Review: Anything You Can Do

Title: Anything You Can Do
Series: None
Author: R.S. Grey 
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary 
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: February 2, 2017 
Source: Bought

Lucas Thatcher has always been my enemy.
It’s been a decade since I’ve seen him, but our years on opposite coasts were less of a lasting peace and more of a temporary cease-fire. Now that we’re both back in our small town, I know Lucas expects the same old war, but I’ve changed since high school—and from the looks of it, so has he.
The arrogant boy who was my teenage rival is now a chiseled doctor armed with intimidating good looks. He is Lucas Thatcher 2.0, the new and improved version I’ll be competing with in the workplace instead of the schoolyard.
I’m not worried; I’m a doctor now too, board-certified and sexy in a white coat. It almost feels like winning will be too easy—until Lucas unveils a tactic neither of us has ever used before: sexual warfare.
The day he pushes me up against the wall and presses his lips to mine, I can’t help but wonder if he’s filling me with passion or poison. Every fleeting touch is perfect torture. With every stolen kiss, my walls crumble a little more. After all this time, Lucas knows exactly how to strip me of my defenses, but I’m in no hurry to surrender.
Knowing thy enemy has never felt so good.

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I'm really sad I didn't like this book more.  It had so much promise!  I've been on the look out for another good enemies-to-lovers story (ever since finishing The Hating Game) and have yet to find one that really stands out.  I thought this once could be it but everything about it just fell flat for me.  I didn't feel the chemistry between the main couple, their "war" felt more like petty antics between twelve year-olds, and the main character made me wish I could throw the book across the room.  Alas, I was reading it on my kindle.  

 Let's start with the main character, Daisy.  She's twenty-eight years old and a doctor.  Her dream has been to run her own practice.  Honestly though, I have no idea how she made it this far.  Not once throughout the entire book did we see her treat one patient competently.  Every single time she and her "enemy" Lucas go to see a patient, she lets this petty war between them get the better of her and makes the entire situation feel unprofessional and uncomfortable, for both the patient and the reader.  Seriously, Daisy felt more like she was thirteen than twenty-eight.  I can't understand her charm.  She didn't come off as nice or sweet.  She spent the majority of the book complaining, whining, and causing problems with Lucas.  

That's another problem I have with this.  The "war" between Daisy and Lucas felt completely one sided.  She was constantly trying to figure out ways to sabotage him while he seemed fine to me.  I think there was only one time throughout the book where he actively tried to mess her up?  Every other time he just seemed nice and actually kind of bland.  If I'm told I'm going to be reading an enemies to lovers story, I want to feel the tension between the two mains!

Everything emotion-wise felt really abrupt and out of nowhere.  I think this is probably due to the fact that there was no real build up to shift in feelings, at least not with Daisy.  One minutes she's like "I hate you!" and the next she's like "Hate is basically the same thing as love!"  It just wasn't at all believable to me.  There was no tension, no build up, no chemistry.  Though I will say, there were some funny lines and moments.  I just wish the actual concept had been better structured and executed.  

I don't know if I'll read many more books by this author.  None of them have really captured me like I had hoped they would.  While this book wasn't terrible, it was missing a lot of the things I adore from a hate-to-love story.  I wish we had more tension and build up between the characters.  If you're a fan of this author's other works, you would probably enjoy this one more than I did.  If you're interested in it, I'd suggest giving it a shot! For me, it just missed the mark. 

"Can you kill someone with a kiss? I think that’s what he’s doing—slaying me with his mouth." 

Two Teapots