Book Review — We Shouldn’t by Vi Keeland

“In thirty-one years, I’ve never wanted a woman like I want you, and of course, you’re the one woman I can’t have.”

SQUEEEEE!!!

This was exactly the type of swoony, sexy, addictive romance I was looking for! I’ve read so many books by Vi Keeland over the years and have thoroughly enjoyed every one — so it’s definitely safe to say that she’s one of my favorite go-to one-click authors and this book was another winner!

Here, the blurb will give you the best idea of what to expect from this story…

Bennett Fox walked into my life on one hell of a crappy Monday morning.

I was late for the first day at my new job—a job I’d now have to compete for even though I’d already worked eight years to earn it, because of an unexpected merger.

While I lugged my belongings up to my new office, a meter maid wrote me a parking summons.

She’d ticketed a long line of cars—except for the Audi parked in front of me, which happened to be the same make and model as mine.

Annoyed, I decided to regift my ticket to the car that had evaded a fine. Chances were, the owner would pay it and be none the wiser.

Except, I accidentally broke the windshield wiper while slipping the ticket onto the car’s window.

Seriously, my day couldn’t get any worse.

Things started to perk up when I ran into a gorgeous man in the elevator. We had one of those brief moments that only happened in movies.

You know the deal…your body lights up, fireworks go off, and the air around you crackles with electricity.

His heated stare left me flushed when I stepped off the elevator.

Maybe things here wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Or so I thought.

Until I walked into my new boss’s office and met my competition.

The gorgeous man from the elevator was now my nemesis. His heated stare wasn’t because of any mutual attraction. It was because he’d seen me vandalize his car. And now he couldn’t wait to annihilate his rival.

There’s a fine line between love and hate—and we shouldn’t cross it.

We shouldn’t—but straddling that line could be so much fun.

Doesn’t it sound fun?? Well, I promise it is!!

The story starts out as a chemistry sparking, light-hearted, office rivalry romance but as the story went on, it became both sexy and also heart-warming adding depth with character back stories that really changed the way you looked at them.

“You like him that much.”
I nodded some more. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s all those things I originally thought, but there’s so much more underneath. Like, he has this childlike quality to him, but at the same time, he’s so committed and responsible with his godson. Plus, he makes me laugh, even when I’m pissed off at him. And he has a good heart, but he doesn’t want anyone to know. Not to mention — he has the goods and knows how to use them.”

The hero came off as a bit of a self-entitled asshat with a heart of gold at first. Like you could tell he was a good guy but he was also quite infuriating at times. Although in his defense, the heroine was literally vying for the job he’d worked hard to secure so I could understand some natural antagonism given the situation. But I did really appreciate his self-awareness. He knew how he was and made no apologies for it, but turns out he had a very good reason for not being a romantic and I really enjoyed the way the bits of his past were revealed over the course of the book.

“I thought you were asleep.”
“You were going to try to sneak out?”
“No. Ummm… Yeah. I thought maybe it would be better if I went home.”
He pulled me back down to his chest, hugging my shoulder tight to him. “It wouldn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“You’re a nice girl. A nice woman. I like you here. But if I tell you that some of my scars aren’t healable on the inside, you’re going to try to heal me.”
“And something is wrong with that?”
“Some scars don’t deserve to be healed. But that doesn’t mean I want you to go home. Get some sleep, babe.”

I’m always drawn to romances with damaged heroes and strong heroines so this book was exactly what I was looking for right now. It never gets old to read about the guy who never thought that a relationship wasn’t in the cards for him fall head over heels in love for the first time! Not to mention that the story all wraps up in a beautiful epilogue!

If you’re looking for a sexy, swoony romance that’s both light and heart-warming, then definitely try this book!

Rating: 4-4.5 stars!! Contemporary Adult Romance, standalone.