Themes: romance, adult, contemporary
The Synopsis
When Lex finds Raya Lewis’s name hidden behind countless security measures on his own family’s servers, he knows it can only mean one thing.
Determined to take control of the situation, he sets out to find her — only for Raya to spill her drink all over him within seconds of meeting.
Much to her surprise, the notoriously unattainable tech billionaire asks for only one thing as compensation: six rounds of Truth or Dare.
An evening filled with laughter leads to Raya sneaking out of his bed in the morning, not expecting to ever see him again…
…until he shows up as her professor, offering her class the opportunity of a lifetime: an internship at Windsor Motors.
What Raya doesn’t realize is that their meeting wasn’t coincidental — and she’s the sole reason he took up a teaching position at all.
After all, Lex knows something she doesn’t: the two of them are arranged to be married.
The review
After some deceptions in terms of reading, I decided to pick a book I wasn’t expecting much, which usually means a contemporary romance. And this book was a very good surprise and even more so since I DNFed the first book in the summer of 2023 and wasn’t sure about the all-teacher/student relationship. This aspect isn’t a big part of the plot fortunately and wasn’t unhealthy or linked to any power dynamic, something which would have made the story uncomfortable. On the contrary, I really enjoyed the story and its characters. Everything was logical, down to the 3rd act breakup (for once). I liked to see Lex grovel afterwards but most of all how he was ready to do anything to make Raya happy. Raya’s character was interesting too since she has her own issues but is far from being meek. She loves Alex but not to the detriment of herself like a lot of heroines, something truly refreshing. I liked to see them develop and reinforce their relationship.
In brief: A good surprise which made me pass a great reading moment. I liked everything in this book, including the secondary cast. I especially loved Alex’s family and how they welcomed Raya. It’s a book which made me laugh and giggle, with a possessive MMC who is acting like a puppy with the heroine. So, everything I wanted from this story.
My rating: 4/5
A Book by the Fire 