FIGHTING THE PULL - Kristen Ashley

4.5 stars

Hot billionaire with issues + classy career woman + drama = a good time. Need a say more???

Setup: ★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★★★

Elsa Cohen is a celebrity journalist in New York City with an up-and-coming news segment and a social media follower base on the rise. She covers the real stories, she steers clear of the drama, and she's determined to succeed to the top.

There's just one small snag in her setup: Hale Wheeler.

Billionaire Hale and his famous family are often on Elsa's radar—it's hard to avoid them as their beautiful family is mired in drama and involved in everything.

But Hale's been burned by Elsa's news before, and he refuses to allow for a repeat. So Hale and Elsa made a deal: Elsa wouldn't report on Hale's family, and Hale would break his reclusive media silence and give Elsa a one-of-a-kind interview.

But like every conflict, there's more than one side to the story...

And when sparks fly between Elsa and Hale during their interview, Hale's promise of eternal bachelorhood and Elsa's need to protect her heart are going to be tested.

AHHHHH this was a lot of fun, y'all. Fighting the Pull had all of those city-vibes, billionaire lover, and family drama ingredients that you could ask for in a contemporary romance. And it delivered in the heat and feels too, like every good Kristen Ashley book.

Now, in full and complete transparency, this was my first dip into the River Rain series. (I know!! This is book five!!) But I couldn't resist reading it when I was given an early copy as a member of the author's ARC team.

So, to my potential fellow new readers, I'll say that this book was a satisfying entry novel to the series. Hale and Elsa's backstories were fully fleshed out in this novel and I didn't feel like the late person to the party like other romances. This vibe did get... harder... as the book reached the 75% mark as the references to past books' relationships/dramas came to the forefront as the drama started to involve Hale's past and the side characters more. But even then, for me as a reader I felt that this book was its own complete story, and the references just made me curious to go back and read the other pairings. This might not be the case for all readers, but I'm game for pretty much anything so it didn't bother me a bit.

Elsa was my queen in this book. I loved her, I loved cheering for her in her dramas, and I loved her complex dynamics with Hale. She was my favorite part of this book.

Hale... was interesting. Would I date him myself? Absolutely not. Not a chance, even if he asked (which he wouldn't). His daddy issues mixed with an ego the size of a small country was kind of a lot to take in for this reader. I know this comes with the territory for billionaire romances in general, so let me just say that I'm also not a frequent reader of this trope... I came here for KA, and found myself warming up to the billionaire thing as the story unfolded.

However, the two of them were perfect for each other and it obviously sorted itself out—to the point where by the end, I did come around to liking Hale!

Another banger from KA! Don't miss this one if you're a fan of these tropes.