Desire by Design (Entangled Bliss)

by Paula Altenburg

[Angie]

Desire by Design was cute, but disappointing. Eve is the project manager on the upcoming renovations to the City Hall. The mayor has a different vision than what she's presenting, so he calls in his nephew who is a big name architect. Eve is not happy for several reasons: it's her project, she wants it to keep its historical aesthetic, and she's in charge of the budget. Eve and Matt meet, initially bump heads, but soon the two grow close as they work together, despite their difference.

I normally like reading about new types of people and careers. However, Desire by Design focused way too much on the architecture and not enough time on developing the romance. Eve is torn, because she does like Matt's plans, but it's out of the budget. Plus, the mayor wants to implode the old City Hall, starting fresh somewhere else, instead of restoring it. Well...isn't the solution obvious? Build the new City Hall at the new site, and save money by not destroying the old one! Just leave it alone, or find funds to restore it as a historical monument! This was all dragged on for no reason, and was boring.

The romance was okay. I liked how Eve stood up for herself, instead of just falling for Matt's charm. I also adored how he's the one who demanded romance, instead of just giving into her pleas for something casual. That was a cute twist. However, the story jumps ahead by weeks at a time, so we never get to see their relationship develop. By the end, it's been a couple of months, and they're in love, which is a fine time frame, but I would have liked to have seen more of it rather than a few glimpses here and there.

In the end, Desire by Design was just an alright read. The ideas were there, but it never went anywhere for me. The focus seemed off, which hindered the romance. I also found Eve's side plot about her ex-husband to be unnecessary. That didn't add anything, except for a reason for Matt to try to play knight in shining armor, despite us being repeatedly told that Eve can handle it herself (which she did).

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