Vegas seems to be the headquarters of bad mistakes, and things are no different in this book. Takedown is an accidental marriage romance that introduces readers to characters Mellie and Adam. After attending a friend’s wedding, Mellie and Adam decide to have some nuptials of their own. At the start of the book, Mellie sees the rings on her fingers and immediately flees, as if running will make her accidental marriage dissipate. "'It can't be real,' I whisper. I pull the ring off my finger and examine it, unsure of what to look for. A memory from last night hits. Drinks at a bar. Grabbing him and pulling him out of that bar and away from a tall, skinny bitch. There was a dare, but I chase the memory away. He would do this. He would put a wedding ring on my finger as joke. I put both rings on the nightstand, but there's an official looking form already there." There's just one teeny tiny problem, well a big problem actually. Her husband isn't going to let her run from him that easily.
Melanie Dupree is deemed the screw up of her family. If there's anything that can go wrong in a situation, Mellie is going to be involved. "Classic Melanie Elyse Dupree. One fuck up after another. So much for starting a new life when I left New Jersey and moved in with my brother. Oh, well. I went two years without nearly ruining my life. I think that's a record for me." But as the story unfolds, we learn more about Mellie and see that she isn't as bad as everyone makes her out to be. Her marriage to Adam has been deemed accidental. But the people closest to her are left wondering how much of an accident could it really be. "'She's right. I'm not. I'm here or you can always call me or stop by my house, but Mellie,' she reaches for my hand again, her tone now turning serious, 'are you sure you were drunk? They wouldn't have married you if you were too drunk to know what was going on.'" When her mother, Diane, shows up in town Mellie dives fully into her marriage to avoid having to deal with her. Forcing her to deal with some of her untold truths.
Adam Flynn has been smitten with Mellie from the moment he's heard her voice. Not only has he loved her, he chases away any man that appears to have an interest in her. Mellie may not be taking their accidental marriage seriously, but Adam is and he's unwilling to compromise on their marriage being labeled as a farce. "It was impulsive, but I take marriage seriously. Despite being raised by a single mother, I've always respected the sanctity of marriage." Mellie's resistance to their relationship and her outright obnoxiousness makes it extremely hard for Adam to be the doting husband he wants to be. "I'm really fucking tired of being your punching bag. Not only that, I'm sick of your idiot brother too. If you're so unhappy, the exit is right there. You're the one who asked me if you could stay here. I'm not holding you hostage. And if you want out of this marriage, fine. I don't have to beg a woman to stay married to me. I get plenty of offers. You all people should know that."
Accidental marriage is the trope of this book, but it's also an interracial read (BWWM). Mellie and Adam were both extremely obnoxious to me in the beginning of this book, but they did grow on me. There's some family trauma in this book, as far as both main characters are concerned, and that makes this book that much more interesting to read. There's also a splash of comedy when Adam's uncle Finn makes an appearance. "'What happened to your date?' Molly yells. 'My mate? Not gonna happen. She smells like cat piss. Got the hell out of there real quick. What do the kids say? I had to G-T-F-O. What's going on here?'" Overall, this was an enjoyable, light and romantic read. Per the acknowledgements, Melanie originally appears in the book Crave, which is an instant attraction romance penned by Evelyn Sola as well. This story was still enjoyable without reading the back story, but I now that I'm familiar with Mellie and Jason's dynamics, I would love to go back and read about their beginnings. This was my first read by this author, but most definitely won't be my last.
Takedown is set to be released October, 29, 2021.
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