Review – Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn (5 Stars)

Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn
Series: Chance of a Lifetime #2
Published by Kensington on 2018-04-24
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 320
Format: eBook
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Buying a lotto ticket with her two best friends didn’t change Zoe’s life. Only following her heart would do that . . .

Sure, winning the lottery allows Zoe Ferris to quit her job as a cutthroat corporate attorney, but no amount of cash will clear her conscience about the way her firm treated the O’Leary family in a wrongful death case. So she sets out to make things right, only to find gruff, grieving Aiden O’Leary doesn’t need—or want—her apology. He does, however, need something else from her. Something Zoe is more than willing to give, if only to ease the pain in her heart, a sorrow she sees mirrored in his eyes . . .

Aiden doesn’t know what possesses him to ask his family’s enemy to be his fake fiancée. But he needs a bride if he hopes to be the winning bid on the campground he wants to purchase as part of his beloved brother’s legacy. Skilled in the art of deception, the cool beauty certainly fits the bill. Only Aiden didn’t expect all the humor and heart Zoe brings to their partnership—or the desire that runs deep between them. Now he’s struggling with his own dark truth—that he’s falling for the very woman he vowed never to forgive.

FTC : I got this from NetGalley for a review.

Trope Tags : #Enemies-to-lovers #grumpy-hero #series-book #smexy #forced-proximity #fake-relationship #awesome-heroine #sex-in-a-cabin #trying-to-make-ammends

Heat-Level – 5 Chilli’s. On scene smoking hot sex.

Content-warnings – Sibling-death, drugs, guilt

Notes on Author Style – Kate Clayborn writes from a first person-POV. The chapters alternative between Aiden and Zoe, a style which I really enjoyed as it gave me their love story from both sides.

Quick-scores –

• Heroine – 5/5. I adored Zoe. I was so worried throughout the book that she would lose herself in her quest to make ammends but she had her limits and I loved her more for enforcing them. I wanted to scream at her for allowing Aiden to treat her the way he did until I realised that she truly believed that she deserved it. Reading her journey from self-hatred to love is wonderful.
• Hero – 4/5. Aiden was so wrapped up in his grief, he doesn’t realise how badly he treats Zoe until she worms her way under his skin with her generosity and strength. He was hard to like, so wrapped up in his grief that he becomes mean and reactive at points. His character development is lovely; this isn’t a love fixes all stoy but more that love allowed him to breathe past his pain.
• Romance – 5/5. I adored this romance. It started as something so tortured, and secret, but blossomed into something truly beautiful. I wanted them to work so much but all I could see was barriers and torment. It was breath-taking.
• Plot – 5/5. It starts with a woman trying to make ammends and ends with a fake-relationship in a family camp-site in the woods, competing with established couples for ownership of a buisness. Realistically, it’s sodding bonkers but it’s written in such a way that you don’t even question it – I loved it.
• Cover – 3.5/5 – It’s clear, easy to read but really doesn’t have any correlation to the book inside.
• Re-read? – I have reread it. Loads.

Favorourite Part –

I think my favorite part is when, after they give in to their desire, they start to behave like a couple at the camp. I read all those chapters with a grin on my face.

Favourite Line –

“You sore?” I ask her. Which sounds pretty presumptious. I should’ve taken a walk; it’s too early for me to attempt conversation. “I mean, good morning.”

She smiles. “You know I have done it before. It’s not like you planted the flag there.”

What didn’t work for me?

Nothing. I adore this book.