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What an unexpected read this one turned out to be, but I loved it so much! This was a first time read from this author and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by her. How do I even explain what I just read? It was such a different kind of romance story that I don't think I can say I've read before. It was somewhat of an office romance but on a whole different level. There was just so much more to it ... I'll probably be saying that one too many times.
We have Lana, the ever so fierce CEO of a super successful coffee empire, it was her baby with only starting from a food truck and it set off from there. But her work consumes her life up to the point where she's camping out underneath her desk when she works too late into the night. And that's where Joe Coffee came in, the top barista in her company that she wants to give a promotion to help with the business side of her company. One thing she wasn't expecting when they first meet was the instant draw she had towards him. Besides Joe's charismatic ways and charming looks, there's another reason he's in her office for an interview. He's being blackmailed. Besides the dirty undercover work that he's doing to help his sister out, there's something growing and instant between Lana and Joe. Neither one of them can understand nor what they should do with it. It's only so long that they'll be able to tiptoe around what they truly want, but what will happen in the wake of when the truth comes out?
So what made this more than any other office romance that I've read before? As much as I loved Lana and how fierce she was as a CEO, Joe captivated me with his painful and traumatic past. He definitely hasn't had it easy dealing with addiction and alcoholism, his life was spiraling out of control. Until one day where something extremely traumatic happened, he knew he had to make something better of his life. Once he shares it all with Lana, his character became much more real and raw. And definitely thought-provoking because I haven't seen something like his story in a book before. It's definitely one of those topics we are hearing about more and more, today. I love it when an author brings those elements into a story, it makes us stop and think, to hopefully understand the other side of the story, and to know that we shouldn't be silent about it. As tough as it can be to hear some of the stories, they always need to be heard.
As Lana learns more about Joe, she becomes so protective of him and is willing to do anything to shoulder some of his pain from the past. And I loved her utmost support towards him, even if he was holding a big secret from her.
There was seriously so much to love about their story, the emotions it emitted out of me combatting between both of these characters thoughts towards one another. Their constant internal war with why they shouldn't be attracted towards each other, it was rather cute and endearing. And of course, the steamy scenes are absolutely that, maybe one involving being pushed up against a food truck ;-) And some definite cute moments involving post-it notes! But I loved what Joe brought out of Lana, her life was very much a routine and she devoted every minute of her time to her company. Joe was definitely a great contribution to her company and you can see her relax a little bit, to finally pass some responsibility to someone else for once.
But First, Coffee threw some unexpected moments at me, but it flowed so effortlessly into the story. I devoured this book and would have definitely read it in one sitting if I wasn't so exhausted from chasing a 10-month-old all day. Highly recommend this book to everyone! I will say that I'm a bit surprised with who the next book in the Love & Coffee series, THAT hero has some major redeeming to do!
Absolutely loved this and easily added to my #RSFave list for the year!