Disorderly Conduct
Tessa Bailey     
December 2021 Releases

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Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Academy
Book: 1
Heat Level: Hot

You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone…

Police academy cadet Charlie Burns can’t believe his luck when the gorgeous blonde he meets in a bar murmurs those magic words: “Nothing serious, ’kay?” Mind-blowing, no-strings sex with Ever Carmichael—it’s the holy grail of hookups for a guy who’s too busy following in his law enforcement family’s footsteps to think about getting serious. Charlie’s all about casual…that is, until Ever calls it quits and his world tilts on its axis.

Ever knows that when you control the relationship game, you can’t get played. But for the first time, she wants more than short-term satisfaction. Step one: end her fling with commitment-phobic Charlie. Step two: sacrifice herself to the ruthless NYC dating scene. Yet everywhere she turns, there’s Charlie, being his ridiculously charming self. No online match or blind date compares to the criminally hot cop-in-training, but they’re over. Aren’t they?

If love is a four-letter-word, why does the idea of Ever seeing someone else tie Charlie up in knots?  Now he’s desperate to win her back…and a little date sabotage never hurt anyone, right?

Charlie Burns and Ever Carmichael’s relationship starts off steamy enough. Ever just wants casual sex with a man. Charlie fits the bill since he has a strict no-commitment mentality. The two agree and they light up the sheets. Eventually, Ever realizes she needs to explore and meet other men.

Charlie is a bit perturbed that Ever has decided to date other men. They had a good thing and he can’t believe she would mess it up. He sets out to mess up her dating life. He should be the only man in her life.

I was amused that Charlie is described as a commitment-phobe but he immediately dislikes the fact that Ever is dating other people. He doesn’t even know how to label the emotions coursing through him at times. Obviously, he cares more than he lets on. He is almost border-line stalkerish. There is this insta-lust/love factor that plays strongly in the story.

It was hard for me to relate to these characters because they both act so young. Charlie is the annoying ladies man who has something to prove. Ever is focused on her career as a caterer but is scared of relationships, meanwhile she decides to date other men. Every single secondary character had some issue.

The sexual chemistry in this book is off the charts. Ms. Bailey knows how to heat up the pages.  The author throws in a bit of angst to shake things up and things get a bit mushy. Overall, this is still a humorous and cute romance.

This is my first book by the author and I hope to get a chance to read another one. There are plenty of characters to build a series from.

~ Samantha