REVIEW: Just This Once by Lena Hendrix

Just This Once by Lena Hendrix: Having a steamy one night stand isn’t so bad, but finding out that it was with your boss’s daughter, well thats a different story. The last thing that Whip should be doing is chatting up town newcomer Emily, if he wants to get himself in the fire chiefs good books, however there is just something about the prim and proper teacher that he cant seem to get enough of… even if that means he needs to sneak around behind his boss’s back… all he has to do now is convince Emily that he is worth taking a chance on.

I am such a sucker for the small town romance trope and Just This Once was easily one of the cutest one that I have ever read, add in the fact that our hero is a fireman and its hard to pass up this book! Truly there was nothing not to love about this cute romcom, that packs in so much of heart. I just loved the cute little town of Outhertowner, Hendrix has truly out done herself in detailing this sweet little town with all the quirky townsfolk. I mean how can you not want to join them in the Fireside Flannel Festive while devouring Junkers?

I think it would be safe to say that Whip is my new favourite book boyfriend, I mean who doesn’t love a hot fireman? Aside from smoking hot looks, our hero Whip is worth so much more, this guy had a heart of gold and was easily one of the most kind and caring guys that you would find. I loved how much of thought and care he put into everything regarding Emily, this only made me love his character that much more. As for our girl Emily, well she was easy to relate to and just as easy to like. I really enjoyed following her as she tried to get her life in order. One of the things that I liked the most about Emily was the passion that she had for teaching, she was not just a good teacher but she went the extra mile to attend to each of her students the best way that she could.

Good gosh was this a steamy not safe for work romance! Its a good thing that Whip is a fireman because this guy sure got the pages steamy! The passion and chemistry between Whip and Emily was insane, right from the first one night stand you could see that these two had some tangible chemistry and this only grew as they got to know each other. I loved the fact that they challenged each other and that Whip went out of his way to prove to Emily that he was not the stereotypical fireman. I really enjoyed seeing them as a couple and watching them grow and learn from their past hurt. Also they had some of the most punchy and sassy banter.

I really liked getting to meet the rest of the Kings and truly I can not wait to dive right into each of their books, I have a feeling this might just be Hendrix best series yet. If you are looking for a cute small town romance with a bit of sneaking around then this book is definitely for you!

Book Info:

Publication: April 15, 2024 | Lena Hendrix | King Family #1

Whip King cannot be the man for me.

Cocky, pierced firefighters are perfect for late-night rom-coms, but in real life they’re nothing but trouble. Especially when you find out they work for your dad—after you’ve already slept with them.

Moving to my parents’ small town was supposed to be the fresh start I was looking for. When a disastrous Valentine’s Day leads to an unexpected encounter with a sexy stranger, and ends with the hottest night of my life, I didn’t think I would ever see Whip again.

Imagine my surprise when one of my sixth-grade students has a medical emergency and it’s Whip who shows up, looking hot as hell, to save the day. I should be embarrassed at how we left things, but instead I’m furious he doesn’t seem to remember me.

So I scrape my pride off the floor, lift my chin, and pretend there’s nothing between us. But that can last only so long. Stolen glances melt into forbidden touches, and once we give in to temptation, we can’t keep our hands off each other.

Nothing has ever felt so right, but my guarded heart won’t let me believe in happily ever after with a man like him. Opening up to Whip may be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and every time we agree to one last time, we both know it’s a lie.

How many times can we keep telling ourselves just this once before we realize that, when it comes to love, once is never enough?