IOU, by Kristy Marie is a 266-page contemporary romance novel. It is written from a first-person POV, two-sided.

And yet, another new author for me. It’s another RomCom.

The heat level of this book is five, so yeah, explicit, you know things like: “Your soaked pussy,” he drawls, dragging a finger over my wet panties, “is all the reinforcement I need.”

Spoilers Ahead ***

Ainsley is a college student who made bad decisions in her life. I say that because I never would have given up a full scholarship to another college for a man, but that’s just me. She’s a bit flighty as a character, but it’s okay. She followed her boyfriend, and the only man she’d ever been with to a college and walked in on him banging her roommate. So that’s fun. She proceeded to throw a lit candle at him, missing, and lighting the curtains in the apartment on fire. Hilarity ensues and she somehow ends up being roommates with Maverick.

Maverick…oh Maverick…he’s the character that secretly has the heart of gold, the very alpha character with a heart of gold. People fear him because he takes IOU’s from people for favors, whether it’s monetary or otherwise. He’s just a fun, mini mob boss, but not literally a mob boss. He hands out IOU’s to Ainsley like it’s Halloween, it just becomes a running gag at some point.

Overall, the characters were likeable, Ainsley proves to not be as ditzy and flighty as she was in the beginning, I think her redeeming quality is strong character. I appreciate a strong headed girl.

Generally, here are my thoughts:

1. The conflict was…sort of weak, but it was still an enjoyable read. A real page turner.
2. I liked her style of writing, it was easy to read and the flow for the most part felt natural, and yes, I actually laughed out loud.
3. This is a situation where the love grew over time, so I appreciate that, so there’s a lot of time warping.
4. In the end of the book, it got wrapped up real quick, but I think the author did address all open items, but it was done in a very methodical and bullet pointed way. It wasn’t a bad thing, but interesting.
5. What I found interesting is there were lots of nuances to the characters and their actions. Just small, but a real action speaks louder than words moment.

In summary, I give this a 4 out of 5.