Shacking Up: Volume 1

Fabulously fun and sexy romance. Ruby is determined to pursue her passion, acting, and not fall into the family business. She grew up with money and her father expects her to fail and come back to work for him. When she suddenly finds herself losing her apartment, she is afraid she will have to give up but then an opportunity to “pet sit” surfaces which gives her new live to keep fighting. Bancroft is moving into his role at his family’s business after spending several years playing professional Rugby. When his father decides to send him overseas for 5 weeks, he finds himself needing someone to do more than drop in and check on his pets. Ruby and Bancroft connect through his pets and the sexy banter starts with these amazing flirty video calls that provides this fun slow burn to their romance. Francesca and Tiny add to the mix being unusual pets for Bancroft to have. I loved every laugh out loud moment with this amazing couple. I voluntarily read an ARC provided by NetGalley of this book and this is my honest review.

I absolutely loved this standalone, dual POV rom com from Helena Hunting. The story follows down on her luck wannabe actress Ruby Scott as she struggles to make ends meet trying to make it on her own without her dad's millions. Whilst at her best friend's engagement party she is 'accidentally' kissed by ex professional rugby player and hotel magnate Bancroft Mills who is high on a cocktail of cold meds and whiskey. After Ruby catches Bane's flu bug things start rapidly going South as she messes up an important audition and then finds out she's being evicted from her apartment. With the help of her best friend she lands a pet sitting gig with her fiancée's cousin who, as it turns out is her mystery 'Awesome Kisser'. Feeling responsible for Ruby's predicament he is only too happy to have Ruby as his live in pet sitter whilst he is out of the country. Things start getting a little complicated when they become more and more intimate during their evening face time sessions. I adored both Ruby and Bane, I loved their banter and the sexual chemistry between the pair is off the charts. A light, extremely fun read that had me hooked from the first page. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

***4 ‘Team Bane’ Stars*** The hot as hell cover and the fact that the male leads name was Bane, even if it was a nickname, combined with having always wanted to read a Helena Hunting book had me taking the plunge with Shacking Up and I really enjoyed it. It was a sweet, smexy read filled with humor and heart. Even though Bane grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and appreciates all that it has given him, he doesn’t believe it makes him that much better than anyone else. He’s a hard worker and isn’t one to settle for handouts. I must admit that part of the reason I fell for Bane is because of the fact that he played rugby (I LOVE rugby even though I have no clue what’s going on half the time) but once I let the fangirling run it’s course, I just really liked him. He’s just that good of a guy. He’s all kinds of charismatic and flirty, has a good and generous heart and simply smexy as all get out. Ruby also grew up with money and though she is grateful for the advantages it has given her, she’s seen a side of it that makes her want to stay as far away from it as possible. Ruby’s that character that I really liked even when I wanted to Gibbs smack her. I loved that she was following her dreams and not bowing down and doing what others thought she should and that while she could play along with the elite, it really wasn’t her gig. But there were times where her reactions and decisions had me shaking my head in frustration because they tended to be based on her own insecurities rather than actual fact. The way Bane and Ruby first collide is definitely one for the books as is its immediate aftermath, but once the dust settled I really enjoyed how their relationship grew and evolved into more. I loved how they got to know each other, most of it in a very 21st century way, but also got to see who the other truly was by their actions. Their bantering was fun and the sexual tension between them was sizzling. But as with any budding relationship there are bumps along the way and for the most part they handle them well, but the big bump had me rolling my eyes and doing the heavy sigh thing, I couldn’t help it, but it was dealt with very well and I loved where they were in the end. Having never read a Helena Hunting book before I didn’t have any real expectations going into Shacking Up, despite hearing all about her other books thanks to my various SM feeds, but as I said, I really enjoyed the book. The writing was engaging, the pacing was good and I really liked the dual 1st person POV. The secondary cast of characters were done well, but my favorite was definitely Francine *BSEG* and while I know that this is a standalone, I do hope we get to see her again! ~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~