Today I will be reviewing a book that I recently read. This book is unlike any of the books I have reviewed in the past because it is fiction and also a romance book. Why did Josh who typically only reads biographies, business and finance books read a romance book? The short answer is because Stephen king told me to (indirectly). See now you’re interested, let’s dive into this review.

Since this was my first time reading a romance book, I had no expectations. The only reason I purchased the book was that Stephen king stated in his book On Writing, writers must-read books in their genre. Since I had just finished a crime/murder/mystery novel in two sittings, I wanted to try some different. So I just loaded up Amazon and clicked on romance, this turned out to be a horrible idea because almost every book had a chiseled half-naked man on the cover. So I did what any other man would do in this situation, I clicked on the first book that had a picture of a female on it. That’s how I ended up finding this book. Of course, I did not purchase it solely because of the cover, the synopsis was pretty amazing (the cover wasn’t sexualized like the others). A secretary is put in a predicament which requires her to become her bosses fake girlfriend. When I read the description it reminded me of a Hallmark movie and I happen to love Hallmark movies.

I seldom finish a book in less than five sittings (which is why I was rewarding myself for finishing the other book in two) but I was able to finish this book in one sitting. This was not a small book, about three hundred and fifty pages on the kindle app via my iPad. My mind is constantly running wild so I often find it difficult to stay focused especially over long periods. But somehow this book was able to keep me focused and it kept me turning page after page. I’m not saying this book is perfect but it’s well written and the characters took on a life of their own. The male main character’s father was actually my favorite character and whenever there was a scene with him, something magical happened. I saw Martin Crane from Fraiser, the way the character Richard was described and portrayed allowed me to attach a face to this fictional character. The dialogue throughout the book was believable and it flowed. One thing that caught me by surprise was the alternating perspectives, this was the first time I had experienced it since reading Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Super Mysteries when I was younger. This alternating perspective method allowed me to gain access to the raw emotions and point of views of the two main characters. I actually want to write a book using this technique because it allowed me to gain such a great understanding of the characters.

Sure I’ve been praising this book left and right but it is not without its faults. Before I talk negatively about the book, let me just say one thing. I know that I am not the target demographic and I may be nitpicking but this is mainly my personal opinion. Now with that out of the way let me talk about some of the tropes of this book and the genre itself. The super-rich male lead who ends up falling for the seemingly average female lead, nothing wrong with it but I feel that it’s overused. When compared to real life it’s certainly not believable but that’s why we read books, to escaped real life. The second thing that didn’t sit well with me was all the sexual tension, frustration, and scenes. Like I said in bold typeface, I am not the target audience and I understand that but as a thirty-year-old man, I felt it a bit overdone. That’s all I’m saying and I know I’m not the ideal reader because I had to read through a male masturbation scene (since I read books cover to cover, I couldn’t skip it). The final thing that stood out to me personally and probably wouldn’t to a normal reader was the predictability. Since I have an active imagination and am a writer I can often pick up on plot elements and read in between the lines. Simply put, I can predict how things will end up in books, movies, and shows. Spoiler Warning. So as I flipped through the pages I knew the male lead would open his heart to the female lead, but close to the end they will have their first fight and break up and then there will be some sort of chase type scene and then at the end, they will live happily ever after. Sounds familiar, that’s because these are the major acts of a romance book/film. Some items in the book are heavily described such as the legal paperwork for the sperm donation and the other engagement ring, which gave away their importance. Many readers may have disregarded the items but as I said many times I am not most readers and I was able to predict many major scenes before I reached those chapters. The boss discovering the legal paperwork and breaking up with her because of it. Or in the case of the ring, the boss bought it and used it to propose for real.

Even though the last paragraph was the longest in this post, I honestly enjoyed the book. I paid full retail for the ebook even though it was part of Kindle Unlimited. Sure I subscribed to kindle unlimited the very next day of reading the book but it was well worth the price. I did not think romance books were for me (even though my books contain romance in them) but this book opened my eyes and I read another one earlier today. The only thing I can say that I haven’t said yet about this book is if you are not worried what others think or put off by multiple sex scenes, then pick it up and don’t put it down.