Charlie is a yoga teacher who just got out of an emotionally abusive relationship with an ex-boyfriend. Her friends want to hook her up with a rebound, especially since the ex was very vanilla and Charlie thinks she might be looking for a guy who can be dominant and a little mean (but only in bed).
Enter James: a Southern corporate pencil-pusher and a sadist. When he and Charlie talk, sparks fly (and so do other things heehee). But then a misunderstanding results in them both going home alone. James isn't able to get her out of his system, though, and is desperate to see her again, and when they hammer out the terms for their relationship of convenience, it seems like it's just gonna be a quick and easy thing.
But this is a romance novel so OBVIOUSLY it is neither of those things.
I really enjoyed this book. The banter was top-tier and I loved how Charlie was portrayed as soft and feminine, but also, you know, capable of setting boundaries and standing up for herself. She was flawed and multi-dimensional and I thought she was really funny and sweet. It's always fun for me to see a heroine at work, who loves what she does, and I felt like her passion for yoga really shone through. Also, yay, a vegan character who isn't an asshole about being vegan *stares in Ali Hazelwood*.
James was a pretty solid hero too, although not really my type. (1) he's blonde and (2) he's kinda a bit caveman-y, although at least he's self-aware enough to know it. I do appreciate Dangerfield for writing a fuckboy character who doesn't come across as too toxic or assholish, though. Sometimes, I see characters like these and I'm like, "What do people see in him?" but here, it's definitely easy to see what the appeal is. Also, his backstory made my heart hurt and was handled so well. Poor guy.
I guess my only qualms about this book is that it felt like Dangerfield was setting the book up with some last act drama that never happened. Like, James had that pushy woman in his office who was constantly needling him for sex, and there was that creep who kept hitting on Charlie. I kept expecting them to have to work together against some dick who wanted to keep them apart, which would have solidified their relationship for a long haul, but no. So that definitely made this book feel like maybe it leaned more towards erotica than romance, just because it felt like its goal was more on creating a fantasy than being a fully-rounded story that wrapped up all of its loose ends.
Still, this was a debut (can you BELIEVE it?) and I think a lot can be forgiven in a debut. Having read some of her later books (ACT YOUR AGE is the bestttt), I can confirm that Dangerfield has only gotten better at fleshing out her stories and writing sexy characters exploring their desires sexily.
3.5 out of 5 stars
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