Publisher: Avon Impulse (Sold by HarperCollins on Amazon)
Published Date: March 2019
Genre: Romance, Novella, Contemporary
Series: Reluctant Royals Novella
My Source: Library eBook
Links: Goodreads
Review Also On: Goodreads and Amazon
Goodreads Summary:
Regina Hobbs is nerdy by nature, businesswoman by nurture. She’s finally taking her pop culture-centered media enterprise, Girls with Glasses, to the next level, but the stress is forcing her to face a familiar supervillain: insomnia. The only thing that helps her sleep when things get this bad is the deep, soothing voice of puzzle-obsessed live streamer Gustave Nguyen. The problem? His archive has been deleted.Gus has been tasked with creating an escape room themed around a romance anime…except he knows nothing about romance or anime. Then mega-nerd and anime expert Reggie comes calling, and they make a trade: his voice for her knowledge. But when their online friendship has IRL chemistry, will they be able to escape love?
My Review
I needed this read! Ugh, you guys…this was really needed. Long story short, I’ve been struggling with my reading during this pandemic. I’m constantly starting and stopping books. I have at least four books on my Currently Reading list. It’s just never ending.
But Can’t Escape Love was something I finally finished and I really enjoyed it!
Positives:
Representation. Not only do we have a Black female protagonist and an Asian, specifically Vietnamese male protagonist, there is also representation for visible and non-visible disabilities. Reggie uses a wheel chair due to Ataxia she developed in life and Gus has autism. And look at that cover! I love it, I love it, I love it!
Reggie’s personality. I love that she calls herself a pineapple. She’s prickly on the outside, but sweet and nice on the inside. She’s strong, determined, and knows what she wants. She won’t let others think less of her because of her disability. She won’t let others think less of her because she’s a woman. She’s not perfect because she does jump to conclusions a little fast and she’s hard to communicate with, but as you read, you understand why and you see her grow.
Negatives:
Gus was too perfect. I love Gus, don’t get me wrong. But he seemed too good to be true. He did everything right! The real issues between Gus and Reggie were Reggie’s inability to open up and say how she feels. I really can’t think of a negative aspect of Gus, which is an issue. No one can be perfect, but he seemed to be. But maybe that was the issue? I mean, Reggie was having a hard time trusting him because he seemed perfect, he said and did all the right things from day one. Maybe perfection was his flaw?…*shakes head* No, he’s just too perfect. I do love you though!
It’s a novella. This isn’t bad, but it is because I wish it was a full book! I wanted more. But I understand this is a novella in a series, but from what I noticed, Reggie is just a background character in another book (she’s the sister to a protagonist in another story in the series), so I don’t think we will get more depth of Reggie and Gus which makes me sad.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. And it actually made me realize something about myself and my own pineapple ways. Since it’s a novella, it’s a short read, sweet but with some drama, and just a little hot and heavy. But honestly, if you’ve watched Game of Thrones or read any romance heavy fanfiction, I don’t think you’ll read anything that will make you gasp. If you haven’t read any adult romances, this would maybe be a good start. Like I said, it’s not heavy since it’s a short story and pages needed to be used elsewhere than in the bedroom. Give it a shot!
4 STARS ~ Oh man, this was a great book. Will be recommending.