERIES: The Influencer #1 SYNOPSIS: Curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen built her career shattering gym stereotypes and mostly ignoring the trolls. After her recent breakup, she has little stamina left for men, instead finding solace in the gym - her place of power and positivity. Enter firefighter Scott Ritchie, the smug new gym patron who routinely steals her favorite squat rack. Sparks fly as these ultra-competitive foes battle for gym domination. But after a series of escalating jabs, the last thing they expect is to run into each other at their grandparents' engagement party. In the lead up to their grandparents' wedding, Crystal discovers there's a soft heart under Scott's muscled exterior. Bonding over family, fitness, and cheesy pick-up lines, she just might have found her swolemate. But when a photo of them goes viral, savage internet trolls put their budding relationship to the ultimate test of strength. Get ready to work up a sweat with a swoony firefighter and fitness influencer...
Body-positive curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen has made the gym her comfort place - there’s nothing like the rush of endorphins you get after a good workout. That’s until a new arrival to her local gym steals her favourite squat rack. It’s clear the pair are super competitive with one another, and soon Crystal dubs Squat Rack Thief as her gym nemesis. Then her grandmother announces she engaged and she learns that Squat Rack Thief is actually Scott Ritchie, the grandson of her Grandma Flo’s fiance. The chemistry between the pair has always been undeniable, but now that they’re working together to help with wedding preparations, they start to bond over more than just their love of the gym. Since her last breakup, Crystal has had trust issues when it comes to diving into a new relationship, and soon her relationship with Scott is tested once she goes Insta-official with him and the trolls come out of the woodwork. I genuinely had no idea what to expect when going into this book - I hadn’t read the synopsis and had only seen positive comments about the book, so was excited to see what all the hype was about, especially with book two having just been released. Let me tell you - the hype is totally deserved with this beauty! I couldn’t get enough and just had to keep reading to see what was happening, sleep be damned! Amy absolutely nailed the fun and flirty banter between Crystal and Scott, and their conversations felt super authentic for two people who have a lot of chemistry but are trying to take their time with one another. The progression of their relationship and the temporary obstacles they had to overcome also felt very realistic compared to some other romance tropes. One aspect of the book that I loved was the focus on influencer culture, particularly in terms of dealing with trolls, and the effects that this can have on people, not just the influencer they are attacking. It’s a sad reality for most, if not all, of the people occupying the influencer space, and I genuinely got to the point where I was angry at the fictional trolls and their comments - if only I could have responded to their comments to stand up for the amazing character of Crystal! The cherry on top of such a wonderful read were the spicy scenes. Amy delivered some damn good ones that complimented the chemistry of the characters so well. The bathroom scene? *chefs kiss* If you’re a romance fan and this book isn’t on your TBR yet, make sure you slot it in right at the top! It’s an absolute must-read for anyone who has even the slightest interest in romance books. |
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