Start Us Up: A Park Avenue Promise Novel

Of great characters! I loved this book so much and it made me want to read the next one NOW but, alas it is not out yet. So, I’ll read this one again.

Once I got out my mind and what I thought Ms. Blake should write, I really enjoyed this book. It was so good and not the perspective I'm use to from her (except for thieves iykyk) but that didn't stop it from being good. And here I would have let my views on what the author should write stop me from reading and enjoying this book.So I continued on and I enjoyed it. Ivy's been through a lot and has also had to fight threw a lot being in a male dominated field. Everything that she's done or is doing is being scrutinized by everyone. She gave up so much for where she was and lost it all because of a man's mistakes yet somehow no one batted an eyelash at said man.Now Ivy has to rebuild everything she had and lost and she is also humbled by having to live with her mom again. Which is another relationship that she isn't doing the best in. Ivy's also so set in her ways that she has a lot to learn.Then enter Heath a coder that needs her help and she thinks this might be her shot back into the game so to speak. What she doesn’t realize is that Heath is exactly what she needs to start to really be happy. Because money and success didn’t make her as happy as she though it would.Heath comes in and helps her to understand things she didn’t really think about before and in doing this she grows as a person and realizes what's really important to her and what she needs in her life. No more hiding behind facades and fancy amor.I loved how Ivy matured and started to really build relationships and mend the ones she needed to. And how she was able to take a break sometimes but still succeed and accomplish her goals. Heath helped her but she did it all herself. He was her support but she did it all herself.I also really love the relationship she has with her two best friends, they are more like sisters than they are friends. They have each others back but will call out non sense if they see it.This is definitely worth reading it wasn't what your use to from this author but it's a good book. I am definitely interested in seeing where this series goes, especially with the secondary characters we were introduced to.

4.5/5⭐️ Spice Level: 🌶️.5“I can handle your damage. All this drama, it doesn’t scare me off at all. The truth is my life was a little boring until you showed up.”Let’s hear it for the hot nerd book boyfriends!! Start Us Up is the wonderful first book in Lexi Blake’s new Park Avenue Promise series. What do you get when you combine a hot nerd cinnamon roll, a tech genius vixen, and a matchmaking grandma? A lovely, saucy, funny, steamy Lexi Blake romcom. For the queen of romantic suspense, diving into the lighter side of the romance spectrum was a bit of a departure, delightfully so. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my men of Sanctum; they can melt me with their growls and snark any day. But I also love this softer side of Lexi’s storytelling. I enjoyed the New York City setting and brand new cast of characters. Not even halfway through, I was already excited for what comes next for Ivy’s besties. Do you love a soft-spoken, cinnamon roll good guy with a hidden dirty commanding side? Yup, me too! I love how calm Heath stays when Ivy’s spiraling and his calm brings her out of her head. Ivy & Heath complement each other perfectly. After being burned professionally and personally, Ivy was guarded and a bit of an ice queen, but after spending quality time in Heath’s affable company, her walls began to melt. They had great chemistry and snarky banter; even though the spice level is fairly low, Heath turns on the heat with his hidden, seductive alpha. Ivy learns one of the pitfalls of long-term friendships that start at a young age. Sometimes it’s easy for those friends to judge who you are by who you used to be. But true friends will acknowledge and support your growth, as you do for them. Nona made my heart so happy; her shenanigans made me smile and her wisdom melted my heart. Ivy’s relationship arc with her mom was relatable and endearing. I thought this was a great series starter, and I can’t wait to read more! If you like low-angst, steamy, workplace romcoms with a splash of tech espionage, Start Us Up is a must-read!

I loved this story about Heath and Ivy. They meet when Heath is advertising for a worker in his software company. When Ivy finds out that he needs investors she's all in. That's her main claim to fame. Ivy knows some top investors in the city. She recently lost her company in California.Heath makes Ivy a partner so that she will work really hard for his company. All he really wants to do is code. Ivy takes him on and introduces him to her main investor a lady named CeCe. She is picky but if she invests then others will too.They start the company out of his grandmother's apartment. Ivy loves the food she gets there, and she sees other uses for his software and wants to have the chance to change what he is programming.

Blake’s interconnected series to date (which I love!) have been more plot driven (spies, murder, a few over the top repeating characters). This is a major departure as much of this novel has the main character struggling with her relationship with her mom, her self-perception and approach to intimate relationships. This is in the background of getting a killer app idea developed and to market … with some villains involved … couldn’t lose that element entirely!!

What a great start to this series about 3 life-long friends who have high expectations for their futures and what they want from life.Heath and Ivy felt the connection between them, right from when they first met..... but Ivy's insecurities may be insurmountable!!Will this likely pair find their HEA?Brilliant storyline and fantastic characters. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I will admit that Lexi Blake's newest book - set in a new world that doesn't (yet?!) connect to her many other series - took me a little bit to get into. It's written in first person POV, entirely from Ivy's perspective, and it is a bit lighter than what I'm used to when I read Lexi Blake's books. But it didn't take long for Ivy and Heath - and the great cast of side characters - to envelop me, heart and soul! This book made me laugh (Heath's grandma Lydia is a hoot!!), it made me cry happy, emotional tears, and it made me smile! Ivy's best friends, Ani and Harper, are the type of women we all need in our lives - true friends who will always be there for you but aren't afraid to tell you a few home-truths when they are needed. A brilliant start to a great series that I cannot wait to get more of!!

Let me start by saying that I’m a huge fan of Lexi’s writing and have been for many, many years. I received this book as part of her PR Box and couldn’t wait to dive in. When she mentioned that this new series was like nothing she ever wrote before I was hesitant. This story is set in the tech world, which I have 0 interest in because I don’t understand it 😅 It also took me a minute to warm up to the FMC, since she came across as quite cold and money-hungry in the beginning. But once I got into it I thoroughly enjoyed this new cast of quirky characters. Heath was such a sweetheart right off the bat, and he only got better throughout. This book was definitely not as spicy as her other works, but it seemed like the romance between the MCs wasn’t really the focus. Instead this story explored Ivy’s varying relationships with the extraordinary women in her life, her relationship with herself, as well as what it’s like to be a successful woman in a male dominated industry. Something I found quite refreshing for a change. Highly recommend.

The characters in this story are so much fun. This book is a funny, and sweet and all the things a good romance book should be. I really enjoyed it.