Business as Usual by Alison Hendricks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*
DARREN
Ever since my partner died, my life has been spiraling out of control. I’ve lost everything important to me, and now I’m losing the company he and I built. Investors are breathing down my neck, dictating my every move, and now they’ve hired some young, starry-eyed brand consultant to make me more palatable to the general public.
He’s ambitious, optimistic, and kind-hearted. Everything I’m not. And despite my best efforts, he’s starting to get under my skin. I’m not averse to mixing business with pleasure, but if he’s looking for more than a one night stand, he’s going to be sorely disappointed.
JAMIE
It’s always been my dream to work for Arion, one of the most innovative, fast-paced tech companies in the world. But now that my dream’s become a reality, I’m realizing it’s not what I thought it would be. This isn’t a think tank for genius minds, it’s a mess of red tape and bureaucratic bullshit. And billionaire CEO Darren Wilkes, the man I’ve idolized for years, is way more arrogant and aloof than I ever thought he’d be.
Unfortunately, he’s also a lot hotter than I thought he’d be. He’s definitely got the dark and brooding thing down pat. Somehow I have to ignore all that, though, since I’ve been given the impossible job of rehabilitating his public image.
I never expected to make it past Darren’s prickly exterior; to find the man who’s suffering beneath it all. But no matter what happens between us, I have to keep my head–and my heart.
I can’t afford to fall for my boss.
Business as Usual is a steamy romance between a jaded CEO and the man who helps him learn to take a chance again. This is a full-length, standalone novel.
This book was pretty different than the sports series by Alison Hendricks nontheless I really liked it. A few other reviews say there was a huge technical part, too many describtion about the technical features and a bit too much information about the company issue. But for me it was quite fitting. It was the fundament the story was based on. And for me, as a person who is intertwined with technical things in daily life I really liked how it was desplayed.
The most difficult part was though the major space Ethan got in this book, the former partner of Darren and it’s true he is like a cloud above Darren’s and Jamie’s head. But despite this it…. makes sense. It isn’t strange Darren isn’t able to let go this easy and for me – though it wasn’t this fair for Jamie – it was understandable why Darren compared Jamie to Ethan.
For me the different characteristics of both main character were good developed though partly a few things could have been solved better, a few things could be “tender” between both.
There is affection on both sides, Jamie is only the guy who is showing it more transparent. I still liked it and it fits to the technical setting the story takes place. 🙂
Besides the slight lack – or the minimal showing – of affections there was hot sex, the chemistry is there true and honest. And it doesn’t seem in any way it was just a replacement of something else.
It is definitely something different, this stand alone book still enjoyed me and I had a great time. I can’t give full 5 stars because it needed the “tiny little thing” I was missing. Still I can recommend this to all who love a nerdy, geeky topic. Business story lover will be happy with this book. 🙂 Therefore I give 4.5 stars out of 5.
Mikku-chan 