This is my 2nd book by this author
This short and sweet rom-com is a quick and enjoyable read. It follows Jess and Xander in an opposites-attract romance, with both characters navigating challenges from their past. Notably, the FMC mentions her struggles with an eating disorder.
Overall, it’s a charming story with a lovable dynamic between Jess and Xander. However, I would have liked more time to see their relationship develop further.
Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Christy McKellen for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will not be giving feedback for this book. Sorry just wasn’t for me at all. Didn’t like it but thanks for opportunity to read it

A perfect italy escapade 💖 I love the characters and they were easy to relate and absolutely cute 🥰🥰 I enjoyed the small, spicy and swoony romance!

A fun and entertaining rom-com. A quick read with likeable characters. The banter was fun and Xander wasn't as bad as he thought he was :)

With the title this one was easy to guess that it was going to be a good girl FMC and a bad MMC and even though I was right this one was not predicable and I kept turning pages because I had to know what happened next.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 2.2 stars ⭐️

⤿ 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 march 27
⤿ 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 march 27

arc review 💌

this was okay. nothing special, just a short, easy, fast paced, novella. i think it may have took me 45-60 mins to read. i wouldn't say my time was wasted per se, but do not recommend this book

jess was kinda annoying and didn't really have a personality, also the fact her on the cover she's wearing a bun but actually has a bob cut?? like um okay. the fact she has an ed/bdd and it kinda got ignored... like no character development. also was she supposed to be curvy? we didn't realize get good descriptions of the characters...

xander was the blandest, most basic, copy paste love interest ever. yk the 'bad boy' who is the f-boy and screws with the entire female population. wait ! he's a painter - omigosh so quirky and different. it's just a no. it's not giving. OH wait he has daddy issues, how original.

the thing is i didn't even hate read this, i just sped thru it and im just rating based off the writing/plot. omigosh don't get me started on the writing. so immature and was giving wattpad. like her internal horny thoughts - SHUT UPPPP!!!! like girl apparently didn't have good sexual experiences but was getting all hot and bothered being near xander bc he's that attractive, like girllll.

⁀➴ 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬
🎨 painter x journalist
📝 'bad boy' mmc
🎨 italy trip
📝 forced proximity
🎨 insta attraction
📝 opposites attract

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the e-ARC of this title to read and review. I was looking forward to the premise for this story - a journalist assigned to a story on a bad boy artist with quite the reputation. Ultimately, I didn't enjoy the plot, atmosphere, or the romance. For one, no modern magazine journalist with a desk job can just go off on assignment for days/weeks at a time to cover one subject! And if our main character Jess must whisk away to Italy for a bit to live a little and also cover this story on Xander, then I want to FEEL Italy in every corner of the page. This book absolutely did not need to be set in Italy because there was no location world-building at all, none of the artist's life painting among other artistic masterpieces, and none of the sights and sounds of the space either. (Great smells were even described as "Italian food" and COME ON, you can go in so much atmospheric depth!!!!)

Xander felt sleazy and like a hawk circling its prey (and *not* in a hot way, just like he was always watching and waiting to pounce? and this was a substitute for chemistry) and I mostly wanted Jess to run and never look back. So I was not rooting for them as even journalist/interview subject, never mind hookups or love interests or a couple! There was an interesting subplot of Jess coming into her own in terms of her body image, and that showed promise except I hated it against the backdrop of Xander being an actual vulture. They also didn't know each other for much time, so it's not like lifelong body confidence issues vanish overnight just because you're in instalust?

I have never read anything by this author, but I will be looking out for other books they write in the future. I really enjoyed the story as well as the pacing of the story.

This book was an enjoyable read. The plot was easy to follow and I enjoyed the characters and reading their interactions.

Spicy, male female, 3rd person dual point of view, contemporary romance. I liked the plot, but the execution was lacking. A quick easy read though.

This was such a fast read, I read it all in one day!

The story follows Jessica, who never causes any trouble and just wants to do her job. She has to interview a bad boy artist, Xander. Their relationship evolves when Xander wants to use her as his new muse and asks her to come to Italy with him.

Their romance goes fast, which isn't bad in a shorter book. It still felt natural to me.

This was a tad torturous to read. I didn't connect with the story or the characters. It was short but not enjoyable. The writing never hooked me. This wasn't my cup of tea.

This book was a breath of fresh air, especially since I'd never read a book written in the third person. At first, I worried it would be difficult to follow, but once I got used to it, the reading flowed naturally and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

As for the characters, Xander felt less impactful compared to Jess. Perhaps I connected more with Jess because I also deal with body-related anxiety. Their relationship was peculiar—I both expected and didn't expect them to get together, given their differences and Jess's emotional unavailability due to her anxiety. Xander was like a reverse wolf in sheep's clothing: all soft on the inside while maintaining a tough exterior, and he never fooled me. I would love to read what comes next for them in an epilogue, as the ending felt a bit rushed and could have been better developed. Though I really enjoyed how the book ended, I needed a little more story to feel confident they worked as a couple, since I was only just starting to support their relationship.

An easy read, nothing extraordinary.

Jess is a journalist who’s struggling to prove to her boss that she’s good enough to keep her job. So when an opportunity to interview a famous artist who is also known as a bad boy falls into her lap, she knows she needs to use to prove to her boss that she is good enough.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

But things don’t quite go to plan. Xander decides that he will do the interview with Jess if she poses as his muse for his next collection of artwork. In Italy. So Jess has no option but to follow him there.

Here Comes Trouble is a very short and quick read. With less than 200 pages it felt at times the relationship between the two was rushed and it would have been nice for it to be drawn out more. I liked Jess and how well her body image issues were written but I wasn’t a huge Xander fan.

Thank you Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Christy McKellen for this advanced reader copy of Here Comes Trouble in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a fun and quick read. I had a hard time getting into the book and connecting with it until closer to the end, where I was a lot more invested. I thought both main characters had interesting character arcs as they were both overcoming issues from there past. I wish it got to dive into that a little bit deeper, but I think with it being a novella, it was limited on how much it could go into that. Overall, it was an enjoyable book but a little hard to connect to.

This was a short read that was hard to get through in the beginning. There wasn't any chemistry between Jess and Xander and I'm not sure that it was entirely due to the fact that this was an insta-love. The restaurant scene with the chair shenanigan was absurd. I had to pause reading for a while after that scene.

But halfway in, I slowly started getting invested because they finally talked about themselves and became actual characters. I felt the nervousness and lack of confidence Jess had about her body. I saw the facade and the air of fame that Xander put up to prove his worth. The way that they both saw through each other's insecurities but wanted to love on each other to reassure them was touching. They found comfort in each other. On top of that, Jess had a good character arc which I appreciated. Seeing her slowly gain confidence about the way she looks to herself and to others made me happy.

I almost wished there was no third act break up because this book is short. But there was and it was exactly what you would think would happen. Then, the ending was super abrupt and it threw me off. I literally yelled out, what?! I wanted to see people's reactions to the exhibition. I wanted to see Jess being confident in front of others, shielded by Xander's love. It was kind of hard to imagine the final piece looked like which was a bummer too.

The story centers around Jess, a journalist whose dedication to professionalism is as unwavering as her sensible shoes. Her mission: to land a tell-all interview with Xander Heaton, the bad boy artist whose reputation precedes him like a hurricane warning. McKellen expertly establishes the central conflict. Jess is a woman of rules, and Xander seems determined to break them all. The author cleverly uses this clash of personalities to create a palpable tension that crackles from the page. You will be immediately invested in seeing how long Jess can maintain her composure in the face of Xander's intoxicating charm and blatant disregard for boundaries.
The portrayal of Xander is particularly well done. He's not simply a "bad boy" cardboard cutout; he's a complex individual hiding behind a carefully constructed facade. The glimpses we get of his vulnerability, hidden beneath his provocative exterior, are what make him truly compelling and understandable, even when he's being infuriating.
The core of the story lies in Jess's internal struggle. McKellen skillfully showcases her protagonist's journey from rigid professionalism to a more liberated and adventurous spirit. Jess's decision to break her own rules, driven by a potent combination of attraction and journalistic ambition, feels both believable and exciting.
Overall, Here Comes Trouble is a fun and engaging read. It's a story about embracing the unexpected, taking chances, and discovering that sometimes, breaking the rules can lead to unexpected happiness. If you're looking for a steamy romance with a charming bad boy and a strong-willed heroine, this book is definitely worth picking up.

Jess is a.journalist writing and article and interviewing had boy artist Xander. I liked the setting on Lake Garda and how it was told from both points of view.

“𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿.”

Rating: 2.75/5 ⭐️⭐️✨

Pub Date: 3/9/25

Thank you @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a decent insta love HEA romance in a short story.
I’m not a fan of insta love, but putting my bias aside, it was easy to read and enjoyable.

The setting was great, and I did love the ending and how Xander professed his love.

This was a good palate cleanser read.


#herecomestrouble

3 maybe 3.5.
I liked this book, they had some strong chemistry which I liked.
I also liked that she wasn't this incredibly confident beautiful women, whilst she was beautiful she was in her shell and that is more realistic.
I think the reason I didn't rate it higher was it lacked depth for me, there wasn't too much back story, but this is part of the fact it's a novella. This is a great read in between heavy books!