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slelswick's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
What to say, what to say about this novel. Yes, I liked it. Gabe Bishop is a former pro rugby player forced into retirement b/c of an injury. Now, he's a grumpy, dictorial CEO who rescues ailing corporations from the brink of bankrupcy. He's the fixer guy. He appears ruthless, but really, he just doesn't tolerate bullshit. Meanwhile, Charlotte, our dear sweet heroine, is promoted to Personal Assistant after doing the job for years but getting no credit for it. She has nicknamed Gabe T-Rex b/c he's so growly. Charlotte, or Charlie as she sometimes known as, is the polar opposite. In fact, Gabe describes her as mousey. Nonetheless, he's instantly attracted to her despite her baggy, drab clothing and hair pulled back into a prim & proper bun. (She has reasons, y'all. Reasons.)
The first one-third of the novel is devoted to both Gabe & Charlotte fighting the insta-attraction to one another. He's resisting b/c he is aware of the HR implications and the power imbalance. She's aware of this too, but also, Charlotte's first and only boyfriend was a gaslighting, manipulative abuser. She is reluctant to trust Gabe b/c...what if he turns out to be just like the ex? (The ex is in prison, serving time for said abuse, btw.) She has frequent panic attacks that are triggered by the most seemingly innocuous things. Gabe picks up on this fairly quickly. He realizes that she lacks confidence too, so early on, a playful banter develops between the two of them where Gabe says provactive things that disrupts or redirects her panick attacks. Feeling so goaded and flustered, she stands up to his bossy, dictorial nonesense and Gabes loves it.
They quickly agree to a secretive relationship (to avoid problems with HR?) which is easily disguised b/c Gabe works a million hours a week and expects Charlotte, as his PA, to do the same. (Though she draws boundaries, too, which only heightens the attraction for Gabe b/c he likes that Charlotte challenges him.) The next one-third of the book focuses on their growing sexual attraction. Gabe has to learn to temper his need for sexual dominance in deference to Charlotte's past while Charlotte has to learn to trust again and what it feels like to explore her sexuality when in a consenual relationship. I liked the representation here b/c Charlotte's panic attacks persist throughout the novel. She doesn't just "get over" the horrible abuse she endured and Nalini Singh does a great job avoiding the whole "my-penis-is-magic-cure," which I appreciate. I really, really do.
Where I cringe with this book is the shifts in POV out of nowhere. I'm reading along in what I think is Charlotte's POV, and then, bam! Now, I'm in Gabe's POV. Wait. What? The sudden shift feels disruptive b/c I have to re-read passages to confirm the original character's POV or hunt for a page break that I thought I missed. The first time it happened, I dismissed it, thinking I was at fault. Then, as the story progressed, it happened more and more frequently to the point of annoyance. I feel like an editor should've caught this. I took off a whole star rating as a result.
The second kinda cringe-worthy thing I didn't like was the way Charlotte finally agreed to penetrative sex. I felt like Gabe manipulated her. I felt like she internalized that manipulation and repackaged it as "I-gotta-be-strong-and-get-over-this-or-Richard, the abuser-will-have-power-over-me-for-the-rest-of-my-life" and, well, cringe. Yikes.
Gabe is a dirty talker, which I didn't know I liked until now (question mark?) But the dirty talk scenarios don't really pan out to be anything more than just talk, though. We never really get to a place in their relationship after a whole lotta back and forth sexual play, a few arguements, and a few therapist visits, where this is explored on page. We're told about it, but never shown. Which made this read a little disappointing in the end. Promises were not kept, in that department, is what I'm sayin'. I knocked off a star for that, too.
The plot was predictable. The abuser is released from prison and he doesn't waste any time hunting down Charlotte (which is realistic). Gabe saves the day by beating the shit out of the abuser, who later commits suicide while in custody b/c he doesn't want to return to prison. That is tied up into a neat bow and delivered. Eventually, Charlotte and Gabe stop hiding their relationship at work, but there really isn't any HR consequences for that, so, um...shoulder shrug cringe on that score.
The ending is adorable. When Gabe proposes, sort of, he provides a prenup agreement. (He is filthy rich, after all.) But it's a list of demands that are not what you expect. Item #1 is Charlotte must wear her wedding ring at all times so all men in the universe will know she is married, and therefore, unavailable. Item #2 is Charlotte must report to her husband whenever another man attempts to flirt with her, so he can beat the shit out of them (the whole touch her and you die trope, which is kinda cute--in books only, not real life!). This ending was wholly unexpected and bumped up my star rating by .25.
Overall, a 3.25 rating. The story takes two big hits b/c of the sudden shifts in POV and the promise of the premise dirty talk being broken, and a few other cringe-worthy moments. Still. All in all, this was a solid good read.
The first one-third of the novel is devoted to both Gabe & Charlotte fighting the insta-attraction to one another. He's resisting b/c he is aware of the HR implications and the power imbalance. She's aware of this too, but also, Charlotte's first and only boyfriend was a gaslighting, manipulative abuser. She is reluctant to trust Gabe b/c...what if he turns out to be just like the ex? (The ex is in prison, serving time for said abuse, btw.) She has frequent panic attacks that are triggered by the most seemingly innocuous things. Gabe picks up on this fairly quickly. He realizes that she lacks confidence too, so early on, a playful banter develops between the two of them where Gabe says provactive things that disrupts or redirects her panick attacks. Feeling so goaded and flustered, she stands up to his bossy, dictorial nonesense and Gabes loves it.
They quickly agree to a secretive relationship (to avoid problems with HR?) which is easily disguised b/c Gabe works a million hours a week and expects Charlotte, as his PA, to do the same. (Though she draws boundaries, too, which only heightens the attraction for Gabe b/c he likes that Charlotte challenges him.) The next one-third of the book focuses on their growing sexual attraction. Gabe has to learn to temper his need for sexual dominance in deference to Charlotte's past while Charlotte has to learn to trust again and what it feels like to explore her sexuality when in a consenual relationship. I liked the representation here b/c Charlotte's panic attacks persist throughout the novel. She doesn't just "get over" the horrible abuse she endured and Nalini Singh does a great job avoiding the whole "my-penis-is-magic-cure," which I appreciate. I really, really do.
Where I cringe with this book is the shifts in POV out of nowhere. I'm reading along in what I think is Charlotte's POV, and then, bam! Now, I'm in Gabe's POV. Wait. What? The sudden shift feels disruptive b/c I have to re-read passages to confirm the original character's POV or hunt for a page break that I thought I missed. The first time it happened, I dismissed it, thinking I was at fault. Then, as the story progressed, it happened more and more frequently to the point of annoyance. I feel like an editor should've caught this. I took off a whole star rating as a result.
The second kinda cringe-worthy thing I didn't like was the way Charlotte finally agreed to penetrative sex. I felt like Gabe manipulated her. I felt like she internalized that manipulation and repackaged it as "I-gotta-be-strong-and-get-over-this-or-Richard, the abuser-will-have-power-over-me-for-the-rest-of-my-life" and, well, cringe. Yikes.
Gabe is a dirty talker, which I didn't know I liked until now (question mark?) But the dirty talk scenarios don't really pan out to be anything more than just talk, though. We never really get to a place in their relationship after a whole lotta back and forth sexual play, a few arguements, and a few therapist visits, where this is explored on page. We're told about it, but never shown. Which made this read a little disappointing in the end. Promises were not kept, in that department, is what I'm sayin'. I knocked off a star for that, too.
The plot was predictable. The abuser is released from prison and he doesn't waste any time hunting down Charlotte (which is realistic). Gabe saves the day by beating the shit out of the abuser, who later commits suicide while in custody b/c he doesn't want to return to prison. That is tied up into a neat bow and delivered. Eventually, Charlotte and Gabe stop hiding their relationship at work, but there really isn't any HR consequences for that, so, um...shoulder shrug cringe on that score.
The ending is adorable. When Gabe proposes, sort of, he provides a prenup agreement. (He is filthy rich, after all.) But it's a list of demands that are not what you expect. Item #1 is Charlotte must wear her wedding ring at all times so all men in the universe will know she is married, and therefore, unavailable. Item #2 is Charlotte must report to her husband whenever another man attempts to flirt with her, so he can beat the shit out of them (the whole touch her and you die trope, which is kinda cute--in books only, not real life!). This ending was wholly unexpected and bumped up my star rating by .25.
Overall, a 3.25 rating. The story takes two big hits b/c of the sudden shifts in POV and the promise of the premise dirty talk being broken, and a few other cringe-worthy moments. Still. All in all, this was a solid good read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking
The abuse is not on page, but referenced and discussed as part of the main character's past. The cancer and death of parents are not on page per se, but part of Charlotte's past, which she discusses.elleclair's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer and Body shaming
threeundertwopnw's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Pay attention to content warnings. This book is not for everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, Confinement, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence
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