Starlight Cove’s prim little librarian has despised me since the first day I parked my motorcycle on her sidewalk. Now our feud has landed us as roommates…and she just asked me to teach her every dirty thing she’s never experienced.
Making Penelope Shea lose her mind has been my favorite hobby since she moved here. But our infamous daily sparring backfires when the town’s meddling grandma sentences us to five hundred hours of community service…or thirty days of living together.
Penelope chooses cohabitation with the enemy to protect her spotless record. I agree because watching her unravel sounds like fun.
What I don’t expect is to discover my rule-enforcing roommate has secrets—namely, a hidden career penning filthy romances and a list of sinful lessons she’s written about but never learned firsthand.
Like an idiot, I volunteer as her tutor.
Penelope calls it research. I call it trouble. Because somewhere between her first lesson and her first tattoo, she goes from being in my head to being in my bed.
Now she’s under my skin as permanently as my ink is under hers.
Our month is almost up. But I’ve never been good with rules—and letting her walk away isn’t one I plan to follow.
(ARC Review)
Move over Steele brothers, because Declan is officially my favorite. I did not see that coming, but here we are.
If tension could be heard, it would sound like the nonstop spark between Declan and Penelope. From the second they’re on the page together, their banter is quick, sharp, and just a little ruthless. Every conversation feels like a battle of wills, and neither of them is backing down.
“What’re you thinking about, rebel?”
“Choking you with my bare hands.”
“Maybe next time. If you’re a good girl.”
There’s just something about a tattooed, pierced, broody man who is completely obsessed with the prim, rule-following librarian who pretends she can’t stand him. Declan has Penelope under his skin from the start, and he doesn’t even try to hide it. Their banter? Their arguments? Fully foreplay. This man lives to push her buttons, and the way he keeps at it until the entire town notices? I was eating it up.
“I fantasize about you getting towed,” I muttered.
“Really? And here I spend my time fantasizing about what happens when prim little librarians start breaking the rules.”
And Penelope… I felt her on a personal level. The rule following, the post-its, the need to keep everything organized and controlled—it hit a little too close to home. She’s fun-sized, red-haired, curvy, and constantly trying to fit herself into this perfectly structured box. Watching her slowly step outside of that, especially with someone like Declan guiding her, felt so real. The way he steadies her in those quieter, more intimate moments, helping her feel confident in her own body, in her own choices, was honestly one of the most meaningful parts of the book for me, because I’m been there.
Meddling Mabel forcing them into thirty days of living together was the best kind of chaos. Add in the Steele brothers’ unhinged group chat (and their wives right alongside them), and it just brings this whole warm, chaotic, family dynamic to life. It’s not just about the romance—you really feel like you’re part of this town, this family, all rooting for them while they stubbornly pretend nothing is happening.
Here in Starlight Cove? Apparently, a horny grandma with a god complex and a participation badge could rule the town if she was persistent enough.
And the tension? Insane.
“You’re sassy little mouth only gets me harder.”
Penelope secretly writing filthy romance while having very little real-life experience was already such a good setup, but Declan volunteering to be her “research partner”? Sir. The audacity. The confidence. The way he lets her take control while still watching her with that smoldering, knowing look? Yeah…this book knew exactly what it was doing.
“That makes me the sex teacher,” he said slowly. “And you the sex student. Which means you’re asking for sex lessons. From me.”
The spice absolutely delivered with this one. But what I loved most is that it never felt separate from their relationship—it built from it. The tension, the banter, the constant push and pull between them doesn’t disappear once things turn physical. If anything, it gets stronger. Even after the thirty days are up, that edge between them is still there—that same spark, that same challenge, that same “I’m not letting you win” energy. It makes everything feel more real, like their connection isn’t just about proximity or circumstance—it’s who they are together.
I’d never, ever known sex could be like this. So intense and all-consuming. So incredibly overwhelming—like it was too much and not enough all at once.
Underneath all the tension and chaos, there’s real growth. Declan is so afraid of becoming his father that he’s kept himself closed off from anything real, but Penelope slowly becomes the exception. And Penelope, who hides behind her pen and her pseudonym, finally has someone who sees all of her and doesn’t flinch. He supports her, respects her, and never once makes her feel small for the things she’s unsure about.
And I’m sorry, but the tattoo scene? I actually lost my mind. The fact that he drew it for her first and then put it on her skin? That is romance. That is intimacy. That is a love confession without saying a word.
“This was more than a drawing…more than a tattoo. This was forever proof that Declan had seen me. Seen me and marked me as his.”
Between the tension, the banter, the spice, and the found family vibes, this was such an addictive read. And that ending? I am absolutely not staying calm about it. The possibility of more in this world has me way too excited.
Release Date: May 7th, 2026
Thank you to Brighton Walsh for the ARC read!