Review : Flipping the Script (Legacy Mechanics Book 1) by Willow Dixon
Jesse
After years of working my butt off, I’m finally living the life I always wanted. I have a job I love, friends who’ve become family, and I’m enjoying the freedom of being single.Then Sebastian, my childhood rival, moves back to town and my perfect life is thrown into chaos. We’ve always hated each other, but now there’s something else between us. Something wild and primal, something that wants to make Sebastian submit as much as it wants to claim him.
Hooking up with the guy I hate is probably the stupidest thing I’ve done, and that’s saying a lot. But it’s hard to remember why it’s a bad idea when he’s the only person who’s ever made me lose control, and the only man I can’t stay away from.
Sebastian
Retiring from the music industry at twenty-five wasn’t in my long-term plans. Neither was moving home after being away for seven years. But here I am with a serious case of burnout and no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life.I hoped that moving back would give me a chance to shed my public persona and just be Sebastian again, but that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.
The only thing in my life that makes sense is my old rivalry with Jesse, the guy I’ve hated since we were eight. Arguing with him is as exhilarating as it is familiar, and no one is more surprised than me when a fight leads to our first kiss, then more.
Jesse may be the most annoying person I’ve ever known, but the tension between us is too strong to ignore. I hate that I want him but love that he can’t stay away from me either.
Jesse and Sebastian’s book is an enemies-to-lovers romance featuring a mechanic with a secret, and a retired musician looking for his place in the world. You can expect hurt/comfort, forced proximity, ‘there’s only one bed’, found family, lots of heat, tons of dirty talk, primal play, hate s*x, and fighting as these two childhood rivals figure out that sometimes what you need has been in front of you all along. It is the first book in the exciting new Legacy Mechanics series but can be read as a standalone.
I GOT THE BOOK ON KINDLE UNLIMITED.
Review:
Dear Willow Dixon,
DA Commenter DiscoDollyDeb mentioned this book on DA monthly book recommendations thread and I enjoy “from enemies to lovers” done right, so of course I had to try it.
I actually agree that antagonism (or perceived antagonism) between the leads was done very well. I do think that a believable psychological explanation was given as to why Jesse and Sebastian started to think that they hated each other at some point of their childhood.
I very much appreciated that even when both men think that they dislike each other or annoyed each other, they both were self aware enough to realize at first that they enjoyed their sexual encounters as combative as those were and then were even more self aware to begin to realize that as confusing as it could have been, they may like *each other* too.
I thought it was well done that after every time they got together, they were learning something new about themselves and the other person, no matter how small it was. Sometimes the lesson may have been that other person is much more interesting and kind than what they thought them to be previously.
“I didn’t know how to act around him. That night at the club had messed with my head. He’d helped me with that guy at the bar and again in the back room. He’d comforted me. Hugged me.”
“Something about his tone was off again. It wasn’t teasing or cocky, and it didn’t have the usual bite of our typical banter. He sounded shy and even surprised, like he truly didn’t know how gorgeous he was. “Yeah.” I rolled the condom on with one hand and slid my other under the back of his shirt so I could stroke his smooth skin. “You’re gorgeous. I’ve always thought so.” His eyes flashed with something I couldn’t read. “Even when you were being an insufferable douche canoe.” He huffed out a surprised laugh.”
Basically, it was an interesting journey of two people I was reading about and I liked it, even though I thought the ending was a bit abrupt, epilogue notwithstanding. However there was also a case of “it is not the book, it is me” that prevented me from enjoying it more.
I am sorry, but as much as I liked the tenderness which appeared more and more as the story unfolded, a lot of sex scenes were just too explicit for me. I was a bit bored at times by very, very, very detailed descriptions and was skimming some of them (not all).
I think purely erotic romance without any adventure or mystery storyline is not quite my cup of tea these days.
Also, as an aside there are characters in the book who seemed to have little to no reason to be there, besides being prepared to have their own book in the series.
Grade: B-
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I’ve really enjoyed Willow Dixon’s books. I like how the MCs are thoughtful about their sexuality (in almost all of her books, one of the MCs experiences a bi-awakening) and don’t freak out about their same-sex attraction. Her books also usually feature some aspect of what makes life tough for Gen Z & Millennials: minimum-wage jobs, gig economy, high rents, the need to have multiple jobs to break even, etc. Her books also highlight strong (non-sexual) male friendships and a completely non-judgmental approach to sex work. Dixon has become one of my most reliable auto buys.