Kristin's Bookshelf

Scrubbing In
By Alana Reese / @author.alanareeseofficial
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I haven’t read a true contemporary romance in quite some time. I’ve been fully rollin’ with dark romance and rom-com chaos lately. So I’m really glad I took a chance on this one because it was exactly what I needed.

This honestly felt like a drama-light love story between two mature adults who genuinely fell hard for each other. Sure, there were challenges, but they were real-world challenges. Miscommunication wasn’t driving the plot every five seconds. Nobody was manufacturing chaos just to hit a breakup quota. It was mostly navigating workplace gossip, protecting careers, and figuring out how to love each other without letting outside noise ruin it.

And Julian? Yeah. He has #BookBoyfriend written all over him. Unfortunately for the rest of us, he belongs to Leena. Rude.

Leena definitely got in her own head at times and had a few mini spirals, but honestly? Relatable. Most of us have been burned before and know what it feels like to want to protect our hearts, even when someone seems too good to be true. And the way she handled that text message situation? Perfection. No unnecessary dramatics. No jumping to conclusions. She trusted what she knew about him instead of letting fear and gossip take over.

Also, Julian consistently makes sure she never has a reason to feel jealous. Massive green flag energy.

I will say he had a few overly protective moments that leaned yellow-flag for me, but thankfully, it felt like growth happened there over time rather than being romanticized.

If you want:
✔️ mature romance
✔️ supportive relationship dynamics
✔️ workplace tension/gossip
✔️ spice without overwhelming the plot
✔️ NO third-act breakup

…then definitely pick this one up. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Luna Literary Management for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.