From Luke's first encounter with Juliette, he knows there's something special about her. But their college rivalry could get in the way of that. Luke, a star basketball player at Langston University, and Juliette, a star cheerleader at Brookeville University, have been groomed to hate each other. But after a few run ins (literally), it may seem as if fate has stepped in and said otherwise. "I knew I liked Luke. I knew I liked him a lot. And honestly? That was exactly where I went wrong first."
Juliette was a freshman trying to fit in. After a store run for a party, she has one of the most beautiful distractions crash into her. "Sincere eyes encased in milky dark brown skin and lips framed by a perfectly trimmed black mustache and goatee combo. The clearest complexion I'd ever seen in a guy my age. He was tall, with broad shoulders and long, lean arms." When her classmate makes her aware that he's the OPPs, she's sure she'll only have him in her dreams. That is until she's stranded in his neck of the woods. Their journey to get her back home, is interesting, to say the very least. But once she's back home, the rose colored glasses are removed, and they're back to reality. Twelve years later, Luke is forced into her proximity, again. Second chances aren't for everyone, but Juliette can't help but wonder if it's in the cards for her and Luke. "I'd be lying if I claimed I haven't been chasing the spell Luke had me under in that motel room, though."
Luke was a star basketball player trying to keep his head in the game and the girls on campus from getting him caught up. With his two sisters in his ear making sure he stayed on track, he had no choice. That is until he finds himself enamored with a cheerleader by the name of Juliette. Unfamiliar with the feelings he's dealing with, he handles the situation the best way he knows how. Years later, Luke is tasked with proving to himself and Juliette that he's grown from a boy to a man. But with a temper that can go from 0 to 100 real quick, that may not be as easy as it seems. "While others may not want any problems, I do. Because see me? I always want the fucking smoke. All of it."
This book squeezed in so many tropes I was squealing. Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, second chance romance, and I'm sure there's more that I missed. It gave me all the feels, causing my cheeks to heighten while reading. All of that paired with Brookelyn's writing style had me reading almost as fast as I flipped the pages. This was a cute love story, that included some dope characters, all while exemplifying HBCUs, and let's not forget the dope cover. Five stars across the board for me.