About Books #129: Teddy Spenser isn’t looking for love

This might sound weird, but sometimes “fine” is just what I’m in need of. No big plot twists, no over the top emotions, just a book that does exactly what it says it’ll do. And Teddy Spenser isn’t looking for love gave me exactly that.

I was offered an ARC by Book Sirens in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The story

Teddy Spenser spends his days selling design ideas to higher-ups, living or dying on each new pitch. Stodgy engineer types like Romeo Blue, his nemesis—if you can call someone who barely talks to you a nemesis—are a necessary evil. A cute necessary evil.

Working together is bad enough, but when their boss puts them both on a new high-stakes project, “working together” suddenly means:
¥ sitting uncomfortably close on the same plane
¥ staying in the same hotel room—with only one bed
¥ spending every waking minute together.

Turns out Mr. Starched Shirt has some hidden depths, and it’s getting harder to ignore the spark Teddy feels with every brush of their hands, with every knowing glance. He might not have been looking for this connection with Romeo, but will he ever be ready to let him go?

The opinion

Here’s the thing: we’ve been trained to consider “fine” as a bit of an ugly word – after all, it’s most commonly used to describe your day, when it’s really been anything but. However. Sometimes, it’s just the best possible word to describe something. If it’s neither particularly great, nor entirely too bad, but just… Somewhere in between. Does what it needs to, but does not exceed expectations. You know the kind?

That’s basically how I felt about Teddy Spenser isn’t looking for love. And, just to be clear: that is, in no way or form, a bad thing. Rather the opposite: on a slow Sunday afternoon, this book gave me exactly what I needed. Sure, there were some issues (it’s promoted as haters-to-lovers, but to what extent can you actually talk about “hate” when two people hardly know each other and even any dislike seems to largely be founded on opinions that don’t have any ground to stand on?)

However, even with the way this book sometimes managed to be both too slow and too quick at the same time (excuse me for not thinking proposals are best done after, like, 2 days)? All together, Teddy Spenser made for a pretty good Sunday afternoon-read!

The rating: 3/5

If you want a book that will feel comforting – comfort food included? Then Teddy Spenser isn’t looking for love is a pretty good bet. A happy ending to complete your lazy Sunday afternoon – surely that’s all you need? (Goodreads, TheStoryGraph)

-Saar