Fate's Ambition

The Price of Love #1

by Elsie Kay

Callie Winters knew from a young age that she wanted to be nothing like her mother—a trophy wife content to live in her husband's shadow. She's determined to make her mark on the world, refusing to settle for the cookie-cutter life her parents have mapped out for her.

When she starts a prestigious internship to round out her business degree, she finds herself struggling between her career aspirations and love with the last person she expected to fall for: her boss. But Emmett Price, charming and flirtatious son of the company’s CEO, makes it hard when he is the opposite of the elitist snob she chalked him up to be years ago.


Packed with sizzling chemistry, heartwarming romance, and empowered characters, "Fate’s Ambition" explores the challenges of balancing ambition and desire in the modern workplace.

Genres: Workplace Romance

306 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2024

About the author

Elsie Kay is author Lauren Kiser's alter ego. She is making the contemporary romance genre a little bit sweeter—and a whole lot steamier. Navigating life from the driver's seat of her minivan, this Midwest mom of two transforms the daily grind into sizzling adventures, capturing the hearts of readers who like their love stories with a side of sass.

Reviews

[shays reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Callie Winters, a recent business graduate, embarks on an exciting internship at Price Industries, working directly under Mr. Price—an older man she met during her interview. However, her expectations are turned upside down on her first day when she encounters Mr. Emmett Price, who is not the same man she initially met. Emmett, the young and captivating son of her boss, exudes intelligence and a vague familiarity that intrigues Callie. As she navigates her professional responsibilities, she finds herself falling for her boss, but she’s determined not to let her feelings jeopardize her future.
When Emmett confesses his attraction to her, Callie is faced with a tantalizing question: What would happen if they just… kissed?
-
This medium-paced office romance takes me out of my typical reading zone. While I’m uncertain about work colleague romances, this book ignites my curiosity about the sizzling dynamics of forced proximity! Who knew work colleagues could be so scorching? Perhaps I should reconsider my career path and follow in my husband’s footsteps for a taste of that office romance magic.
Spice rating:🌶️🌶️🌶️
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommended for adults, especially those who appreciate a feminine perspective, this novel weaves together tropes like love at first sight, forbidden love, and the irresistible allure of work colleague romance.
-
I’m eagerly awaiting a sequel—I’ve fallen in love with the characters and their story. Although one character’s return adds depth to the plot, I secretly wished they’d disappear. Love to hate, indeed!
-
Add this gem to your TBR; it promises something for everyone, whether you’re a newcomer to work colleague romances or a fan of billionaire love stories

[Susan ;༊ (slump) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW
Rating: ★★★★★
Spice: ♡♡♡

WOW!! I went into this without much expectation and it didn't disappoint. AT. ALL.
Amazing plot, inspiring characters - walking green flags, lots of swoon-worthy moments, wonderful chemistry, and a perfect balance of plot and smut. AN EASY 5-STAR READ★

Overall, I had a great time reading this book and would like to read more from the author.
Thank you, BookSirens and Elsie for the e-ARC.
To those who are looking for an easy-to-read, sweet, and spicy office romance, this is for you❤️

TROPES:
Office romance
Insta-attraction
Ambitious af MCs
Cinnamon roll hero
No third-act breakup
"F**k it" moment

[Lauren Pringle · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you’re looking for that perfect/sweet but also spicy contemporary romance, look no further! Callie and Emmett’s story is adorably written and you feel yourself swooning at their budding romance. Highly recommend and the spice scenes are top-notch! 🌶️🌶️🌶️

[✨Beverly✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

❗️This is a voluntary review of a complimentary ARC I received from @elsiekaybooks❗️

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was an adorable romance read! It follows Emmett Price and Callie Winters. Callie, a recent business graduate, starts her journey as an intern at Price Industries. And guess who her boss is? That’s right, Mr. Price himself! This story is filled with playful banter and even some spice. I loved it—it was a quick and delightful read! 🥰 If you’re looking for a fast, cute romance with a happily ever after (HEA), this is the perfect book for you.

[Eryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fate’s Ambition is a feel good romance full of playful banter, spice, and a captivating storyline. The chemistry between Emmett and Callie is undeniable with incredible spicy moments. The story was filled with realistic dialogue and emotions, along with hilarious internal monologues. Looking forward to read more from this series!

[Kat 🖤 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun! I enjoyed it so much! Read it in one day, couldn’t put it down! I loved the way the MMC & FMC were written. The banter was so cute and the spice wasa spicingggg! Highly recommend and so glad i had the pleasure of ARC reading this! I’m so excited for the next book as well!!!

[Drew | pawsitivelybookish9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a fun, spicy contemporary romance. With it being just over 300 pages, it made it a quick read. I had it read in a day. The flow and pace of the story made it easy to just keep reading. Also, I love good banter in a book and the banter in this book was *chef’s kiss*. Another thing I’m a sucker for is text bubbles and this book had some great text bubble conversations. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Emmett and Callie and that was another thing that made this book a fun read. Plus the spice!! It wasn’t over done which was great. I feel like some authors throw it in there just to throw it in there and it doesn’t add anything to the storyline.

Plot: Emmett meets Callie in her freshman year of college at her dorm when he shows up to pick up his sister. He falls then and there for her. Jump to 6 years later and Callie accepts an internship at Price Industries. Guess who her boss is?? None other than Mr. Wonderful himself, Emmett Price. He remembers her from that initial meeting 6 years ago right from the start. It takes Callie a little longer to put the pieces together but when she does…fireworks!

MMC: Emmett Price, her boss, falls first, touch her and die personality, cinnamon roll personality

FMC: Callie Winters, his intern, driven, determined, head-strong, takes longer to come to terms with “them”

[Brittany Moss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very cute and fun contemporary, billionaire romance. Main trope is boss/intern or forbidden attraction. I enjoyed the read, even if it wasn't something I was addicted to!

MMC is the heir to a huge corporation and working his way up the leadership in preparation to inherit the "thrown" eventually. He is the definition of a Cinna-man, perfect in nearly every way and just looking for a real and worthy girl to love him back.

FMC is career driven young woman, head set to prove her worth to the world by her accomplishments. She is adamant that she will not turn into her mother, the trophy wife for some rich main. As an intern to the company, it is also very important to her that she is perceived as earning her accomplishments.

A chance encounter years before sets the stage for immediate sexual tension and desire. The banter was good and I would consider this a slow burn as no there are no spicy scenes between the main characters until over 50% through the book.

I have been reading a lot of romantasy and dark romance lately. I think this may be why the "stakes" just didn't seem that big in this one for me. Again, I enjoyed it and I don't think there was anything wrong with the book but I wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat or worried about the characters throughout the book. The biggest hurdles they faced were internal ones, how they saw themselves and how they perceived others saw them. A great palette cleanser between heavier reads for me and I believe an excellent book for those who prefer to read contemporary romance/rom com type books!

[Christina, thereadingdingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing debut novel!

Callie is extremely driven & will do everything in her power to not end up like her mother, a trophy wife hiding in the shadows. But when an internship at Price Industries puts her face to face with a handsome stranger from her past, can she stay on track?

Emmett has thrown himself into work after realizing his romantic relationships are going nowhere, fast. When he meets his newest intern, he is elated to find out it's the stranger from six years ago that he cannot stop dreaming about. Can he find a way to win her over?

I was enthralled by this book by the end of chapter one and could not put it down. The dual POV between Callie & Emmett helped build the story & keeps you engaged from the first to the last page.
I loved the diversity in the characters - the jealous boyfriend, the loveable best friend, the judgmental old man, & of course the snobby sister.

I highly recommend it for those who like witty banter, loveable characters & a Happily Ever After.

I cannot wait to get my hands on the next novels to come, & hope to see many familiar faces get their happily ever after.

[Sara Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝙸’𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚊 𝚓𝚘𝚋, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚜𝚜.”

The dedication alone with get you HOOKED!

Fate’s Ambition is everything you could want in a contemporary romance. After an interesting run in, in a dorm 6 years ago, Emmett couldn’t forget the girl with curly brown hair and green eyes… little does he know that she’s his new intern.

I absolutely adored reading this book and want to read it again and again while making a hamburger bed with freaky furbies 😅

I wasn’t expecting as much spice as there was (I’m not complaining one bit!). Emmett sure had a mouth on him. Swoon. 🥲🔥 The relationship between Emmett and Callie made me smile. Both were so driven with their desires and goals and were great together in motivating one another. Gosh, definitely couple goals for sure!

Fantastic debut for Elsie Kay! Congrats and GO READ FATE’S AMBITION NOW!!!✨

Read if you like:
💙Workplace romance
✈️He falls first
💙Cinnamon roll hero
✈️Forced proximity
💙Lots of banter
✈️HEA
💙Ambitious FMC

[Bree Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks Book Sirens and Elise for the ARC!

I absolutely ADORED this book- it ticked all the boxes for me in the sense of writing style, fluff, spice and storyline.

Callie is the perfect protagonist, she grows so perfectly throughout the book and her character growth is exponential. And Emmett is 😍🤤🔥 as the MMC.
The side characters- Meghan, Marco and Wick help to grow the storyline line perfectly and I just feel this book is the perfect contemp romance to end a dry spell of books.

A solid 5 stars from me and I can't wait to see whatelse Elsie comes out with 😍

[Kathleen Groetsema · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet romantic love story between a wealthy man who isn’t what he appears to be and a young woman just starting out in the business world.

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the banter and chemistry that the main characters had in this book. It was an easy read that had a good flow and kept you engaged. Definitely quite spicy towards the end. Overall I enjoyed it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Tracy Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. It was such a cute romance and I loved Emmett and Callie. They were so adorable together and I loved their banter. It was such a good book I flew through it within 24 hours. It was sweet but also spicy and I cannot wait to continue the series.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such a a nice reprieve from the book I read before while it had me crying this book had me laughing. The banter between Callie and Emmett is great. The characters seem more normal. There is some spice but it's definitely more story. Overall I really enjoy the book I want to know more I need more.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one! It was such a cute, fun, sometimes spicy read that I flew through. The banter was so fun and had me giggling and laughing out loud at times. If you’re looking for a fun, quick romance with a bit of spice, then I definitely recommend this book!

[Ellie Red · Rating 5 out of 5]

📚Fate’s Ambition
🖋️Author: Elsie Kay
🗂️Genre: Romance
📆Publication date: June 26
📝Pages: 296

5/⭐️

📌Summary:
Callie Winters knew from a young age that she wanted to be nothing like her mother—a trophy wife content to live in her husband’s shadow. She’s determined to make her mark on the world, refusing to settle for the cookie-cutter life her parents have mapped out for her.

When she starts a prestigious internship to round out her business degree, she finds herself struggling between her career aspirations and love with the last person she expected to fall for: her boss. But Emmett Price, charming and flirtatious son of the company’s CEO, makes it hard when he is the opposite of the elitist snob she chalked him up to be years ago.

📚Review:
I really adore seemingly enemies to lovers in a contemporary novel. This was such a fun read. The banter between the character’s was top notch and the spice was immaculate.

📌Thoughts:
Can’t wait to read more from the author.

I would like to thank the author @elsiekaybooks for the free copy.

[book._.lover2210 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slight age gap. Billionaire boss. Off-the-charts chemistry. If you love a slow-burn romance with heart, heat, and ambition, Fate’s Ambition will absolutely charm you.

When Emmett met Callie six years ago, it was instant—she was the one. Even though their encounter was brief, he never forgot her. No one else ever measured up. So when Callie walks in on her first day at her dream job and finds out Emmett is her new boss? Sparks fly.

Callie is smart, driven, and determined to succeed on her own terms. Emmett is powerful, patient, and completely undone by her. The age gap is subtle, but just enough to add that extra layer of tension. And the banter? Delicious. Their dynamic is electric from the start, and that slow burn? 100% worth the wait.

This book is full of longing, ambition, and love that builds slowly, steadily, and beautifully. Emmett falls first—and so hard—but watching Callie find her way to him makes it all the more satisfying.

If you're after a swoony workplace romance with heart and heat, Fate’s Ambition delivers in every way.

[Joshua Kiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a way to kick off her writing career! Elsie Kay delivered big time with this spicy romance.

An ambitious young woman entering the work force falls in love with the young rich billionaire. If you think you’ve heard this story before you’d be wrong.

From the first page you want nothing more than for the two main characters to get together. They’re both smartly written and utterly charming.

Fate’s Ambition juggles romance tropes while also making you LOL at some great banter between the characters.

And if 🌶️ is your thing, this book delivers there as well. Elsie sure can turn up the heat when necessary, keeping your interest piqued and making you never want to put it down.

Can’t wait to see what else awaits in this series! Hoping love stories for some of the supporting characters perhaps?

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Emmett was book husband heaven and the golden retriever of my dreams, and Callie was a refreshing character.

There was a minor hiccup for me with the other man drama in the beginning, but she got her head on straight and cut that off.

I was really into this and thoroughly enjoying everything until the last 2%. I know she wanted to earn her spot and that she did impress everyone, BUT the optics still weren’t good. She became a supervisor before she even graduated, managing a department of seasoned employees. Yeah, that screams nepotism and canceled out all of her assertions that she wanted to work her way up and build her own career. Her work didn’t really speak for itself. It was one project proposal, not a completed project. A minor detail in the overall love story but a major part of her personality.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been a fan of Lauren's Sable Point Series, I thought I would give some of her earlier books a go, and this one didn't disappoint.

This was a wonderful story on how fate brings two people together no matter what the circumstances, and was wonderful to read from beginning to end.

Although Callie is concerned with her feelings about Emmett, you knew that she was it for him, and he was going to do everything in his power to make her see who he truly was and not the person she thought he was. He basically will do anything to make her feel seen and show her that no matter what the circumstances, he is the one for her, particularly in relation to things that have happened from their past.

This was such an easy read as it flowed so well and I didn't want to put it down.

So looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

[B.L. Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Callie Winters is finally in charge of her own destiny, starting with a new internship. There's no way the billionaire's son, Emmett, is going to ruin that for her, even if he's super hot. Nope. She's career focused and determined to ignore his charm.

During a work trip to London, Callie begins to see the world differently and takes chances she thought weren't possible. I love the sightseeing moments in the limo, that part reminded me of my own travels.

Callie grows in her business and personal life seamlessly, making this a cute, contemporary read.

[Kellie Vivanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fate’s Ambition is such a fun read! I adore the playful dialogue, super spicy scenes, and thoughtful character development. This fun, quick, and easy read is the perfect escape that left me wanting more, which is why I was so thrilled to learn the story continues with Time’s Surrender and Pain’s Liberation. As I read throughout the week, I found myself thinking about the characters, excited to get back to their story. So cute! Excited to keep reading!

[Fiona Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I started reading this book as I was looking for a bit of a break from all the dark romance I’ve been reading of late and this book was such a good surprise!
Really cute insta-love, characters were unproblematic, they actually COMMUNICATED, and the side characters were intriguing.
What I really wasn’t expecting was how good the spice was!🥵🌶️🔥
For such a sweet MMC, Emmet had a hot dominant side that did all the things to me.
I only dropped half a star because I think the ending dragged a little and didn’t need to be SO perfect. I think I could have stopped reading before the last couple of chapters and it would have been perfect.

Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 rounded up
Spice🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Austin Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐️

I wanted a quick, easy read before vacation and this one was a gift from a romance con event. IMO, the plot was rushed and it had a little too 🌶️ for me. Reading this felt like what I assume a first pass feels like with editors before suggested edits are made - it was very very rushed. Wouldn’t recommend but also wouldn’t call it the worst read of the year so far. I also did not enjoy some of the relationship development in this book.

[Antonella · Rating 2 out of 5]

couldn't connect with the writing

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really invested in the characters and loved this book so much I had to order the second one

[Grant Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having FINALLY finished Fate's Ambition (my personal life is a disaster: not a reflection on the author), I can day that this is a FANTASTIC read from start to finish and a true page turner. There are thousands of romance novels out there. The key is finding a way to craft a compelling story that sticks to, and defies, convention.

Elsie Kay has done it.

The characters are three-dimensional and compelling, almost as if they were based on real life people. Whether or not they are is irrelevant. What matters is they are authentic and as realistic as you and I. I believed their motivations just as I did their struggles, and found myself rooting for them even as I strived to keep an objective mind as a reviewer. The story is equally compelling - traditional, yet convenient-defying in all the right ways.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, this is a MUST READ. Congratulations Elsie. You did it.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️ I was really enjoying this story until about 60%.

I did not like the way the MMC started acting and the way he spoke to/language he used when talking to the FMC behind closed doors, I was just really put off by the total switch up from the golden retriever vibes he gave off the first half of the book. He was also really disrespectful towards his mother and that I just can’t overlook. Ultimately this is just a personal preference in the kinds of book boyfriends I enjoy reading about!

What I DID like was the banter between the two MCs, the workplace romance, and a super driven/ambitious FMC.

[Andreea Ratiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the best book of the month!!!!

I love it! It has all the main things you want in a romance novel. I didn't see a more green flag boyfriend until this book, every woman's dream.

I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll just say the story is a must: love the comedy, strong feelings development, shared dreams, literally everything.

Totally worth 5 star.