rocket testing

Rocket scientist Dr. Scout Porter is the engineer at BuzzCorp, a start-up company that brings adult toys to the bedroom. She spends her days dreaming up sex toys for women and men, and uses her science background to test them. At the moment, she’s working on The Fantasy, a project more complicated than she’s done before. It has an interactive element, which can be run from a phone, so BuzzCorp has hired Hudson Bailey to develop the software for it.

Scout is not a fan of Hudson. He’s so charming and friendly that everyone loves him. It gets on Scout’s nerves. But she’s also really attracted to him. Which also gets on her nerves. He has told her that he has no experience with sex toys. But he seems willing to learn, if only someone were willing to teach him. Scout has turned him down for that one, but when it turns out that she needs something from him, she has to reconsider.

Scout has a secret that she hasn’t told anyone at BuzzCorp. She’s actually a virgin. She had been a child prodigy, so she missed out on a lot of the usual social milestones along the way. Then she’d gotten her dream job designing rockets. But when the very expensive rocket she’d been working on was tested (too soon, in her opinion), it exploded. After that, and a series of embarrassing meetings with HR where her salacious texts with her boss came to light, Scout gave up her dreams of designing rockets and found another job. That was when Clara found her and hired her for BuzzCorp.

But Scout feels like losing her virginity will help her with The Fantasy, and she can’t stop thinking about Hudson. So she agrees to teach him about their line of products if he helps her hit this particular milestone. And it turns out that Scout and Hudson have major chemistry. Their lessons go on, each one ending in big explosions, and they learn to communicate what they want.

But OFest is coming up, with the introduction of The Fantasy. And Scout’s former boss has decided to get into the sex toy industry for himself, so he is now their competition. Scout wants to make sure everything going well for the unveiling of The Fantasy, but she’s also worried that a successful launch will mean that Hudson’s contract will end. Will she find the happy ending she has been yearning for, or will her wildest dreams go unfulfilled?

A Little Buzzed is a charming rom com with a unique setting. The heat between Scout and Hudson is undeniable, and author Alys Murray just keeps turning adding more wood to those flames as the story unfolds. This is a high-spice novel with no kink-shaming. Nothing is off the table between these two lovers, so readers are offered a smorgasbord of scenes.

I liked these characters a lot. They are smart and thoughtful, and it’s nice to see them open themselves emotionally through this story. Scout in particular learns about friendship as well as dating, and it’s good to see her find her voice through her new relationships. I was a little surprised by the amount of spiciness in these scenes, but this is also a really good story. I loved A Little Buzzed’s humor and heart, and I’m glad I spent some time in Scout’s world.

Egalleys for A Little Buzzed were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.