Clean Out of Luck by Carina Taylor: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

Six months to find love. One overprotective menace (who’s way too handsome for his own good). And a building that might have the final say.

Scarlett Fernsby holds the world record for shortest relationships. Mostly thanks to overprotective parents and an interfering brother, every attempt at dating has been a disaster.

When her whole family is out of town for six glorious months, she knows it's time to find love.

What she didn't count on was Wade Hendrix. Her older brother's best friend.

He's even worse than her brother. He's soon crashing every date of hers, and Scarlett's beginning to wonder if he's made it his life's mission to annoy her.

Wade is a firefighter with a hero complex; she doesn't want to be his pity problem. Especially when she's starting to misinterpret those fiery looks of his.

Scarlett doesn't know what to do with this newfound attraction to him, and though she'd like to scrub him out of her life, the building she lives in has a very different plan.

Wade Hendrix has a problem. His best friend asked him to keep an eye on his little sister. But Wade has trouble keeping his eyes off of her.

What starts out as a favor for his best friend soon turns into pure torture: watching Scarlett date other men right in front of him.

Wade would love to tell her how he feels—but he knows she doesn't feel the same.

Or does she?

After an especially disastrous date that Wade ruins—and with the help of a very special mop that likes to grant wishes—Scarlett tells Wade that he owes her a goodnight kiss.

But one kiss isn’t enough. Wade wants forever. Now he just has to convince Scarlett that just maybe, love has been right in front of her all along.

Clean Out of Luck is a standalone book in the Only Magic in the Building series. These closed door, whimsical romance books are all set in the same historic building, which has a habit of playing matchmaker with its residents. There are light magical elements, but no spells, shifters, or dark magic of any kind.

The Author

USA Today Bestselling author Carina Taylor loves to write witty romantic comedies that bring a smile to your face.

When she's not writing, you can find Carina ignoring her laundry pile (she's hit expert level), pretending to work out (she's probably just reading), and dreaming up the next story.

Book Review

Clean Out of Luck is the fifth book in the Only Magic in the Building series. This is an interconnected multi-author series with each book being able to be enjoyed as standalones or in any order. 

Carina Taylor is an absolute master at writing witty humor and banter that will have me smiling every time... and this one was absolutely no exception! Wade and Scarlett had such a fun dynamic... as her older brother's best friend, he definitely has some overprotective tendencies that can absolutely drive her crazy... but he most certainly does not see her as a little sister figure. At all. The chemistry, the banter, the string of bad dates... and a sibling who might actually be more supportive of their best friend dating their sibling (which is how it was in my personal experience)? What's not to love about all that? It had all the things I love about Carina's books--- with a magical broom that has the ability to grant wishes for even more fun and whimsy. I do think the magic in this story is just a bit more subtle than the previous books so far, so if you're curious about the series, but have been apprehensive about that aspect of it, this might be a good one to try out to start! 

Clean Out of Luck is a closed-door romance with kisses only. There is a bit of minor language as well. 


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/4c3kOAl