Plus One

I could have sworn that I reviewed this book ... I guess not. I loved this lighter side of Aleatha. A romantic comedy with lots of steam. If you are a fan of office romance/fake relationships then this book is for you. A fun easy read.

This was a mixed bag for me. The character arc for Duncan was nicely done, but I'm not sure I could say the same for Kimbra (and what kind of a name is that, anyway? :) ). I had 2 main issues with this book that detracted from my ability to really enjoy it. Issue #1 is the work situation. There's a massive power differential between Duncan and Kimbra. Duncan is the CEO and co-founder of the company that Kimbra works for - can't set the stage any more than that for a sexual harassment claim. What's worse is that Kimbra works in HR. What's even worse is that she is the self-appointed Inappropriate Relationship Police at the office. But! As long as people don't fraternize on company property, it's all OK (who the hell ever heard of such a policy?). I think Kimbra is possibly the worst HR person ever. And that's saying something. :) It's also OK if Kimbra and Duncan get involved since she doesn't report directly to him (um, no it's not really). It's almost like the author was trying to do "millionaire CEO badboy romance" while skirting the icky issues associated with a CEO making a play for his subordinate by adding middle management. I was also at times either eyerolling or disgusting with Kimbra's actions. (view spoiler)[How does an apparently highly qualified HR professional convince herself that this sort of relationship is OK? Or that any romantic/sexual relationship between peers or a boss and subordinate is OK as long as they don't hook up in the actual office? When she realizes that a woman has brought Duncan into the ladies room - where Kimbra is hiding in a stall - and starts to give him a blow job, she sees it as a great opportunity to use it as leverage to convince Duncan to pose as her plus 1. (hide spoiler)] That latter bit was pretty appalling and grounds for Kimbra's termination imho. Kimbra considers women who hook up with co-workers as "office sluts" and "corporate ladder climbers" via putting out. It's funny how that doesn't apply to her, even though her ex-boyfriend is a co-worker and of course, she's hooking up with the CEO. Issue #2 is the way the whole "fake boyfriend" trope was handled. Normally what powers those sorts of plot lines is the sexual tension and conflict inherent in two people being forced to pretend they are in love/share a bedroom/etc when they either don't really know each other well or are just friends. The resulting "will they or won't they?" creates the sexual tension that drives the story. All of the sexual tension and conflict was dissolved when (view spoiler)[Kimbra and Duncan had sex multiple times on the company plane (so much for not "fraternizing" on company property!) on the flight between New York and Indiana - what is that, like 2 hours? I actually was awkward-cringing on behalf of the company flight attendant, who was sequestered in the back of the plane but no doubt heard Kimbra's multiple screaming O's. Chalk this up also under Issue #1 since this is grossly unprofessional behavior on both of their parts. (hide spoiler)] I liked Kimbra's family and their time in Indiana, though her mother and grandmother quickly went from charming to eww several times, especially Grandma Helen. There's something really offputting about someone telling anyone within earshot about their vibrator, frequency of sexual relations with their partner, when they are planning to go to their room to masterbate, etc. I don't really see how being 79 years old makes this "cute". It's just awkward AF. Still I liked Helen but I would have liked her a lot more if she had been a little less determined to discuss such things pretty much all the time, loudly, with anyone. She even puts a vibrator on the gift table in front of all of the guests at Kimbra's cousin's wedding reception. The conflict towards the end was also silly. It came as no surprise to me (and I think that was the author's intent) that the woman who cheated with Kimbra's ex-boyfriend is the same woman (view spoiler)[who tried to give Duncan a blow job in the bathroom. She is later the subject herself of a sexual harassment complaint and Kimbra handles the case and fires her. Why in holy hell would Kimbra not have divulged to her boss that she had a previous personal connection to this woman? She walked in on the woman having sex at a company function with her (now ex) boyfriend for heaven's sake. So the woman sues for wrongful termination saying that Kimbra fired her over a personal grudge and also claims that Duncan harassed her via the Bathroom Blowjob. Duncan tells his business partner that they need to just pay her off whatever she's asking to make this all go away. I can't even begin to tell you how pissed I would be if my business partner repeatedly put the company in jeopardy because he can't keep it in his pants. Yet the partner was like "Sure OK, no problem." (hide spoiler)] Other small nitpicks are the repeated references to Kimbra's giant boobs being giant and referencing her DD cup size as a synonym for "large busted". This resulted in awkward descriptions like "she put her big DD boobs near his face" and "he couldn't get enough of her huge DD boobs". I also found the "we're creating our bouquet" thing to be awkward. And while I sympathized with Duncan's past heartbreak, (view spoiler)[who lets a breakup, even a hard one, at age 18 result in them spending years in therapy and then eschewing meaningful connections in favor of no-strings-attached sex well over a decade later? That felt like a bit much. I mean hell, we've all been through heartbreak in our teens and most of us can still go on to find love or at least a relationship again and not take over a decade and years of therapy to do so. (hide spoiler)]