Lenora Graves is a force of nature. She’s built a career—and a reputation—on being untouchable. As a top corporate lawyer and partner at an elite law firm, Lenora thrives on power, precision, and the unwavering control that keeps her at the top of her game.
But control is more than her weapon—it’s her armor. And it has never failed her.
Then Sol Ruiz walks into her life.
Sixteen years younger and utterly fearless, Sol is everything Lenora didn’t see coming. Assigned as Lenora’s associate on a high-stakes corporate espionage case, Sol’s relentless brilliance starts to unearth more than just cracks in the investigation. She pushes boundaries, asks questions Lenora isn’t ready to answer, and sees through walls Lenora thought were impenetrable.
As the case spirals into dangerous territory, so does their relationship. The lines Lenora has so carefully drawn begin to blur, and the rules that have always defined her start to crumble. And for the first time in her life, Lenora isn’t in control—not of the case, not of Sol, and definitely not of herself.
Caught between the case of her career and the pull of something she can’t name, Lenora must face her deepest What happens when the one thing you can’t control is your own heart?
This book was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. It ruined me! Really. My heart still hasn't healed. A word of warning up front: the book is part of a series, so the ending isn't quite closed and there's a “danger” you'll want to read on straight away.
I couldn't put the book down. The story of tough lawyer Lenora Graves and her new first-year associate Sol Ruiz was so so good in so many different ways. Even their first encounter was electrifying! The power play that developed from it drew me in deeply, and I couldn't wait for these two very different women to finally get closer. The spice in the book is first-rate, and I often had to take a deep breath. I have rarely read such good intimate scenes.
However, I particularly liked the character development. At the beginning, Lenora was quite an ice queen who didn't let anyone take anything from her. She was in charge and everyone had to obey her. However, Sol managed to break through this damn thick wall in no time at all, and the vulnerability behind it was simply beautiful. But Sol also became more and more vulnerable, especially towards the end, and opened up to Lenora. Seeing the two of them slowly fall in love, despite everything that spoke against it, was incredibly beautiful. I was blown away by it! I loved the communication, the mutual challenges, the angst, the longing... oh, just EVERYTHING!
The plot consists not only of romance, but also of a case from the law firm. In retrospect, however, I would say that the love story was always in the foreground, and when the two merged at the end, it was phenomenal.
If you like spicy love stories paired with some crime elements, then this book is definitely for you! Caution: highly addictive! Read it!
Well! Lenora could out ice any ice queen wannabe! But can an ice queen step down from her lofty position into a relationship, let alone fall in love?
So… Sol Ruiz…who Lenora suspected was the unholy love child of a sex demon and the Energiser Bunny. No one couldn’t not fall for Sol, including me. Just saying.
But that wasn’t all of this book. Add a dangerous law case involving the usual unscrupulous suspects and it’s game on.
Introspection can sometimes slow things down but this book was so well-written it didn’t. I eagerly and impatiently await C W Elliot’s next book. Oh, yes. You do need to read this book.
I’ve seen a LOT of people talking about this book so you know I had to check it out for myself. And it was REALLY GOOD! Great, even! But I think because it was so hyped up for me, perhaps my expectations were a bit too high? I am wondering if I will feel differently after book 2, perhaps a lot of my problems will be solved there. But I felt like there were a lot of plot lines left sort of open ended, and god if Lenora said she was 16 years older ONE MORE TIME….but again, it’s an AMAZING book filled with lots tension and layers and 2 characters that are lovely and complicated. I’m just picky and annoying and like to have an opinion on everything. 🤪
This angsty, fierce, hot book by C.W. Elliot had me enthralled from the beginning. They left it with a cliffhanger, I am now impatient for the next book to be released. I loved the chemistry between the MCs. It was full of banter, challenge, and confidence. This was told from Lenora's POV. We were able to see inside her brain and experience her melting. Which was well done. I would love to see where this story goes from here. I hope it releases soon. C.W. Elliot is a new author to me, and I look forward to future books they will be releasing.
Look did I love this before? Yes. Do I love it even more now that I have a physical copy? Yes. Do I need the second one immediately and will be buying it as soon as it’s available? yes
There were many individual lines I loved, but as a whole written piece? I adored this. The writing, the heat, the unfurling, the realisation…… the unwilling realisation….. and the cliffhanger ending…… Well let’s just say I have pre-ordered part 2! (If you really didn’t want to order the second, I feel the romance is in a place where you could sleep happy, and be pretty sure it will all work out in the end but why would you want to deprive yourself of witnessing the journey!)
This book started out a touch slower than I’m used to but as I got into it I realised it was all part of the suspense.
Suspense of the case, suspense of the relationship building.
From start to finish it keeps you hooked whether its wondering what will come next with the case they’re working on pulling you into their push and pull relationship.
The characters were so well written and the move from having some fun to more was so beautifully done and I could feel the pain they were both in. Honestly, some of the best writing I’ve seen and had me totally falling in love with the characters.
Read it on KU but I will be buying it for my bookshelf.
Cannot wait for the second book to see where this goes.
DNF at 24% The main characters’ dubious morality makes them hard to like: using a witness’s sexuality to manipulate her, stringing along a bartender only to lash out at her, and risking an entire case for what feels like a high school–level jealousy play. And the so-called “ice queen” has no chill whatsoever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Sol comes off super creepy and annoying to me. I'm not really a fan of characters who are constantly "smirking" and acting way too cool for school. Written in a way that nothing rattles them and they already have all the answers. She pushes Lenora a LOT in the beginning of the book. Constant touching, invading space, outright flirting... none of it is reciprocated outwardly despite Lenora's internal gay panic monologue. Nothing is shown to make me believe that Sol should feel justified in continuing to pressure this woman.
She's also uncomfortably possessive. Like, the gay bar scene early on in the book was a huge red flag along with the very cringe conversation that followed after. The whole thing just... felt creepy. Sol's confidence in telling this woman she's known less than a week that she knows what Lenora wants better than she does.. that's wild to me. Like if Sol were a man, she'd be getting locked up for harassment.
Multiple times Lenora asks Sol not to touch her and she just... continues to do so. Like????
By 20% I in no way wanted these two to get together and I kept reading for the off chance that Sol would eventually get cut down a peg or show some actual vulnerability.
All that alone warrants the low rating, but also a huge pet peeve:
The Harry Potter reference. And not just a quick name drop, but an actual discussion about a character from the book.
Look. It's 2025. This book was published THIS YEAR.
If you somehow don't know that JK Rowling is the most disgusting TERF to walk the planet, I dunno.. maybe dig yourself out from beneath the colossal rock you've been hiding under. Honestly, I feel its borderline impossible to NOT know by now.
Which means... its WAY more likely you DO know and you're still spreading awareness and discussing these books because you don't care and/or it doesn't affect you.
I could sit here and go on a rant about how those books are racist/pro slavery trash on their own merit, but honestly.. I'm just tired. I'm tired of these books being mentioned and not being allowed to die as they deserve. I'm tired of queer people refusing to let it go because they are unaffected by the rampant transphobia the author promotes using the money she makes from them. I'm tired of this "separate the artist" "Oh my nostalgia" crap that people still toss around.
Its 2025 and if you still cannot help yourself but bring up (and inevitably promote) these trash books from that trash author... to me, you're complicit.
The worst thing you can do is create a new Harry Potter fan and the only way to avoid doing that is by letting that crap die a miserable death.
Loved, Loved, Loved it! Lenora was such a complicated character and I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. The book had some laugh out loud moments. The chemistry between Lenora and Sol was off the charts and I can’t wait for the next book! :)
First, this book is not a 3 but a 3.5. See below, as I rarely write reviews and rate books below a 4—it's the author in me.
Second, this line is pure gold: "And most importantly—why did this woman keep barreling through every wall Lenora had ever built, like the goddamn Kool-Aid Man?"
So, why a 3.5 and not a 4? The sex scenes are hot and the story keeps your interest. However, the writing, specifically the short sentences and the author's inability to craft focused paragraphs, was an issue for me. This is a result, I believe, of this story coming out of the land of fan fiction.
A friend and reader who claimed Lenora rivaled Roslyn Sinclair's brilliant ice queens recommended I read this. Yes, Lenora is an ice queen for sure, but she's a pale imitation of Roslyn's Vivian and Assistant. The story and characterization lack depth and development. It's a good read, but unlike what I see on the FB boards, I am not "shattered" by it.
Why? Something went wrong at the halfway point of this book. Suddenly, Lenora starts thinking she might have feelings for Sol. But why? It's never meaningfully addressed. Banging someone senseless is one thing; falling in love with them is another. The author doesn't show how this materializes. As a reader, I don't buy it. In Roslyn's books, she shows how/why love develops. That's my issue with this book. The relationship begins with a whole helluva lot of banging. But in well-crafted storytelling, the banging has to transition to either a realization of that's what the relationship is (hot banging) or meld into something deeper/meaningful like love. An author has to show it. They can't just say now my couple is in love--accept it. As a reader, I'm thinking: When did that happen? Was it between the really hot sex and....wait, what...the smirks or the ghost kisses?
6/10- Okay, here’s the thing. I am not the biggest fan of romance. I would’ve liked to see more plot surrounding the workplace and more cases and things like that. But that might just be a me thing.
I did feel like we had a lot of repetitive inner monologuing from Lenora. I got really sick of the “she’s 16 years younger than me” dialogue. A lot of the conflict was internal, to the point of me wanting to strangle Lenora until she figured her sh*t out.
All that being said- The tension between Lenora and Sol was actually so hot?? Loved their banter and their little games. Also, loved the conflict between them. It was much needed after all of the internal conflict.
The ending. Honestly, why would you do that to me??? It gave the drama and danger that I was craving the entire book, and now I have to wait for the next one to come out. That was diabolical. Evil. Did Lenora come up with it?
Can’t wait for book 2!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I'm not sure how I found this book, but I'm so glad I did. I don't know where to start. From the first 3 pages I knew the writing was excellent, I knew it was age gap and my favorite, ice queen. The story is about a woman with a difficult past who feels love is not real as she has never felt loved in her life. Lenora Graves is a force of nature, an attorney, divorced with a small child. Her life is centered around her son and her law firm. Then, along came the first year associates. Of particular interest to Lenora is a beautiful, brilliant young woman and she fights her instant attraction to her. I have no words to describe how this story kept me turning pages, it's intense, it has humor, it has moments of sadness and it's amazing. This is part one and part two is available right now but I think I will wait until all three parts are available in November. I highly recommend this book. So glad I found this author.
Thank you to the author for sending me this ebook. I will never be able to express how grateful I am to receive copies of books!
This was absolutely so good. This is a sapphic, age gap, workplace romance. Lenora is partner at her law firm, Sol Ruiz is her new 1st year associate. To make her life miserable, Lenora assigns Sol a case that has been plaguing her for years. Vanguard is a huge corporate business and their whistleblower is found dead.
On the backdrop of this romance novel is a large legal who dunnit plot. As an attorney, I can say this author thoroughly researched the legal procedures and terminology. I have read many novels by large trad pub authors who butchered the legal aspects of a plot. I am definitely impressed and will be continuing this series.
The only issue I noticed was length and pacing. A solid 50 or so pages could have been shaved off without losing any major plot points. But still, I really enjoyed this!
I can't praise this book enough, what a terrific story and the best Ice Queen I've ever found in all the many books I've read and thats saying a lot. The two main characters have chemistry that's really off the charts and once they connect BAM talk about 🔥 🔥 The central case is focused on Vanguard arms dealers who have stalled for many years, but now the law firm is coming after them which they don't like to say the least. We do see glimpses of their lives a contrast from work lives and your left wanting more. This is vol 1 of a series so I hope we don't have to wait too long for No2, to say the old cliche I really couldn't put this down, I wanted to save it but couldn't resist.
At the start of this, I thought it was good but not necessarily great. But from there? It just got better and better, right up to the last page. You know, I’d think, “this Sol person is a little awkwardly superhuman” and next thing I know we ran headlong into the down side of her talent. Somehow, it just kept on doing that; every time I thought I saw a problem coming, it waited a beat and then deftly avoided it.
Plus, there was more than one element to the story: the romance, the interactions with other partners, the Vanguard case, the Vanguard response… it was nice to have more than one “tangled thread” to hang the story on. Again, just when I thought the story would get derailed by focusing on one, it shifted. And some of the reveals toward the end were excellent.
I really do love an in depth narrative of a true ice queen! I think it’s harder to write an accurate ice queen who is true to her description while slowly thawing her out in a way that’s believable. A lot of times in this trope I feel like the icy woman gives in too easily, too quickly to really be afforded the title of “ice queen”. It’s a delicate dance the author must perform to get it just right. This book is well paced, with just the right amount of tension, angst, skepticism and spice. Lenora’s internal battle and feelings are displayed beautifully and the descriptions of Sols facial expressions are delightful. I enjoyed all the characters and the plot is great. I can’t wait for the next book!
This book is INCREDIBLE! On the face of it, it’s an ice queen age-gap romance. The first half of the book builds a level of power play and sexual tension that is simply glorious. It pulls you in and you can’t help but learn to love the main characters, as deeply flawed as they are. The second half of the book is a delicate dive into where their flaws originate and the impact it has on their relationship and individuality. All of this set against a backdrop of a New York law office and one of the biggest cases the firm has witnessed. The drama, intrigue and suspense only adds to a brilliant story. Dig a little deeper and this book is really about trauma, power, love, protectiveness and hope. I devoured every chapter and I can’t wait for book 2 in this series!
I’ve seen a lot of people talking about this book, and I kind of get why. But honestly, it just wasn’t for me. I know it’s fanfiction based on Agatha All Along, and sure, Aubrey Plaza’s got that iconic sexy smirk—but once the story steps away from the original show and the character keeps smirking nonstop… it just starts to feel weird.
One thing that really bothered me was Lenora. She’s supposed to be this professional, workaholic ice queen—but on her very first mission with Sol (and this is only 18% into the book), she gets totally distracted because she’s jealous? … where was your professionalism? It felt so out of character from the previous chapters, and it just didn’t make sense.
Again, this book just wasn't for me, but some might like it tho
Wow! Tangled Threads... this book is outstandingly written. The MCs, the side characters, the love story, and the lawsuit angle were all beautifully tangled for the readers to untangle. We get to know Lenora up close and personal—and through her eyes, Sol. Though Sol remains a bit of a mystery... and maybe that’s deliberate. I’m not complaining, but I’d definitely love to know Sol better any day. The dialogues are witty.
I was wondering if Lenora Graves is a distant cousin of Michelle Hastings or Elena Bartell...
And it’s hot—sizzling hot. The scenes were written superbly.
Overall, I’m definitely going to read this book again. I just wish there were an audiobook version of it.
Well! Lenora could out ice any ice queen wannabe! But can an ice queen step down from her lofty position into a relationship, let alone fall in love?
So… Sol Ruiz…who Lenora suspected was the unholy love child of a sex demon and the Energiser Bunny. No one couldn’t not fall for Sol, including me. Just saying.
But that wasn’t all of this book. Add a dangerous law case involving the usual unscrupulous suspects and it’s game on.
Introspection can sometimes slow things down but this book was so well-written it didn’t. I eagerly and impatiently await C W Elliot’s next book. Oh, yes. You do need to read this book.
Wow, this was surprisingly good. The character development, the narrative, the flow of the story, and the enigmatic personalities of Lenora and Sol (love this name, by the way) completely drew me in. I really enjoyed not only experiencing the romance through the characters, but also how the story approaches the process of sexual identity—regardless of how much or in what way it’s lived—and the way love, or a particular person, can become the spark that ignites everything. On top of that, the legal case that opens the story is both intriguing and well-crafted, becoming the axis of the protagonists’ encounters and misencounters.
Is this my new favorite book? Yes. Have I been waiting for a book like this? Yes. Is it the super-smart and sexy protagonist? The spice that's also sweet? The inner monologues that read like stand up? The court case subplot that makes it impossible to put down? The little coven that emerges as the plot thickens? Yes, yes, yes, yes. But beyond that, the author makes you feel like you're also a part of the coven, and that's what makes it special. 10/10. I wish I could read it for the first time again. Can't wait for book 2!
Who the hell is C.W. Elliot? You gave nothing and everything. I stumbled upon this powder keg of a book and a more delicious happenstance has never existed. Wow. The writing here is gorgeous, sensual, seductive and it had the audacity to be a thriller at that. Sol Ruiz, damn. The heat between these two characters. I literally had to read this at work, unable to wait until I got home. I reiterate, who are you? Give us something. I’m hooked already so the enigmatic veil works, but I’d still like to know. Yeah, just damn. When is the second book dropping?