Wednesday, July 15, 2015

BOOK REVIEW: Tell Me Something by Aubrey Bondurant

*All Books Available Effective 9/14/17*


~Synopsis~
Haylee Holloway has experienced more grief than a twenty-two year old should have to endure. When she moves to LA for a fresh start and takes a job as an assistant for an advertising company the last thing she expects is to have to step in last minute during a photo shoot as the model. Her bikini line and weight are suddenly open topics of discussion, and a client’s million dollar campaign is hanging in the balance. To cap it off, the multi-millionaire, gorgeous owner of the company shows up and takes charge.

Josh Singer, the owner of Gamble Advertising is private, intense, and hard to read. His voice is sexy, his eyes are smoldering and when he learns of Haylee’s goal to save money for law school, he makes her an offer she can’t refuse:

To move to New York City and work for him directly as his assistant.

Haylee’s dilemma: how does she travel the world with a hot boss whose voice alone conjures up an erotic fantasy and not completely make a fool of herself? Frustrated with Josh’s mixed signals, Haylee finally puts it all on the line. Blurring both their professional and personal lives can they keep things temporary as planned or will they both realize some things weren’t meant to end?

~Review~
4.25 Stars

Haylee and Josh sucked me in right from the beginning. The opening scene which is the catalyst to their first meeting and subsequent new working arrangements was cute and light-hearted.

Josh is rather refreshing in that he didn’t always fit the typical contemporary romance hero mold. He’s both in control and vulnerable at the same time. He has his flaws, but they make him seem real. His character comes with a few twists/reveals, one rather unique, that were intriguing to read as they unfolded.   
"'If we do this, we do it my way, which I'll warn you is complicated.'"
I loved how Haylee kept Josh on his toes and didn’t let him get away with some of the double standards that cropped up as they negotiated their secret romance and his hot/cold moments. Haylee’s responses to various early scenarios were commendable, and for most of the book she made a pretty good strong female role model in fiction. The author does a good job of depicting the difference among the sexes in the process.

Haylee and Josh kept me turning pages for most of the book. The first half or more is the strongest, most engaging, as they test out the dynamics of an “office fling.”  It was easy to see how the two fall in love and their exchanges of information (i.e.'tell me something') were a nice addition to the romance. There’s also plenty of fun fantasy moments as Haylee gets a lot of what most girls dream about.

Towards the end I was a little disappointed at how Haylee handled certain things though. I understood she had her own issues she was dealing with, but she’d communicated so well with Josh up to that point that their “relationship troubles” in the final chapters were frustrating. None the less, it’s a good story, and I liked the way at least one of their obstacles worked out. 

This is the first book in the stand-alone The "Something" Series. The supporting characters in this one are likeable, well developed additions to Josh and Haylee's story so they should be promising characters in their own. I look forward to Brian and Sasha’s story (Ask Me Something), and as well as Josh’s brother's (Bet Me Something)! 

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