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Mini-Review and Spotlight: But First, Coffee (Book #1: Love & Coffee Series) by Sarah Darlington
Title: But First, Coffee
Author: Sarah Darlington
Release Date: September 10th
Series: Love & Coffee, Book 1
She’s the boss.I’m only a barista in her company.I really don’t give a f**k about her one way or the other.
And then there’s Doug Maddox, a man with a lot of power over me. He’s blackmailing me. Making me spy on her. I’m supposed to find her weaknesses and destroy her. But the closer I get, the more the lines between us start to blur.
She’s sweet. She’s kind. She’s sexy as hell.
Why am I the only man who see’s this?
So now I’m stuck—between keeping my sister safe against Doug, because that’s what’s really at stake here, and these feelings I can’t deny for a woman who shouldn’t mean anything to me.
I know what I have to do. I’ll destroy her.
It doesn’t matter if I have to destroy my own heart in the process.
And then there’s Doug Maddox, a man with a lot of power over me. He’s blackmailing me. Making me spy on her. I’m supposed to find her weaknesses and destroy her. But the closer I get, the more the lines between us start to blur.
She’s sweet. She’s kind. She’s sexy as hell.
Why am I the only man who see’s this?
So now I’m stuck—between keeping my sister safe against Doug, because that’s what’s really at stake here, and these feelings I can’t deny for a woman who shouldn’t mean anything to me.
I know what I have to do. I’ll destroy her.
It doesn’t matter if I have to destroy my own heart in the process.
Source: ARC from author My Rating: 2½/5 stars
The Bottom Line: But First, Coffee is one of those books I had complete faith I would simply love. Unfortunately, that did not come to pass for me. Make no mistake, I stuck with it to the bitter end, but never found that one element that made me fall head over heels. I liked the idea of this story and I even liked some of the characters, but nothing really came together to create that magic I love in books. In fact, I found this story be rushed, and in many places, forced; the action/drama is tremendously fast with little to no lead in, and some of the relationships/connections are too farfetched to be realistic, and therefore, forced. Ultimately, some rearranging of the backstory and a more thorough explanation of everyone’s backstory would not only slow down the pacing of the book but would also alleviate some of the forced sensation I felt throughout.
About Sarah Darlington
Sarah Darlington, a New Adult and contemporary romance author, lives in Virginia with her husband and two children. Best known for her Kill Devil Hills Series, she’s also a former flight attendant, with a degree in school counseling, who harbors a huge passion for traveling. She’s especially set on visiting all 50 states.
