[ARC Review] The Love You Deserve by Jen Morris

Josie has had feelings for her boss Cory ever since she began working at his bar five years ago. But when a problem at the animal shelter she volunteers at forces her - and her foster dog, Pretzel - to stay with Cory for a few weeks, sparks fly as she discovers he's had feelings for her, too. But as decades-old issues come to light, it won't be smooth sailing for the new couple. To find happiness with each other, they'll have to fight against a lifetime of self-doubt.

This is the fourth book in Morris' Love in the City series, and I truly do think these book are just getting better and better with each new release. The Love You Deserve has everything I love in a contemporary romance: forced proximity, age gap, boss/employee, years of unrequited pining, a brooding man, perfect spice, an absolutely adorable puppy, and a fantastic setting. Jen Morris has certainly done it again with this novel. 

I loved these characters. Josie is a people pleaser through and through, just learning to be her own person at twenty-seven. I really related to Josie; maybe not the same extremes that she would go for other people, but the need to put other people's wants and happiness before my own? I was definitely raised to be that way, and it's a hard habit to break. I loved seeing Josie (with Cory's help) come to that realization and learn to start putting her wants and needs before others.  

Cory might just be my favorite leading man from this series. I just loved how real and dynamic he was on the page; for all his grumpy exterior, he had real emotions and trauma to work through. I loved that there was so much emphasis on the fact that Josie could only help him so much, and only Cory could decide to accept the love he deserved. In real life, we can't just fix other people; we can help them on their own path, but only if that person wants help or wants to change. I think Cory and Josie's relationship was such a wonderfully realistic example of that, and I wish I saw more of this dynamic in books.

As for the other characters, Pretzel definitely stole my heart and I'm so glad he was the catalyst to bring Cory and Josie together. It was great to see all the returning characters from the previous LITC books; this series just keeps getting better and better and I can't wait to see what comes next in Hayley's book. As much as I loved the previous books in the series, I loved the realness and emotion that came with Cory and Josie's romance. 

With superb writing and a story you can easily get swept away in, The Love You Deserve is a fantastic read and a great addition to an already-amazing series. 

Thank you to Jen Morris for providing an advanced copy of The Love You Deserve! 

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Release date: 4/12/22
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: the author