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The Seattle Svensson Brothers #1
Mr. Absolutely Not!: A Romantic Comedy
Armed with comfy pants, overpriced coffee, and a highly anxious emotional-support corgi, I prepare to face him.
Corporate boss. Villain.
Salinger Svensson.
I step into his office. His perfect mouth twists into a sneer.
There is no heart of gold beneath that suit, just a big black pit. He’s a shark in the frothy waters of high-stakes finance.
He might be the quintessential asshole CEO, causing all in his path to quake in fear, but he’s never had to face down a basic bitch in her thirties.
I am exactly like the other girls—I adore Starbucks, greige home decor, and making snarky jokes with my bestie. I’ve even inherited a stalker from an ill-advised singles party.
Yeah, the stalker is… a problem, one I’m hoping will just go away if I ignore it.
I can’t ignore him, though.
He’s all broad shoulders and snide comments, picking apart everything about me as he circles me, going for the kill.
He would never fire me, though. There’s no fun in that. He wants me to quit, to have a mental breakdown.
Well, he can get in line behind my crazy gold-digging sister, my guilt-tripping mother, and the aforementioned stalker.
Salinger pins me with his gaze.
I brace myself, waiting for the verbal blow to come…
Instead, he says, “I need a date tonight, and unfortunately, it has to be you.”
This is a full-length, enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy, complete with smokin’ hot-but-morally gray heroes, a smidge of suspense, and of course the perfect happily ever after! Though this is intended to be a stand-alone book, it does take place after the recently completed Manhattan Svensson Brothers series.
Corporate boss. Villain.
Salinger Svensson.
I step into his office. His perfect mouth twists into a sneer.
There is no heart of gold beneath that suit, just a big black pit. He’s a shark in the frothy waters of high-stakes finance.
He might be the quintessential asshole CEO, causing all in his path to quake in fear, but he’s never had to face down a basic bitch in her thirties.
I am exactly like the other girls—I adore Starbucks, greige home decor, and making snarky jokes with my bestie. I’ve even inherited a stalker from an ill-advised singles party.
Yeah, the stalker is… a problem, one I’m hoping will just go away if I ignore it.
I can’t ignore him, though.
He’s all broad shoulders and snide comments, picking apart everything about me as he circles me, going for the kill.
He would never fire me, though. There’s no fun in that. He wants me to quit, to have a mental breakdown.
Well, he can get in line behind my crazy gold-digging sister, my guilt-tripping mother, and the aforementioned stalker.
Salinger pins me with his gaze.
I brace myself, waiting for the verbal blow to come…
Instead, he says, “I need a date tonight, and unfortunately, it has to be you.”
This is a full-length, enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy, complete with smokin’ hot-but-morally gray heroes, a smidge of suspense, and of course the perfect happily ever after! Though this is intended to be a stand-alone book, it does take place after the recently completed Manhattan Svensson Brothers series.
539 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2024
About the author
Alina Jacobs
89 books1,767 followersIf you like steamy romantic comedies with a creative streak, then I'm your girl!
Architect by day, writer by night, I love matcha green tea, chocolate, and books! So many books…
Sign up for my mailing list to get special bonus content, free books, giveaways, and more!
http://alinajacobs.com/mailinglist.html
Architect by day, writer by night, I love matcha green tea, chocolate, and books! So many books…
Sign up for my mailing list to get special bonus content, free books, giveaways, and more!
http://alinajacobs.com/mailinglist.html
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 760 reviews
August 9, 2024
You know that saying Can't look away from a train wreck?
My friends, this book is the train wreck and I could not look away. I can't believe I read 541 pages of this absolute disaster of a book. I spent more time trying to figure out what on earth was going on than I did enjoying the book. I skipped full pages when it came time for the characters to talk business. I would get lost in the conversation not understanding what was going on. And the whole stalker thing was very poorly plotted out. (the whole book was poorly plotted out but you get my point) I hated the relationship Mandy had with her family. Its no wonder she fell in love with someone who was and treated her like absolute trash. She allows her family to walk all over her and disrespect her and follows it up with "but shes my sister..." or "But she's my mom..." Like girl. I so wish I didn't read this book. I did not enjoy it. I did not laugh or even crack a smile at the forced and poor attempts the author made to be funny. The title literally says "Mr. Absolutely Not!: A Romantic Comedy" I cannot with good conscious classify this as romance. I love enemy to lovers books. or hate to love. The relationship between the MMC and the FMC was not hate to love. The MMC is a piece of trash human who has no respect for the MFC. It literally goes from hate to lust. I saw no in-between. One page he was ranting about how much he hated her and would never have sex with her and the next he was lusting over her bent-over form. I will die on this hill, This was not a romantic comedy. This was not a romance novel. This was not a comedy novel. I did not enjoy reading this and absolutely do not recommend anyone read it. This author will certainly be going on my do-not-read list...
As a graphic designer I have to rant about the cover for a min. Mandy is described as a curvy girl. in fact she spends much of the book thinking she is on the heavy side as well as having her mom nag at her to lose weight. She wears spanks she spends quite a bit of inner dialogue thinking about her weight. Yet the girl on the cover is not curvy. she is not on the heavy side. She is in fact average and normal weight. So either the author is weight shaming or the graphic designer choose the wrong graphic to represent Mandy. I'm so tired of the lack or representation. If you are going to write a curvy girl then the cover should reflect that. the cover should reflect the writing!!!!!
**I apologize. this was a very rude review but they are my honest to god thoughts. and I won't sugar coat them**
Original review "I’m about 11% into it and I’m so freaking confused. He’s at lunch with his brothers talking about saving his sisters and some random guy shows up and apparently his half brother? They are talking about some compound they were in and he joined the military to save his family. Nothing is explained further. I feel like this is one of those interconnected books that’s apart of a series with everything that is happening right now. If this is apart of a series it should be labeled that way. Or at least explain to your readers what is going on.
Also her family keeps basically insulting her over and over and she follows it up with “my sister may be annoying but it’s nice…” while said person just treats her like shït
At 30% he is showing no redeeming qualities. Normally at this point that guy is showing that he cares slightly about the girl. He is just a dićk. Not even acting like he cares about her. He’s only showing that he’s attracted to her.
I’m going to try and finish but it’s not looking good."
My friends, this book is the train wreck and I could not look away. I can't believe I read 541 pages of this absolute disaster of a book. I spent more time trying to figure out what on earth was going on than I did enjoying the book. I skipped full pages when it came time for the characters to talk business. I would get lost in the conversation not understanding what was going on. And the whole stalker thing was very poorly plotted out. (the whole book was poorly plotted out but you get my point) I hated the relationship Mandy had with her family. Its no wonder she fell in love with someone who was and treated her like absolute trash. She allows her family to walk all over her and disrespect her and follows it up with "but shes my sister..." or "But she's my mom..." Like girl. I so wish I didn't read this book. I did not enjoy it. I did not laugh or even crack a smile at the forced and poor attempts the author made to be funny. The title literally says "Mr. Absolutely Not!: A Romantic Comedy" I cannot with good conscious classify this as romance. I love enemy to lovers books. or hate to love. The relationship between the MMC and the FMC was not hate to love. The MMC is a piece of trash human who has no respect for the MFC. It literally goes from hate to lust. I saw no in-between. One page he was ranting about how much he hated her and would never have sex with her and the next he was lusting over her bent-over form. I will die on this hill, This was not a romantic comedy. This was not a romance novel. This was not a comedy novel. I did not enjoy reading this and absolutely do not recommend anyone read it. This author will certainly be going on my do-not-read list...
As a graphic designer I have to rant about the cover for a min. Mandy is described as a curvy girl. in fact she spends much of the book thinking she is on the heavy side as well as having her mom nag at her to lose weight. She wears spanks she spends quite a bit of inner dialogue thinking about her weight. Yet the girl on the cover is not curvy. she is not on the heavy side. She is in fact average and normal weight. So either the author is weight shaming or the graphic designer choose the wrong graphic to represent Mandy. I'm so tired of the lack or representation. If you are going to write a curvy girl then the cover should reflect that. the cover should reflect the writing!!!!!
**I apologize. this was a very rude review but they are my honest to god thoughts. and I won't sugar coat them**
Original review "I’m about 11% into it and I’m so freaking confused. He’s at lunch with his brothers talking about saving his sisters and some random guy shows up and apparently his half brother? They are talking about some compound they were in and he joined the military to save his family. Nothing is explained further. I feel like this is one of those interconnected books that’s apart of a series with everything that is happening right now. If this is apart of a series it should be labeled that way. Or at least explain to your readers what is going on.
Also her family keeps basically insulting her over and over and she follows it up with “my sister may be annoying but it’s nice…” while said person just treats her like shït
At 30% he is showing no redeeming qualities. Normally at this point that guy is showing that he cares slightly about the girl. He is just a dićk. Not even acting like he cares about her. He’s only showing that he’s attracted to her.
I’m going to try and finish but it’s not looking good."
August 7, 2024
Not funny at all.....
I couldn't finish this book which is how bad this book is! We meet the MMC and he talks to her badly then hits the wall with his fist right next to her head... He's completely violent and over the top abusive. He praised a female employee for sleeping with a client to land a deal, called her dedicated and said others should do the same. He has no actual good qualities at all then we are supposed to believe he would care she has a stalker? I'm sorry but the man the author has betrayed would tell her to call the police and not to let her stalker stop her from being into work on time. All the characters and scenes are so ridiculous and unbelievable especially the lawyer NO lawyer is going to tell their client to have SEX with their stalker to "soften him up" and I guess that's why it's being labelled a romantic comedy coz it's so unbelievable but I didn't laugh at any point violence harassment and male toxicity isn't funny. Not a romantic comedy in my books
I couldn't finish this book which is how bad this book is! We meet the MMC and he talks to her badly then hits the wall with his fist right next to her head... He's completely violent and over the top abusive. He praised a female employee for sleeping with a client to land a deal, called her dedicated and said others should do the same. He has no actual good qualities at all then we are supposed to believe he would care she has a stalker? I'm sorry but the man the author has betrayed would tell her to call the police and not to let her stalker stop her from being into work on time. All the characters and scenes are so ridiculous and unbelievable especially the lawyer NO lawyer is going to tell their client to have SEX with their stalker to "soften him up" and I guess that's why it's being labelled a romantic comedy coz it's so unbelievable but I didn't laugh at any point violence harassment and male toxicity isn't funny. Not a romantic comedy in my books
August 10, 2024
I’m throwing KU and booktok away
August 19, 2024
About half way through the book I finally looked at reviews. My favorite were "unhinged" and "slow moving car crash" because that was the truth.
The cover art talks about how it's a romantic comedy and shows the FMC in a work appropriate dress. She works as an executive assistant and wears elastic pants (implied cheap athletic wear that doesn't fit properly) to work and starts what feels like fat-shamming but isn't explicitly stated. The MMC is described as an antihero but there's also a subplot where he grew up in a cult-like compound and has upwards of 100 blood related siblings, 5 of whom he's close with and 95 he'd like to destroy. I'm assuming there's a previous book that goes into details about who these people are and why they needed to be named dropped. There was a lot of business-like talk that was brought up in ways that the reader was supposed to a) understand and b) care about.
Mandy has two sisters who are on the hunt for a rich man and have no problem with that being their entire personality. They also talk of how hopeless Mandy is because she's so ancient (34), has a job, and is single. She'll never get a man like this. Instead, the two 20something sisters fight over the same rich divorcee who's as old as their father. The mother is also a treat, giving me the most fat-shaming vibes where she can't understand why her oldest daughter hasn't married yet, wears the aforementioned ill-fitting elastic pants, and also pushes food on her daughter every chance she gets. There's a grandmother character that provides the most comedy because she has no filter and just wants to get laid.
There is a stalker. This book is still labeled as a "rom com" and for the first time ever, I wanted the stalker to win. Why? Because Mandy spends the whole book protecting him and in fear of him. She did report him to the cops, who gaslight her, and hired a lawyer, who said she could make the stalker go away by sleeping with him. She lives in fear of this man, only feeling safe at work because her boss is actually a bigger asshole and finally tells someone about the stalker. But it's her boss, Salinger, and even though he's a billionaire with access to a lawyers, security teams, and a private island, her only thought process is that he'll physically fight this man and lose. Therefore Salinger steps into help by kidnapping her and locking her on both a private island and in a penthouse bedroom until she tells him who the stalker is. Spoilers: he steps in with his money and everything magically works out.
Editing could have cut this book to under 300 pages and maybe created a group of characters that I cared about. Instead it was a hate read where I couldn't put it down and that fact upsets me.
The cover art talks about how it's a romantic comedy and shows the FMC in a work appropriate dress. She works as an executive assistant and wears elastic pants (implied cheap athletic wear that doesn't fit properly) to work and starts what feels like fat-shamming but isn't explicitly stated. The MMC is described as an antihero but there's also a subplot where he grew up in a cult-like compound and has upwards of 100 blood related siblings, 5 of whom he's close with and 95 he'd like to destroy. I'm assuming there's a previous book that goes into details about who these people are and why they needed to be named dropped. There was a lot of business-like talk that was brought up in ways that the reader was supposed to a) understand and b) care about.
Mandy has two sisters who are on the hunt for a rich man and have no problem with that being their entire personality. They also talk of how hopeless Mandy is because she's so ancient (34), has a job, and is single. She'll never get a man like this. Instead, the two 20something sisters fight over the same rich divorcee who's as old as their father. The mother is also a treat, giving me the most fat-shaming vibes where she can't understand why her oldest daughter hasn't married yet, wears the aforementioned ill-fitting elastic pants, and also pushes food on her daughter every chance she gets. There's a grandmother character that provides the most comedy because she has no filter and just wants to get laid.
There is a stalker. This book is still labeled as a "rom com" and for the first time ever, I wanted the stalker to win. Why? Because Mandy spends the whole book protecting him and in fear of him. She did report him to the cops, who gaslight her, and hired a lawyer, who said she could make the stalker go away by sleeping with him. She lives in fear of this man, only feeling safe at work because her boss is actually a bigger asshole and finally tells someone about the stalker. But it's her boss, Salinger, and even though he's a billionaire with access to a lawyers, security teams, and a private island, her only thought process is that he'll physically fight this man and lose. Therefore Salinger steps into help by kidnapping her and locking her on both a private island and in a penthouse bedroom until she tells him who the stalker is. Spoilers: he steps in with his money and everything magically works out.
Editing could have cut this book to under 300 pages and maybe created a group of characters that I cared about. Instead it was a hate read where I couldn't put it down and that fact upsets me.
August 8, 2024
Toxic Not in the fun way
This book really plays into rape culture and it degrades females.
The MMC isn’t a morally grey guy he’s an abusive a-hole who derives joy in making people cry or have mental break downs.
Emotionally and physically abusive towards the FMC.
There’s a stalker angle for no reason. The stalker was obsessed for why? Because she didn’t put out after 1 date?
This book really plays into rape culture and it degrades females.
The MMC isn’t a morally grey guy he’s an abusive a-hole who derives joy in making people cry or have mental break downs.
Emotionally and physically abusive towards the FMC.
There’s a stalker angle for no reason. The stalker was obsessed for why? Because she didn’t put out after 1 date?
August 8, 2024
I literally can’t believe I read 500 pages of this.
August 11, 2024
Booktok struck with a “he hears her in the elevator and it gets all 🌶️“ so I started this book.
Ummmm. It’s page 86 and … she has an overbearing mother, a gold digger sister, a stalker she’s doing nothing to protect herself from… and all the MMC does is horrifically bully her - to the point of potential physical violence while she’s actively crying?
“Mr. Absolutely Not” is right. Absolutely not.
Ummmm. It’s page 86 and … she has an overbearing mother, a gold digger sister, a stalker she’s doing nothing to protect herself from… and all the MMC does is horrifically bully her - to the point of potential physical violence while she’s actively crying?
“Mr. Absolutely Not” is right. Absolutely not.
August 8, 2024
Mandy is the worst
The ‘love’ story between the two is not even close to believable. This is not a rom-com. Mandy’s neurosis is unbearable. Not only is she a doormat but she’s quite literally a moron and makes the absolute worst decisions in the name of being some independent woman. She has a freaking stalker and tells literally no one thinking the problem will just go away. Her sisters are annoying af and selfish and treat her like crap. Also she sees her stalker in the club and runs off leaving her sister there because Salinger gave her an orgasm in his car.
I can’t even with these characters. If all characters in Jacobs’ books are like this, i definitely will not be reading any more of them
The ‘love’ story between the two is not even close to believable. This is not a rom-com. Mandy’s neurosis is unbearable. Not only is she a doormat but she’s quite literally a moron and makes the absolute worst decisions in the name of being some independent woman. She has a freaking stalker and tells literally no one thinking the problem will just go away. Her sisters are annoying af and selfish and treat her like crap. Also she sees her stalker in the club and runs off leaving her sister there because Salinger gave her an orgasm in his car.
I can’t even with these characters. If all characters in Jacobs’ books are like this, i definitely will not be reading any more of them
August 21, 2024
DNF. I'm so upset I read this. FMC is a doormat who uses about 5% of her brainpower, but never standing up for herself. That's it! That's the whole story!
MMC is so, so mean. Degrading, rude, belittling. It's not sexy. Page 288 and he's still insulting her about having no standards while they hook up, but oh of course he does. He's actually one of the meanest MMC towards the FMC I've read in a minute. He just bullies her. Not in a bully romance way, I mean he is literally mean to her. I would never recommend this book to anyone. He treats her with such little respect and regard that I found myself tearing up every time she just accepts it. Made me feel sick. He likes her insecure, shows he wants her to stay that way by never building her up, and it was just so sad and triggering to see it portrayed on text as a "romance". This needs to be labeled something else. Horrible book.
"They're just women I fuck."
"Is that what we're going to do?"
"I have standards, Mandy."
"So do I."
"I made you come in a parking lot. I highly doubt that."
"If you want me to fuck you, you're going to have to make me feel wanted, special." He has literally told her that he would never want her, that no man ever would, and now this is what she gets during their hook up scene. Princess Salinger needs to feel wanted and coddled. I hate him.
"Show me."
I make a big show of teasing my hair up. "I want to feel your thick cock in my..."
"Do better." He crosses his arms.
"I think," I moan, "I'm going to spend ever night for the rest of my life that I'm not with you thinking about you"
So what does he do after all that and she's naked in front of him, begging after he told her he would never, even though he's the one harassing her? Leaves the room and locks her in it.
I'm just in tears at this point, I can't lie. He makes her debase and humiliate herself to be with him and offers her nothing in return. Salinger wants to be romanced, he's just a princess!
I will never read or recommend a book from this author ever again. If it comes up on my booktok, I'll comment every single time to let people know this is trash.
To add insult to injury, Girls got a stalker and does... nothing about it! Tells no one in her life lmao! Yes completely believable. She has a mom, dad, two sisters, but can't possibly "burden" them with her possible demise because they can't "handle" it???? Um bitch they won't be able to handle it if you're dead either. But don't worry! She'll handle it by doing nothing instead so, problem solved.
The author tries to convince us that the FMC makes all her life choices this way, simply by doing nothing and hoping things work out. That's why she lets her boss degrade her and belittle her then fuck her without so much as an apology for all the times he told her how disgusting and unworthy of his time and attention she was. Romance, baby!
The side characters treating her like garbage was overload. Like, Lauren? No one lets their sister talk to them that way. Painfully unbelievable for the sister to constantly tell her how unwanted she is but then demand they spend time together like she didn't just insult her entire existence while mooching off her and doing nothing. Like, what?
If you hate romance and enjoy reading about a weak ass FMC who can't ever once stand up for themselves or correct someone's poor treatment of them, especially the MMC's, this is the book for you! 💜 I found myself rooting for the bad guy actually, girl was so dumb she deserved it. And the MMC should have treated her better if he wanted her to trust him.
Do better authors! No one wants to have to suspend reality to make crap like THIS believable, the real world sucks enough already. No chance I'm reading 200 MORE PAGES OF CRAP!
MMC is so, so mean. Degrading, rude, belittling. It's not sexy. Page 288 and he's still insulting her about having no standards while they hook up, but oh of course he does. He's actually one of the meanest MMC towards the FMC I've read in a minute. He just bullies her. Not in a bully romance way, I mean he is literally mean to her. I would never recommend this book to anyone. He treats her with such little respect and regard that I found myself tearing up every time she just accepts it. Made me feel sick. He likes her insecure, shows he wants her to stay that way by never building her up, and it was just so sad and triggering to see it portrayed on text as a "romance". This needs to be labeled something else. Horrible book.
"They're just women I fuck."
"Is that what we're going to do?"
"I have standards, Mandy."
"So do I."
"I made you come in a parking lot. I highly doubt that."
"If you want me to fuck you, you're going to have to make me feel wanted, special." He has literally told her that he would never want her, that no man ever would, and now this is what she gets during their hook up scene. Princess Salinger needs to feel wanted and coddled. I hate him.
"Show me."
I make a big show of teasing my hair up. "I want to feel your thick cock in my..."
"Do better." He crosses his arms.
"I think," I moan, "I'm going to spend ever night for the rest of my life that I'm not with you thinking about you"
So what does he do after all that and she's naked in front of him, begging after he told her he would never, even though he's the one harassing her? Leaves the room and locks her in it.
I'm just in tears at this point, I can't lie. He makes her debase and humiliate herself to be with him and offers her nothing in return. Salinger wants to be romanced, he's just a princess!
I will never read or recommend a book from this author ever again. If it comes up on my booktok, I'll comment every single time to let people know this is trash.
To add insult to injury, Girls got a stalker and does... nothing about it! Tells no one in her life lmao! Yes completely believable. She has a mom, dad, two sisters, but can't possibly "burden" them with her possible demise because they can't "handle" it???? Um bitch they won't be able to handle it if you're dead either. But don't worry! She'll handle it by doing nothing instead so, problem solved.
The author tries to convince us that the FMC makes all her life choices this way, simply by doing nothing and hoping things work out. That's why she lets her boss degrade her and belittle her then fuck her without so much as an apology for all the times he told her how disgusting and unworthy of his time and attention she was. Romance, baby!
The side characters treating her like garbage was overload. Like, Lauren? No one lets their sister talk to them that way. Painfully unbelievable for the sister to constantly tell her how unwanted she is but then demand they spend time together like she didn't just insult her entire existence while mooching off her and doing nothing. Like, what?
If you hate romance and enjoy reading about a weak ass FMC who can't ever once stand up for themselves or correct someone's poor treatment of them, especially the MMC's, this is the book for you! 💜 I found myself rooting for the bad guy actually, girl was so dumb she deserved it. And the MMC should have treated her better if he wanted her to trust him.
Do better authors! No one wants to have to suspend reality to make crap like THIS believable, the real world sucks enough already. No chance I'm reading 200 MORE PAGES OF CRAP!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2024
I really hate giving one star reviews.
But I really couldn't give it any more than that. It got one star only because I finished it. I kept waiting for it to get better. For the MMC to have one redeeming quality, other than anger and verbal abuse. I kept waiting for the FMC to make one decision that wasn't completely counter-productive and idiotic.
Eventually, I just kept reading to see how bad it would get.
In that regard, it didn't disappoint.
But I really couldn't give it any more than that. It got one star only because I finished it. I kept waiting for it to get better. For the MMC to have one redeeming quality, other than anger and verbal abuse. I kept waiting for the FMC to make one decision that wasn't completely counter-productive and idiotic.
Eventually, I just kept reading to see how bad it would get.
In that regard, it didn't disappoint.
August 20, 2024
10 reasons why this is one of the worst book I've read in 2024:
1. Incorrectly listed as a RomCom - this leans more towards a Bully "Romance" even tip toes into dark with some of the sex scenes
2. The MMC calls the FMC stupid... and means it.
3. The MMC is a narcissist with zero feelings
4. The FMC is a weak people pleaser who needs an ESA. Although I prefer a atronger FMC, this these are not bad characteristics - she's just the wrong FMC for this book. In this context these traits don't make her his love interest- she's his victim
5. The FMCs friends and coworkers see how he treats her and no one steps in to help bc he's attractive ?
6. Her family is tedious and insufferable
7. The leap from horrible boss who delights in causing the FMC to cry to having feelings for her makes no sense.
8. The book starts with the FMC cowering in the corner with her emotional support dog and the cruel a** of a boss being horrible to her and just gets worse.
9. Wishy-washy FMC - her feelings for the MMC flip flop so much. I just wanted her to get a backbone
10. The MMC admits to only using women for financial gain and discarding them after - he even applauds a female employee for doing the same thing to get a new account
1. Incorrectly listed as a RomCom - this leans more towards a Bully "Romance" even tip toes into dark with some of the sex scenes
2. The MMC calls the FMC stupid... and means it.
3. The MMC is a narcissist with zero feelings
4. The FMC is a weak people pleaser who needs an ESA. Although I prefer a atronger FMC, this these are not bad characteristics - she's just the wrong FMC for this book. In this context these traits don't make her his love interest- she's his victim
5. The FMCs friends and coworkers see how he treats her and no one steps in to help bc he's attractive ?
6. Her family is tedious and insufferable
7. The leap from horrible boss who delights in causing the FMC to cry to having feelings for her makes no sense.
8. The book starts with the FMC cowering in the corner with her emotional support dog and the cruel a** of a boss being horrible to her and just gets worse.
9. Wishy-washy FMC - her feelings for the MMC flip flop so much. I just wanted her to get a backbone
10. The MMC admits to only using women for financial gain and discarding them after - he even applauds a female employee for doing the same thing to get a new account
September 3, 2024
Whiplash in book form
This book is billed as a rom-com. It’s not. It vacillates between wanting to be romantic suspense with Mandy’s stalker, a repetitive “romance” that is devoid of romance, and very misogynistic portrayals of every female character except for Jess.
Salinger is an emotionally abusive a$$h0le. He is not charmingly alpha grumpy; he is a grade A jerk who is cruel to Mandy. Mandy is a doormat who allows everyone, including her horrible gold digger stereotypical sisters to walk all over her.
This book is billed as a rom-com. It’s not. It vacillates between wanting to be romantic suspense with Mandy’s stalker, a repetitive “romance” that is devoid of romance, and very misogynistic portrayals of every female character except for Jess.
Salinger is an emotionally abusive a$$h0le. He is not charmingly alpha grumpy; he is a grade A jerk who is cruel to Mandy. Mandy is a doormat who allows everyone, including her horrible gold digger stereotypical sisters to walk all over her.
August 8, 2024
'Absolutely Not' is right!
September 3, 2024
DNF. I got about halfway through before I gave up on this. I didn’t like either of them and didn’t want either of them to be with one another so that was the first issue. The second is, I couldn’t understand why an executive assistant was such a push over and didn’t care about her own safety and well-being. I also didn’t quite get the emotional abuse every five seconds from her boss and somehow when he realizes that there’s actual danger that’s when he’s all maybe I’ll treat her somewhat normally —even though that’s a very loose term—he’s somewhat less insulting to her so I guess that’s better??? The only thing he has going for him is he’s rich. I couldn’t figure out why either of them worked together in the first place. He seemed to think she was the shittiest person on the planet and even worse at her job and he was the answer to all prayers. If she’s so bad at her job, why keep her? Or to her, why stay? And romance between them? Oh hell no. Was not for me.
April 25, 2026
The FMC was so freaking annoying, along with her family.
August 8, 2025
REVIEW
Rating: 3/5
POV: 1st, dual
Tropes: Boss/Employee; Enemies to Lovers; Grumpy/Sunshine; Fake Dating; Slow Burn; Romcom
Heat Level: 5+/5
Kinks: Roleplaying; Butt Stuff;
Likes:
* Hands down might be one of the funniest romcoms I’ve ever read. This author knows how to write some damn good humor.
* I loved sweet Pepper (the FMC spoiled rotten dog) 😂
* The sex was actually pretty unique - they do a lot of roleplaying which I feel like I haven’t seen in books before. It actually threw me off at first because I didn’t realize that’s what was happening but then it becomes clear and it’s 🔥🥵.
* the FMCs family, iykyk
Dislikes:
* the MMCs family - it’s confusing as fuck!
* The MMC is a grade an asshole and that part of his personality I liked, it was funny, but then something happens to the FMC and we basically get a whole personality change. I’m down for the whole he’s soft only for the FMC but that doesn’t entirely happen. His responses to other things happening in the story are not the MMC we meet in the first half.
Conclusion:
Incredibly funny romcom. However it’s a sold average 3 stars because the book was also so confusing. It seems this is the newest series of the MANY Svenssons so you possibly have to have read the other like 20 Svensson books for all of that drama to make sense in this one? I honestly don’t know. There’s too many of them and they’re in the plot a lot so it really messed with the story.
The humor in this was so good that I was honestly considering putting this on my reread shelf but after taking some time to think about it I think the book wasn’t as good as it initially felt when I was vibing with it.
I will say, I will read more books by this author because her humor really is amazing. She also writes great 🔥.
3/5
Rating: 3/5
POV: 1st, dual
Tropes: Boss/Employee; Enemies to Lovers; Grumpy/Sunshine; Fake Dating; Slow Burn; Romcom
Heat Level: 5+/5
Kinks: Roleplaying; Butt Stuff;
Likes:
* Hands down might be one of the funniest romcoms I’ve ever read. This author knows how to write some damn good humor.
* I loved sweet Pepper (the FMC spoiled rotten dog) 😂
* The sex was actually pretty unique - they do a lot of roleplaying which I feel like I haven’t seen in books before. It actually threw me off at first because I didn’t realize that’s what was happening but then it becomes clear and it’s 🔥🥵.
* the FMCs family, iykyk
Dislikes:
* the MMCs family - it’s confusing as fuck!
* The MMC is a grade an asshole and that part of his personality I liked, it was funny, but then something happens to the FMC and we basically get a whole personality change. I’m down for the whole he’s soft only for the FMC but that doesn’t entirely happen. His responses to other things happening in the story are not the MMC we meet in the first half.
Conclusion:
Incredibly funny romcom. However it’s a sold average 3 stars because the book was also so confusing. It seems this is the newest series of the MANY Svenssons so you possibly have to have read the other like 20 Svensson books for all of that drama to make sense in this one? I honestly don’t know. There’s too many of them and they’re in the plot a lot so it really messed with the story.
The humor in this was so good that I was honestly considering putting this on my reread shelf but after taking some time to think about it I think the book wasn’t as good as it initially felt when I was vibing with it.
I will say, I will read more books by this author because her humor really is amazing. She also writes great 🔥.
3/5
May 9, 2026
He like arguably unforgivably mean to her??? And then it like shifted into mean being a kink? Which was poorly done, and arguably irresponsibly so (no aftercare). For how long it was, you’d think the author would write a bit about the MMCs change of heart about her… but no, he just flipped a switch at some point and suddenly went from she is ugly and plain to she is the hottest thing in the world. Why was it so long if author didn’t use the length to actually do something with the evolution of the characters? Nearly every character was insufferable, even side characters. Also, my god??? This office environment is one big lawsuit? It felt like a caricature of what someone thinks office life is like without ever working in an office. I actually don’t have anything good to say about this one.
November 18, 2024
Hold up, Hold up, Hold up... Where was this book hiding from my greedy eyes!!!
I need to do it justice with a ravishing review but my words fail me because this book came as the most pleasant surprise!
1/Did you think this is a fluffy rom-com? Heck NO! This one has a morally gery/ vicious/ pretentious/ ASSHOLE hero without being a dark romance (Imagine that): Seriously the Hero bites (Physically and metaphorically) I don't want people to come crying afterwards saying that the hero is pretending to hate the FMC or he's misunderstood or some shit like that. NO, he's an asshole and there is no other way around it.
2/Did you think the FMC is your typical assistant? NOOOOOO! No sane assistant would barge into her boss's office telling him "you're a dickhead" and other colorful words. Remember when I said the MMC bites, well the FMC bites harder!
She's competent, gets the job done but MCs are both a HR nightmare (not that there is an actual appearance of a broody HR employee)
3/Did you think this is a drama-less rom-com? Think again! Try spending one scene with the FMC's sisters or the MMC's brothers then comeback to me.
Just to paint the picture as clear as possible:
FMC's grandmother is a geriatric alcoholic/ Her father is an obsessive lawn-growing fanatic/ her sister is a gold digger/ her other sister is in love with a sugar daddy/ the FMC's emotional support pet has anxiety and separation issues.
MMC's father was (maybe) in cult or something and had bunch of wives. MMC has 20-30 brothers and they're all assholes ( but rich ones).
Highly recommend and patiently waiting for someone to rave about it as well!
I need to do it justice with a ravishing review but my words fail me because this book came as the most pleasant surprise!
1/Did you think this is a fluffy rom-com? Heck NO! This one has a morally gery/ vicious/ pretentious/ ASSHOLE hero without being a dark romance (Imagine that): Seriously the Hero bites (Physically and metaphorically) I don't want people to come crying afterwards saying that the hero is pretending to hate the FMC or he's misunderstood or some shit like that. NO, he's an asshole and there is no other way around it.
2/Did you think the FMC is your typical assistant? NOOOOOO! No sane assistant would barge into her boss's office telling him "you're a dickhead" and other colorful words. Remember when I said the MMC bites, well the FMC bites harder!
She's competent, gets the job done but MCs are both a HR nightmare (not that there is an actual appearance of a broody HR employee)
3/Did you think this is a drama-less rom-com? Think again! Try spending one scene with the FMC's sisters or the MMC's brothers then comeback to me.
Just to paint the picture as clear as possible:
FMC's grandmother is a geriatric alcoholic/ Her father is an obsessive lawn-growing fanatic/ her sister is a gold digger/ her other sister is in love with a sugar daddy/ the FMC's emotional support pet has anxiety and separation issues.
MMC's father was (maybe) in cult or something and had bunch of wives. MMC has 20-30 brothers and they're all assholes ( but rich ones).
Highly recommend and patiently waiting for someone to rave about it as well!
Did Not Finish
June 16, 2026I skimmed to about 35% purely out of curiosity but I couldn't keep going. The plot was ridiculous, the characters were all like some cartoon villains twirling their handlebar mustaches, other than our heroine Mandy who was nothing short of a mess in every aspect of her life. I just didn't understand anything that was supposed to be going on with all of the over-the-top reactions to every little thing that was happening.
February 8, 2026
This was so fun- a neurotic corgi, a mix of dark romance and romcom (didn’t know that was a thing but I ate it up), forced proximity, fake dating (ish), loads of spice, possessive alphahole… a really great read. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for something fun but a little different
October 6, 2024
This the the first time I've read anything from this author, and I'm definitely giving more books in the back list a go. There are so many one stars for this book by reviewers and I can understand why they did that. The author is poking fun at so many types of people! I'm an older person, so perhaps I'm not as easy to offend, plus I can understand the humor; being from a generation bombarded with comedy movies and TV shows that would never make it to the screen these days.
Our 'hero' Sal' is absolutely dreadful. Everyone is scared of him, except our heroine Mandy. But he does startle her a lot... Fortunately, he wouldn't be anyone's boss in the real world, he'd probably be locked up. This romantic comedy is for sure not everyone's cup of tea, but I found myself chuckling heaps of times. The author pokes fun at so many types of people that I'm sure many readers will be offended at something.
One thing I really didn't like were the sex scenes. There was no swoon-worthy romance and no emotional chemistry - just heaps of erotic soft porn like scenes and descriptions - which didn't fit the the story. Was it intentional? I don't know, but I did read them. Those scenes were switched on and off like a light at times. There's also a stalker and some suspense-like scenes.
I enjoyed the banter between the H/h. Pepper was fun, the sisters were hilarious, gran and the parents were entertaining. This book was also swamped with a hundred brothers, which confused me and some of the financial stuff went over my head. Loved the last couple of chapters.
Our 'hero' Sal' is absolutely dreadful. Everyone is scared of him, except our heroine Mandy. But he does startle her a lot... Fortunately, he wouldn't be anyone's boss in the real world, he'd probably be locked up. This romantic comedy is for sure not everyone's cup of tea, but I found myself chuckling heaps of times. The author pokes fun at so many types of people that I'm sure many readers will be offended at something.
One thing I really didn't like were the sex scenes. There was no swoon-worthy romance and no emotional chemistry - just heaps of erotic soft porn like scenes and descriptions - which didn't fit the the story. Was it intentional? I don't know, but I did read them. Those scenes were switched on and off like a light at times. There's also a stalker and some suspense-like scenes.
I enjoyed the banter between the H/h. Pepper was fun, the sisters were hilarious, gran and the parents were entertaining. This book was also swamped with a hundred brothers, which confused me and some of the financial stuff went over my head. Loved the last couple of chapters.
September 16, 2024
Ugh. This is so trashy
This book is an absolutely not. It rarely happens, but I didn't finish this one. This is extremely explicit, not sweet and cute. The cover looks like a cute romance. The writing feels so disjointed and completely all over the place. Needs some major editing. It just gets more crude and crass as you read. I should have read reviews before I read this one - it was a last minute Kindle download before I hopped on a plane and it was a bad decision.
(Un)happy reading!!
This book is an absolutely not. It rarely happens, but I didn't finish this one. This is extremely explicit, not sweet and cute. The cover looks like a cute romance. The writing feels so disjointed and completely all over the place. Needs some major editing. It just gets more crude and crass as you read. I should have read reviews before I read this one - it was a last minute Kindle download before I hopped on a plane and it was a bad decision.
(Un)happy reading!!
August 15, 2024
Wow this book is not good!
I don’t usually write reviews, but I like to check out new to me authors and wish had read some of these reviews instead of the book. You really have to
try hard to find redeeming qualities in nearly all of the characters, most are maladjusted adults acting like toddlers. I wouldn’t have finished the book but I kept telling myself it had to get better at some point. Nope.
I don’t usually write reviews, but I like to check out new to me authors and wish had read some of these reviews instead of the book. You really have to
try hard to find redeeming qualities in nearly all of the characters, most are maladjusted adults acting like toddlers. I wouldn’t have finished the book but I kept telling myself it had to get better at some point. Nope.
October 25, 2024
this has to be the worst book i've ever read. and i tortured myself by reading the whole thing hoping it would get better and the main characters would redeemed somehow at the end, but no. i ended up hating them more and more. it got worse. also the plot was not plotting, the whole thing about the stalker was very poorly written. i tried to make sense of the book until the end but couldn't. worst read of the year. thank god this torture to my eyes is over.
December 16, 2024
2.5/5 stars. 50 shades of grey meets beauty and the beast but like not in a good way. The story was fine but I found myself reading just to finish the book. Just kinda over kill with some of the spicy scenes and the story was so confusing with all the brothers for no reason.
May 16, 2026
It’s possible that this was the strangest book I have ever read. I’m not even sure what genre it is — a bit of a thriller, a bit of a romantic comedy (although for me it felt more like dark comedy). It’s full of weird moments, irony, and exaggeration. But somehow it still felt quite coherent, and it definitely surprised me.
Don’t take my rating as something certain. I honestly have no idea what someone else might think about this book. I was curious and pulled into the story, but the whole time I kept thinking, “WTF is even happening here”.
Don’t take my rating as something certain. I honestly have no idea what someone else might think about this book. I was curious and pulled into the story, but the whole time I kept thinking, “WTF is even happening here”.
April 16, 2025
I honestly really loved this and it hurts to give it anything less than 5 stars.. but I felt like the ending was rushed and with how well it all started, the unexpected change of pace to the ending just created some gaps.
July 10, 2026
2.5
Too unbelievable. An FMC executive assistant wears cheap clothes, isn't paid well by a billion-dollar corporation, is a doormat to everyone in her life, and there's a skinny woman on the cover while the character is curvy with big tits?
Too unbelievable. An FMC executive assistant wears cheap clothes, isn't paid well by a billion-dollar corporation, is a doormat to everyone in her life, and there's a skinny woman on the cover while the character is curvy with big tits?
August 22, 2024
Alina Jacobs really does grumpy😠sunshine😊☀️ the best. Going into this one, as with all her others, I knew I was going to laugh my ass off, and Alina did not disappoint. There always seems to be a broody billionaire MMC and a sweet as pie FMC (often with a chubby corgi in tow🐾) that he finally realizes he can’t get enough of. But I think my favorite part is always the unhinged grandmothers🍷.
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