Book Review: The Bluff by Emma St. Clair

The Bluff by Emma St. Clair
3 Stars 

First, this was such a fun, quick rom-com read. The banter was strong, small town setting is always entertaining in Sheet Cake, TX, and I genuinely laughed out loud several times, as I always do in Emma's books. 

Our main couple is James and Winnie. They work together and he is her grumpy boss. It's giving a little enemies to lovers in a way, lots of banter, grumpy sunshine type stuff. It was nice to see Pat and Lindy again from the first book and the family stuff I always enjoy. 

That said, I did struggle a little with the romance pacing I guess. Their relationship just felt more surface level - attraction based versus emotional connection. They both had big emotional baggage they needed to deal with from loss, grief and other things. But I feel like I never really knew them and I feel like they never really got to know each other before their first kiss/make outs.

I also think I wanted to see more details about why James was so grumpy and behind his walls a bit. We did see a little about that in the end but Winnie really never knew more about him before it felt like more desire / attraction based romance that they keep fighting. 

That said, I think many readers will enjoy this. It's a good closed-door romance (no explicit scenes), just more heavier make outs/one bed trope then I normally prefer. 

Content: one bed trope, no fade to black moments but make outs shown, past loss of a parent shown, social drinking, anxiety, grief.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8337209799
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4tpiSdH

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