Name: Parks and Provocation
ISBN: 9781949202854

Juliette Cross

Parks and Provocation

Lola Landry has come back home after being fired for making a mistake on the job.  There is no more auto service, so when she locks her keys in the car, she has no choice but to call her best friend, Marley, for help.  Marley calls a local fireman, Jedediah Lawson, knowing that Lola and Jed had issues in high school.  His arrival makes Lola both angry and curious when, after opening her car, Jed asks her out on a date.  At first, Lola resists, but when she realizes that a date with Jed might make a good episode for her @kiss-n-tell podcast, she agrees. Once their first date is a mild failure, Jed asks Lola for a second chance, making Lola question her policy for no second dates.

Parks and Provocation is filled with humor and a second chance romance about two people who missed an opportunity for happiness during their youth due to miscommunication.  Most of the story proceeds without conflict except for Lola's internal struggle as she believes she can only find happiness pursuing her goal of a big time advertising career with a large salary.  The fact that Lola mislead men into taking her on dates and then telling them afterward that their time together was just fodder for her podcast made her a bit unlikable at the beginning of the story, but she did finally redeem herself by the end.  Overall, Parks and Provocation is a cute and fun romance that doesn't really live up to all the hype that it has gotten.

Lynn Braden

Lola Landry has come back home after being fired for making a mistake on the job.  There is no more auto service, so when she locks her keys in the car, she has no choice but to call her best friend, Marley, for help.  Marley calls a local fireman, Jedediah Lawson, knowing that Lola and Jed had issues in high school.  His arrival makes Lola both angry and curious when, after opening her car, Jed asks her out on a date.  At first, Lola resists, but when she realizes that a date with Jed might make a good episode for her @kiss-n-tell podcast, she agrees. Once their first date is a mild failure, Jed asks Lola for a second chance, making Lola question her policy for no second dates.

Parks and Provocation is filled with humor and a second chance romance about two people who missed an opportunity for happiness during their youth due to miscommunication.  Most of the story proceeds without conflict except for Lola's internal struggle as she believes she can only find happiness pursuing her goal of a big time advertising career with a large salary.  The fact that Lola mislead men into taking her on dates and then telling them afterward that their time together was just fodder for her podcast made her a bit unlikable at the beginning of the story, but she did finally redeem herself by the end.  Overall, Parks and Provocation is a cute and fun romance that doesn't really live up to all the hype that it has gotten.

Sven Test

First time reading a book by Juliette Cross, and I totally get the hype! This is a page-turner that is quirky and funny, steamy with amazing dirty talk, while also being vulnerable and reflective. The storytelling definitely kept me on my toes and eager to keep reading!

IF YOU LIKE:
- high school frenemies
- family dynamics
- fake dating
- dating podcast shenanigans
- sex nachos
- Dyslexia representation