Blurb
There’s a thin line between love and hate . . . and it cuts right through the middle of their office.
Bad boys? They run right over good girls like Georgina Keller.
But after a confidence-shattering breakup, she’s determined not to let anyone at her new workplace push her around—least of all the brooding creative director, a “bad boy of publishing” who’s made it clear she’s enemy #1.
Sebastian Quinn's taste for fast cars, late nights, and beautiful women may have gotten him to the top of a leading New York magazine, but the reputation that made him is suddenly threatening to end his career.
Georgina can help Modern Man shed its bad reputation, but in order to do that, she’ll have to start at the top—and no amount of rakish charm or inconvenient attraction will distract her.
Because if Sebastian gets her right where he wants her, it means she’s going down.
Sebastian has run Modern Man for years. He pulled it from the brink of disaster, and now it is back to glory. Or it was. Things in his personal life changed, and with that change, he found that he was willing to let the magazine slip a little and not really care all that much about the fact that it was doing so...even though, I think he knew it was happening, he just didn't have it in himself to work that hard, again, to bring it back.
Georgina is brought in as a consultant. To put the magazine, and it's team, back on track and to get them back to a functioning team. But, as she is dealing with the after effects of a devastating break up, the only thing that she has together in any real way is her work.
When Sebastian challenges her at work, sparks fly and a line is drawn. Hate is on one side of the line, love on the other...and they are both firmly on the "hate" side of the line. The majority of the book is a slow burn flirtation with this line, with crtossing it, with pretending they don't want to, with wondering if they have already and wondering how the other feels. Until the line is gine...and in such a clever way that you know what is happening, but that gives both of them a chance to see if this is what they want. I loved this, as it also lets the reader in on the part of the story where they each realize that what is between them is real, and it is not going anywhere, and that neither of them want it to.
This book is about people. People who let the things in their lives change who they are, how they react; and the realization that those changes, while honest at the time, may not be permanent and may not lead them to make a permanent change. Life, and it's lessons, are sometimes guidelines and sometimes the lessons are there to put you on a new path entirely. And, figuring out which you are faced with can sometimes take a while.
Georgina and Sebastian, in different ways, have things that have happened in their past that are holding them back, that changes them and how they react. That alter who they are, how they trust, and where they are willing to go. But, are these changes the permanent kind or the type that give you guidance for the next phase of your life? What if, as you live, a change that seemed permanent turns out to be one that you needed to work through, and then let go?
Sometimes, a life lesson exists to wake you up, to show you a different path, and to then be let go once you have taken a different path...because, as you travel down that path, you realize that the lesson you learned in one situation becomes nuanced in others. Kindness becomes compassion, being willing to give of yourself to those you love becomes love. Your big heart, the one that is so easily broken is where you find home with someone who sees the love you have to give.
This. This is what this book is about. Yes, you have the romance, you have the characters you adore, the hot sexy scenes...but you also have the kind of book that sneaks up on you and makes you cry and then leaves you as happy as 2 dogs, cheerfully sunning themselves on the lawn.
Jessica Hawkins is a favorite of mine. Her writing is angsty, and it breaks your heart, it makes you cry. More than once as I was reading a line in the book stood out to me enough that I had to pause to read it again.
I loved and recommend this title.
Now, I need to say that I'm not a huge fan of angst. However, when this Author writes I can't devour it fast enough. It just flows and works and I can't resist it. This title had a smidgen of angst here there were also moments that just made me smile and sigh, giving me just the right balance that I needed.
Georgina and Sebastian meet in a way that had me smiling, face palming and finally cringing a bit. That carried over into their next meet, with a dash of laughter tossed in. But right from the start I liked these two, I felt they were genuine and real. I was interested to see their story play out.
I can completely, 100% relate to Georgina. I think a lot of women will be able to say the same. She's a mix of strong and vulnerable, and you can't help but root her on. I wanted to slap her ex, but in reality, he helped make her who she became so I should thank him.
Sebastian? Hello, hot book boyfriend. This man. I fell hard for him, even when he was being a jerk. I could sympathize for him and wanted to hug him (yes, I wanted to slap him at other times but nobody is perfect-not even a book boyfriend). I think he was strong and sexy, and I love his determination.
There is no denying that there's a connection between these two. Watching them explore that thin line of love and hate, watching them fall? It was a gift to read. I loved being with them every step of this journey.
This book flowed so very well. I couldn't stop reading once I started. I loved this Author's take on enemies to lovers in the work place. I also LOVED the supporting characters and wouldn't mind seeing some of them get to tell their own story.
I loved this book and absolutely recommend it.
Purchase Links
At the stadium’s concession stand, I took a tall stool, putting Georgina and I at eye level since she stood. “So, why didn’t you kiss François?” I asked. “Bad breath?”
She gasped into her hand. “My breath is fine.”
“I meant his. I’m sure yours is pure relish on a hotdog.”
She made a face. “Gross.”
“I happen to love relish,” I said. “But does François?”
Each time I said François with flourish, she flinched. I didn’t care. Something about him bugged me—I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
“We didn’t kiss because you interrupted us,” she pointed out.
“So? If I were in his position, and we both wanted that kiss, I wouldn’t let anyone stop me.”
“Frank and I are clicking,” she said, scowling. “There was even mention of spending time at his summerhouse.”
“Hamptons?”
She coughed into her fist. “Boca Raton.”
The idea of Georgina spending a summer with him in Boca Raton was tragic enough that I almost smiled. I got the sense she was playing up the date. If it was so great, why wasn’t she sitting here with him? And why was I more relieved than smug about that? “Meanwhile, Justin and I will be clamming in Montauk.”
“You two should really just make it official and announce your love to the world.”
“But then I wouldn’t get to flirt with pretty girls.”
“For someone who pretends to have as much game as you,” she said, “I still haven’t seen you successfully flirt with any girls since I’ve known you.”
I smirked. “How do you know I’m not flirting with you right now?”
Author Bio
She writes romance both at home in New York and around the world, a coffee shop traveler who bounces from café to café with just a laptop, headphones, and coffee cup. She loves to keep in close touch with her readers, mostly via Facebook, Instagram, and her mailing list.
Author Links
No comments:
Post a Comment