I received a copy of this for my honest review.

I loved being taken into this world of auctions!

Our MMC has been working trying to prove himself to become an auctioneer. When the position opens though our FMC, who just moved to the area but her father is an auctioneer legend, is given the job. This immediately puts them in edge with each other. It's a small circle so they are forced to spend time together. As he watches her lead he becomes more and more drawn to her. But are they ready to take that step and forget first impressions?

Myles Johnson thinks he’s a shoo-in for the open auctioneer position at his job until Hunter Smith shows up as the new auctioneer. He immediately thinks she only got the job because of who her dad is but Hunter has worked really hard to get to where she is. Determined to prove to Myles she deserves her job ends up turning into something more. This enemies to lovers delivers the giddy school girl squeals and laughs.

Content note: description of an incident of intimate partner violence from FMC’s former relationship

Dear Dawn Anderson,

I’ve never read a romance set in the world of car auctions before. It’s certainly an unusual setting.

Hunter Smith is the daughter of the famous (within auctioneering circles at least) Conrad Smith. He mostly does cattle auctions but has a reputation with everyone in the auction business. Hunter wants to be an auctioneer like her dad. He’s been mentoring her and she’s good. Very good. But after an incident involving her now-ex-boyfriend, she decides she needs to leave Oklahoma. So Conrad pulls some strings and Hunter gets a gig with a car auction place in Florida. Hunter has a famous dad, but it turns out she is more than qualified for the job and she excels at it.

Myles Johnson has been working the auction circuit in Florida for years. He’s been a “ringman” for most of that time but has been given opportunities to fill in for auctioneers who are taking breaks. When there’s a vacancy he expects he will be the man to fill it. And, of course, he’s more than disappointed to find that someone else got “his job”.

The way the auction circuit works (at least in the book) is that there are a number of independently run auctions all over Florida and each person is an independent contractor to each separate auction. So Myles and Hunter and the others who we meet who work the circuit, travel all over the place, auctioning cars and sometimes cattle (there are some of those available in Florida too). The vacancy that arose in the first place was kind of a vacancy everywhere as an experienced auctioneer retired, so pretty soon Hunter has replaced him in all the places.

Myles continues to be a ringman (this is someone who helps the auctioneer with bids, making them aware of who is bidding so nobody gets missed) and also still fills in for others but he’s often working with Hunter.

Myles is a complete and total jerk to Hunter at first. He blames her for taking his opportunity. Rather than handling it like a mature human by doing something like, oh, I don’t know, going to the auction manager and asking them what he can do to be the guy who gets the next opportunity and working towards it, he acts like an ass. I knew this before I started the book of course – it’s in blurb (at least in so far as they start as “enemies” because they’re competing for the same job) but I didn’t expect he would be as much of a jerk as he was. I particularly disliked how he’d get into Hunter’s personal space, lean down close and whisper in her ear and use his much larger size to physically intimidate her. That wasn’t cool and I don’t see it as hero material. Of course, while Myles is being very resentful, he’s also instantly attracted to Hunter so the pants feelings and the resentment are a roiling mix. Hunter, for her part, finds Myles very attractive physically but she doesn’t understand why everyone else says he’s a nice guy when he’s such an ass to her.

It took nearly a hundred pages for Myles to get his head out of his butt and pretty much, it was only when his best friend, JT (who also works as a ringman) tells him he needs to.

The thing is, apart from the way Myles treats Hunter at first, he is a nice guy. He adores his mother, he looks after his friends, he’s friendly and kind. But… the measure of a man is who he is when he’s not getting what he wants… isn’t it? It’s like Myles was two different people. And, given Hunter’s previous experience with her ex, Myles’s physical intimidation of her is even more on the nose – I’m kind of surprised that Hunter didn’t have a more extreme reaction to it. Myles wasn’t yelling at her or swearing at her but that’s a very low bar.

Once Myles stopped being an ass, things progressed smoothly as far as the simmering attraction between he and Hunter. I kind of liked that he called her “Hershey” because of her love of chocolate (although, I would not say Hershey is chocolate – if DA readers are ever in Australia, particularly Adelaide, have some Haigh’s. Really, you folks do not know what chocolate is until you’ve tried it. Just sayin’.) He started calling her Hershey to be a jerk but the name stuck.

I probably should say that the jerk phase doesn’t take a lot of actual time, even though it was around 40% or more of the book. If I had the right of it, it was only a week or two he was ass-Myles. If that counts. And, to be fair, he did apologise well.

Once nice-Myles turned up, he stayed that way and behaved as just about the perfect boyfriend. When Hunter has to attend an event where her ex will be he’s there (why does Myles have a perfectly fitted tux?*) and he stands by her and lets her handle things without taking over and without being all macho. He handled it just right. (Which made me wonder, why was he such a pig at the start when he’s really not that guy? Is it plot reasons?)

(*While I’m at it, how does he have a house on a lake and a boat and how can he also afford more property? Enquiring minds would like to know.)

There is no third act break up in Highest Bidder – I was waiting for some tension but there really wasn’t any. I don’t necessarily mind a low conflict romance but I know it’s a dealbreaker for some so it is worth mentioning. Here, I admit I kind of missed it and would have liked more.

There’s a mention of Myles’s mother being in a new relationship (she raised Myles alone) and reference to a fairly dire dating past where she was constantly being taken advantage of. But we never really found out whether Gus was a good guy or just another one like the others.

I liked JT and Jess – both of whom work with Myles and Hunter. Jess quickly becomes Hunter’s BFF and there’s a budding romance between JT and Jess as well (I gather this is the next book in the series).

I found the last 55-60% of the story much more enjoyable than the first part but I’m not sure I truly gelled with it overall. There were instances of choppy sentences and paragraphs containing multiple ideas with no obvious link, particularly early on.

That said, there were some sections which flowed a lot better – the intimate scenes were pretty good (although, Hunter is a girl who has not had an orgasm before and never really liked sex until Myles and I think this trope is past its use by date, myself). Things did settle more as the story went on, once the author found her groove. I believe this is the author’s debut so I expect her style will evolve and improve with time. I certainly wouldn’t rule out reading more of her work in the future. The Myles of the latter part of the book was hero material and I did think he would stay that way in the long term. So there’s that.

Grade: C

I received an ARC for this book, it actually release TODAY (november 1)!

thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

this was a good book, I really enjoyed the concept of it, thought the whole auction world is something not written about so it was a breath of fresh air!

I did find that it was a bit repetitive in some areas, mostly within the mc’s thoughts. and sometimes it felt like it dragged.

BUTTT I think it felt that way because it was a very simple book. not a huge plot, a good romance though. I think this a good palette cleanser book because there’s not a ton to it.

I thought the flow between the characters was good too. I’d say it was more of a loathe to love type of book. I liked seeing both of them change their minds about each other. didn’t feel too far fetched!

I did enjoy it!! the cover is GORGEOUS!

A feel good romance starring Hunter, an auctioneer who moved from OKC to Orlando, and Myles, a ringman in Orlando who thought the auctioneer position was his. Starts as your favorite enemies to lovers and quickly develops into more as Myles falls hard and fast for Hunter and it suddenly doesn’t matter that she ‘took’ his job.
Myles and Hunter are two lovable main characters with lots of banter and flirting. Your side characters are Jess and JT who are also super lovable and I am personally hoping for more on those two in the future.
The only reason this is not five stars from me is there isn’t enough plot for me. There’s a small hiccup involving an ex but it doesn’t affect the storyline hardly at all. The book is still a fun, cute read that will keep you reading to see where Myles and Hunter go.

This was a good read! I really enjoyed the plot and the characters. The story was well written and engaging. I would definitely recommend!

Highest Bidder by Dawn Anderson was the best romance debut ever!
Woah! I had the best time devouring this one.
An absolute amazing enemies/rivals to lovers.
This dual POV was captivating.
The characters are quirky and lovable. The banter and tension was just amazing.
Myles and Hunter had great chemistry, banter, the best personalities.
I’m excited to read what Anderson creates next!

And this cover art is just absolutely gorgeous!

Thank You NetGalley and Rooted Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Such a cute love story!

Myles has been a ringman for quite a few years and is convinced, after one of the auctioneers retires the job is his.

Unfortunately, it is revealed the job went to an out of towner named Hunter.

Taking out his frustration on her, Miles behaves like an a-hole, but soon finds out he likes her better than the job.

For me, this was a quick and easy read, no real drama, just sweet love.

One thing did irk me. As mentioned, Miles wasn’t the nicest person in the beginning. But there was a sudden switch, in which he decided it was not Hunter’s fault she got the job he wanted and he wants to go on a date with her.

There really was no obvious reason for this change of heart and it didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

That is literally the only thing that annoyed me, after Myles had a change of heart the love story between them was so cute and I loved, loved, loved the dynamics between these two main characters and Jess and JT. Would actually love to read about their love story as well…!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dawn Anderson, and Rooted Publishing LLC for providing me with an ARC of Highest Bidder.

Highest Bidder is a short, charming work romance that drew me in right from the first page. With approximately 270 pages, it’s a fast-paced read that combines playful banter with just the right amount of cutesy romance. Told from dual POVs, it lets you see what both characters are feeling and thinking—a feature I really loved!

Myles, one of the main characters, completely stole my heart. I can’t even put into words how much I loved him! His mother also deserves a shoutout—she’s my favorite side character, bringing so much warmth to the story. I even found myself wanting a book about JT, who’s such an intriguing character and definitely deserves his own spotlight.

The book’s auctioneering world setting was a fresh experience for me, and it left me curious to learn more about this unique environment. Since it’s only 270 pages, the story does lean toward being a bit superficial, but that’s something I expected with a shorter read. Even so, it’s incredibly engaging, and I appreciated how accessible the language was—English isn’t my first language, but I had no trouble enjoying it.

Overall, Highest Bidder is a cute, enjoyable romance, and I would definitely recommend it! It releases tomorrow, November 1st, so make sure to check it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Highest Bidder.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t really connect with me, the beginning of this book just didn’t grab my attention like I had hoped. I got about 20% - 30% in and still foudb myself not as interested as I had hoped. I will say some pros are the characters seem to have good banter and chemistry, which is nice. Also it was neat to read about this specific job! I wish so badly I could’ve connected with it better. Overall, I do give this book about a 3/5, just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean so many others will absolutely love and adore it. I hope to come back to it someday! Thank you so much for this opportunity to read it.

This book just knows how to reel you in. It's the perfect blend of enemies-to-lovers tension that has you hooked from page one. The main characters, that spark between them? It's electric. You really feel those butterflies and that constant pull.

The cover? Love it so much. It is gorgeous. And those little snippets of jealousy sprinkled throughout? They’re the best. It keeps the suspense and emotion high, making you root for the two of them even harder. This one’s a must-read if you’re all about romance with heat, heart, and a dash of possessiveness!

It was a little slower to get me going in the beginning. I struggled with that a bit, but then the story became more fluid.
It was fun to read, but it was not verry memorable or lifechanging.
If you want a lighthearted book for you this, is it.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Highest Bidder was a refreshing change to the small town romance genre. With the workplace setting being in about auctioneers, it was something I’d never come across before and something I really enjoyed.

I did however struggle to connect to the characters and felt it lacked a substantial plot line in my opinion, except for the romance, which although was enjoyable and fun to follow along with, it did make it feel like something was missing.
The enemies-to-lovers vibes from the beginning seemed to fall aside very quickly too.
Overall would be a quick read for someone who enjoys small town romances.

Hunter & Myles | rounding to 4 ⭐️

Wow this book was so different than the typical workplace romances I read. More than anything, I would encourage you to read this book for the way that it made it fun to understand or be in the work of auctioneering.

As far as their romance and love story, it was too quick for me to honestly form strong opinions. I wanted more and think that there could be more of the "falling in love" phase of their relationship.

This book was a fun and cutesy read!

Rating: 3.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley & Rooted Publishing LLC for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am always wary when I hear about "trendy tropes" featuring in a description of a book. Not because I don't love them. No no they are becoming beloved for a reason. But because they do have to be done right. And not jist following a trend in order to get readers!
I'm very very glad to say almost instantly this fear fell.away. and what a brilliant debut of mine to this author.
It was mature and heartfelt. It didn't feel rushed or like suddenly they fell in love. The two main characters had initially made judgements of one another. Andnit was great to see the turn around. It felt authentic and charming.
And it does make you realise that this trope is there for a reason. As it does happen so often in life. Pur pre conceived ideas of something or someone.
The banter was great.
And Hunters back story added well written depth.
The side best mate characters held a place of their own and I'd happily have their spin off book next please.
Great book. A grown up book but still contained all the right feels.

ARC READ

First a giant than k you to Dawn Anderson for giving me a chance to read this book,

To start off we meet hunter a feisty girl from Oklahoma, moves to Florida to do what shes good at, being an auctioneer, where she meets Myles, Playboy. The two don’t get off on the right foot because Myles feels as though he’s been skipped over on a job he believes is his, the two that each other, but do they really?

This book had so many WTF moments and to say I loved how the story progressed from enemies to lovers was amazing, to be able too see them grow, and love each other beyond what even they thought possible. Will forever melt my heart.

I loved everything about this book but somethings pulled me away and made me cringe a bit, but in the end, it’s definitely worth the read!

This was my first time reading a romance featuring auctioneers and ringmen, and I loved the unique career angle! Hunter and Myles’ romance was perfectly paced, not rushed, with a natural development as they got to know each other. Myles may claim he doesn't like Hunter because she “took his job,” but his attraction to her is undeniable, and their banter adds so much charm to the book.

I also enjoyed the side characters, like JT, the mmc’s hilarious best friend.
He constantly catches them making out in Myles' car and doesn't bother interrupting them by knocking on his car window ! 😂

Overall, this is a good debut novel and I do recommend reading this book if you want an easy and cozy rom-com to read with mature characters !

Thanks to Dawn Anderson, NetGalley, and Rooted Publishing LLC for the ARC in exchange for an honest review .

5/5⭐️
I’ve read this book as an ARC through NetGalley.
And I’m obsessed.

This book is about Myles and Hunter.
Myles is trying to change his position at work to be an auctioneer. When he arrives at work he soon realizes that the job he wanted was given away to a girl from out of town. Hunter.
Hunter is the daughter of a big name in the auctioning world. She grew up with this and learned everything from her dad.
Due to something that happened in her life (which I won’t spoil) she decided to move out of town. And that’s how she got the job. Grumpy Myles is not happy with Hunter, but will that change?

I loved both of them. And also their best friends Jess and JT. In the beginning of the story I was scared Myles would be too much of a mama’s boy, but I changed my mind soon.
I felt a connection with both main characters. I was giggling and kicking my feet. I am really happy I received this ARC.
I really hope for a second book about Jess as well!

I would say this book gives chestnut springs from Elsie Silver vibes. But with its own unique storyline. I never read a book about auctioning. But Myles did give me big cowboy vibes.
Grumpy x Sunshine, amazing spice, it’s really funny.
If you love these vibes, go read this book!!

I posted this review on Goodreads and I will also upload something about it on my TikTok.

This was such a fun and fluffy read in a fictional (real) world I know nothing about. Auctioneering is not something I knew existed as a career path, but now I am somewhat interested in attending my local cattle auction to see what the hype is all about. My first book from Dawn Anderson, and i'm not mad about the nuggets she dropped in about Jess & JT's story next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dawn and her team for the ARC!

✨️ ARC REVIEW ✨️

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶

O.M.G this book consumed me after the first page.  The auction world is something I know nothing about but I love that it was different from the normal topics.
Hunter and Myles were perfectly written to the point that I've thought about them while I'm going through my day like they are my friends. I can not wait to, hopefully, get more from this world and author.