REVIEW: Mutually Beneficial By Ava Guerre

This steamy romance is about a gruff landlord with a hidden agenda and a tenant who sees the good in people.

Jason, the landlord, is a complex war veteran who has been attracted to Anna from day one. He finds himself wanting to get closer to her, even though he believes he is incapable of a relationship. His PTSD makes him a man of few words, but he’s really sweet underneath.

“Anna” is a nonjudgemental social worker who works for the state. She is not supported by her otter family and has problems of her own with her brother. Because every cent she makes goes to her brother, she finds herself in financial trouble, giving Jason the perfect opportunity to get closer.

Basically, Annalise asks to pay her rent late, and Jason proposes that she works off her debt sexually. It sounds kind of icky, but it actually wasn’t done that badly. She clearly agrees to the terms and isn’t forced into it by any means (Jason doesn’t threaten to kick her out or take any action, he just proposes an arrangement that she might want to consider).

“I already told you, I don’t have the money.”

His deep voice sank even lower, practically a growl. “I wasn’t talking about money. You want to work your rent off, you can do it on your knees.”

Yet as the weeks go by, and sex is becoming a weekly event, Annalise sees Jason in an entirely new light. A good man hides behind the untidy appearance, struggling to express himself. The thought of walking away never even crosses her mind, which says a lot.

Plus, the sex is explosive. It starts off a bit strange (since they barely know each other) but I loved seeing the progression of intimacy. Some of my favorite books show how sex becomes more intimate as the characters slowly get to know each other, and Ava Guerre nailed that here!

The smut is definitely a bit on the sweeter side, especially as the relationship progresses, so don’t go in expecting extreme BDSM (there’s one tiny scene that brushes on these topics but it really isn’t much).

The pace of Mutually Beneficial is lovely. Guerre manages to show that plenty of things are happening to these characters outside of the bedroom, but you never forget the relationship they’re forming, either. Nothing dragged on and I always wanted to keep turning the pages.

I also enjoyed the fact that Jason starts to feel more and more guilty about their arrangement (though he’s plenty giving, both in and out of the bedroom, by this point in the story) and can’t see a way to start a real relationship. This made him feel very relatable, since most people, or at least anyone with a conscience, would struggle with something similar.

Anna’s brother, Theo, is also a great addition to the story. We really see his character evolve and change, even from the few interactions with him, as he gets clean and starts to rebuild his life. I literally can’t wait for his story!

The only thing I think some people may struggle with while reading Mutually Beneficial by Ava Guerre is the writing style. Her prose is very stark; sentences are cut and dry with few flowery adjectives. It’s a bit of a shock while first adjusting, but I found myself really liking it once I got into the book.

Overall, Mutually Beneficial by Ava Guerre was a really solid read. It has a good storyline, plenty of smut, and relatable characters living the lower-to-middle class lifestyle. It’s a shorter, easy read that is still filled with all the necessary pieces. I look forward to Guerre’s next book!

Triggers: PTSD, panic attacks, anxiety, substance abuse, addiction, suicide attempt, mental abuse from the hero’s previous relationship, lifelong injury from accident