Review: Hitched: Volume One by Kendall Ryan (Imperfect Love #1)
Note: This ARC was provided by InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review.
Hitched is a trilogy of connected novellas in the Imperfect Love series from bestselling author Kendall Ryan, with the first volume introducing readers to the main characters, twentysomethings Noah Tate and Olivia Cane. Noah and Olivia have known each other all their lives, with their fathers not only being the closest of friends but business partners as well. Their families spent vacations together and being sources of support as they celebrated achievements and victories and mourned losses. As close as their parents were, however, Noah and Olivia have a far more cool acquaintance, one that tries to be cordial with a clear underlying dislike on Olivia's end and an amused curiosity on Noah's. Maybe it had something to do with Olivia's perceived rejection from Noah when they were teenagers. But the time has come for work together if there is any hope to bring Tate & Cane back from the brink of failure. Neither Noah nor Olivia have much choice because in order for them to succeed, the only viable option is to get hitched...and soon.
I'm not usually a fan of serials or novellas that leave you hanging. If you're familiar with my reviews, you know I have a penchant for labeling cliffhangers as "evil". I do know there's a purpose behind them, so really, it's more due to the fact that I'm not a fan of waiting. In the case of the Hitched trilogy, however, the wait in between each volume isn't too tortuous, it being a little less than two weeks for each. And believe me, when you get to the end of volume one, you'll want to know what happens next. Kendall Ryan did a fantastic job building this first part up to the point that you find yourself more than curious, not just when it comes to the pending answers to questions you're left with, but because you've seen how Noah and Olivia have transitioned from ambivalent heirs to their respective fathers's fortunes and hardworking employees of the joint family business to friends of a sort who become support systems for each other since they're in the same boat and realize that there's more than the persona and facade they've cultivated.
Noah is cocky and he does flirt quite a bit, but I liked how that was combined with a side of him that's more private, the one that isn't on full display to the outside world. His interactions with Rosita, the mail room's sole employee and a mother figure for him, were aww-inducing and it was good that Olivia got to see him as more than a playboy with a reputation that may be mildly true but that doesn't have to belittle him as nothing more than a pretty face. On the other hand, Olivia was hardworking and independent, but beneath her poised veneer, she had a softer side and she had neglected needs and wants that took a backseat to making sure that her work came first. The author gives us this opportunity to know and like her main characters and become interested enough in their story to demand more. That ending left me on tenterhooks, but a quick peek at the synopsis for the next volume has clued me, but not by a whole lot. If only time could be fast-forwarded to July 19, 2016... Hitched: Volume One is a four-starred series starter. ♥
Date Read: 07 July 2016
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