After reading and loving Fast Lane, the first book in the Consumed by Love series from Lizzie Hart Stevens, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second book! Can't Slow Down picks up where the cliffhanger of Fast Lane left off and is the continuation of Coen and Lexi's story. These should be read in order, so make sure to start with Fast Lane if you are new to the series. While I was really excited to get this book, I have to say that after reading I was a bit disappointed. I still liked Lexi and Coen a lot, but the story left a lot to be desired here.
After the childhood he had, Coen Walker was unwilling to allow love into his life until he met Lexi Taylor. Right away he knew she was different, and for the first time ever he found himself wanting a relationship. But when Lexi's ex will stop at nothing to get her back, Coen and Lexi will have to survive the danger and fight for a chance at the future that they both want.
I thought that Lexi and Coen had such a great connection and chemistry right from the start, and they definitely still had that here. But things progressed so quickly, that it was just completely unbelievable to me. While I do believe that they cared for one another and were well on their way to something special together, falling in love with a complete stranger that you really haven't spent any time with is something that is impossible for me to find genuine in a matter of days. (As in two-three days, well under a week's time) The fact that they were both suddenly so into it full-on after Lexi had just broken up with her ex upon meeting Coen and he was suddenly a changed man with little to no adjustment of being completely against love or commitment just didn't feel realistic to me and didn't work.
I think that there was the potential for a really great story here, but these two installments were just too short to fully deliver. Everything felt so rushed and just didn't come off as realistic, no matter how perfect these two were together. They were great for one another, and I think with a longer story and more depth that this series could have been fantastic. Coen and Lexi had a ton of heat though, and I did enjoy these two novellas even if I didn't love them as much as I wanted to. I also think that this book could have used an editor. I found a lot of mistakes and it was distracting at times while I was reading. While this isn't a total deal breaker, it is frustrating for a reader, especially when there are so few pages to the story. That many errors in such a short book really stand out. While I was disappointed here, I do think that the potential was there and the parts I liked I really liked. I would read more from Lizzie Hart Stevens in the future, I just really hope that in the future her books aren't so short and rushed.
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