Holly vs. Mr. Ivy by Amanda P. Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Holly Dewhurst, executive chef at The Boardwalk restaurant, is known as the Ice Queen among her staff. She tried being friendly when she first started the job, but after several employees took advantage of her kindness, she adopted a tougher approach to management. It's not easy for Holly knowing that her staff dislikes her, but with her mom battling cancer, she has more important things to worry about. The pressure on Holly only increases when the restaurant's owner brings in a new general manager, his nephew, Everett "Rhett" Ivy, and announces that they have until New Year's Eve to increase profits by 10%. If they don't, Holly will be fired and Rhett will lose his chance of promotion to regional sales manager for the restaurant's parent company. Their interactions are somewhat tense at first, but as they work together on a plan to increase profits, Holly and Rhett gradually come to trust and rely on each other, first as co-workers, then as friends with the possibility of more. But Rhett's uncle has a strict no-dating policy in place for his employees. Will they be able to resist their attraction until it's time for Rhett to move on?
Holly and Rhett were a very sweet, well-matched couple and I enjoyed their story very much. It dealt with some fairly heavy topics for a rom-com, but the author handled each of them with grace and sensitivity. The protagonists were likeable and three-dimensional, and I loved how much they evolved over the course of the story. Having suffered from anxiety and depression myself, Rhett's character arc felt especially realistic and relatable to me. I appreciated the author's message about not being afraid to reach out for help since that is something I still struggle with at times. Finally, Holly's interactions with her brother Trevor and her cousin Noah added the perfect touch of humor to the story. I hope to see both of them again in future installments of the series.
I'd recommend "Holly vs. Mr. Ivy" for all sweet/closed-door contemporary romance fans and look forward to whatever the author writes next.
*Review copy provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
CW: Death of Parent; Cancer; Sexual Assault (past, off page); Depression/Anxiety
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