Review: Adriana Herrera's ON THE HUSTLE.

Thanks to Harlequin Publicity Team for the complimentary finished copy and the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I’ve been so excited to read On the Hustle by Adriana Herrera since someone first started listing its tropes. In the end this book really satisfies, with a “he chases her bc he’s secretly had feelings for her,” plotline & a FMC who doesn’t take shit from our demanding, authoritative hero & makes him re-evaluate some very necessary things.

Alba Duarte is such a great lead. She actually designs spaces for bibliophile-lovers (is this a real thing someone can buy for me, thanks) & when she’s given a chance for a big design in Texas while she’s visiting her BFF Julia she decides to stay there, throwing the boss she’s just given notice to—who happens to secretly have been lusting for her for years— in a tizzy.

Said boss Theodoro is soon given a chance to film a reality tv show in Texas which will one, allow him to help his business, & two, eventually allow him to win Alba over once he gets her hired to design the space he’s working on for the show.

It’s fun seeing how Theodoro opens himself up once he’s no longer Alba’s boss & how she makes him question some of the things he thought about her & his own life.

The beginning starts off really strong for me, & the steam is so good, but the ending is a little wobbly. It feels like at least one thing is wrapped up pretty quickly. There are also moments when it’s a little challenging for me to understand how Theodoro could be so cold as her boss & then magically switch a flip to someone warmer, something Alba has some issues understanding as well.

But I love the book references, how she doesn’t magically fall into his arms, how he defends her, & how the FMC is the workaholic with extreme ambition in this one.

All in all another fun, steamy powerhouse contemporary from AH.

4 ⭐️. Out now!

[ID: Jess, a white woman in a bright yellow coat with brown buttons, holds the book in front of a green tree with some red & orange leaves.]