ARC review: Eye Candy by Jessica Lemmon

Goodreads   Amazon

Jackie and Vince are co-VP’s of marketing at their firm and best friends outside of work.  Both are divorced, both have more or less given up on dating, and both have truckloads of emotional baggage.

When Jackie notices an incredibly attractive man running shirtless outside of her office, Vince offers to coach her in how to get back out there and approach him.  Before she knows it, she’s on a date with JT and things are going great… except for her developing feelings for Vince. Meanwhile, Vince is feeling more than friendly toward Jackie, so things are bound to get a little awkward.

First things first: This book was good!  I don’t want any of the comments I’m about to make to overshadow the fact that this book was really enjoyable and entertaining.  It’s not my first Jessica Lemmon book, and I doubt it will be my last.  It was well-written with great characters and a new twist on the friends-to-lovers trope (which is, by the way, my favorite trope of all time).

What happens is that Jackie dates JT while Vince coaches her on how to date in the modern world – which basically consists of him taking her out quite a bit.  Vince has feelings for her, she has feelings for him, but Jackie is dating JT for real and neither Jackie nor Vince wants to discuss their feelings with each other.  Also, JT doesn’t know about Vince.  He just thinks that Vince is just Jackie’s best friend.

So, basically, we’ve got a mess.  Some more things happen, most of which are pretty hypocritical, but I’m not going to get into specifics for fear of delving into spoilers.

As I was reading this book, I found myself wondering, “Wow, is THIS what modern dating is like?!”  I’m not particularly old, but I’ve been in a relationship for more than eight years.  This whole book just illustrates my fears if I would ever have to get back out there.  The dating landscape has changed so much that I’m not sure I could handle it anymore!

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t my favorite.  I think with a bit less purposeful miscommunication and unnecessary angst, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more.  I do have to mention how I loved all of the side characters, though.  I sincerely hope that Davis (in all his broody glory) has his own book. I would read the heck out of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Final rating: ★★★☆☆