Under Pressure by Allie WintersMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a steamy new adult romance with two unlikely partners. Mia and Tyler are up for the same internship, but their professor decides that both of their research proposals have merit and that they are similar enough that should work together and combine their efforts. This isn't what either of them wants, but it is an opportunity the would be stupid to refuse. Both of them are pyschology majors with different interests in the field, but a prestigious internship and published paper as an undergrad will look great on their resumes.
Tyler doesn't work well with others. He has some emotional baggage from his childhood, which makes it interesting that he's chosen psychology as a career. He doesn't like to talk about his feelings, open up to others, or get close to anyone, but he can't help but let down his walls just a little when it comes to Mia. She is riddled with self-doubt and has anxiety. The one person she doesn't take crap from is Tyler. She lets other people walk over her, but when it comes to Tyler she doesn't let him get away with being selfish and mean, she speaks up for herself and expects that in turn he treat her as his equal when it comes to their research. As they get to know more about each other, a friendship forms and they realize they is an attraction there.
I really appreciated the open dialogue about mental health and that it is OK to seek help for anxiety and therapy when you need to work through something. I also liked that they were researching alternative therapy for helping with anxiety and stress. I think alternative options like biofeedback, meditation, exercise, etc are all really excellent options to helping with stress and anxiety. Let's face it stress and anxiety levels are elevated for everyone after the year we've had so finding a self care routine is more critical than ever.
We see a ton of character development on Tyler's side. Mia does come out of her shell as she explores things with Tyler and becomes more comfortable standing up for herself with him. She learns to ask for the things she wants and needs from others instead of letting it go for the sake of peace and avoiding confrontation. I would have liked to see more of her journey with anxiety discussed a bit more. She mentions that she had been treated in the past and her inner dialogue talks about it, but it felt secondary to the rest of the story. The main focus on the character development is on Tyler and his childhood trauma that he doesn't want to deal with and why he doesn't want to develop relationships.
This was a fun new adult romance. This is by far probably the steamiest of the Smartypants books in the collection. If you like college romances I'd give this one a go, it is kind of a friends to lovers with a twist. I'm looking forward to exploring more from this author in the future.
This is a steamy new adult romance with two unlikely partners. Mia and Tyler are up for the same internship, but their professor decides that both of their research proposals have merit and that they are similar enough that should work together and combine their efforts. This isn't what either of them wants, but it is an opportunity the would be stupid to refuse. Both of them are pyschology majors with different interests in the field, but a prestigious internship and published paper as an undergrad will look great on their resumes.
Tyler doesn't work well with others. He has some emotional baggage from his childhood, which makes it interesting that he's chosen psychology as a career. He doesn't like to talk about his feelings, open up to others, or get close to anyone, but he can't help but let down his walls just a little when it comes to Mia. She is riddled with self-doubt and has anxiety. The one person she doesn't take crap from is Tyler. She lets other people walk over her, but when it comes to Tyler she doesn't let him get away with being selfish and mean, she speaks up for herself and expects that in turn he treat her as his equal when it comes to their research. As they get to know more about each other, a friendship forms and they realize they is an attraction there.
I really appreciated the open dialogue about mental health and that it is OK to seek help for anxiety and therapy when you need to work through something. I also liked that they were researching alternative therapy for helping with anxiety and stress. I think alternative options like biofeedback, meditation, exercise, etc are all really excellent options to helping with stress and anxiety. Let's face it stress and anxiety levels are elevated for everyone after the year we've had so finding a self care routine is more critical than ever.
We see a ton of character development on Tyler's side. Mia does come out of her shell as she explores things with Tyler and becomes more comfortable standing up for herself with him. She learns to ask for the things she wants and needs from others instead of letting it go for the sake of peace and avoiding confrontation. I would have liked to see more of her journey with anxiety discussed a bit more. She mentions that she had been treated in the past and her inner dialogue talks about it, but it felt secondary to the rest of the story. The main focus on the character development is on Tyler and his childhood trauma that he doesn't want to deal with and why he doesn't want to develop relationships.
This was a fun new adult romance. This is by far probably the steamiest of the Smartypants books in the collection. If you like college romances I'd give this one a go, it is kind of a friends to lovers with a twist. I'm looking forward to exploring more from this author in the future.
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