Aggie and Max Can't Stand Each Other Which Makes Me Like Them Even More |ARC review|

 

Edited by Priyanka Patra for Priyanka's Book Gallery

"She is the sort that made me realize how I want to be brave like her"

Title: Aggie The Horrible vs Max The Pompous Ass

Genre: Fiction, Romance, Romantic comedy

Author: Lisa Wells

Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC

Publication date: July 19, 2021

Where you can buy? Click here

In late June, as I was browsing several advanced copies, a big title caught my attention. It sounds a bit weird but I wanted to know what this particular turquoise and strawberry pink color combination on the cover was exactly trying to say when the background looks fun. Two persons present in the frame brings out something is going on as one is standing, likely sticking their tongue out and the other is sitting, working away, minding its business. The image induced a vibe that made me curious to read the blurb. And when I did, I instantly hit the 'request' button — without much hope. The following morning, I groggily searched my phone in bed. My eyes bleary and in a mood I didn't want to show, I checked my inbox. My eyes flew open when I saw the approval mail. I was ecstatic and excited to read the novel. I couldn't believe it until I downloaded the copy. The moment I started reading, I said, "I can't believe my luck!"

Lisa Wells's Aggie The Horrible vs Max The Pompous Ass is a rom-com fiction in which wild-child, Aggie Johansson, pulls her tricks to not get selected during an interview with the pompous ass, golden-boy entrepreneur, Max Treadwell. Their grandmothers set up both, not just to work together. While Aggie hates to disappoint her Meemaw, she doesn't want a pity job that the grandmothers pressed Max to hire her. Neither Max, who jarringly finds Aggie eccentrically annoying. He doesn't want to compromise hiring someone like her for his temporary assistant position who has quit half-dozen employers which may lead his major land acquisition deal down the drain. But, as a personality test challenges Aggie, she isn't the one to walk out easily without giving a huge show. Determined, she has screwed enough, Aggie surprisingly gets selected. Though, Max reluctantly promised his grandmother he might consider Aggie filling the role, he indeed isn't giving up on her without showing her how equally un-charming he could be. As the two sexes battle fiercely, throwing their intellectual nuances at each other, proving how incredible they can be at their jobs, suddenly, neither of them intended to get to know each other closely. Their game of 'who-would-first overthrow before the contract is up' comes to a halt, which makes both of them reconsider what they actually want.

I finished reading this novel in three days, which I can say, this fiction is a rollicking read. The beginning hooked me immediately. I like how the first chapter introduces the scenario. The narration is clean and precise. The flow is lucidly coherent. The characters are fantastically developed. I love how each of them is carefully created, giving them a strong persona that would make you see them individually even if it is focused on Aggie and Max. 

I enjoyed the inimitable pair's bantering. Literally, Max and Aggie cheekily drive each other crazy. They don't fall out. They roll up their sleeves and show who can bite better. Also, Max and Aggie's simmering (ahem, steamy) chemistry made me root for them. Though, clearly, they are shown how toxic they are for each other. But as you read, you will learn about dark pasts that makes Aggie and Max face their fears. However, the plot is insanely funny and intrepid. Drama and jealousy are guaranteed when these would make you feel the hilarious situations are going fine but suddenly, there is a stop coming and soon it is going to be intense. 

Aggie indubitably became one of my favourite characters. She is rebellious, super smart, brilliantly quick-witted, saucy, impulsive, sweet, no damsel-in-distress, and a bold woman who always carries pink unabashedly. She is the sort that made me realize how I want to be brave like her. So as like Meemaw, Aggie's grandmother. She's a fierce loving protector, her true guardian angel and a frank woman who literally proves she is Aggie's best friend. I like Max too. At times he was douche to Aggie but doesn't hide to accept he is wrong. His patience is one of his sexiest traits which makes things complicated for Aggie. 

My favourite scene was Aggie furiously yanking down Max in the dumpster can. I couldn't stop laughing when Max thought he could be the knight in shining armor. Of course, Aggie gracefully disappoints. Here's a little quote from the book when Aggie argues with Max,

"The hunk who puts a damsel in danger can't be the same hunk who saves her."

 Lisa Wells has created a masterpiece. I found this romance fiction a delightful and kick-ass read especially when the heroine is, fearlessly, a force to be reckoned with. This novel will make you laugh and empathize with various characters. Some you would feel like punching them and some you would feel like hugging them. This is one of the best rom-coms I have read which not only cracked me up but also, made me hopelessly love Aggie and Max. 

P.S. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book which I recieved from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Note, quote or related content used by me from the book may vary in the published version.

Priyanka Patra is a self-published writer of Upon Me. She lives in Odisha, India with her family in a small town. She has done her MBA in Marketing & HR from Birla Global University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. She is aiming to write more books especially in fiction genre.