Huge Deal is a sweet and sexy romance, and is just a lot of fun to read. I have a soft spot for stories of unrequited love turned hot romance, and this story just hit a lot of my marks. Kate is the somewhat mousy assistant to three high powered Wall Street financiers. She had long harboured a crush on one of her bosses, Kennedy, until she overhears him one day make a pact with the other two bankers to never date her. Worse, she also overhears him say that she isn’t even attractive enough to date anyway. Kennedy has indeed never considered Kate a romantic option — or at least has never admitted the possibility to himself — until he sees his brother flirting with her at a wedding and is overcome by jealousy he has no right to feel. Suddenly, he realizes he may be attracted to her after all, but that he may have blown his chances with her long ago without even realizing how.

I absolutely loved this book. I love that Kate is somewhat plain rather than gorgeous-but-doesn’t-realize-it, and that her decision to fall out of love with Kennedy is based on a really relatable and low-key kind of experience. Kennedy can be a bit of an ass, but I fell hard for his super serious demeanour. I also love how even though he’s the less charming brother, he’s also the one who truly goes all in and for the long haul once he makes the decision to love someone. I love that all the players in the love triangle were so respectful of each other, and of the friendships / brotherly bonds beyond the romance.

The main tension between the leads comes from their differing ideas on love. Kate is a staunch romantic who strongly believes in love at first sight, and Kennedy is much more pragmatic who sees love in terms of contracts and rational decisions. I love how this tension was eventually resolved, and how Kennedy discovers his passionate side without ever compromising on the serious and measured parts of his character.

The chemistry between Kate and Kennedy is fantastic. I love the super nerdy flirting over chess, of all things, and I also really enjoyed the more low-key moments of connection, like sharing a meal at the office when only both of them are around. The warm friendships with other characters (presumably from previous books in the series) added texture to Kate and Kennedy’s world, and it’s a circle of friends I definitely enjoyed spending time with.

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Thank you to Thomas Allen for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.