Shacking Up (Shacking Up #1) – Helena Hunting

Genre: Romance
Publisher: Swerve
Pages: 480
Release Date: May 30, 2017

Ruby Scott is months behind on rent and can’t seem to land a steady job. She has one chance to turn things around with a big audition. But instead of getting her big break, she gets sick as a dog and completely bombs it in the most humiliating fashion. All thanks to a mysterious, gorgeous guy who kissed—and then coughed on—her at a party the night before.

Luckily, her best friend might have found the perfect opportunity; a job staying at the lavish penthouse apartment of hotel magnate Bancroft Mills while he’s out of town, taking care of his exotic pets. But when the newly-evicted Ruby arrives to meet her new employer, it turns out Bane is the same guy who got her sick. Seeing his role in Ruby’s dilemma, Bane offers her a permanent job as his live-in pet sitter until she can get back on her feet.

Shacking Up is the first in the Shacking Up companion series. Although I read this series out of order, I loved everything about Shacking Up! It was exactly what I wanted from a romance.

Shacking Up follows Ruby as she’s cut off from her father’s money as she pursues her dream of making it on Broadway. Enter Bancroft looking for a pet sitter for his unique pets.

Helena Hunting has a way with romances that has me swooning for the male leads and Bancroft is no exception. Hunting strikes a balance between alpha male and vulnerability very well. Bancroft isn’t overbearing or sexist. Instead, he’s the perfect amount of confident with a dash of jealously while also being respectful.

The chemistry between the main characters sizzles from their introduction until the final page. Their meet cute is funny and scandalous in all the best ways. Their continued relationship is full of witty banter and sexual tension making Shacking Up the perfect read if you like angsty novels that pay off.

Overall, Shacking Up is another novel in a long line of novels Hunting can call upon to demonstrate her skill as a romance writer. At this point, she’s become an automatic buy author for me!

Check out my reviews for Hooking Up and I Flipping Love You!

Have you read Shacking Up? What did you think?