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4.5 Stars

OMFG, I’m such a whore for this series. The characters, the romance, the SEX, the OTT drama, the intensity, the “touch him and die�� possessiveness!!!... Unf! SO GOOD! I feel like I’ve been ridden hard and put away wet by this book. #sorrynotsorry

Win and Lars weren’t quite what I expected them to be, after being introduced to Win heavily in Wish, but you’ll see no complaints here because I loved every little character detail and relationship surprise between these two.

Win, having lost his parents as a teen, struggles with relationships, always in fear of getting too close to anyone when loss and heartbreak can often be right around the corner. He has his brothers, Wes (actual bio bro) and Max (best friend and brother by choice) but he tries to keep himself detached from any form of romantic involvement where possible because his heart is safer that way.

When he does a semester abroad in Sweden, lines get blurred when he meets his broody little Nordic roommate, Lars. Although off-page (mostly) for us, these two fall into an intense friends-with-benefits type situation, which ends abruptly when Win returns home after Wes’s drama (in book #4). But fate has other ideas, and soon enough Lars shows up at Westbrook college, as the newest member of the Elite swim team. He swears he didn’t come here just for Win, but there’s a lot Win doesn’t know about Lars�� past that keeps him guessing.

There’s that inevitable push-and-pull between Lars and Win that was very reminiscent of what Wes and Max went through in their book, with Win trying—and failing HARD—to keep his distance from his striking blue-eyed, blonde angel. Eventually, that “he’s mine forever�� switch is flipped and Win claims his man with a passion and intensity that rivals all other Hebert couples I’ve read to date.

There is this itty-bitty part of me that still—after almost 20 Cambria Hebert reads—feels like maybe I should feel bad about loving her stories so much?! But f*ck it!! This is my idea of a really fun and all-consuming romance read. These books bring me endless joy and I will not feel bad about that, nor should I have to. *side-eying all the judgy-mcjudgersons*

As is the going trend with this series, there’s a suspense/thriller side-plot, involving Lars�� abusive ex, which gets adequately intense and troublesome, providing plenty of opportunities for Win to go all cave-man, “who did this to you�� on anyone that even looks funny at Lars. The drama is often heightened in these books, but did I mention I give no f*cks?! Because I’m always just SO OBSESSED that my eyes have trouble comprehending the words at the same rate my heart wants me to whip through the pages for more, more, more!

The found family vibes, between Win’s brother and with all the dude-bros (and their ladies) on the swim team, are strong AF. The group is growing exponentially at this rate, but I’ve yet to meet a character I haven’t enjoyed, so I’ll take all the new players and wrap them up in my obsessive little arms with glee and eagerness. Lars and Win were a great addition to the series and I adored their story.

As far as series longevity goes, the Westbrook Elite have been some of my favourite reads of the past two years, and with (at least?!) three more books planned in the series, I don’t see my joy for these characters diminishing anytime soon.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! <3