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Review

3 stars

Oh, this book! The second in the The Law of Opposites Attract series, it’s a brother’s-best-friend, friends-to-lovers romance that is angsty and dramatic, and it’s a rollercoaster of a read!

This series is centred around a group of four best friends who own and run an apartment building in New York City, left to them by the fifth member of their group who passed away. Ryan’s death shook the boys, but bought them closer together, so when Ryan’s little sister Laney (aka ‘Lala’) moves to the city for six months for work, the protective boys offer her an apartment to live in for her stay, moving her in right in next door to Holden.

Holden is the player of the group. A sweetheart, but a well-established man-whore, he’s never really had a relationship, preferring no-strings hook ups and easy nights with his friends. He is the drummer in a local band, and also works as the super in the building that he and his friends own, and though he has dreams of finding success with his music, he is content with his life. But Lala’s arrival upends his existence. He’s always had a thing for her, but he kept his hands off out of respect to Ryan. Now, she’s so tantalisingly within reach, but she’s engaged to another man.

Lala grew up with her brother friends, but it was always Holden to who she was closest. She also had a gigantic crush on him. Now, he’s her neighbour, and he’s inserting himself into her life – there for her whenever she needs help, keeping her company with quiet nights in, and even with deep and meaningful chats while sitting on their fire escapes at night. It’s making her question everything.

I was so very on board with the set-up for this book, and was loving the early chemistry we see between Holden and Lala. They’ve both had feelings for the other for such a long time, but there’s always been a safe distance between them. Now they’re living right next door to each other and actually starting to share their lives, and everything is changing. They know they can’t act on it. They know that Lala is promised to somebody else. But they can’t stop feeling strongly for each other all the same, and oh, the angst!

I could feel the longing between these two, I could feel the chemistry, the sexual tension, and all of the long-held emotion that they have for each other. The build-up is fabulous, and I SO wanted something to happen between them. And while I would usually revel in this kind of situation, in this case, it pissed me off because the whole time they’re feeling all of this, Lala is planning to marry another man!

It’s a complicated situation. Lala is in a stable and committed relationship, and while it may not exactly be the epic love with fiery, sizzling passion that she wishes it was, her fiancé is a good man, they have a lot in common, and they will have a good and stable life together. Holden, on the other hand, is a wild player who she knows will rock her world, but he’s never been in a relationship, and is full of red flags where her heart is concerned. What is she willing to risk to be happy?

Though I could understand how torn Lala was, it’s the fact that she wrestled with it for so long that bothered me, and in the meantime, she’s being all kinds of inappropriate with Holden. If you’re wondering about cheating…

The inevitable happens, and feelings are revealed, and the moment where Holden pours his heart out had my heart pounding. Lala does end her engagement, and they finally get to explore all of that chemistry, and it’s every bit as explosive as they both knew it would be. It’s hot and intense, and they’re all very open and eager to explore their mad lust for each other in all the ways. But is that enough to reform a manwhore? And with their completely opposite lives, can they actually make it work?

And so begins the second part of this story, which just brings more drama. While I was happy they got together, and enjoyed their sexy playfulness, having already gotten through one hot mess, they just go diving headfirst right into another. They’ve been through a lot to get to where they are, and they are feeling strongly for each other, they just have a problem talking about it and communicating about what they really want. And after the angst we had already been through, I was instantly annoyed that were plunged in to even more.

Even putting the first half of the book behind me and starting fresh with these two, Lala makes a lot of really dumb decisions, and I was disappointed at how she handled things through the majority of the story. Holden is an absolute sweetheart who is figuring himself out and finding his way. Everything he experiences is new to him, and though he makes some mistakes as well, he’s always the one taking the leap, making the declarations and putting in the effort to move things forward and make things work, while Lala just coasts along, not really taking responsibility for anything.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked them together, it’s clear they belong together, and their love story is actually really gorgeous, with a beautiful happy ending that left me smiling. I just wish it had happened differently for them – less cheating, and more communication for the win!

I loved the first book in this series, and had high hopes for this one, but the relationship was a hot mess, and I felt more frustrated than engaged with the love story.

So yeah, a bunch of mixed feelings for this one. 3 stars.

The Law of Opposites Attract

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