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From the publisher:

One of Oprah Magazine’s 21 Romance Novels That Are Set to Be the Best of 2020, EW’s 20 New Books to Read in February, and PopSugar’s 25 Brilliant New Books Hitting Shelves. A LibraryReads Pick for February and Amazon Best Romance of the Month!

Mia Sosa delivers a sassy, steamy #ownvoices enemies-to-lovers novel, perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Helen Hoang, and Sally Thorne!

A wedding planner left at the altar? Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina’s offered an opportunity that could change her life. There’s just one hitch… she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials.

Marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he’ll be working with his brother’s whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him.

If they can nail their presentation without killing each other, they’ll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina’s ready to dish out a little payback of her own.

Soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn’t interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again…

Imagine you are a wedding planner, a job you love. Imagine you are at one of your most spectacular weddings, and one of the guests turns out to be looking for a wedding planner. Not for her own wedding, but for the high-end hotel she manages. Imagine she invites you to compete for the job against one other wedding planner. Then imagine you are forced to work with her marketing team, one of which is the man who left you at the altar, and the other his brother/best man, who convinced him to do it.

Not an auspicious beginning, but it sets into motion a series of events that conspire to make a terrific romance. Lina panics when she sees who she has to work with, and pretends she doesn’t know them, thinking how would this woman hire a wedding planner who was jilted at her own wedding! The men, surprised, go along with it and that leads to a lot of trouble and a lot of fun.

I also loved the multi-cultural aspects of the story. Sosa brings you into her world in the most gentle and comforting way, yet it is also the root of some revenge fun. I learned about some Brazilian foods, the Capoeira, and the dancing. There is some Portuguese sprinkled throughout the book, and while it isn’t translated, it is easily understandable in the context it is used.

Sosa has a deft touch with love and sex and humor, all of which combine here to make a magical mixture. These characters feel like real people and you can’t help but root for them to resolve their issues and get to their happily ever after. I understand that some people may not like the fact that these men are brothers, and Lina goes from being dumped by one to falling in love with the other. It is an unusual situation, but I thought Sosa made it work.

2/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™