Review: Under Pressure by Allie Winters (Lessons Learned #1)


Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by Smartypants Romance.

Allie Winters is a new-to-me author and her new series starter from Smartypants Romance is my introduction to her writing. Under Pressure is the first novel in the Lessons Learned series, and it's a college romance between two opposites paired together for a psychology study. Mia Clemons knows that running the study would help her get a step closer to her dream of going to graduate school. What she didn't realize that the student she was teamed up with was none other than Tyler Jenkins. The same Tyler Jenkins she had a crush on the year before. The guy is aloof and has made a concerted effort to keep his distance from everyone. But with each day they're together, Mia sees a side to Tyler that no one else has been able to. He knows better than to get too close to her. Cutting ties will spare them both in the end, no matter how much doing so may hurt.

Color me impressed! I'm sitting up and taking notice, and I've now added Allie Winters to my list of authors to keep an eye on. I very much enjoyed reading Mia and Tyler's story. She was the light to his dark, but that doesn't mean that she's the perfect one compared to him. They've both got their issues, and neither one is perfect, but the gaps and cracks that they do have are filled by each other. Being the angst addict that I am, I quite liked how much angst was present in their story, especially on Tyler's end. I got why there was so much anger within, so seeing him evolve as the story progressed made my emotional investment worthwhile. My one quibble about the book would have to do with Mia. I really liked her, and I just wish the author had delved a bit more into her issues. Other than that, though, Under Pressure was an undeniably worthwhile read and gets 4.5 stars.

Release Date: 16 March 2021

Date Read: 16 March 2021

Learn more about Allie Winters.

Purchase Under Pressure on Amazon.

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