Enemies in Paradise

Love in Paradise Valley, Book 4

By: Brittany Larsen

Narrated by: Angie Hickman, Dane Anderson

Bear Thomsen and I both want the same thing—his grandpa's old auto shop. My dream is to rehab it into a bookstore. Bear's is to tear it down to build a hockey rink.

Paradise is the fresh start I'm looking for after taking leave from the police force in LA. I want to escape the big city with its big problems, and avoid a big, unwinnable fight with my commanding officer. But, if I turn in my detective badge I worked so hard to earn, it will be the toughest thing I’ve ever done. Especially because I hate walking away from a fight.

I'm not about to let another man get in the way of my new dream—to own a small-town bookstore. Especially if that man is Bear Thomsen.

But when Bear rescues me not once, not twice, but three times, I realize my attraction to him is more than physical. He's a gentle giant with a fierce protective streak, especially when it comes to his hockey team.

I never thought I needed saving, but the more time I spend with Bear, the more I discover that bridges can be rebuilt, walls can come down, and dreams are better shared.

But how can we share a dream when one of us has to lose for the other to win?

©2024 Brittany Larsen (P)2024 Tantor Media

Funny, relatable, sentimental, and empowering!

Loved how the author expresses the feelings of girls/ women making it in sports and careers that are dominated by boys/men. Having the main character work through those feelings and still be able to fall in love with and respect a man, all while achieving and pursuing her professional goals was very empowering! Also mixed in with some hilarious love/ hate banter and characters dealing with their feelings of letting go of an ailing mother with dimentia. This book was absolute perfection! All the emotions rolled into one book.

I really wanted to like this one.

But it was beyond frustrating. Cassie is childish and conniving. Bear honestly deserves so much better. I was annoyed with how quickly and easily things were resolved when there was no actual redemption for many of the things that were done.

This author also writes descriptions of men the way most male authors describe women. For an example there’s a scene where Cassie is having an inner dialogue about how annoyed/frustrated/angry she is with Bear but then she sees him drumming and watches the sweat run down his arm and between his pecs and I felt it was an odd thing to focus on.

Also, I have a pretty severe allergy to cats and the whole interaction with cats and Bear were so unrealistic. It pulled me right out of the story.

But more than anything, I’ve noticed that this author writes male characters that are doing their best across from female characters who are mean, vindictive and very hard to root for. I get wanting to write strong independent women who don’t need a man, but I want to actually root for them! And Cassie was so hard to root for. Her backstory was cliche and a pittance compared to what Bear was going through. She never tried to understand him or where he was coming from. Cassie decided from the beginning that Bear was just like her boss and nothing would convince her otherwise. And somehow he still fell in love with her. Despite her sabotaging him at every turn.

His family did not support him, like, at all. He’s a plumber with his own business, but that is looked down upon. His family doesn’t support his dreams and tell him he should move on from them. They all support Cassie and tell him to be nicer to her when he has tried to defend himself and his dreams. I stopped liking his family while reading this book. I lost so much respect for them. Especially his grandpa and brothers.

enemies to lovers

I understand that Cassie is suffering from being harassed at work but the way she treats Bear is unconscionable, especially given how truly sweet Bear is. The fact that Bear can still have feelings for her is almost unbelievable. I didn't really like Georgis in her book and she isn't much better here. I really cannot stand her. Truly terrible.

The narration and Bear are the only saving graces for this book, unfortunately.