My life is a hot mess.Single, working, and raising two daughters, it’s a miracle I get us up, dressed, and fed every morning. Forget about dating—nobody’s got time for that. Even if love hadn’t left me jaded, I’m not settling for anything less than perfect this time around. Lucky for me, the perfect man just happens to work in my office. But there’s just one small problem: he’s my boss, and is … my boss, and is totally off limits. But hey, if it’s meant to be, it’ll find a way, right?
Then a night out with friends turns into a night in with the walking-talking bad boy cliche of a bartender. It’s just one night. No harm, no foul, right?
Except when the hot bartender turns out to be my boss’s trouble-making brother, who wants more than just one night with me. The more I resist the spark between us, the more I find myself wanting him too. Which puts me in the middle of what could be the biggest sibling rivalry of the century.
Life is messy.
And love?
Well, love is even messier.
HOT MESS is book one in the LOVE IS MESSY series
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Tread lightly. If you are not in the mood for a cliffhanger you may want to rethink starting this one. I’m a sucker for the single-parent trope so I ventured into this one knowing it was going to end on a cliffhanger. I’m not sorry that I did. I did, however, have the foresight to download the second book, Twice Burned, so I could start right in when I finished Hot Mess.
Lexi is a divorced, single mom raising two girls and trying to keep things as normal as possible for everyone. Her ex fights her every chance he gets. Almost at the end of her rope, her girlfriends talk into a night out at a local bar. That’s where she meets Luke. Luke has issues of his own. He recently relocated to NYC from Chicago. He has very good reasons for being in NYC. The problem is that he’s living with his older brother who hates him. Has always hated him. Luke doesn’t really know why just that they have never gotten along and his brother is beyond a jerk. What’s the connection between Luke and Lexi? Well, unbeknownst to either of them, it’s Cole, Luke’s brother. Cole is Lexi’s boss. Lexi is soon caught in the middle of the drama between the brothers. It all makes for an interesting story.
Emily Goodwin delivers a fast-paced, engaging story that keeps you turning the pages. The background of both Lexi and Luke unfolds throughout the book. Luke is easily one of the most likable characters you’ll come across. Lexi is a mom who truly puts her children first, but she figures out a way to let herself enjoy life a little, too. She is down-to-earth and practical. Hot Mess is a good start to this series.
Love this book. It has wonderfully flawed characters that make you root for them. The heat in this book is pretty good. Definitely recommend it. This is book one if two so be prepared for that at the end. I love how Emily always gives you very realistic characters or situations that they face, allowing you to better connect to the storyline. Grab it and get ready for some steamy moments and a little heart break.
I would read this again
Cliffhanger
Was so good I bought the 2nd book in the series as soon as I finished it
I absolutely loved this book and it’s sequel! The characters and plot made this an amazing page turner that I could not put down. Highly recommend this book and book 2!!
Cliff hanger.
Fun book to read, you can feel the characters ambivalence regarding how to handle her life professionally and personally. Enjoyable!
Total disappointing. If you are interested read directly the second. the first one doesn’t say nothing at all. Also the “good guy” is the bad guy, and Cole who has been wonderfull with Lexie so far is now the bad guy WTF.
Fun read
It’s such a turn on reading about a man who knows how to appreciate a single mom and her lifestyle. Luke was a special man and readers will adore him.
Tried to read but it was flat & unimaginative. Same old same old. Yawn!!
Trying to balance a career and motherhood can be daunting. To accomplish that task as a single parent….well, the stressors become even greater. For Lexi – working as an editor at a publishing house can be consuming. The late nights spent reading, long after putting her children to bed, can leave you running on fumes. Adding to that the constant ex that doesn’t pull his weight or bother to see his children on his scheduled days, and you have one tired mom on your hands.
Determined to help Lexi have a little fun, her friends organize a Girls Night Out at a local bar. With a little encouragement and strength fueled by alcohol, Lexi finds herself agreeing to go home with the bartender. Luke is nothing like Lexi expected and their attraction heats up between the sheets. With a perfect morning after between the two coming to an end, Lexi uncovers something that rocks her world. Luke’s brother is none other than Lexi’s boss!! As they say – no harm no foul, only this time Lexi finds that she can’t simply leave her encounter with Luke in the dust.
Hot Mess by Emily Goodwin is the first book in the Love is Messy series. It is a true representation of single moms everywhere who try to balance romance and a career. The building romance between Luke and Lexi was definitely sweet and just the right medicine for this mom of two. What I found when diving into this story was the predictability of the novel. While there was that ‘sweet factor’ and certainly plenty of sex, I found the relationship as predictable as peanut butter.
The triangle between Cole, Lexi and Luke could have been played out with so much more depth. A push pull between the brothers was believable but didn’t hold the mystery that I think was intended with the path of the plot. So for me this book was just ‘okay’….nothing overboard…nothing that knocked my socks off.
But realize it’s a duet! Cliffhanger
Im in the last book of the series & have enjoyed them all
Was a great read but Wished there was a conclusion, instead of being half a book.
I wish that synopsis would indicate when books in a series depend on each preceding book. Some series do not rely on succeeding books. This particular book does not have a final conclusion and the following books will need to be read.
This was a cute idea and somewhat reasonable. Single moms are quite common and a single mom with a college education, a good job, and a jerk ex-husband are totally realistic. Alexis (Lexi) is the main character in this book told from her perspective and then from Luke’s (her one night stand that turns into more). She is an editor which made it especially annoying when there were errors that should’ve been caught–like “side” for “said” and sentences with extra words that were just poorly edited. The sex scenes were juicy, although repetitive. The worst part? Stupid cliffhanger! I got this book for free, but the sequel that explains everything is $4. Do I want to spend that? After reading the reviews that say the editing is even worse, no, I don’t. I’m so disappointed because now I’ll never know what happened in Luke’s life in Chicago, who woke up, and why Cole hates him so much. Really, that was a bit annoying. I felt like “time to grow up, boys!”
I liked the story!
I love this book, I read the book in one day because that is how good it was, was sad at the ending but can’t wait to read the second book by the author.