Book Review: Naughty Boss (Steamy Coffee Collection #1) by Whitney G.

He definitely wasn't supposed to get that email...

 Subject: My Boss.

Have I already told you that I hate my boss today?

Sexy as hell or not, this pompous, arrogant, ASSHOLE asked me to pick up his dry cleaning the second I walked through the door. Then he told me that I needed to take his Jaguar to a car wash that was ten miles outside of the city, but only after I needed to stand in a never-ending line to buy some type of limited, hundred-dollar watch.

I honestly can't wait to see the look on his face two months from now when I tell him that I'm quitting his company and that he can kiss my ass. KISS. MY. ASS.

All those former fantasies about him kissing me with his "mouth of perfection" or bending me over my desk and filling me with his cock are long over. OVER.

Your bestie,
Mya

PS--Please tell me your day is going better than mine...



Subject: Re: My Boss.No, you haven't already told me that you hate your boss today, but seeing as though you've sent me this email directly, I know now...

Yes, I did ask you to pick up my dry cleaning the second you arrived to work to day. (Where is it?) And I did tell you to take my Jaguar to the car wash and pick up my thousand-dollar watch. (Thank you for taking five hours to do something that could be accomplished in two.)

You don't have to wait two months from now to see the look on my face when you tell me you're quitting. I'm standing outside your office at this very moment. ( Open the door. )

No comment on your "fantasies," although I highly doubt they're "long over."

Your boss,
Michael

PS--Yes. My day is definitely going far better than yours...

I'm telling you, my head must be up my butt most of the time because not only did I not know about this book until a couple of days ago but I wasn't familiar with this author. How does that even happen?!?

Novellas are not my thing. I've been burned quite a few times with them because it never feels like the story is complete - things aren't fully fleshed out and I'm left irritated that I wasted time on a partial novel. Lately, I've been lucky enough to find quite a few novellas that are AWESOME. This one definitely deserves to be at the top of the pile. 

Since it is such a short book, I'm going to be very brief with my review because I don't want to give anything away. First, I hope that you've read the blurb already and if you have, then you probably won't be reading any reviews to check the book out because you'll realize without having to read my thoughts that this book is going to be badass. You would be correct. It is. Very much so. 

This novella is partially written as emails. I didn't know how I would feel about that at first but I ended up falling in love with the whole darn thing. What an interesting concept! I think it gives you a peek into who a character actually is because things are said to besties that aren't said to anyone else - sometimes even ourselves. And then the response that Michael gave Mya. I wanted to die of embarrassment for her. Can you imagine?!?

These two had such amazing chemistry and you couldn't help but admire Mya and all of her snarkiness and when you get her d-bag boss, Michael, thrown into the mix ... it's just great. You'll read reviews where it bashes Michael's character because he's a man-whore. Yes, the dude sleeps around. That's probably too nice of a phrase for him ... he had a different chick lined up every day. Like scheduled and shit. First of all, I find that admirable. Can you imagine trying to juggle that many women, let alone scheduling stuff? My husband can't even keep up with ME ... so I can't imagine that poor bastard and the balancing act he'd have to pull out of somewhere. Michael's ... extra curricular activities ... come off as almost comical and no reason to get all virginal Mary on the book. It's fine. It's a book. You won't burst into flames, people. 

The story itself is super fast paced - which is my favorite - and when you're done, you'll wish that there were more pages but not because things weren't buttoned up nicely - you just want more of Michael and Mya. I don't blame you. I'm in the same boat. Steamy book and an amazing author ... I'm a massive fan!!

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Book Review: The Billionaire's Intern (Billionaire Fairytales #3) by Jackie Ashenden

Lorenzo De Santis: Ruthless. Driven. Ambitious. 
 
Lorenzo De Santis is the boss. He's an uncompromising hardass, he doesn’t suffer fools, and he doesn’t have time to deal with witless young interns. But when an old friend asks for a favor, Lorenzo can’t refuse. Even if it means taking on the man’s daughter as a project. 

Kira Constantin: Rich. Party girl...Spy. 
 
Kira Constantin feels like she has been half-alive since that one night of partying ended in tragedy. So when her father demands that she go undercover at De Santis Corp as a spy, there’s no way she can refuse. She must redeem herself, even if that means dealing with a boss like of Lorenzo De Santis.

Except neither of them counts on the forbidden heat that flares between them. As Kira and Lorenzo draw closer, spying on him becomes harder and harder. And then Kira discovers that the real villain might be closer to her than she thinks…

 

This is the second book I've read by Jackie Ashenden and it did go better for me than The Dangerous Billionaire. You felt a 'but' in there, didn't you. Yeah ... there is one ... but I'll get to that later. 

Contrary to what others are saying about this book ... I really liked the main characters. Lorenzo was probably in my top ten favorite male leads for this year. I thought that he was obnoxiously cocky and rude but for some reason, that does it for me. I think that I like male characters like that because there's usually another, sweeter, side to them and it's even more sweet when they are rude as all get out and you are able to see the contrast. As a character, I really liked Kira as well. I thought that she was a very strong chick that was dealt a bad hand in life and she's getting over it. (More on THAT later). And what do you get when you put Kira and Lorenzo together? A blazing inferno. The chemistry that was created between these two was hot and exciting. Absolutely perfect for a romance novel. 

The story had a great pace, an awesome plot and everything played out in an exciting way. I actually really enjoyed my reading experience with this one. Nothing was super deep but it was enough to make the story feel full and complete. 

BUT. Here it is. This isn't a secret ... it's in multiple reviews on every site ... (I checked) ... Kira has ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. A fairly common diagnosis these days. Both of my kiddos have ADHD and unlike how it is stated in the book ... this is not a death sentence. From here on out, everything I write is purely my opinion and I'm going to hop on my soapbox because this is something that our family deals with on a daily basis, so I'm pretty well acquainted with it. ADHD is not a "condition" it is just part of who that person is. Like I said, our boys have ADHD ... they are hyper, they have problems focusing, they talk constantly and they have massive impulse control issues. ADHD was referred to as a condition within the pages of this book MANY times and each time, I wanted to set my Kindle on fire. It made ADHD sound like it was similar to cancer. That just isn't how our family sees it. One of our kiddo's ADHD is severe and the other's is not. I've seen both sides of this diagnosis and in no way is it as dramatic as it is presented in the book. Yes, kids who have it are at a disadvantage - some more than others. Some parents couldn't care less about whether their child has a diagnosis or not, they expect a perfectly robotic child and some parents baby their child because of it. In my mind ... it just felt like a mountain was made out of a mole hill on this whole ADHD issue. It just rubbed me the wrong way and since it played a major part in the book, it did bring my rating down one star. I'll jump off that soapbox now. You've suffered enough.

Now there are people out there who couldn't care less how ADHD is portrayed and honestly, that's great. That means you won't be as judgy as me and then you'll probably rate this book a little higher than I did. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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Book Review: Digital Velocity (McAllister Justice #1) by Reily Garrett

The deadliest weapons are the ones we never see.

Keyboard prodigy, Lexi Donovan has risen from teenage orphan of the streets to complete independence with little help along the way. When a friend is threatened, Lexi’s anonymous message sends police into a firefight, leading to a wounded cop.

Detective Ethan McAllister’s well-ordered life turned upside down the day an obscure text message led to a sexual predator’s identity. Since then, Callouston PD’s finest can’t trace the elusive hacker. The latest tip leads him to a brutal mutilation and a riddle indicating the identity of the next murder victim.

The dark net houses a playground for the morally depleted and criminally insane. When Lexi discovers the killer’s digital betting arena, she finds herself centered in a cyber stalker’s crosshairs bearing equal talent.

Street life strengthened Lexi while toughening her protective shell, but nothing could shield her from the shrewd detective forging a path to her heart.

This is the first book I've read by Reily Garrett and while I jump into this one totally blind, I really didn't know what to expect on these pages. I found the blurb to be pretty interesting, so when the author asked me to give it a read, I jumped on it. 

The beginning of the book was a little slow for me and I think that it's because you're meeting multiple characters and you're caught in a game of catch up at first while you're delving into the plot. It's all completely necessary information but it did slow the book down a little bit for me. I found out after the fact that there is a novella that precedes this book. While I'm under the impression that it's not a "must read" for the series, I'm fairly certain that the back story included in that novella would have enriched what I was reading in this one and maybe make things seem more like a reintroduction rather than an overwhelming jumble. 

Now once you get into the book and past the beginning where you're meeting everyone, things do speed up. I was blowing through pages but then it slows down again and speeds up. I soon found myself on a literary roller coaster. Which made the book lag and then add in the fact that personally, it was just a little too descriptive and you have another lag. I just prefer to have a lot of excitement and a book that chugs along at a fairly quick pace. I'm pretty sure it's because I have to put down and then pick up whatever I'm reading multiple times throughout the day so I need something that chugs along quickly or I become lost and bored within the plot. 

The characters were okay. I really didn't have this massive connection to Lexi and like I said before, I'm pretty sure I would feel differently if I had read the novella. Apparently, that is where you get to know Lexi on a deeper level and really dive into who she is and what her motivations are. I did like Ethan but ... this will sound weird ... I liked him better when hew as with his brothers. When you first meet Ethan's brothers ... you'll fall in love with them immediately. I'm totally serious; all of them were absolutely fabulous and the camaraderie between them was wonderfully ornery and endearing. 

So when Ethan was with his brothers, the story came to life for me. 

When it comes down to it, I think that the reason this wasn't a five star book for me was because it was a little too descriptive for my tastes and I didn't really connect with the main characters. But those are all just personal things and this book is rated highly on Goodreads and Amazon, so don't take just my word for it.

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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Book Review: The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren

Twelve years ago, tragedy struck the senior class of Long Acre High School. Only a small number of students survived, a group the media dubbed as The Ones Who Got Away.

Now, web designer Liv Arias, along with the rest of the survivors, have returned to the small Texas town to tell their stories for a documentary. Which means Liv seeing former star-athlete and old flame Finn Dorsey. A lot happened between them that night and Liv is ready to end their decade-long riff and move on. But when her attempt at closure turns into a steamy kiss, moving on proves much more difficult than either of them thought...

Liv's words cut off as Finn got closer. The man approaching was nothing like the boy she'd known. The bulky football muscles had streamlined into a harder, leaner package. The smooth face was now dusted with scruff, and the look in his deep green eyes held no trace of boyish innocence. A thousand things were in those eyes. A thousand things welled up in Liv.

 

When I first saw that there was a "sneak peek" of this book on NetGalley, I was totally against reading it because I thought that it was just a snippet. And I'm an idiot. Yeah, turns out, it wasn't a snippet but the whole book. Thank goodness I got the whole book because IT. WAS. AWESOME. 

I've never read anything by this author, which gives further validation to the argument that I'm an idiot. Let's just say that I'm a fan. A big fan. Not only were the characters absolutely amazing but the book was funny in spots and I had not been expecting that at all. I also didn't expect to really connect with the main character, Liv. I'm not entirely sure why I became so attached to her because I've never directly been through such a harrowing experience ... maybe it's because of my empathy towards her but I really think it's just because the author wrote Liv in such a way that you can't help but root for her from the very first page. She's such a well written character that she becomes an old friend very quickly. 

I couldn't have picked a better dude for Liv than Finn. Finn is everything that I that I've ever wanted in a literary hero. He's protective and loyal and sweet and adoringly possessive - which I didn't even know was possible. Well, it is. Then there's this captivating character growth that Finn goes through. You're able to experience Finn morphing into what he thought he had lost so very long ago and it's completely endearing. Now for the important part ... when Finn and Liv are together ... talk about hot. So incredibly steamy and it didn't feel forced!! It was natural and totally believable. Not always something you find within the pages of a romance novel but it seems to come to author Roni Loren easily.

When I said before that Liv became a friend, that also goes hand in hand with the way this story was written. The book is about a past horrific experience but it's written in such a way that you find yourself immersed in the book - not just as a spectator but almost as if you're a part of what is going on. Actually, while reading this book, you'll find that it becomes a part of you. You never want to let it go. This is one that I will reread many times. Gosh. I miss Liv and Finn already. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

Available: January 2nd, 2018

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Book Review: Thursday Afternoon by Beth Rinyu

I'm just your typical working girl who never mixes business with pleasure. Although some may say my business is all about pleasure. For the past four years, I’ve allowed my profession to define me, distancing myself from family, friends and most of all love. Hating the reflection I see staring back at me in the mirror, I muddle through each day with my heart sealed off like a tomb, until two strangers enter my life.

One teaching me the true meaning of friendship.

The other teaching me the true meaning of love.

She’s everything I’m not.
Humble, loving, and devoting her life to others.
We’re an unlikely duo who are polar opposites, but at the same time so alike.
Never in a million years could I be friends with someone like her...until I was.

Then there’s him.
He’s my Thursday afternoon client.
Just like all the others: handsome, rich and charming…yet so very different.
Trying to overcome a painful past, he seeks out my services as a refuge, only to find that we’re opening our hearts to each other in ways that neither of us could've imagined.
I could never fall in love with someone like him...until I did.
And now I'm finding myself longing for it to be Thursday afternoon all week long.

I've never read a book by this author, so I really didn't know what to expect as I dove into the pages. The whole concept of the book was intriguing ... you've got this female escort/call-girl that (as the blurb states - no spoilers, promise!) falls in love with her Thursday John. I mean client. And before someone jumps their soapbox, I have no problem with that profession, to each their own but let's not sugar coat it - a polished penny is the same as a dirty penny, you know?

As I started to read, I really thought that when I got to know our main character, Bree, that she would be one of two extremes - either she really hated being a paid escort and detested every moment or that she loved what she did and didn't want to give it up. But Bree was neither of those. She was just kinda 'meh' about everything. I was a little surprised. With her lackadaisical outlook on her career, it made the story a little convenient. And by convenient, I mean she didn't have any real hurdles to get over. There wasn't enough conflict, in my mind at least. I won't lie, there was one situation that happened and that added to the story but other than that one struggle, there really wasn't anything else for Bree to overcome. Which is sad. Because it took away some of the depth that Bree could have had with more inner strife or something.

And along those same lines, the story felt really drawn out and sluggish. That could be attributed to the conflict issue that I experienced throughout in the book. It felt like I was trudging up a super steep mountain and every once in a while, I'd find a pretty flower but for the most part, I was just wearing myself out. Or the sluggishness could have come from the characters themselves. 

I liked the characters enough but there was just something missing. It didn't feel like there was any real chemistry between Bree and Thursday. There weren't enough sparks. Now, in MY mind, if you're reading a book about a paid escort, you expect some good stuff when it comes to the steamy scenes but I didn't get that. It was a bit ... wah-waaaah ... in my mind. I just wish that there had been more between those two. This book had so much potential but it just didn't ring any bells for me. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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Book Review: Arm Candy (Real Love #2) by Jessica Lemmon

Last call! At the end of the night, a clean-cut hunk and a rebellious bartender act on their unlikely chemistry in this frisky standalone novel from the author of Eye Candy.

Davis: I’ve had my eye on Grace Buchanan for a while now. Unlike the bubbly blondes I usually date, the feisty, flame-haired bartender both intrigues and bewilders me. Something about Grace—the tattoos? the nose ring?—makes every part of me sit up and beg. There’s only one problem: She hates me. Trading insults and one-liners has become our M.O. But when Grace bets me that I can’t get a date with a non-blonde if my life depends on it, I’m determined to prove her wrong by landing the ultimate non-blonde: her.

Grace: I’m used to regulars hitting on me, and I’ve turned them all down, except for one: Davis Price. I like giving him a hard time, and he’s kind of cute in his suit and tie—if you’re into that kind of thing. Anyway, I don’t care how many blondes he takes home . . . until one of them sidles up to him in my bar. Nuh-uh. But after my little bet with Davis backfires, our first date lands us in the sack. So does the second. And the third. Neither of us wants more than the best sex of our lives. The trouble is, it’s not a question of what I want. It’s what I need. And what I need is Davis.

 

I've read quite a few books by Jessica Lemmon and one thing I know that I can always count on with one of her books is that it will keep me entertained and I'll enjoy my reading experience. Once again, Lemmon delivered. Not that I expected her not to, but it's always a pleasant surprise when a book is awesome. 

I liked Arm Candy. Was it my favorite book by Lemmon? No. But it also wasn't the worst book I've ever read. I think that my only issue with it was how slow it was. There's nothing wrong with a book that is at a slower pace ... it's just not something I had experienced with this author before, so I was a little taken aback. Now all of that being said, I think that the pace really matched up with the characters - especially Davis. Our leading man, Davis, is some sort of day trader or stock something-or-other. He goes to the bar that Grace works out to decompress a little bit. I think that the pace of the book was really just the pace of Davis as he sits on that bar stool a few times a week. I liked Davis ... he wasn't one of those characters that made me fan myself, but I liked him. 

Now Grace ... this chick is awesome. I really liked her character and just the way that she presented herself. She's sassy and doesn't really care what you think about it. I think we could all use a little inner Grace sometimes. And Grace and Davis together ... he changed a little bit when the sparks started flying between them. I enjoyed the little transformation that he went through. 

The story itself was great. I liked the direction that the book went in and I really have no complaints about it. Everything was stellar, even if the pace was a little slow for my liking - it seemed perfect for the characters though and that's really what counts. It seems that it doesn't matter what Lemmon writes, I'll be picking it up. Guaranteed good time with her stuff. 

*I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

Available: September 5th, 2017

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