REVIEW: Ex Appeal by Cathy Yardley

Ex Appeal by Cathy Yardley: As a high level corporate fixer Vinh Doan is used to being put under pressure and having to get things under control fast but nothing could have prepared him for having ten million dollars disappear from one of his accounts! With a large chunk of cash missing and his reputation on the line Vinh needs to know who stole from him and fast, and who better than his high school ex and amazing hacker Emily MacDonald to help him get to the bottom of this mystery.

While Vinh has been living it up in the life of luxury things have really not turned out as glamours for Emily, instead of pursuing her degree she found herself dropping out to help support her family. Ending up stuck at a boring dead end tech support job, that has been slowly eating away at her spirit and hopes of following her dream job of ethically hacking. With her families bills mounting and no end in sight Emily has little to no choice but to agree to help Vinh figure out who swindled him… but she sure isn’t going to make it easy for the guy that crushed her heart!

Im going to start of by say I just loved the cover of this book! The promise of loads of exotic animals are definite and so my cup of tea and had me jumping right in! I must say I enjoyed this book more than I had expected, I won’t lie I was a bit nervous that there would be tons of technical jargon and that I would get totally lost but I was pleasantly surprised to find that everything was explained so well and all the techy stuff flowed easily with the entire story.

This was a pretty fast read with a nice dose of who dunnit it laced into Vinh and Emily’s story. I really liked that both main character were so grown up and mature about the entire thing, even after having ended things on a bad note they managed to work together without any major drama. I loved the fact that even with so much if time apart their chemistry was very much a live and all they needed was a small push to fall back into each others lives.

I really liked both Vinh and Emily, together these two made quiet the team and I loved getting to see them come back together now that they had both grown as individuals. I just loved seeing a whole other side to Vinh when he had to take care of Emily’s brothers wacky band of pets, this really softened me to his character all the more. Though I will say that my heart really broke for Emily and the weight of family responsibility that she had to carry, I really did not like that her mother was so frivolous and that Em had to carry this burden.

The secondary characters in this book were just amazing, I mean how could you not love them when they called themselves the Nerd Heard? This bunch of misfits just made this book all the more cute and enjoyable. Ex Appeal is a short, sweet, intriguing read that is definitely one that you would check out!

Book Info:

Publication: November 1st 2022 | Montlake | Ponto Beach Reunion #3

Vinh Doan has a problem. Ten million of them, in fact. He’s a high-level fixer for global conglomerates, which means big money…and big troubles. When ten million dollars go missing from one of his accounts, he needs a top-notch hacker to find it. His first thought? Emily MacDonald, his high school ex.

While Vinh has been taking the financial world by storm, Emily has been struggling. After her dad died, she dropped out of college and put her dreams aside. Her job in tech support has seriously tested her sunny disposition and her finances. Now, there’s an unexpected solution: Vinh, the guy who dumped her when she needed him most.

When Emily finally lets herself listen to Vinh’s request, she realizes that this is a desperately needed chance to get paid…and get payback. But the more time they spend together, the more they recognize that even though they’re not the same people they were a decade ago, their off the charts attraction is just as strong as ever. As they give in to their simmering chemistry, can Emily and Vinh let go of their past, figure out their futures—and hack a second chance at love?