Trope – Forbidden relationship stems from a boss/employee relationship
Ten Tiny Breaths, Book 3
Heat Factor: Sex is frequent but not super detailed; we get only the cursory information of what bits are naked and in contact.
Character Chemistry: Girl with daddy issues + older man with white knight syndrome
Plot: Charlie needs money to disappear so she gets a job as a stripper and starts a thing with her boss. Also she’s reluctantly running heroin.
Overall: The purity overtones were unreal.
Heat Factor: Spicy hot. Memorably spicy hot. Hot, hot, hot.
Character Chemistry: There might be some couples that are more explosive than others, but they’re all deliciously meant-to-be.
Plot: This is a steamy series that revolves around tangentially related sports stars, agents, and related characters in NYC and LA.
Overall: I initially read Now or Never (Book 5) because I heard it was a really fantastic example of praise kink, and holy schmoly. All of them are slam dunks.
Continue reading “Series Review: Irresistible by Stella Rhys (2017-2020)”
Heat Factor: There are steamy scenes and it doesn’t necessarily shy away from flirtation, but I wouldn’t say it has a lot of sexual tension
Character Chemistry: The characters don’t really make sense together but that’s kind of the point of the plot
Plot: Rex will only get his inheritance if he acts as CEO at one of his family’s businesses AND if he gets married within a year. Evie needs to keep her new promotion as Rex’s assistant in order to prevent her house from going into foreclosure. Rex threatens to fire Evie unless she agrees to be his fake girlfriend in order to get his parents off his case, and sparks ensue.
Overall: I think this book has a lot of potential, especially with the messy characters, but some of the editorial choices did impact my enjoyment of the material.
Heat Factor: Not even a kiss in the first third
Character Chemistry: Lust—but it’s *forbidden*
Plot: Miri gets stranded in Aspen after a meeting with her billionaire boss
Overall: DNFed this one
In addition to her review, Ingrid has recommended this book in four other discussion posts or listicles. And also she tells us to read it in the group chat even more than that. And so, finally, I did. I actually listened to the audiobook, and Dominic’s POV is voiced by Sebastian York, who has what I consider this perfect, er, asshole voice (Sorry, Sebastian! You’re really fun to listen to!), so when Dominic is all up in his feelings but still going through with his, er, bad behavior anyway, it’s just perfection. Erin Mallon voices Ally’s chapters, and she’s also a great narrator. So easy to listen to. Great audio.
Okay but the book.
My primary takeaway from this book is that it addresses the power dynamics of an employer/employee relationship better than any such romance I have ever read. And that is a trope I enjoy, even if it’s problematic. Fiction is great, right? Anyway, Ingrid definitely touches on this, too, in her review, but I think it should be said again.
Because he’s lived through the repercussions of his father’s actions, Dominic is so fully against a workplace romance – for all the right reasons! – that he actually fails to see the difference between what his father did to the women in his employ and Dominic’s own relationship with Ally. There were actually times when I was frustrated with Ally, who got mad at Dominic for his refusal to engage with her even though she was very clearly consenting, because Dominic was so utterly clear that consent doesn’t work the same way when their workplace power dynamics were in play. And yet, because Score included the component of Dominic’s dad’s sexual assault and harassment, the reader is still able to see the difference between what Dominic’s going through and what his dad was doing. As the numerous harassment trainings I’ve attended have told me: sexual harassment is not about sex; it’s about power. And that’s exactly what Dominic’s dad very clearly illustrates, but what Dominic fails to see in his own feelings about Ally.
(Also, once things pull together, they go straight to HR, which is great, although HR really shouldn’t have allowed Dominic in the room with Ally while they were discussing the relationship, because if she were being pressured, she couldn’t say so in front of Dominic – but hey, FICTION! There’s a beautiful hand-holding moment that we would have otherwise missed out on.)
The other thing I really liked was that Dominic knows he’s being so bad but just can’t help himself. I like a self-aware protagonist. Makes the naughty behavior less gross. But also Dominic is a big softie. He wants Ally to eat, but he knows it’s not appropriate to buy her food, so he buys food for the whole department. Still not entirely appropriate, and not very sustainable, but definitely shows his soft underbelly while he’s being a, um, little stinker.
Anyway, it’s a long one, but very well thought out. Read on for Ingrid’s original glowing review.
Continue reading “Review Revisited: Erin’s Take on By a Thread by Lucy Score (2020)”
The Smut Report 