Name: Counting on Love
Rating: 3.5 (4 reviews)
ISBN: 9781642470628

Rl Burgess

Can a rising star and a CEO in the corporate world of finance realize what's in front of them before it's too late?

Counting on Love

Jude Silberfeld

4.5*

I won’t lie: accounting and anything to do with finances sounds like the most boring job ever to me. Yet when Zoe Cavendish reflects on her job, I have to admit it’s kinda exciting. She’s a financial adviser who clearly loves her job: « Sometimes she felt like a detective, deciphering clues, unearthing missing numbers, and then solving difficult financial problems ». When you put it that way… She also has the biggest crush on her boss, Reyna Azoulay. Reyna, whose life changed completely a few months ago when she had to take in her young nephew, after his parents died in a car crash. Reyna, who is married to her work and swears by this all-important rule: Never Sleep With The Staff.

I was rooting for Zoe from the start, the author made her feel like a genuinely nice person and I wanted her to be happy. It was a nice change reading about characters who already know each other, but are not already friends either. I liked how the author built up the relationship, it never felt artificial or forced. And while Reyna’s hot and cold attitude could have been irritating, her circumstances made it understandable. It helped that she was willing to listen to her friends’ advice and make changes in her life, even though at first it seemed impossible. And it didn’t hurt that part of the story happened in Alice Springs, it made me want to go back (not that it will happen, I live in the wrong hemisphere for that). 

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Cooper

Counting on Love is a workplace romance story set in an Australian financial firm.

Both characters are well developed beyond the bounds of the workplace. Zoe is pretty well established and comfortable with the life that she has built – she has a group of rowdy friends, is a sports enthusiast (the muddier the better) and her own background has given her a more altruistic view of finance as she develops a series of financial planning workshops for the general public. She’s upbeat and likable as well as being particularly good at her job. Reyna, as the owner of a national financial firm, has the pressures of a growing company with 300 employees. At first I though she was going to fit the ice queen trope, but she’s more business focused than cold or aloof. She also is also struggling to deal with the recent death of her sister and brother in law and now is raising her 8 year old nephew. She has a strong support system with friends and her parents, but you can see her struggles with how to cope with the increasing levels of responsibility.

From a romance standpoint, Zoe has been harbouring a crush on Reyna for some time and Reyna is also attracted to Zoe – but they don’t seem to have a lot of interactions that build on that attraction or the romantic tension. There is a push and pull between the two once they are at the conference in Alice Springs, where Reyna seems to struggle with her attraction to Zoe and the fact that Zoe is an employee. Add to this a slightly predatory (and gorgeous) financial consultant that seems to be intent on hooking up with Zoe. Ah .. that my financial adviser looked that good in a bikini. Unfortunately, there seems to be more build up of the characters than the romance between the two so that once things start rolling, it heats up fast, hits the skids even faster and then ends up with a pretty quick HEA resolution.

Overall, a nice romance that I had hoped would have had more of a build up but is still a good read. The writing and dialogue is well done and the descriptions of sunrise make me want to book a ticket.

A rising star in the corporate world of finance, Zoe Cavendish is nursing a secret flame for her boss. She knows it’s stupid and her friends keep telling her she should move on, but somehow she can’t quite extinguish the hope. The last thing on Reyna Azoulay’s mind is love. Not only is she busy with her demanding role as CEO of a high-flying financial advisory firm, but she’s also just recently taken in her sister’s child. When Zoe is selected to present alongside Reyna at a prestigious international conference, they are thrown together and reality comes knocking—as does the suave keynote speaker who seems determined to whisk Zoe away into the desert sunset. Will Zoe and Reyna realize what’s right in front of them before it’s too late?

Counting on Love

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