Mixed Signals
by B.K. Borison

From the publisher

Layla Dupree has given up on love.

She’s waded through all of the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite her best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check.

Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution.

After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: One month of no-strings dating. He’ll do his best to renew her faith in men while she rates his dating game. It’s a win-win situation. All the benefits of dating, without the added pressure of feelings and unmet expectations.

But there’s one ingredient they haven’t considered. The chemistry between them is red hot and the urge to take things to the next level is more tempting than Layla’s double fudge mocha brownies.

Will the heat between them boil over? Or will it be another case of mixed signals?

Mixed Signals is a sweet and steamy small-town romance. Our story features a bashful man who can rock a Hawaiian shirt, a hopeful and dreamy bakery owner, enough sweets to give you a cavity, and your favorite Inglewild residents. Mixed Signals is a standalone romance and the third book in the Lovelight series, a collection of interconnected novels.

My Review

This romance is sweet as sugar and the spice between the two main characters is spice-ing, but something was missing for me. Layla and Caleb are both excellent characters and Caleb has clearly had a crush on Layla since book 1 in the series, but once they actually get to star in their own book … it’s like the conflict is missing. There’s such a little molehill for them to overcome, that it’s almost anticlimactic. It’s like… they’re clearly great together, everything is easy … just let it be easy!

She’s been disappointed again and again, yeah, but he’s clearly not about that. He comes on too strong and falls too hard, yeah, but isn’t that a perfect antidote to her series of disappointments? Neither of them is carrying major trauma, there are no life circumstances tearing them apart, they both get along well and want the same things in life. There are a couple of external stressors, like a pending magazine feature, but those are just normal romance novel stakes.

Honestly, it sounds like I’m complaining, but I still had a great time hanging out with these characters for a little over 300 pages. Sometimes it’s nice to have a romance novel lead who isn’t really struggling to overcome anything major and just needs a little push to see the guy who’s been right in front of her the whole time in the right light. It’s a perfectly cozy summertime read, even if I do wish Caleb was still a fireman. That would have been hot.