Series: Dating in Dallas #2
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Release Date: October 11th, 2022
As the eldest daughter in her crisis-prone family, she’s always stepped up to help. Her favorite gig is doing Instagram-worthy, bookish-themed bedroom makeovers for friends. Her most hated? Working as the assistant to the most gorgeous—and most infuriating—man on earth.
Theo Ganas is a former Olympic swimmer and heir to a bona fide real estate empire. He’s also about as warm and fuzzy as a New York City winter, and quite frankly, Alba has had enough of his ridiculous demands and cold shoulder. When opportunity knocks, she decides to put herself first for once…which means leaving her demanding boss—and relatives—behind.
Her new life in Dallas seems like everything Alba’s ever wanted, until a bafflingly charming and attentive Theo turns up in the Lone Star State with an offer she simply cannot refuse. Agreeing to do a home improvement reality TV show with her sexy, and suddenly flirtatious, former boss is not a good idea, but it just might be the makeover her heart has been waiting for.
Much like the first book in the series (Here to Stay), On The Hustle is a book filled with heart, friendships, found family and some of the best steam ever written. I might not have read a lot of Adriana Herrera’s books, but the ones I have read tell me that I can always expect and enjoy smouldering steam and I am grateful for that. Alba and Theo have incredible chemistry and banter, their sexual tension, the history they share and the relationship that builds from that was absolutely stunning to watch unfold. And the tropes that come together to make this book really added a whole level to the magic of Adriana’s storytelling.
After three years of working for a man who is both frustratingly handsome and sexy and plain frustrating, Alba decides to quit her job and focus on her own passions. I loved just how driven and incredible Alba was and her whole concept of bookish interior designs? Can I enlist her to do up my place too? Alba moves to Dallas to be with her friends and explore a whole new world after being in New York most of her life. Except, her frustrating boss? He wants her back. And not as his assistant. As so much more. Theo has had intense feelings for Alba since the day he met her and now all he wants is to have her in his life, whatever it takes. But it’s proving to be a lot harder than he expected given how things have gone on between them so far. But he’s not one to take ‘no’ for an answer, so he’s found a way to bring them together and really win her over.
“I wanted more than anything to be the resting place for this woman. To be the person she went to when the world outside just got to be too much.”
A bit of idiots to lovers, a workplace romance, some forced proximity all make up this book. Alba and Theo spend so much of this book bantering and let me just say that it was glorious. I loved all of the little quirks that made up their relationship starting with how every time he says her name, Theo tacks on a middle name that is not hers. He uses all of the Greek goddesses he can think of instead of her actual middle name just to find a way to irritate her. And it works. There’s also the sass that Alba carries and uses to drive Theo wild. And let’s not forget all of the pining! This book is heavy on the pining, the feels and the love. The way Theo sees Alba might just be one of my favourite things about the book too.
And my god, the steam. Everything you can think of, Adriana Herrara took and made it better. It’s sexy and naughty, it’s straight up filthy too; but it’s all so fantastically written and done that I might have read a few scenes more than once. Alba and Theo were just so good and outside of the conflict, this book wins all of the points for me.
Thanks to Carina Adores & NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
anna reads here 
Leave a comment