Book: Upgraded: An Ex-Boyfriend's Dad Romance by Millsaps, Abby
Reviewed by Booksbystarlightandshadows
Rating: 3/5
I'm a big fan of Abby Millsaps Why Choose trilogies and this is my first M/F standalone from the author. There were elements I liked (the found family - I already know Lincoln is going to be one on my favourites) and the F1 setting. I also liked Evan and Ric as characters as well as their connection but I kept coming back to the feeling that it would have worked just as well as a straight up workplace romance rather than an ex-boyfriends dad trope. If there had been more of Luca and Evan's relationship on page (even via a flashback) I would have bought into it more but instead they've already broken up, Alaric had never met Evan in the context of being with Luca, and Luca being Alaric's son doesn't appear to be much of a stumbling block to either Alaric or Evan as Luca and Alaric are almost estranged.
Evan has an amazing support system on page and I appreciated the way her multiple diagnoses were explained. The blurb states though that she has always been "too much" but I didn't feel we ever really saw any of that. If anything, she was incredibly aware and mindful, and knew exactly when and how to use her toolkit which I liked. It felt like it was only Luca who said those things and he came across as really one-dimensional compared to the other characters. I couldn't really get my head around him or why he strung Evan along for two years; he wasn't a nice guy, didn't really seem to like Evan all that much, and the money thing was just odd. I did like that we got to meet Sophie though; I loved her relationship with Alaric too and thought that was a great change from the usual ex-wife character.
A three star is still a book I enjoyed and for a series jumping off point it does a good job at introducing the multiple side characters. My favourite scenes were definitely with the other racers and I'm already trying to guess what other tropes we are going to get!
My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read