Loved reading the amazing and awesome romance story. When Harper overhears Reid putting her down without even meeting her, she confronts him, and there's chemistry between the two of them. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read riveting love story by the fabulous author, Lexi Blake.

An enjoyable read with brilliantly written characters and a plot that had me hooked. The development of this enemies to lovers workplace romance was enjoyable and I loved the connection that formed between the characters.

This was a solid, enjoyable read. It’s the third book in the Park Avenue Promise series, but works just fine as a standalone if you’re jumping in fresh.

This one features a workplace rivals to lovers setup with Harper Ross, a contractor trying to keep her late father’s construction company afloat amid financial messes and family drama, and Reid Dorsey, a designer looking for a comeback after a fall from TV fame. They’re forced to collaborate on a high stakes brownstone renovation in Manhattan, all while butting heads over every creative decision.

There’s a lot to like here: witty banter, moments of real emotional tension, strong themes of friendship and found family, and even some layered commentary on gender roles and expectations. I especially appreciated the “grumpy vs. grumpier” energy between Harper and Reid, and the side characters (especially the moms) added some heart and humor.

That said, the pacing dragged a bit for me in places, and while the family drama added depth, it also got repetitive and frustrating. I didn’t always feel fully invested in the romance,it was good, just not the kind that left me swooning.

Overall, Built to Last was a decent contemporary romance with some standout moments. Not a favorite, but definitely worth picking up if you enjoy workplace tension, flawed-but-determined characters, and a touch of HGTV chaos.

This was a solid, enjoyable read. It’s the third book in the Park Avenue Promise series, but works just fine as a standalone if you’re jumping in fresh.

This one features a workplace rivals to lovers setup with Harper Ross, a contractor trying to keep her late father’s construction company afloat amid financial messes and family drama, and Reid Dorsey, a designer looking for a comeback after a fall from TV fame. They’re forced to collaborate on a high stakes brownstone renovation in Manhattan, all while butting heads over every creative decision.

There’s a lot to like here: witty banter, moments of real emotional tension, strong themes of friendship and found family, and even some layered commentary on gender roles and expectations. I especially appreciated the “grumpy vs. grumpier” energy between Harper and Reid, and the side characters (especially the moms) added some heart and humor.

That said, the pacing dragged a bit for me in places, and while the family drama added depth, it also got repetitive and frustrating. I didn’t always feel fully invested in the romance,it was good, just not the kind that left me swooning.

Overall, Built to Last was a decent contemporary romance with some standout moments. Not a favorite, but definitely worth picking up if you enjoy workplace tension, flawed-but-determined characters, and a touch of HGTV chaos.

This was the last story in this trilogy of three old friends, with Harper working to film a TV show about restoring a Golden Age mansion that had special meaning for all three women. Enter Reid who was the designer who felt they had to make compromises in what each of them wanted for the structure.
Harper fought him, not knowing there were other considerations involved, until they finally realized they each had valuable contributions to give and making concessions was the way to accomplish their end goal. The characters and the dialogue are wonderful and I love how Ms. Blake always weaves such a creative tale. Highly recommended.

5 ⭐️- This was literally the perfect conclusion to the Park Avenue Promise Series. I mean, I didn’t think I was going to feel all the feels and warm cuddly bubbles in my chest at the end, but I sure did! The fighting between Harper and Reid honestly made me laugh a little because it’s obvious they’re attracted to each other - but I’m here for it. I loved watching them work through their problems together and have their found family support them through it. Also, the side romances?! Ugh loved! I’m so happy I read this series. I’m so happy with how this ended, it was so cozy and heartfelt. I’ll be back for more Lexi Blake!

** Thank you NetGalley and Blue Box Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review **

Thanks to Lexi Blake, Blue Box Press and Net Gallery for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Harper is the CEO of her families construction business and has undertaken a project to renovate a historic building for her best friend. However she has to work with a designer as part of the project which is being recorded for a tv show. In enters Reid, a celebrity designer. Harley's giant impressions aren't great when Reid assumes she's part of the tv crew and that the contractor H Ross must be a man.

I enjoyed the book. I found the rivals to lovers story line was done well. The way they pushed each others buttons increased the sexual tension between them with sparks flying which lead to the eventual hook up.
The found family aspect was really well done in this book. Harpers own family are very much money grabbing, trying to use her as an atm while her mum tries to emotionally manipulate her. So it was nice to see she had such a strong found family around her to help with her trauma. I love how supportive, protective and funny her friends are. The 3 women have such a strong friendship despite the different stages of their lives and romantic relationships (not to mention one is now a queen!)

Reid has his own trauma he has to deal with along with his brother Jeremiah (who i found to be funny, calling Harper and Reid Grumpy and Grumpier). So when Reid and Harper get together, they support and build each other up which I really liked.

Such a nice quick read. I read as a standalone but this is #3 in a series and I will definitely read the other 2 about Harpers friends Anika and Ivy.

“Grumpy and grumpier can find a way.”
Lexi Blake rounded out the Park Avenue Promise in such a perfect way with Harper and Reid.

Harper is the CEO of her family’s construction company but taking a much needed break for a passion project. She has dreamt of renovating a historic brownstone in Manhattan. She wants it to be perfectly restored, but when she discovers that her designer has different plans they immediately butt heads.

Reid is a celebrity designer. He has been hired to design the brownstone for a specific buyer and that does not mean keeping everything historically accurate.

I loved the banter between Harper and Reid. They knew how to push each other’s buttons so perfectly! I also loved all of the side characters, especially Jeremiah. Jeremiah was hilarious and complex, just what this crew needed!
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @authorlexiblake for the ARC!

In Built to Last, Lexi Blake trades spies for spackle and delivers a rom-com with emotional heft, delightful banter, and a heroine you’ll root for from blueprint to final reveal.

Lark Hastings is not having a good week. Fired from her TV job, dumped, and blindsided by betrayal, she turns to the one place she’s never felt safe: home. But with her estranged sisters and a home renovation project waiting, she's about to find that demolition may be the easy part.

Enter Zeke, the charming contractor who’s all muscle, morals, and maddening restraint. Their chemistry crackles like faulty wiring, but both are carrying wounds that might not be so easy to patch over. Watching them navigate grief, pride, and passion is as satisfying as seeing an old house brought back to life.

This book nails the found-family vibe and adds an emotional core that sets it apart from standard rom-com fare. The setting feels cozy yet lively, and the pacing hits that sweet spot between breezy and heartfelt.

Perfect for readers who love:

Home renovation & HGTV vibes

Sisters reconnecting

Second chances (with a twist of slow burn)

Small-town charm meets New York grit

Lexi Blake builds a solid foundation for a new series—equal parts witty and warm, Built to Last reminds us that sometimes the best things in life need a little reconstruction.

Built to Last by Lexi Blake
📚 Book 3 in the Park Avenue Promise series
📅 Releases May 27, 2025 | Blue Box Press
#ARCreview #BuiltToLast #LexiBlake

Enemies-to-lovers tension? ✔️
Historic brownstone renovation? ✔️
Swoon-worthy contractor + designer pairing? DOUBLE ✔️

Lexi Blake absolutely nailed this HGTV-meets-heartstrings rom-com. Built to Last is a perfect mix of sharp banter, emotional depth, and slow-burn romance that delivers all the feels 🧡

Harper Ross is a powerhouse construction CEO with something to prove. Reid Dorsey is the designer with a modern vision and zero patience for Harper’s opinions—until sparks fly 🔥 Their bickering over bricks and backsplash turns into serious chemistry, and watching them fight their way into love? SO. SATISFYING.

What made this story extra special:
💔 Jeremiah’s emotional subplot—heartbreaking, raw, and beautifully handled
🏠 The found family vibes—Harper deserves the world and I loved seeing her get it
🖤 Reid’s cinnamon-roll energy beneath all that grump
📺 And yes, I’m low-key obsessed with fictional renovation shows now

This was my first Lexi Blake book, and I dove right in without needing to read the others first—though now I need books 1 & 2 immediately because I’m so invested in this friend group!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5 but we’re rounding UP for the perfect blend of heat, heart, and home-reno tension)

#EnemiesToLovers #GrumpySunshine #FoundFamily #WomenInConstruction #InteriorDesignRomance #HomeRenovationLove #RomComReads #Bookstagram #LexiBlakeBooks #BookReview #RomanceRecs #ReadMoreRomance #booklover #romancebooks #literaryhavocreviews #mustreadromance #advancecopy #comingsoon #renovationromance

Lexi Blake has done it again! I couldn't put this book down! It reached down into my chest and pulled out some emotions I forgot I even had the ability to feel. I held my breath half the book, and the other half I spent (gasping for air, lying on the floor, making the book read itself to me) anticipating what was to come! An excellent continuation to the Park Ave Promise series! Harper and Reid and the enemies to lovers trope have me all twisted up inside.

"Built to Last" is the third book in Lexi Blake's "Park Avenue Promise" series, each of which is set in the famous architectural world of New York City. "Built to Last" is centered around Harper, a home renovator, and Reid, a famous TV personality and interior designer. When these two stubborn and hardheaded people have to work together, the sparks fly. While they hate each other at first, they quickly realize there's more between them than just hatred.

"Rivals to lovers" is one of my favorite romance tropes and I really wanted to like this book too. However, the banter between the two was more hateful than electric and I just didn't find either of the two main characters to be worth rooting for. I finally found myself just skimming through the book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my opinion on NetGalley

A contractor hired by her best friend to help renovate a historical mansion and a designer with a deep dark secret and a failed tv show. What could possibly go wrong?

Lexi Blake takes this beloved trope and gives it a unique twist in “Built to Last” by turning the “grumpy x sunshine” into “grumpy x grumpier” - and it WORKS! The hate-hate (but not really hate) between Reid and Harper makes for some amazing banter and some laugh out loud moments.

There are a few parts in the book that did do such a complete turn that left me scratching my head going “huh?” But overall it was a very enjoyable read. I really do wish I had read books 1-2 first, although this can be read as a standalone.

If you want wit and excellent banter then this book is for you. The FMC and MMC have so much chemistry that you cannot put the book down waiting for the will they, won't they. A found family that I want to be a part of in real life and I am totally going back to read their stories because I love this group of people!

A really incredible found family which left me longing for 'sisters' like Harper. There are a few sub plots going on for each character which added so much depth.
I love the field in which Harper is in and how it addresses the challenges she receives because of it.
Reid and Harper's love showed that it can sometimes be fiery but at the end of it all they have one another's backs.
Only thing I would have liked to have seen, considering it was book 3 would have been an epilogue.

“Built to Last” by Lexi Blake is an interconnected romcom.

I read up to 50% of the book and realized that even though the story is well written, the characters and the plot are not for me. I ended up skimming through the remaining chapters in the book until I got to the very end.

Even though the characters and the plot didn’t land with me, I still recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a angsty romcom with a guaranteed HEA.

My rating is based on the first 50% of the book I read prior to skimming the remaining chapters.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read “Built to Last” in advance.

Thank you to NetGalley @GetRedPR and @BlueBoxPress for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Enemies-to-lovers with Park Avenue charm and all the HGTV vibes

Built to Last by Lexi Blake was such a fun read! If you’re into slow-burn romance, bickering leads with undeniable chemistry, and just the right touch of emotional growth—this one checks all the boxes.
Harper Ross is one of those characters you root for right from the start. She’s tough, smart, driven—and maybe just a tiny bit stubborn. She finally gets the chance to renovate a gorgeous brownstone on Park Avenue (the same dream home she once fantasized about with her friends), and it’s a huge deal for her family’s construction business. Everything would be perfect... if not for him.

Enter Reid Dorsey: high-end designer, perfectionist, and Harper’s new work nemesis. Their banter? Top-tier. The tension? Chef’s kiss. These two butt heads at every turn, but underneath all the snark is a really sweet, satisfying arc where they slowly start to see each other—not just as colleagues, but as people who want more than just a finished product.

What I really loved was how much Harper grows over the course of the story. She starts to realize that she doesn’t have to carry everything on her shoulders, and it was so rewarding to see her loosen her grip a bit and step into a future that’s hers, not just the one her family needs from her.

This book hit all the right emotional notes without feeling heavy. It’s fun, heartfelt, and the perfect blend of work tension and romantic payoff. And now I’m extra excited to see how the rest of the series wraps up—I need all the friends to get their happy endings, too!
4 Stars!
#NetGalley, #BlueBoxPress, #ValentinePR, #BuilttoLast, #LexiBlake, #GetRedPR, #ParkAvenuepromiseseries

This was an enjoyable read in which the two main characters were grumpy and grumpier. Reid and Harper clashed from the start, although it was really more on her part as she was reacting based more on past experiences than how Reid was actually treating. But even as they were arguing there was a definite sexual tension between them. Besides their relationship, the story also follows the friendship of Harper and her two friends who are actually more of a family unit than her blood family.

Thank you NetGalley and Blue Box Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Built to Last is my favorite romance read so far this year! If I could give it 6 stars, I would. It is the third book in the Park Avenue Promise series, but I read it as a standalone. This workplace rivals to lovers romance has everything you could ever want. Full of fierce friendships, found family, banter, chemistry, tension, tears, and laughter.
Harper Ross is a contractor and CEO of her family's construction business. Her father passed away and left her with the majority share of Ross Construction and holding the bag for years of tax evasion and misallocation of company funds. On top of that, she has a cousin vying for her job, family members with their hands out, and a mother that just wants her to be a dutiful wife/human incubator. This renovation is her dream job.
Reid Dorsey is a Designer, coming off a hit tv show with his brother, Jeremiah. They had a rough upbringing with an absentee father, lingering injuries from a recent accident but lots of money to spare- until he didn't. So this is his big shot.
Reid and Harper are tasked to work together on Banover Place, a Manhattan Brownstone, and bring it back to all its glory - except that each of their vision for the space do not align. To add insult to injury - a lot is riding on this renovation being a success, for not only themselves, but their friends- and an entire country.
There were so many facets of this book that I loved. The grumpy and grumpier trope, the overarching feminist tone, and the moms that added love, guidance, and levity to the story.
What was really hard to read, but essential to the plot, was the way Harper's family talked to and treated her. It hit me on a personal level and many times felt like ragebait. Im so glad I pushed through because this book is everything im looking for in a contemporary romance.

Built To Last by Lexi Blake was an engaging and very fun read. I loved our two main characters, Harper and Reid. I loved the grumpy and sunshine dynamic between these two, I will always love that trope and I think Lexi Blake executed that trope perfectly in this. The feminist in me was loving Harper which was a breath of fresh air because sometimes in romance books, the FMC gets so consumed by the MMC and forgets everything she has ever stood for, so I’m glad she was able to develop as a character but still didn’t lose sight of what mattered to her. I appreciated Reid’s character growth, and overall the romance between these two was electric. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves the grumpy and sunshine trope, and a strong FMC. The dynamics of friendship and romance with hints of humour in between made this book an enjoyable read. Thank you Lexi Blake, Blue Box Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!