An unrequited crush. A stalker on the loose. Will she be able to save her boss?
Zoe’s boss is a force to be reckoned with. And Zoe has had a crush on Gwen Fudala for the last three years. In a twist of events, Zoe drunkenly ends up on the phone with Gwen while in a compromising position. But it sparks a wildfire that neither can put out.
Still, something isn’t right.
Gwen is being stalked. Vowing to let nothing happen to her boss, Zoe winds up tangled in the stalker’s game. Unable to see which way is out and loyal to a fault, Zoe sticks by Gwen’s side through thick and thin.
Can they navigate a relationship under the watchful eye of a perpetrator?
Or does the stalker have a new target?
My Boss’s Stalker is a steamy age gap sapphic romantic suspense. Follow these two as they navigate complicated relationships, fear, and unexpected serenity.
Adrian J. Smith has been publishing since 2013 but has been writing nearly her entire life. With a focus on women loving women fiction, AJ jumps genres from action-packed police procedurals to the seedier life of vampires and witches to sweet romances with a May-December twist. She loves writing and reading about women in the midst of the ordinariness of life. Two of her novels, For by Grace and Memoir in the Making, received honorable mentions with the Rainbow Awards.
AJ currently lives in Cheyenne, WY, although she moves often and has lived all over the United States. She loves to travel to different countries and places. She currently plays the roles of author, wife, and mother to two rambunctious kids, occasional handy-woman. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or her blog.
Mixed bag of emotions here. First, the endless pining, the back and forth of almost creepy crushing on someone and the bold outward ogling was a bit much.
Second, the stalking part was believable and very real. I like that the story highlighted the part of the stalkee not being believed and just living in constant fear all their lives. You only need to watch a dime a dozen true crime docos to realise how disadvantaged the victims of stalking are.
Third and last! The stalker’s identity was pretty easy to identify 50% in the book since there wasn’t a lot of characters to choose from! I don’t know if that was purposefully done. And the stalker’s motivation and purpose of stalking their victim felt brushed over and hurried. It felt like there could have been more of a story there. But anyway, I’m just a reader.
A steamy romance in keeping with the author's style featuring p.a. Zoe and her boss Gwen. Smith writes suspense (with a touch of naivety on Zoe's part), questionable company ethics and torrid romance with ease. When two determined women have each other's back nothing stops them - not even a stalker! I was a bit frustrated by the blinkered company vision regarding harassment claims even though repeatedly refuted - obvious bias showed and the stalker - well enough said. The hot romance kept me going!! Another easy read from the author.
Gahhhhh! The tension! The heat! Damn I’m a sucker for an office romance! Hot for boss 🫠 Plus Quinn Riley narrating it?? Even better. Her voice is phenomenal and does such an amazing job of bringing you right into the story. I was hooked by the get go.
This book is written third person with 1x POV. Femme/Femme, Against all odds, Office/Workplace Romance, Age Gap. 8x spicy scenes.
Zoe has worked for Gwen for three years and has been secretly harboring a major crush on her. After getting a bit tipsy at a winery for work, Gwen shows up amused, maybe lol. Well Zoe doesn’t believe Gwen’s amused anyway because she is not only her boss and crush but she is way out of her league too. Well then we get a fun drunk phone call with some self love and we just fly into the story! Lots of lovely steam. Lots of connection. Some added craziness. And we get a great story! Plus epilogue’s rock!
The stalker plotline definitely felt true-to-life. Disregarding motive, the actual stalking was terrifying. I know there were a number of stalking cases when I worked in the criminal department of the courthouse, and so much of the behavior is similar. That includes police / law enforcement incompetence, sexism, and overall horribleness.
I really wanted to like this story. As a matter of fact I really enjoyed about the first 35 or 40% of it. It just got a little stupid.
First of all, I knew who the antagonist was from nearly the beginning. It was so obvious. And it all became more and more obvious as the story continued. Then, That part of the story was over so abruptly it didn't make any sense.
The last half of the book dragged out so much more than it needed to be. We're going to get over it (and fool around) we're going to do this (and fool around) You get the idea. The same things were repeated over and over and over.
Sometimes I truly have a hard time understanding how so many people will like something that was so poorly written. I just don't understand. But, in my humble opinion, don't waste your time with this one.
This was a quick read. The stalking elements were the best part, even though the stalkers identity was really obvious from quite early on. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy the romance. Also, no one was really described apart from the stalker, so I didn't really know how to picture Zoe, the MC.
This was a very engaging and fast paced read. The novel had some significant issues that bothered me; however, it was so well written that I still thoroughly enjoyed it (big compliment to the author intended here). The romance plotline was solid, the characters were great, and their chemistry was very well done. The non-romance bits didn’t quite deliver for me though. I enjoyed this novel, but I don’t think I would recommend it (this author has plenty of other novels that I absolutely would recommend however!).
The Highlights: -Put very simply, this novel was enjoyable to read. It was fast paced and easy to read and it was fun! -The characters were well done. I really felt for Gwen with what she was going through. Zoe was a little over the top at times but ultimately it worked for her. -The characters had good chemistry together and their relationship worked. In fact, the way that they kept pulling back from it without a good reason (IMO) was somewhat frustrating. -The thriller/mystery was engaging and kept me reading. It was unfortunately a bit obvious (see below) but that didn’t ruin the fun thankfully as there was still enough great content to sink my teeth into.
The Criticism Part: -The plot doesn’t really work if you think about it too much, particularly the legal aspects. -If your being stalked, and someone constantly breaks into your home (for YEARS) how would you never bother to get security cameras? Or take any other sort of measures like that? When the characters in a novel ignore obvious solutions, it always bothers me. -This is basically a “whodunnit” novel and they made a big yet common mistake: -Some of the character choices were just strange, particularly how they were handled. One example: A boss hooking up with their assistant is an immediate issue and everyone knows that, however they didn’t even bring it up until very late in the novel. Usually this is something that would be addressed right away in some capacity. -The antagonist was cartoonishly insane and had such a terrible plan that it was unbelievable. I realize that people in the real world have plans this bad sometimes but, in this case, it just didn’t work for me. To stalk someone so flawlessly for 12 years while also living their life and holding down a job, while also being absolutely bonkers delusional….. just didn’t work for me.
I think this is the worst book I have read from this author…… but they are such a good author that I’m still giving it 4-stars.
OK so my heart has been in my throat for the last 45 min! So damn tense, it has been hard to breathe.
Adrain J Smth is a freakishly great writer. I started this book yesterday afternoon, had to put it down to sleep, and then I dreamed about the characters all night! I have never been drawn into such a tense situation that affected me like this. I do not read thrillers as I am susceptible to overwhelming situations. I had figured out the “bad guy” before the last twist but I still was not prepared for it. These characters are so well developed that they just seemed real. My God this was a true masterpiece!
Fifty shades, take away a red room but add in lesbians. I didn’t think I’d like this book as much as I did because of how predictable but was but that actually didn’t take away from the book as a whole! The character development was great and o felt like it moved at a great pace.
Zoe is a sweet woman who's been working and crushing on her boss Gwen for three years. While at a winery for a work event, Zoe gets drunk, and Gwen shows up and drives her home. Then Gwen calls her to tell her she has the rest of the day off. The two women grow closer and Gwen tells Zoe that she's being stalked, has been for 12 years. This is when the fun begins. A beautiful age gap, mystery HOT, love story! 5 stars!!!
This book was a delightful blend of romance and thriller, with a surprising amount of heat that kept me engaged throughout. The chemistry between the characters was palpable, and I appreciated that the author didn't drag out the anticipation. While there were a few moments where character actions left me questioning, it added a realistic touch to the narrative. Overall, it was a fun and unexpected read.
I'll start off with the fact there's a lot of spice in this. It's not a bad thing until the end when I wanted to know the stalker's motives but instead just got more sex. I wish the author spent more time on the motives to tie up loose ends. I figured out who the stalker was rather quickly which is fine. I rather focus on the journey to have the characters figure it out. I also wish we got to know more about the MC's past
Overall it was an interesting read but just missed a few marks for me.
I’ll admit that I had a suspicion about the stalker early on, but still, the way the story unfolded kept me engaged the whole time. And the opening chapter, the way Gwen finally figures out that her personal assistant is into her was something I had not expected but certainly added spice to the story.
And Zoe’s crush evolving into a protective love for Gwen felt natural under the circumstances.
I give this book 4.5 stars, as it entertained me throughout. And the confrontation with the stalker was scary, so much so that in the aftermath, the trauma of the MC’s felt natural and real to me too.
P.S. Gwen’s boss, to whom Zoe ultimately answers to also, is a jerk.
Okayyyyyyy. I knew this book wouldn’t disappoint, especially since it’s by Adrian J. Smith!!! She knows how to write a romance book but tie in some suspense scenes, I never saw it coming!!! The author made me think Gwen was the stalker all along until half way through, Nikki was just a little too defensive on putting all the blame on Gwen. Poor Zoe was just collateral damage but man, I was hooked until the end!
Like all Adrian's books it was a hard start but later the book became a page turner. Gwen and Zoe complete opposite that complemented well together. Story suspenseful with the right amount of drama. Recommended.
Okay I won't lie I did enjoy this! Some of it was a bit painful with the does she doesn't she and the extreme naivety of Zoe not seeing what is going on around her, but the intensity of it all was good. Definite creepy stalker vibes and I loved when it finally came out! Lots of spice, a bit sappy and standard prejudice men
Zoe is the assistant to her icy boss Gwen and has had a crush on her ever since she started working for her 3 years ago. But Green put the ice in nice and isn’t at all as frozen as Zoe believes. Unfortunately Gwen has had a stalker for 12 years who ramps up their stalking as Zoe gets closer to Gwen. Drama, intrigue and a surprise whodunnit make this a compelling book. It’s somewhere between a thriller and and a romance - a dark romance maybe? Anyway it’s pretty damn good.
I've enjoyed every Adrian J. Smith book I've read and this was no exception. With this being a steamy age gap mystery, I couldn't put it down. The characters and story are both well developed. This book is written from Zoe's perspective so we see her questioning the motives of everyone around her. I did realize who the stalker was before the revelation, but it didn't take anything away from the story for me. If you enjoy suspense along with a steamy age gap, I recommend this one.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really enjoyed Zoe and Gwen characters and their interactions in this book. But Zoe is the one who completely stole the spot lights for me. The way the author meandered through the inner working of Zoe as she faces the people around her was so realistic. For me, this book shed quite a bit of light into why sometimes we follow our gut feelings and sometimes we just ignore them.
My Boss’s Stalker was a fun book. Zoe's had a crush on her boss for the last 3 years. Gwen had been dealing with a stalker for 12 years. After a trip to the vineyard where Zoe has had a bit too much to drink. The book jumps right into the mystery of the stalker and the pull between Zoe and Gwen.
I figured out who the stalker was early on. Some of the things that happened were not very realistic. There was plenty of spice. I liked how the story didn't just stop after the stalker was found. It was nice to have the other things wrapped up. I would recommend this book. It was a fun, easy read.