Rumor Has It
Series: Real Love, #4
Author: Jessica Lemmon
Publication Date: May 15, 2018
Publisher: Loveswept
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Synopsis:
This is one bad boy who’s fit to print. A notorious jock tackles life—and love—after football with a type-A journalist in this sexy standalone from the author of Eye Candy.
Barrett: As a former pro football star, I’m used to playing the field. After injuries cut my NFL career short, my second act as a broadcaster ended on live television when a hot mic picked up a little verbal . . . indiscretion. But this latest publicity stunt might just land me back on top—much to the chagrin of Catarina Everhart, the prissy, beautiful journalist who’s been assigned to date a bad boy (i.e., me) and write about it. Catarina swears I’ll never touch her, let alone kiss those full lips of hers. Based on our chemistry, I’m not buying it. . . .
Catarina: Barrett Fox seems to be doing everything in his power to make me hate him. The cocky egomaniac is infamous for his bad behavior, and now, thanks to my boss’s harebrained schemes, he’s apparently my problem. As one fake date leads to another, I start to see a different side of Barrett. He’s close with his family. He does volunteer work. And, okay, he kisses like a dream. Am I really dating Barrett Fox? Or is he playing me? Because suddenly I’m risking my reputation—and my heart.
So far, my experience with Jessica Lemmon’s Real Love series has been that each book is better than the next. That experience continued with Rumor Has It. It’s my new favorite book in the series. Rumor Has It was exactly what I was hoping for. It was upbeat and fun. There was a great enemies to lover vibe from the very beginning and some very entertaining banter. I adored that Rumor Has It had the How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days romantic comedy vibe.
The characters in this book were so much fun. Catarina was the type of woman I like to read about. She knew what she wanted in life. She was career driven but had a romantic side to her. I loved that she didn’t put up with Barrett’s crap, but also that she could see beyond it.
Barrett was kind of a mess. He was all swagger and cocky confidence, but there were some surprising self-confidence issues hiding behind it. I didn’t adore his attitude, but I did like some of the things it created. His nickname for Catarina made me laugh — most because of how it fit within the story and their experiences. I also liked how he treated her beyond their initial meeting. He was a surprisingly cool guy, with one exception.
That exception? Well, it’s the only thing I didn’t like about Rumor Has It. Barrett’s verbal indiscretion was offensive in so many ways. Honestly, it didn’t surprise me that Jessica Lemmon went there. What surprised me was that she did and then didn’t really make Barrett learn from his mistake. I didn’t feel like he was truly sorry. He apologized which would make it seem like he was, but some of his later comments contradicted that. I don’t know. It bugged me. Oh, and I also wanted something better for Mattie. I didn’t get a resolution for that, but maybe that’s just because Mattie was only used to show Barrett’s softer side.
Other than that, I loved this book. Catarina and Barrett’s relationship was amusing and so enjoyable to read. I loved how they interacted with each other. I loved how they reacted to each other. Everything about it was so entertaining — especially the scene with More Than Words. Rumor Has It would be a great book to take to the beach or wherever you’re relaxing this summer.