The RSVP by Lauren Blakely

POV: Dual 1st Person POV
PoP: 77%
Tropes: Slow Burn; Age-Gap; Boss/Employee; Close Proximity; Virgin Heroine;
Series: The Virgin Society Book 1
Where to Buy: Kindle Unlimited
Rate:  4/5 Stars
Release Date: January 4, 2023 

I haven’t read Lauren Blakely for a while because the last couple of books I read by here just didn’t hit me where I wanted them too. But when a trust friend said I needed to read this book, I was all in. It didn’t disappoint. It gave me feels of her Heartbreakers that she wrote back in 2018. There was something about those books that drew me in, and when I was disappointed in the next few I stepped away. But I am so glad that I was told to go back in. This book gave me everything that I wanted in this age-gap story. Harlow is a young woman who is wise beyond her years. She is only 20/21 in this book but she feels much older. Blakely creates a character with her maturity that was refreshing.

Bridger is the business partner of Harlow’s dad. The two have a good relationship, and that is part of the hang-ups on Brigdger’s part. Actually both of their parts. I enjoyed the back and forth between these two. The fact that once they truly started forward, there were many steps back. My biggest issue with this slow burn book was the way in which these two characters deferred to Harrow’s dad. I can understand their hesitations, but my problem was the fact that her father is not a good person. He is a serial cheater with no guilt over it. I would have had zero issue with the way in which they held back because of him, if he was a morally good person. Her dad was an ass. Truly, and the fact that they wanted to do things right by him truly speaks to the type of people they are… not him.

This is a story that you need to read. Yes it is a slow burn, yes she is a virgin, but both of these tropes are treated the right way.