Hooked on You by Reon Laudat

Welcome Back, Booklovers! It's been a crazy busy April but I still managed to squeeze in a book that's been on my radar for a minute. I said I wanted to read more indie Black romance and with such a cute cover I just couldn't resist.

Zoe is engaged to Dante and on the outside they seem like the perfect couple. They both minimalists and artistic. Zoe has her own crochet fashion business while Dante is an assemblage artist. Zoe is taking a non traditional approach with her wedding and has enlisted her best friend Preston to be her "Best Dude".  Preston has never had a serious relationship. He usually jumps from one woman to the other and lately he's been hung up on Zoe. She's been working out more and is taking charge of her business garnering new opportunities and displaying more confidence. And despite being friends since they were kids there's always been something between them but they've been too hesistant to go there.

I liked Hooked on You. It's a friends to lover's story which isn't everyone's vibe but I thought Zoe and Dante had great banter. And just because they're best friends doesn't mean they completely know each other. It was nice reading about them discovering little things they didn't know. And I liked that they had open discussions about what they like in the bedroom. There's some funny rom-com antics especially with Zoe's troublesome cats.

I really liked the family and friend relationships here too. Zoe and her mother Vickie are very close and they do yoga together weekly. And she has her mom's back when needed. Preston is a member of a frat and he and a couple of his frat brother's own a restaurant together. His father is also a member of the same frat and you see a little bit of that environment. While Zoe has a her group of girls who crochet and knit. Her friend Genesis is a trip!

I don't crochet so I don't know about all the yarns and stuff Zoe was gushing over but it was nice to see. I remember reading a romance that including knitting and it was like they barely knit. Zoe's out here working hard on her business selling at events, collaborating with Youtubers, showing off her designs and patterns.

The pacing was a little bit off at one point when the story went through a very slow period to very amped up drama. I liked that the book didn't linger too long with having Zoe waste her time engaged to Dante. There was a unique way he was kicked to the curb making room for the friends who were clearly harboring long time feelings. Everything seemed very smooth and routine for Zoe and Preston and then he started acting up.  Preston is a self-sabatager! But Zoe wasn't taking any mess. I don't condone throwing hands on a partner but had he insinuated my momma is a hoe he would've gotten smacked! I appreciated that new and improved Zoe wasn't all talk. She knew her worth and wasn't willing to settle. Make that man grovel!