Olivia Hayle is one of my 1-Click authors. Instant auto-buy, no regrets.
Usually, the “accidentally married in Vegas” trope doesn’t catch me. This time, it did.
The Characters
Connie: She’s tough and imminently capable — and struggles so much with feeling like nothing she ever does will be enough for her family to see her as that. She wants to be seen, wants to be trusted — and can’t trust the men in her family with her problems, because then they’ll never trust her to take care of herself. It’s a sticky situation to be in, and I feel for her on a deep, deep level. She wants to be seen, and loved, and she’s slowly starving emotionally. Until Gabriel.
Gabriel: He’s been harboring feelings for Connie for a long, long time, loving their confrontations because they were their only interactions for the longest time, and when he’d riled her up, she’d at least looked at him. And he sees her. Champions for her. Offers unwavering support, and trusts her capabilities. And he hides it all with his smug, smirking teasing.
What I loved about it
How obvious it is how deeply Gabriel loves Connie — to everyone but her, if they choose to look. But both their families are blinded by their rivalry, so no one looks. But he loves her, and he takes so much care not to force her into anything she might not want because he loves her and wants her to be happy, no matter what that means for him. He wants her to come to him because she wants it, and him.
What I missed
Complicated father-daughter relationships are my weakness, they get me every time. And here, the reconciliation between Connie and her father never comes. The moment of truth between Connie and her brother is a start, but her father never has to confront the conflict between them. It’s swept under the rug, like so many things in their relationship, and it leaves me a little disappointed with the missing resolution.
Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶/5
What Olivia Hayle does really, really well is a long, slow build-up. There are only a few explicit open-door scenes, but they’re well worth the wait. It never feels like not enough.
Fave Quote
Only she’s a good girl with teeth, and I’ve always loved getting her to bite.
Tropes/Keywords
- Enemies to lovers
- Family rivals
- Drunk Vegas Wedding
- He falls first
- Only one bed
