We Shouldn't Paperback – January 21, 2019

Let's talk Texas :) THIS STORY IS SOOOO MUCH MORE that an enemies to lovers office romance!For every moment of humor and surprise, there were moments of deep sorrow and longing. Still shocked writing this how many emotions this story stirred up.Bennett is a god... written with a sweet measure of his own vulnerability. He's a jerk, sure, but he never slips into a**h***. His distance and reserved tendencies are earned. There is a reason Bennett is disconnected and it's honest. And yet, he's the type of man who's soooo confident in his manliness, he can admit what a non-stud he was at the same time you sense he is gonna know every trick in the book. We need more Bennett Foxes in our fiction.Texas is an unknowing booty call queen. And it's so delicious to fall for this pair.Just buy the book. All the superlatives apply. Must read, can't put it down, swoon hero, sassy heroine.This page-turning love letter is Hilarious too.Annalise is a vulnerable live out loud take no crap goddess. There are more quirks packed in here... she's an oral driver, she has a Return of the Jedi fetish, and she eats pizza and cheats. I love her, even though she's a creative fruitcake, what a sexy little rule breaker she is.Every part of her is a perfect foil to the controlled, measured Bennett who is one broken lead pencil away from losing it over this co-worker who's gunning for his job. I LOVED EVERY WORD.Annalise is a fantastic heroine. And Keeland lingers, giving us a full-bodies woman to root for. She's isn't cookie cutter. She's alone, sure, but she's complicated. Smart and funny, and a total mess. When we meet her, she's stretched out over a stranger's car, wrestling a windshield wiper out of her curling hair. As soon as that disaster is averted, she goes deviant. Not what we were expecting, and definitely not what hot hot ad exec Bennett Fox was either. And Fox is everything. In his puffed up maleness, he calls Annalise Texas to intimidate her, shoves her in a janitor's closet and then goes on over the course of the book to reveal one of the most real, and resonating backstories I've read.A fantastic part of this story is how ADULT the story is. A few of the highlights are:--they talk like adults, they discuss their connection, their careers, their hopes and defeats.--the scenes we need are written out, not just referenced. The whole story is shown, not told. It's refreshing.--their connection is earned and OMG the sizzles and heat. I can't stand it.--guilt and shame are here too. in a subtle, touching sub plot delivered with nuance and sorrow.I cried and laughed over the same sentences. This is simply a great story with great characters who TALK! They have adult conversations and wrestle with real issues. I loved every word. They are complex, and nothing is every trite or vague. There are no short cuts for either of them, and that's part of the charm.Bennet is such a tease, I've laughed for days over his punchy flirting ...picks up french fry... to ...opening legs wide... ...wrap my fingers around... There are fantastic memories from every chapter.Last note: "Only race car drivers and pompous jerks wear driving gloves." PERFECT!This is just wonderful silly, sensual page turning writing. All the Stars.

A storyline about co-workers fighting for the same job and their hate slowly turning into something more.I read this book in one day so while I’ve read this type of storyline a lot and thought it would feel repetitive of that it really wasn’t. It had it’s own unique humor and completely entertained me. Bennett had his jerk ways and while I had moments of wanting to punch him, I knew he was just fighting because he didn’t know how to handle what he was feeling. While Annalise seemed naive at times she’s really just a good person who brings out the best in Bennett. I loved the analogy Annalise’s friend came up with about The Beast. It so perfectly explained Bennett as a person.So while this wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read it was still a good entertaining read which sometimes is perfect. I don’t always need a bunch of emotions and angst and while this story had some mystery surrounding the background of Bennett it wasn’t something that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was just a good ole’ enemies-to-lovers romance. It had humor, loss, love and very hot sex 🙂

I absolutely love Vi Keeland’s writing. I know going into one of her stories that it’ll be a richly told, well-written love story that is complex and complicated—the kind of love that isn’t easily earned. Her characters are interesting, strong and formidable, and I know that she will put me through the emotional wringer, but it will be worth every gut-clenching moment to get there. Hers aren’t always easy to tell love stories, the great ones never are, but they’re consuming, all-encompassing and the kinds of stories that I get completely wrapped up in, and I absolutely love that about Keeland’s writing.We Shouldn’t, appropriately named, wasn’t your typical office romance. Bennett and Annalise were rivals, pitted against each other, competing for something they both wanted badly. Antagonistic and adversarial with an edge of attraction, their chemistry sizzled off the page. Every encounter between them seemed to bump up the heat beneath the pot of their simmering lust. When they weren’t throwing barbs and bantering back-and-forth, they were practically scalding each other with the heat burning between them. Their relationship was an intense and forbidden, a raging storm of emotion and passion, and I simply couldn’t get enough.Bennett Fox is my kind of hero. A bit broken and scarred, this bad boy worked hard to hide his good heart with a sexy, guarded demeanor. But there was so much more to this damaged man than he let show, opting instead to use a carefully constructed façade of arrogant cockiness and sarcasm to shield the good guy underneath. This was a man who needed healing, or more aptly, he needed a reason to allow himself to heal—and he found it in Annalise O’Neil. His usual M.O. was to play it fast and loose with the rules, but all that went out the window once Annalise entered his orbit.From her OCD tendencies and color-coded files, to her mile long legs and bombshell beauty, he just couldn’t seem to employ those tactics against her. Bennett’s inner musings, cluelessness and utter confusion over his feelings were one of my favorite parts of this character’s development. Annalise was thoughtful, kind and, most importantly, honest, and despite her own trust issues and the broken heart she was nursing, she wound up being his perfect counterpart. I loved how she was able to see through Bennett’s act and call him on it. It was her willingness, despite her own relationship history, to take a leap of faith that ultimately guided them through the rollercoaster of emotions they needed to deal with to get to something real.This couple had their work cut out for them to get to their happily ever after. They had big obstacles in their path, and they had to sift through some heavy baggage to get there. Keeland takes readers along for the ride in We Shouldn’t with an emotional and hard-fought romance that was as hot as it was humorous. I was positively enthralled by this love story, and I devoured this book with heart-racing anticipation in a day. Five smooches from me for We Shouldn’t by Vi Keeland!