Better than the first book. I read it with dread because in the first book the heroine is a cheating, selfish bitch who kissed whom she thought was another man, rubbing on him like a bitch in heat. It ended up being the H Adrien, but she did not know that. So Shaw Hart now has cheating in her repertoire. (Yes, Shaw Hart, I did not forget you are no longer a safe author and back stabbed your readers in book 1. Postponing the release of this book did not change things or make us forget!)
This book had a sympathetic heroine and a sweet hero and you root for them.
Safe
No cheating
NO OM
No OW (there is a nasty woman who comes up to Pia and tells her she knows that Pia is sleeping her way to the top. That nasty woman lies to her saying that Levi fired his last assistant for that reason. The last assistant was in her 60's so she doubted it. Pia gets doubts in her mind if Levi told her the truth that there were no women until her, and so why her? He is good looking, smart, a sweetheart, attentive and billionaire. So how has he not been interested in women until her and again, why her. That is the catalyst to her retreating away from Levi.)
1 day separation
No gross condom use
Dual virgin romance
HEA
So this is the story of Pia who has a sick friend Lila (they have been friends since diapers and Pia is a very loyal, devoted friend to her.) She is trying to work a better job to pay for new treatments so she chances her luck on Levi's company. He asks her name, and she says it, then he says she is hired. When she leaves he calls her by another name in the list of applicants. She realizes that he thinks that a person with a better resume got the job and Levi thinks its her. With the fake it til you make it attitude, drowning in a guilty conscious, she leaves, thinking this is all to save her bestie.
Levi is smitten and Adrien (the hero we all love from book 1 who deserved better than that bitch Goldie), is there to witness his friend fall in love. With a knowing smile he leaves Levi to his new feelings and Levi is determined to make Pia his without delay! Fuck the boss/employee rules! YES! I love it! Go all caveman on her Levi!! That is an alpha I know and love. He finds ways to make their relationship legal by having her sign documents. There is a scene in the elevator that is both sweet and sexy, without sex, and yet it was so hot to me!
So he asks her out, takes her out to eat, does not hide his feelings. She feels guilty that she lied to him so she quits, with a formal letter and he hurries to her apartment to talk to her, not knowing at all what went wrong. Lila answers the door and tells him she is sleeping, so the next day with determination he goes back there to talk and it is so much better than that same scene we get in the last book. In this one, she is feeling guilty having lied to Levi and scared that he will hate her, so she just lets the truth out, and his reaction.....throws his head back with a guttural laugh!! He tells her that he fell in love from the moment he saw her and that he did not hire her based on her resume, he hired her because he wanted her near him. He assures her that she did not steal a job from anyone and Pia is so relieved.
Nothing like this can make him angry at her, and I am so glad that he reacted to her that way. They say their I love you's, she is relieved and she promises that everything else was the truth, which of course he believes and he asks her why she felt like she had to lie. She says that it was to make good money for her bestie's leukemia treatments. He assures her that he will take care of her and that means those she loves as well, that includes Lila's medical needs. (Lila gets a book on Valentines Day 2024).
I enjoyed it, I would have enjoyed it more had I not lost all faith in Shaw Hart. The first book in the series made me lose trust in her so I read this book with trepidation. It did ruin it a bit, because the first book's heroine was fucking awful, so I thought, when will the shoe drop with this one.
This one is safe, and sweet. We get Adrien and Theo and Clara. They are a hoot. No visit from the cheating whore Goldie (h from first book), GOOD! KEEP HER AWAY!! She would have ruined this story just from appearing.
I love Levi, he is a sweet, loving, passionate, attentive man who is fully committed to his Pia and wastes no time wooing her. I love that! I love Pia, we get a heroine who is loyal and hardworking. That shows a lot about her character that she is willing to take risks for her bestie. Loyalty is a very precious trait in a person AND she is selfless. She did lie by omission, but not because she is selfish and an opportunist, but she did it for her best friend. When she started to fall in love, which was immediate, she felt guilty right away! She did not want to lose Levi or Lila and so she was just in a situation that was difficult. I do like Pia a lot and felt for her,and rooted for their happily ever after!
Theo and Clara are next, I think it is another dual virgin, beauty and the beast, sunshine and the grump type of book, and I am looking forward to it, but scared that the hero who pushes away too much will do something the hurt the h. It is just a feeling, but we shall see. I hope not though. I hope Theo gets his head out of his ass and claims Clara.
There you have it!
Happy reading!