Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Troublemaker

SERIES:  NY Nights #2

AUTHOR:   Ava Olsen

PUBLISHER:  Evernight Publishing

LENGTH:  220 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 12, 2022

BLURB:

He’s surly, demanding, relentless.

Mac Duran runs a communications empire in New York City and lives to work. But ever since his best friend’s wedding, Mac wonders if there’s more to life than closing business deals. One man in particular grabs the CEO’s attention but misunderstandings from first impressions prove difficult to overcome.

He’s outspoken, defiant, sarcastic.

Luca Santino is an event planner who loves love and excels at organizing chaos. He has big dreams but finding a man to share them with proves elusive. Until a work crisis pushes Luca into Mac’s orbit, and a heated clash of wills sparks deeper desires.

Together, they’re the best kind of trouble.

Volatile chemistry ignites a love unlike any other. But Luca’s been burned by men who won’t commit, and Mac isn’t sure he’s ready to let go of his workaholic ways. Are they strong enough to reach for their hearts’ desire?

REVIEW:

Troublemaker, so named because it’s Mac’s affectionate nickname for Luca, is the second book in the NY Nights series by Ava Olsen. If you read Novel Affair, you’ll remember Mac as Ryker’s friend and publisher and Luca as Wes’ personal assistant. If you didn’t read that book, no problem. This one can comfortably be read as a standalone thought you won’t have the same background. Novel Affair is so good I’d recommend you just read that first anyway.

When Ryker and Wes are away on their honeymoon, Luca travels from his home in Toronto to NYC to pet sit for the newlyweds. While he’s in town he’ll work on establishing his new events planning business. But when Mac’s PA quits – as do all the temps he hires – Luca agrees to fill in, even though they barely tolerate each other.

Mac is not so affectionately dubbed Ice Man by Luca because he’s a cold, uptight workaholic. He thinks Luca is an irritating pain in the ass. They both irk each other but that doesn’t stop the instant attraction between them. Despite the chemistry, they initially take it no further since they have to work together. Mac is disgruntled, though, that charming Luca likes everyone and everyone likes him in return. But then rather suddenly they go from annoying each other to FaceTime sex (and its hot!)

Mac is feeling restless after watching Ryker and Wes fall in love and settle down and now he’s questioning his own future. Luca’s hesitant to become involved, though, since he’s only in town temporarily. But sexual chemistry doesn’t like to listen to logic, does it?

I enjoyed the side characters, particularly Mac’s other best friend – wild and crazy Cal, and Mac’s wonderful grandfather, George, who becomes fast friends with Luca. George is Mac’s only family since his immediate family disowned him at sixteen for being gay. George took him in and they have a sweet, loving relationship.

While I enjoyed this book, the plot doesn’t feel fresh. It felt too similar to Novel Affair for my taste: Toronto guy comes to NYC, meets NYC guy and they have an initially ambivalent relationship. A long-term relationship isn’t in the cards but after a night of sex (or sexting), they can’t keep their hands off each other. There are definitely differences in the stories but the basics are similar.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book and its leading men. I’m happy to recommend it to any contemporary readers.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

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