idreamofjean

Carlin Cates is roped into helping out a colleague work overtime to make a bid proposal. Unenthusiastic, Carlin is in a mood when she gets back from her coffee run but is determined to make the best of it and help out Thatcher Banks. A bunch of emails follow and Carlin gets a good mental image of Thatcher. Stodgy, mid-fifties and possibly English to boot. The reality is mind-blowingly different to anything she’d previously believed.

This is a short and fun story based on light-hearted interactions, sexy innuendo and incorrect personal assumptions. I enjoyed the email and texts that were exchanged between Carlin and Thatcher, who both take their work very seriously. The romance quickly heats up between them and is sexy and all in good fun.

The pace of this story is fast. Thatcher and Carlin were interesting characters, but the short length of the story meant I didn’t get to know them as well as I would have hoped. Also, their romance happened very quickly. While it was believable, I couldn’t help but feel it was a “happy for now” sort of situation. Carlin thought she was falling in love, but that stretched my credulity a bit much when they’d known each other for such a short time and Thatcher left so abruptly. While there is definitely a happy ending, it felt a little forced to me. I wonder if more traditional romance readers who want a solid basis for their heroine and hero and all the trappings of Happily Ever After might feel the depth of the romance a little lacking here. If there had been another chapter or two in the middle, fleshing out their romance and coming back together that would have made the wrap up in the ending a lot more believable for me.

That said, for readers wanting a quick, smooth romance “on the go” this ticks many of my boxes. I enjoy the workplace romance style of story. Carlin and Thatcher are modern and interesting people and the sexy scene between them is smoking hot and very satisfying. As a reader I felt I could really sympathize with Carlin and loved the spot of jealousy she exhibited without going over the top. I enjoyed this story and feel many readers should too. A quick, fun, lighthearted read.