The Right Move by Liz Tomforde (Book 2 of the Windy City Series)

The second book in the Windy City Series is The Right Move, which follows Ryan Shay and Indy Ivers.

Ryan: Looks like he could kill you — is a cinnamon roll.
Indy: Looks like a cinnamon roll — is a cinnamon roll.

Quick Overview/Ratings

My overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 — one of the best contemporary romance books I have ever read
Spice rating: 🌶🌶🌶/5 — a very plot-driven story, but has several well-crafted open-door sex scenes that are integral to the character development
On KU: Yes, this book is available on Kindle Unlimited (as of publishing)
POV: Dual POV (and the audiobook has two narrators — one for each character — which I personally greatly prefer for dual-POV books)

The Plot of The Right Move by Liz Tomforde

The two main characters in The Right Move are connected through Stevie Shay, the FMC of Mile High (book 1).

Ryan Shay is Stevie’s twin brother and a professional basketball player for the Windy City Devils, Chicago’s fictional NBA team. Indy Ivers is Stevie’s best friend and coworker — also a flight attendant for the Raptors.

Ryan is a total recluse. Being one of the best basketball players in the league (not just Chicago) means his business, when it snags headlines, goes international. Think of him like a fictional Kobe or LeBron.

He has a squeaky-clean image as the “good guy” in basketball, which he mostly maintains by avoiding the outside world. He was burned once, and he won’t be fooled into trusting anyone again.

Not until long after he retires, at least.

His home is his sanctuary, and he likes it a certain way — namely, empty. His apartment is sterile. Devoid of personal touches and perfect for his broody/grumpy personality.

Until Indy…

If you look up sunshine in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure you’ll find Indy Iver’s picture there. She is full of personality and color — a girly girl who likes colorful dresses, romance novels, high heels, and iced coffee.

Ladies, she’s one of us.

She’s also wicked smart — and thanks to those girly traits, she’s often underestimated.

What Happened Before The Right Move by Liz Tomforde

At the end of Mile High, Indy caught her long-term boyfriend in bed with another woman when she returned home from a team travel trip early. Broken and unable to afford to live on her own, she finds herself homeless and hopeless. She starts this book ready to accept defeat and move back home with her parents in Florida.

Stevie, her best friend, won’t have it.

Growing up with a professional athlete as a twin, Stevie has found it hard to connect with people — real friends who aren’t just using her as a way to get close to her brother. Indy is the exception, and Stevie won’t let her go so easily.

Stevie convinces (i.e., guilts) her twin, Ryan (a man who loves Stevie and only Stevie) to let Indy stay in his apartment.

Temporarily.

Very temporarily.

Because Ryan doesn’t exactly like Indy…

They’ve met twice before, and the encounters were — memorable — to say the least. Think: post-breakup, snotty tears, and maybe a little drunken vomit on his shoes.

Oops…

The day she moves in, his every fear about her comes to life.

He comes home to an apartment that looks like it was splattered in rainbow vomit.

His normally black and grey apartment is suddenly stuffed with plants, romance novels, and color. He immediately knows he made a huge mistake in agreeing to this arrangement for Stevie.

Or did he?

Some of the tropes (common plot points) you can expect include:

Check the tags at the top of the page for a full list of tropes, but here are some of the bigger ones:

Forced proximity. Nothing forces you to look a person in the eye quite like being forced together as unhappy roomies.
Grumpy/sunshine. Indy and Ryan’s dynamic absolutely fits the grumpy/sunshine personality clash trope.
Fake dating. I won’t spoil it though.

My thoughts on The Right Move by Liz Tomforde

This book is one I have read and reread (…and reread) on both Kindle and Audible— it is one of my favorite romance novels of all time (tied for first place with the fourth book in this series).

Why?

Because not only are these characters incredibly three-dimensional, (just like the ones in Mile High) but they also feel real.

It physically pains me that Ryan and Indy don’t exist, because I know we’d be besties. Their struggles, interests, insecurities, and triumphs could be any of ours, and they’re both people you want in your corner.

And just like in Mile High, the love in this book is realistic. Ryan’s love isn’t flashy or dramatic. It’s quiet — shown through the little things he does each day.

It’s making an extra cup of coffee every morning and putting it in the fridge for her before she wakes up so she can put ice in it without diluting it.
It’s changing his weekly grocery delivery to buy vegetarian sausage instead of bacon, so Indy (a vegetarian, of course) can eat with him.
Building her a bookshelf to get her romance novels off the floor so she feels more comfortable in their shared space.
Or braving the public to regularly pick up fresh flowers for her because he loves the way they make her smile.

What Makes the Love in The Right Move Special

Anyone can love like Ryan Shay. There’s no money or magic to it — just thoughtfulness and attention to detail. That means — yessiree — he will ruin mediocre men for you.

And Indy? Her personality is infectious. She makes everyone her best friend immediately — her love is genuine, full of sunshine, and fiercely loyal.

She is also incredibly relatable to those of us who embrace our “basic” tendencies. We are just like every other girl and we’re proud of it.

Together, their love story feels true, precious, and offers yet another Liz Tomforde signature — a sensible example of what a wholesome relationship can and should look like. If your man doesn’t love you how you need to be loved, it might be time to look for your Ryan, babe.

“At some point, I should probably tell her that my love language is whichever one she wants it to be so she can stop guessing. I’ll make sure that girl feels loved however she needs.” — Ryan Shay