But First, Coffee By: Sarah Darlington | Book Review

Release Date: September 10, 2018 
Goodreads

Synopsis:

She’s the boss.
I’m only a barista in her company.
I really don’t give a f**k about her one way or the other.

And then there’s Doug Maddox, a man with a lot of power over me. He’s blackmailing me. Making me spy on her. I’m supposed to find her weaknesses and destroy her. But the closer I get, the more the lines between us start to blur.

She’s sweet. She’s kind. She’s sexy as hell.
Why am I the only man who see’s this?

So now I’m stuck—between keeping my sister safe against Doug, because that’s what’s really at stake here, and these feelings I can’t deny for a woman who shouldn’t mean anything to me.

I know what I have to do. I’ll destroy her.
It doesn’t matter if I have to destroy my own heart in the process.

First off, I wanted to say that I was quite shocked when I first read the synopsis of this book and that made me want to start reading it right away. This was, however, my first book by Sarah Darlington and OMG am I in love with Joe Coffee so much. I mean there was even coffee in this name making this book better than I expected.

Joe Coffee was a barista for Lana Bitterman's company for about two years when she suddenly decided to promote him for a higher position so that he could help her with the work load the she has as the CEO. However, Joe's idea of being promoted and working beside Lana was so that he could protect his sister from Doug, yet as time went on between these two characters, so does the chemistry that pulled them together on many of their meetings and business trips.

When I first read the synopsis, I found that this book was quite interesting and when I dove into the first few chapters, I couldn't hold back because the characters really got to me, mostly Lana and her insecurities. However, around 75% of the book, I felt like the story and the relationship between Joe and Lana was really rushed and my connection was slowly slipping away. Also, I expected a little bit more on some parts of the story instead of moving onto the next chapter and skipping the moments of self-reflection that the character might have. I felt really sad for Joe's past but I wish we got to know the problems that he had with his parents. Though, those were just a small part of the story that made me confused of the story at times, but I still really enjoyed it. 

Overall, I would say that it was a great read bringing me into the start of the fall season and coming winter. I can't to read Kitty and Doug's story in the coming winter. I want to see if I will grow to like this crazy man from how Joe and Lana thought of him.