This book had the potential to be an amazing read. It had plenty of fun, flirty, sexy banter and a hero I started to fall for pretty quickly. It also had some drama that drove the angst up, unfortunately, that drama came completely out of left field, opened the door for an unnecessary situation, and had this hero dropping in my estimation.

Lizzy fights to be the daughter her father wants, and what he wants is perfection. In order to earn his acceptance, that is what she’s always given him. But in order to gain the CEO position of his company when he steps down, she has to prove herself and the perfect opportunity has presented itself. When her plans collapse she takes a step into a world she’s never been before and meets Jimmy.

When the hot as sin woman in the bar propositions him, he’s all for it. She’s talking money but he’ll do her for free. The next morning, after leaving him high and dry, he learns what the real proposition is. There’s no denying he needs the money so he takes a step into her world and then things get really interesting.

I initially loved Jimmy so much and my heart began to hurt for him pretty early on because I could sense exactly what was going to happen and how much his own heart was going to hurt. He might not have been high class, but he was honest and loyal and dedicated to his family. And when things took a turn and he had to make a difficult decision, it wasn’t his own needs he took into consideration, it was all about Lizzy. However, I struggled with liking Jimmy and the story as a situation that felt contrived popped up pretty much out of nowhere. I wanted this hero to be unaffected but, nope. And that was when Jimmy lost me. Was that really necessary?!

While I liked Lizzy well enough in the beginning, there were so many times when I wanted to chuck her out the window. She said some harsh things to Jimmy that broke my heart and I felt the author lost an opportunity to take this story to a deeper level by not delving into this avenue through his eyes as well as allowing this heroine to evolve to become someone better. That never happened. She was the same at the end as she was at the start. I have to admit, I needed her to do some groveling, which is something I’ve never felt before with a heroine, because she was cruel, even if in her own thoughts.

”Lizzy Banks…” He leans closer to whisper in my ear. “Always craving perfection. You can’t help it, can you? You think once you achieve it, you will be loved by one and all, even your father. And it makes you frustrated, shocks you to the core because you also can’t help…wanting me…even when you know I’m far, far from perfect…still. Not quite perfect enough for the likes of you.”

This did have some great banter that kept the pace moving along as well as some sizzling chemistry between these characters. I’m sure other reviewers will surely remark on this books likeness to Pygmalion/My Fair Lady, with a reversal in the male/female roles. I enjoyed that aspect of the story.

Sometimes when I’ve read a book that has somewhat disappointed me, the epilogue can still save it a star by leaving me with all the happy ever after feels, and while this couple certainly have a HEA, the epilogue did nothing to sell me on this couple or their future. Was this a poorly written book? No, absolutely not. I’m sure there are plenty of readers who are going to enjoy this book and I truly hope if you do try this one, you’ll love it. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Montlake. All thoughts and opinions are my own.