Synopsis:
Barrett
I’ve rebuilt my father’s media company with hard work and determination, but my single status leaves me on the outs with the one businessman I need to get close to. A little white lie and I’m suddenly in love, head over heels. Now I need to find a fake girlfriend, someone to keep up appearances without any emotions.
When I find my mother’s fiery assistant in a compromising position, it’s the perfect opportunity to get what I want: a girlfriend for business appearances, without any feelings involved. I won’t let the fact that I’m wildly attracted to the petite redhead get in my way.
But the closer she gets, the more my heart thaws and all too soon I find myself having to choose between the business deal I’m determined to land and the woman I’ve fallen hard for.
Chloe
After two years as editorial assistant to JoAnna St. Clair of the famed St. Clair Press, I’ve been given a chance to take on my dream job as an assistant editor.
When my childhood best friend asks me to host her bachelorette weekend in the city, I’m thrilled to show everyone how amazing my life is in New York. (Things not included on the tour are my shoebox of an apartment or my romance book collection that is the only thing keeping me warm at night.)
But when I fail to confirm the restaurant reservation and I’m left with no event location an hour before the party starts, I’m desperate. Desperate enough to use my boss’s penthouse for a party while she’s out of town.
No one will ever know. That is until her cold, dismissive, and annoyingly hot son walks in.
In order to keep his silence, Barrett demands a favor in return: he needs a date for a business dinner. That’s easy enough until his mother finds out and he seals my fate by telling her we are dating. It’s that or kiss my job goodbye.
While I’m reluctant at first, the more time we spend together, the harder it is to fight my attraction to him. Beneath that brooding, icy demeanor lies a heart of gold.
But when a scandalous discovery puts his deal at stake, and our relationship to the test, will Barrett prove he’s all about business?
Review:
I went into this book wanting to read it purely for enjoyment and that’s what I got. This does mean I was never thinking about it analytically, so I made zero notes and didn’t think about what I was going to talk about in this review. It doesn’t help that I read a huge chunk in one sitting and when I’m really into a book, I don’t stop to make notes.
One thing I can happily say about Reluctantly Yours is that it is an entertaining read. It’s very tropey and the main reason why I wanted to read this was because it’s marketed as a fake dating romance. I love fake dating books, especially when the characters hate each other, just like this one. It adds an edge of suspense to the ruse because they will inevitably mess up and nearly be found out. Ah, I love it.
If you do not like smutty books, this is not for you. There are a lot of spicy scenes, probably too many in my opinion. I don’t mind a few, but when there’s one or more every single chapter, it’s a bit ridiculous. The first half of the book is fairly clean, as you’d expect, they don’t like each other and they’re figuring out how this fake relationship works, but oh boy, you hit that halfway point and it’s smut city. They weren’t cringey scenes though, pretty well written and nothing too out there.
Reluctantly Yours was a very fun read from start to finish and it was actually fairly quick to get through. If you’re a fan of steamy fake dating books, this is right up your street.
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