Rating: 4/5
Spicinessl: 2/5

Imagine being on Hunted or The Amazing Race but your partner is your two-night stand. Lydia and Tom are stuck together out in the wild trying to evade the tv show's "hunters" all while evading their feelings for one another. After having an amazing two-night stand months ago, they discover they are now coworkers and after poor second meeting, they aren't exactly friends. But as fate would have it, they end up paired together for a tv show their company is involved with. Both has reasons they want to win the money, but they must learn to rely on each other to make that happen.

This is enemies to lovers, but less playful than the normal trope. Sure, there's the normal bickering but Lydia and Tom both have complicated upbringings that have warped their idea's of love. Eventually, they find strength through each other to learn to not only love others but themselves. Honestly, I loved them as characters so much individually. From Lydia's shame in her habits gain from a childhood of learning to rely only on herself to Tom's need to earn his parents' love through accomplishments, each chapter gave more insight into their behavior and it was both heartbreaking but amazing to hear.

I also love Lydia's strength. I feel like so often strong, independent woman are written as sassy woman which don't get me wrong I love, but it was so interesting to read about Lydia and how she never back down. She was reasonable and meet adversity head on every time. It wasn't showy, but it was so admirable.

Great, exciting read! (Only thing I'm mad about is there was no name reveal at the end.)

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me this arc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

What a fun book! Cassie Connor’s book is lighted-hearted & so fun to read! Lydia & Tom are fleeing for their lives to win on a new reality tv show. The prize money will help both of them achieve goals they have been working for but they are going to have to work together to win. Just one thing, they don’t like each other very much.

Things I loved about this book:

💜 Lydia & Tom: Just love how they developed through the book
🥾 Enemies to Friends to Lovers: It really is complicated - they have history, lost touch, reunite (anger issues!) & are forced to work together to achieve their goals
💜 Opposites Attract: Both Lydia & Tom are very different but as the story moves forward the two find out they have a little more in common then they thought
🥾 Steamy Scenes: Extreme! I need to say no more.
💜 Vulnerability: Both Lydia & Tom fight this & are afraid of letting too much go. It is difficult to open up when there are so many reasons to stay closed off. However, I enjoyed the natural progression & what happens when they finally let their walls crumble a little at a time
💜 Strong Character Traits: The are both strong characters in different ways but the qualities they have end up complimenting each other & helping one another
🥾 The Cottage Stay: all time favorite part of the book! I cannot say anymore!!

Cassie Connor’s book brings both smiles and the perfect happily ever after. I will definitely be reading this one again!

DNF

I found the spice to be over the top and I haven't even gotten to the actual spice... Lydia talks about sex like she's a 15yr of girl bragging to her friends and it's just not my jam...

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was sexy... my first game show driven spicy Rom-com. The banter .. he falls first. It was exciting to read and cheer them on. Honestly part of the begini Lydia got on my nerves. Lol

Over all I really enjoyed this book and will look for this author again.

I’ve gotten into some reality show type books and this is probably one I would put at the top as well!

Lydia has a glass half full outlook in everything in life. She is determined to leave her childhood unpleasantness behind, and she is on a mission to fix up her grandmother's house. When her corporate company announces a contest, well really a reality competition, she jumps at the chance. What throws her for a loop is discovering her one weekend stand, a hot one at that, works for the same company and is out for the same prize winnings.

Hot Pursuit is a very steamy romance where a one night stand that could have gone on forever is thrown together to survive a race to London through the English countryside. It plays out just like reality TV with harrowing mishaps, steaminess between the warring characters, and that competitive spirit that has you cheering the couple on to victory. This was an enjoyable adventure to read.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 🌟

“𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙢𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙐𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙇𝙮𝙙𝙞𝙖. 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙄'𝙢 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙤. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

Hot Pursuit follows Lydia, a hyper-independent woman with an extremely rough upbringing. She applies to be on a reality tv show where she’s “running for her life” so she can fix up the house her grandmother left for her as a young child. Little does she know that while she’s on the show she is going to be partnered up with an unforgettable two night stand, Tom. Tensions rise as they fight to win the race while neither person wants to admit or even address the chemistry they had together.

𝙈𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨:
The reality show portion of this book was SO well done. I was invested in the race, and how they were going to make it to the end. Though there was somehow of a flow and build up to Lydia and Tom’s relationship, something felt like it was missing and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

One of my favorite things about this book is the depth of the FMC and MMC, Lydia and Tom. As the reader, I felt like I really knew them and god, Lydia’s character was scarily relatable to me. The author did such an amazing job portraying how trauma can affect you into adulthood.

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙪𝙥𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, quick read and I’ll definitely have to keep an eye out if she releases anymore books!

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩:
🥾 Reality TV show premise
🥾 Forced proximity
🥾 Semi enemies to lovers

—————————————————


Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher One More Chapter, Harper Collins UK for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. 🫶🏻

Hot Pursuit
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Cassie Connor

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Harper Collins and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: In need of the money, Lydia Smith happily signed up to ‘flee for her life’ on a survivalist reality show but finds herself contemplating running for the hills instead when her partner turns out to be her one-night-stand Tom Dereborn.

The two shared an unforgettable weekend of passion a year ago, but she hasn’t heard a word from him since. Now, trapped alone with Tom, with the show’s ‘hunters’ on their tails, suppressed emotions boil over and the past starts repeating itself. Soon it’s more than just the money that’s at stake – it’s also Lydia’s heart!

My Thoughts: Lydia Smith is in need of money to fix up her grandmother’s house that she inherited. She decides to join this reality tv survivalist show. Her partner is none other than Tom Dereborn, whom she had a weekend fling with a year ago and never heard from again. He completely ghosted her and at work he completely ignored her and when he had to have contact with her, he seemed annoyed to be speaking with her. With emotions at high gear, it starts to bleed over into the reality show. Tension starts to build as the race goes forward, and they are trying with everything to win the race without even giving a second thought to the chemistry they shared two years ago. This follows the tropes of reality tv, forced proximity, rivals, second chance, and enemies to lovers.

I loved the reality portion of the story, it really was outstanding. The reality tv show was call “Fleeing For Your Life,” and had a winning cash prize of $100k. The author immerses me into the race and I was absolutely invested in the outcome. Now the romance and relationship part between Lydia and Tom was good but I felt like there was something missing, and I am not sure what. Lydia was strong, independent, brave, and healing from childhood trauma. Tom was charming, sexy, and rude. Tom would stand up to his family about a girl he cared about and was overall, a very unlikable character. I think he was supposed to come off as the grumpy character, but he just seemed dismissive and rude to Lydia. The characters were well developed with depth, witty banter, chemistry, and intriguing. The author’s writing style was endearing, spicy, funny, and engaging.

This was a cute and fun read. It was fun to read how Evie and Tom reconnects in the most bizarre way, a reality tv show. This is the second book I have read from Connor and I enjoy her style of writing that is easy on the eyes. I would recommend this story to other readers.

I struggled to connect to the characters and have empathy for them. I kept reading in hopes of finding the spark, but this one fell flat for me.

I really liked the idea of this book, but struggled to get into it. Tom's personality made him feel like a bad ex in my head. The guy you want your FMC to be getting away from. After about 50% I started to enjoy it more and like Ton a little bit more. I had become more invested but it was Lydia's strength I fell in love with. I also felt Lydia's 'real' name was unecessary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for providing the ARC.

For a book about an adventure reality TV show, it was kind of a snoozefest.

There was no chemistry between the main characters. You have to be told multiple times that there was a connection between them because if the book didn't say anything, I never would have believed that Tom and Lydia were anything other than occasional work colleagues. Their interactions were so dry and I definitely couldn't get my mind around their relationship.

Additionally, both of them are utter jerks to each other and it just makes it that much harder for me to relate to them and get invested in their story. Overall, this book was not the book for me.

This was a new author to me. I really enjoyed the basis of the story and the characters, Tom and Lydia. I loved how much he cared about her and her with him especially with their future and dreams.

another reality tv show in book🫣

it was so fun to read. i am a visual reader and i literally could see everything from the book. throughout my reading i forgot that instead of watching tv i was sitting with my book.

why 3 starts?
some tropes this books has are very popular and i feel like some people would enjoy them, but i didn’t feel anything toward them. sometimes i think them being alone did THE think, not the feelings🤷🏼‍♀️soryyyyyy i liked the cute moments between them, but that’s it.

A really good concept and fairly easy to read I feel like it needed some more build up at some points as some scenes seemed to arrive quickly. Overall a nice easy read.

This was super cute! I love a good reality TV show, and I think that aspect of this was done really well. I will say that I wasn't a huge fan of Lydia at the beginning, but as it went on I liked/respected her character a lot more. It was nice to see both her and Tom grow as their time on the show passed and they spent more and more together.

Cute, lighthearted, funny reality TV romance: would recommend.

A pretty fun read overall but the spicy stuff was cringy at times. What awkward times and places to get your rocks off. Felt like something was missing in character development for the two main characters. Maybe not enough back story on either one. Would have been nice to have heard about the rest of the contestants as well. Lydia’s real name is an urban legend and I cannot believe someone wrote that into a book. Poor thing.

Wowwww 🤭

This book is definitely different to other books that I have read. But I absolutely loved it!

The game show type of layout was really interesting and enhanced the storyline a lot!

The main characters 🤭 they had so much tension between them and it was perfect!

Hot Pursuit by Cassie Conner is a game show trope romance that Lydia is doing with her grumpy one time one night stand and now coworker. I will not waste a lot of time on a summary as most people know with this book is about what I will say is in the beginning I thought Tom was a real jerk not to mention the way they talked about sex we’re like two teenagers who recently agreed to start using curse words because it seems they cannot get enough of the derogatory base language used by uneducated children. Not only that I would in no way shape form or fashion be flattered by someone telling me seeing me again caused them to have a hard on. There is more than one way to skin a cat and also to get your thoughts across without using such crude Kress vocabulary. Due to Lydia‘s childhood however I can definitely see why she would be attracted to someone who is borderline cruel but I also liked the fact we got to meet his parents and see that he definitely got that from them. I also loved that despite the way they treated her Lydia was still magnanimous kind and didn’t let their behavior dictate hers. I do want to call BS on having intimate relations right after dislocating her shoulder and having a gash in her leg that needed stitches but… Yeah… Yes let’s get it on despite my serious medical injuries. I thought the whole name thing was ridiculous I mean they have laws against naming your children such things but I digress my love-hate relationship with this book had me giving it three stars when it comes to romance I am usually a fade to Black and like NU window more than seventh grade descriptions of sex but I also felt bad for Lydia and was happy Tom eventually started taking up for her. I do think it was only OK funny and not lol and LMFAO but if you like seventh grade humor and detailed sex you may enjoy this book. I want to think one more chapter for my free arc copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I'm rating this 3.5 and rounding up!

"𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐧𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐲𝐝𝐢𝐚. 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈'𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠."

I had a lot of fun with this book but there are so many times you have to tell yourself, it's a reality TV show inside a fictional book, don't take anything too seriously!

Lydia and Tom had a two night stand and suddenly they work together. Their work is trying to sign up people for this reality TV show where you have to run from hunters and it's got a big pay out and they both sign up. Of course they end up paired together.

I loved how they both come from such different familial backgrounds but yet they still harbor the same issues. Thinking no one could possibly love them and stay. They never had good, healthy, examples of love.

Because of this there is a lot of push and pull and give and take and you have to stick with their journey to get out the other side.

The actual running from the "hunters" was so fantastical and hilarious and at times very spicy.

I enjoyed it! Extra points for the epilogue which doesn't include marriage OR children!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this review.

Seemed like an interesting concept but ultimately it just didn’t keep me interested. Tom could be super nice but then act like a douchebag and was so hot and cold.