Simi Chopra is on a bad-luck streak. She’s lost yet another job, her student loan debt won’t stop growing, her basement apartment is a certifiable flood zone, and now her best friend has been accused of stealing a multimillion-dollar diamond necklace. To put it lightly, she’s desperate for a break—that’s right when Jack waltzes out of the bushes and into her life.
Jack is just as charming as he is mysterious. When he offers to help her find the missing necklace and steal it back, Simi jumps at the chance to clear her friend’s name and collect the substantial reward. But every good heist needs a crew. All she needs to do is transform a ragtag group of strangers into an elite heist crew, infiltrate a high-society wedding and steal the necklace from a dangerous criminal before the happy couple say “I do.” Meanwhile the bride is keeping secrets, a detective with a slow-burn smile keeps showing up at her door, and the ultimate robbery might not be the wedding con, but the way Jack is stealing her heart.
Release Date: Jul 18, 2023
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $11.99
Simi got a lot of nothing going on right now. She is out of work with a mountain of debt and nowhere to really live. She can barely see ahead, but when her friend is accused of stealing an expensive diamond necklace, Simi steps up to solve the mystery. She doesn’t anticipate being caught up as an accomplice and meeting a mysterious stranger who’s willing to help.
Simi needs all the help she can to clear her name. She enlists her best friend, Jack (the mystery guy) and a whole weird ensemble who bring humor to this story. There is tons of action, as there are some bad guys thrown in the mix. Can Simi really handle anything else that is thrown at her?
I had some reservations about reading this one because the blurb doesn’t sound like my jam. However, I’ve read books by this author, and she knows how to do romances that give that community vibe with a dash of humor. To Have and To Hold doesn’t give up on that, but there’s so much more that the author’s normal style gets lost in translation.
This was like reading an action film. I kept trying to figure out what happened. How would Simi clear her name? Could she pull it off with the cast of characters in the book? Then to throw a little bit more excitement in the mix, the author had a bit of a love triangle vibe going on. I don’t want to give it all away, but it left too many of my emotions up in the air. I don’t like books with competing love interests. Since this had so many elements to it, I wonder why the author chose to go that route.
While this certainly wasn’t my favorite book by the author, I did enjoy it. I still can’t wait to read other books by her. If fans like to read romance with a high pace action theme, they will love this book.
~ Samantha
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