Reviewer: Rowena
The Love Coupon (Stubborn Hearts, #2) by Ainslie Paton
Series: Stubborn Hearts #2
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: April 9th 2018
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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Series Rating:

How many coupons does it take to fall in love?

Flick Dalgetty knows what she wants and how to get it, which is why she’s about to start her dream job in Washington. Until then, she needs somewhere to crash, and Tom O’Connell’s place is her sole option. He’s a repressed, antisocial ogre…but man can he kiss.

For Tom, being around Flick is like being too close to the sun. Her untamed energy is overwhelming, and he’d spontaneously combust if he had to live with her long-term. Housemates with benefits—and an expiration date—suits him just fine.

Then Flick gives Tom thirty coupons, each entitling him to one obligation-free activity, from bowling and bubble-bathing to morning delight, removing all the guesswork from being incompatible partners and shifting their fling into high gear.

Now the problem is their arrangement is drawing to a close, and they might be falling in love—and there wasn’t a coupon for that.

I’ve been hearing good things about both this book and the first book in this series, The Love Experiment but I was hesitant to try out a new to me author and I really shouldn’t have been scared because I really enjoyed this book. So The Love Coupon by Ainslie Paton is the second book in her Stubborn Hearts series and it was a sweet contemporary romance that made me feel all of the feels.

So we’ve got straightlaced Tom O’Connell who just lost his roommate to an overseas job and he’s searching but not really searching for a new roommate to share bills with and the very last person that he wants in his house is Flick Dalgetty…but she needs a temporary place to lay her head until she finishes out her current job and moves to Washington DC for her new job. Bunking with Tom would be perfect, if he didn’t have so many rules and if he wasn’t so uptight about everything under the sun. They couldn’t be more different from each other if they tried but Flick will take what she can get and she’ll pipe down her colorful personality for a room to call her own until she can leave Chicago in a couple of months.

Tom grew up with an asshole father who treated him like he was an idiot and that relationship kind of turns him into an unyielding jerk who doesn’t tolerate messy people. His old roommate Josh was a perfect roommate match for him because he was neat, he was tidy and he kept to himself. They were great friends and when Josh leaves for a job overseas, Tom is stuck because he wants to share bills but he does not want to share bills with flighty Flick Dalgetty. Haha, oh Tom.

Flick Dalgetty is the black sheep of her family. Her family is stuck in their ways and they resent Flick because she got out. She got out of their family pit and made something of herself so they treat her like crap. Flick, on her side of things, keeps things civil with them by buying them whatever they need. Food, clothes, bikes, you name it, Flick has bought for them and they don’t act like they appreciate Flick’s efforts. So Flick hides her frustrations behind a bright smile and a sparkling personality and all of that does her no favors with her new roommate.

They’re opposites in every way but together, they mesh so incredibly well that I ate up their story from beginning to end. The romance between Tom and Flick was fun and it was cute and I was here for it all. I adored seeing them grow closer and closer with each passing day. I loved seeing them try to be good and then threw caution to the wind and come together. Their different personalities really shined together and they were just too cute for words. If I had a gripe, it would probably be that it took quite a while for the love coupons to come into play but other than that? Great stuff.

Overall, this book worked for me. I enjoyed Ainslie Paton’s writing style. I really enjoyed the little glimpses that we got of the other characters. I’m curious about Jack and Derelie. I’m totally planning on going back and reading their book because she’s a lifestyle writer and I’m mighty curious about that. I also would like to see more Josh and everyone else that we meet in this one. Ainslie Paton has earned herself a spot on my will check out again list and I can’t wait to read more from her. I definitely recommend.

Stubborn Hearts Series

Grade: 4.25 out of 5