DNF. I really don't like the fact that the FMC (Rachel) comes off as autistic coded with the way that she is "so weird for not being able to function around other people" and the amount of ableism within the first few chapters is just a huge no for me. Pass.

Rachel Bai is a financial analyst who is not the best with dealing with people. She always seems to tense up or get nervous. She gets the opportunity to move to San Francisco and build her own team or else she may not have a job. It is the perfect segue to the promotion that she has been wanting. Her friend, Cecily, lives. in San Francisco now and she is looking forward to having a friend there. The first night in her new apartment, she ventures out to a local bar and meets a sexy-southern guy from Texas, Luke, who also is new there. Their one night hookup was mind-blowing but Rachel knows she will never see him again...that is until she runs into him at a friends birthday party, he propositions her. He will help her not be so awkward around people and she will give him financial assistance for him to open his own law practice.

I loved this one so much better than The Year of Cecily!! The characters flowed better, and I think that Luke is the perfect southern gentleman. I loved learning about the different cultural aspects when their families met and thought that was realistic. Seeing Rachel come out of her shell and be more social was great and I definitely think the character development was there. The breakup during the last part was trivial. I thoink it was silly that Luke didn't really understand what happened and what he did wrong. Also loved seeing Cecily and am hoping for one more book for Adrienne, the third girl in the story.

Newly promoted to a management position, introvert Rachel needs to improve her people skills. Luke offers to help, in return for her advice in preparing a business plan for his new venture. What happens when they break the rules and develop feelings along the way?

I enjoyed most of this book, as well as the audiobook narration. Rachel appears to be on the autism spectrum—her POV deals a lot with her struggles to "fit in" and to understand what other people are thinking and feeling. She and Luke have a lovely, supportive relationship. I also enjoyed her friendship with Cecily.

Unfortunately, this book has the same problem as the first book in the series. It just falls apart at the third-act breakup. The reason for the breakup makes no logical sense. Luke doesn't even realize that they *have* broken up. Apparently, privileged white guys don't recognize that when you tell a woman you don't want to go out with her, and then you don't contact her for a week, that you've rejected her?

This is a problem that should be fixed during the editing process. If the author isn't getting the support she needs from the publisher, then she might want to hire a freelance development editor for help in this area. Emotional authenticity is super important in romance, and it's unfortunately lacking here. And if third-act breakups aren't your forte, then maybe replace that beat with a crisis in the external plot. Lots of readers don't like third-act breakups. You don't have to write them.

This author is an important voice and an amazing storyteller. I look forward to seeing her mature as a writer.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Lisa Lin for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story! It was very real and relatable with all the normal family drama that comes in life!

Luke and Rachel were likeable characters and I also loved the friendship aspect too