This was a very sweet sort of hurt/comfort story with two characters that have been through different types of trauma finding and supporting each other.
Please do not judge this book by the cover or the title - both are deceiving. Not once in the story are tattoos mentioned and his ‘obsession’ isn’t dark.
Jace ❤️Anna
These two meet when they literally crash into each other at a farmers market. She spills her coffee all over him and then basically lands on top of him, somehow kissing his mouth. He doesn’t react well to it and she gets annoyed.
Fast forward two days and we learn that he is her new boss.
We also learn that Jace suffered extreme trauma when he as a young child and its impacted his ability to function typically in the world - he is highly regimented and suffers from what appears to be a form of OCD. He cannot stand to touch other people and/or have other people touch him or be in his space. He uses a rubix cube to manage his stress.
She has suffered a more recent trauma in the form of emotional (and financial) abuse from her ex-boyfriend, who is a famous actor.
The story is of their relationship growing as they work together, she recognizes and respects his sensitivities and he feels safe and comfortable with another person for the first time, really ever.
❤️. No third act breakup. At one point, she does deny her feelings for him and he retreats to his secluded cabin. It’s not really a breakup bc they’re not together at that point and it happens around the 50% mark. See below for spoilers. No breakup once they are together. 🗣️Communication - There is no deliberate miscommunication but no one explains his needs to her and she sort of bumbles along in the beginning making an ass of herself. This improved later. ➡️Assistant and boss/tech businessman; also she’s a professional photographer and he’s an artist. 🫣No OM/OW - He is extremely jealous of anyone that talks to her, including his brother, Miles. She has no interest in anyone else. 🌺 Obsession- I think this is a bit of a misnomer. Rather than being typically obsessed in a dark way, he recognizes that there’s something about her that somehow gets past all of his defenses and he can’t figure out why or how. And he can’t stop thinking about her or turn off his feelings. 🏚️Forced proximity - they spend about 4 days in a secluded cabin when a rain storm blocks the roads. Also, she works for him and he sees her daily as his assistant. 🧠Mental health rep/Mutual respect - He goes to a therapist two times per week to help him deal with his trauma. We see his struggles w touch, his need to wear gloves and sanitize everything, his panic at being in the dark; etc. And we see her support him through it and defend him to others who call him a ‘freak’. We also know about her trauma and we see him come to her aid and help her recover. 🏠Family - her parents and brother live elsewhere, she has her friend and roommate, Miley. He has his family, all of whom are close. His mother also suffered as a result of his young trauma and has a heart condition. 🌶️Spice - Slow burn - They get together around 65%. Open door. Full consent. He’s apparently never been with anyone else bc of his revulsion to touch. He doesn’t ever tell her that she’s his first, however. 👥Dual POV; HEA. Engagement; and then 6 month later epilogue where she has her own gallery showing
Overall, despite a bit of a rocky start for me, this was a very sweet story of two people who find the person who can support them and help them be the best version of themselves. I adored Jace and grew to like Anna. The way that we see him respond to her and be able to live a more open life is truly lovely. I loved that therapy was incorporated into the story so we know that he’s getting professional help and guidance as his relationship w her grows. It’s very well done.
Spoilers: ‼️‼️‼️‼️
Jace’s trauma - he was kidnapped and held for 11 days when he was a child. Anna’s trauma - not only did her ex emotionally abuse her but he hit someone w his car, caused grave injuries, and covered it up. When Anna threatened to take it public he destroyed her career.
Why not 5 stars: This started a bit rough for me. I didn’t like how she seemed ignorant and disrespectful of his issues. I also thought the whole scene w her throwing up on him at the club was ridiculous - even the way she spoke to him was beyond. This caused a bit of a disconnect for me when shortly after that he has a panic attack in the elevator, smells her vanilla scent and his body/brain decide that she’s a ‘safe person’. How is she safe for him? She’s dumped coffee and vomited on him? I almost DNF’d but I’m SO glad I didn’t. Once you get past that point, the story really takes off and is truly lovely.
At about 60%, he declares he can’t stop thinking about her and is ‘obsessed’. She feels the same but is scared bc her trauma w her ex and denies her feelings for him. He then disappears from the office for a week to deal w his feelings and create some separation. She can’t be without him and goes to find him at the cabin. Once there, again, I felt like it took her too long to share her feelings. She literally drove there to make sure he was okay, and he once again tells her how he feels, and she plays it coy for no reason making him wait before she declares her feelings. Just why??
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was soooo good! A first by this author and it won't be the last. It gripped me straight away. It had me smiling like a weirdo, and feeling all the feelings. The character development was amazing and the slow building tension between the MMC and FMC was perfection. They overcame trauma together and it was just a truly heartwarming book ❤️
Il y avait du potentiel malheureusement mal réalisé. Un MMC traumatisé, avec des toc liés à la propreté que personne ne peut toucher … j’aurais aimé que cela soit moins facile.
Holy moly my cheeks hurt from smiling so much while reading this. It’s so stinking cute and with there being no third act break up it just made the book even better in my opinion.
This is the story of Jace and Anna. This is my first by this author so of course I had a little skepticism, but this book has turned out to be a very good one! Anna has packed up and run from a disastrous former relationship. Her former boyfriend was a well known celebrity that was controlling and eventually turned on her when she went to police with information he didn’t want revealed.
Jace suffered an immeasurable tragedy at the age of eight that devastated him and shaped his future. He’s locked in to a personal hell that he cannot figure a way out of. His family is worried about him and he’s gone through four executive assistants in a very short period of time because women just cannot survive his freaky predilections.
He and Anna meet when she spills coffee on him. He tells her he hopes to never see her again. But… guess what… her friend Miles, who is Jace’s brother (of course she has no idea) tells her of a job offer with him and his brother’s company. She applies and is awarded the job and then comes face to face with her new boss… Jace.
Jace doesn’t want her there, but his brother more or less blackmails him into keeping her, and so he does. And that’s how it begins. This author does emotion very well. Jace was awkward, inhibited and stabilized only by performing repetitive tasks over and over again. Many people thought of him as a freak, but Anna saw him as man who had been devastated at an early age and had a need for total control of his environment. She knew him inside because she also had a need for total co trim her environment after her ex boyfriend was abusive.
The writing was fluid, the characters fully flushed and the love making tender. Definitely will read another book by this author. Well done. 5 stars🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I’m pretty sure this is the first book I’ve read by this author, the book blurb pulled me in. I wasn’t sure what to expect, initial thoughts ranged from a dark romance to rom com but the reality is so much better than either of those.
Anna Wilson is struggling to survive, she’s currently crashing at her best friend’s place in Miami which feels like a world away from home. She’s running because of her ex, she lost everything. A new job opportunity from Miles, an old college friend feels like a lifeline. On her first day she’s telling her old college friend all about her bizarre, embarrassing and frankly offensive encounter at a local farmer’s market with a stranger. How after tripping over and drenching them both with iced coffee they ended up in an accidental lip lock with his hands inadvertently providing that “lift and separate” manoeuvre that can be so hard to find in a decent bra, the stranger was completely repulsed. Not great for anyone’s self esteem.
Naturally the universe has a warped sense of humour because her new boss is none other than Miles’ brother Jace Hunter. At worst Jace comes across as an aloof, arrogant alphahole and at best as an eccentric billionaire.
This book handles some serious topics and does it with grace. Both main characters are juggling with the fallout of trauma, completely different events have had a profound impact on each of them. Well worth reading.
My English teacher in college would say, “Show me the story; Don’t tell me the story.” It’s some of the problems in books today.
This author writes well. There were hardly any grammatical errors or punctuation mistakes. However, at the beginning of the story when they’re in Jace’s office after Miles “introduces” them, she is standing and hasn’t touched anything. She then leaves to go to her desk. He states he wipes down everything she touched. There is a part missing. At no point did his POV say she sat down and signed paperwork, making him twitchy about her touching things in his office. Yet he wipes down everything she touched? It took me out of the story to question if I missed a paragraph.
I don’t like being told about what happened last week after it happened. They spent time together at a cabin and she rehashed what happened in a following chapter as a memory when it could have been in the chapter with the cabin scene.
I felt some parts of this booked dragged on and we were being spoken to like Charlie Brown’s teacher and other parts were sped up so fast that if we didn’t read one line, we would have missed an important part of a story.
All in all, a 3.5 for me is a good book, not a great one; it’s a statement of “I would read another book by this author.”
This is my first book by Cassidy, and I can honestly say it has been a great read. I literally finished this book in a day, I couldn’t put it down - thankfully the rain outside helped.
What can I say, Anna, what a lovely human being who was wronged. The way she adjusted to Jace by getting the sanitiser, change of shoes etc was just gorgeous. The way she was able to see him, and what he needed when the lights when out. Just gorgeous.
As for Jace, what a fascinating character he was. His obsessive nature was just quite alluring. The way he managed himself until he met Anna.
The other characters were great, I really warmed to Miles and I hope he gets a story. Second book in the series has now been downloaded and I cannot wait for Miley’s story……
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I rarely post a review on a book where the cover is a half naked man...those are private pleasures. This was different. More than a spicy romance, the story itself inserted itself in me. I enjoyed the characters, who they were and how they evolved. I can tell you about the holes in the story, things that I found frustrating, but the characters...the author did a great job of making them real. The emotions that played through this book was just so good...I can't find the words, it was all feeling. Will others be as affected as I was? Maybe. If not, it's a good story. I wish some things were tighter, but overall, a fun, spicy (scale, 2 chili peppers out of 5) read.
This story was just so beautiful, born from trauma and ending in intense love. There was so much to this story but it worked! Jace & Anna were fated and what a ride it was.
Finding someone when you have been through such horrowing experiences… I would have loved to have back stories and into the future a little more but I loved it anyways.
I hope Miley book is good! I’ll definitely be reading more of this Author 😍
I enjoyed this story Very much the characters were complex And you didn't have to deal really hard into their back stories to understand what happened to them. I like that at least 1 of the villains in the story got his comeuppance. I would have liked to have known that the other villains got their justices well. I mostly want to know that Miles gets his own story as well.
I think this book was sweet and had great characters,really three dimensional. However, two really big questions for ms Vale. Why did you put mountains 2 hours from Miami.? The closest are 730 miles away in northern Georgia. And why on earth did you put a man on the cover with tattoos? Your character of Jace would NEVER have a tattoo, as he’s an extreme germaphobe. Sorry, details matter.
This was actually very tender and sweet. Not at all what I was expecting after reading the overview. I do think the overview is a little deceptive and cheapens the depth and emotion of this book which is pretty much the only negative thing I have to say. It paints a story of obsession, but not one filled with such soft love, trauma, and emotion, and may lead some viewers (like me) in believing that they will be reading something a little darker.
Story seemed a little slow and lacked the ability to "hook" me. I think the only real good thing the book had going for it was that it was short. If you are looking for a spicy book, this isn't it.! I don't think I will finnish this series personally
This is the first time I've read this author. And the writing and storyline were amazing. I just can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this book! This story had all the feels. But, if you're looking for super spicy, its not in this book. Its more sweet than spice. Having said that, l can't wait for book 2! Happy Reading❤
I haven't written a review for a long time. After reading this, I cannot walk away. The interactions between the two had me cringing and then laughing so hard I snorted my tea! This is a must read. Thank you for letting me escape into their world.
Read this in one sitting. Loved it. Excellent characters and story progression. No ahole main characters or jealous ex's, just a good decent story with characters you care about, that I would read again tomorrow.
5⭐️ Spice Level:🌶️🌶️ Tropes: Heroines with Trauma, Hero with Trauma, Billionaire, OCD, haphephobia, germaphobia,Boss/Assistant, mentions of past abuse, mentions of kidnapping/captivity of a child, possessive her, found family, nerdy Hero and protective hero
Loved this book. I don’t review a lot of books but this resonated with me as I live in a family of neurodivergent people, with all their idiosyncrasies. One issue for me was the Cover didn’t depict the MC at all especially the tattoos. But I will get over that.
This is the first book I've read by Cassidy Vale, boy can she write. There were parts of this book where my chest ached from the emotions she made me feel. A really lovely book.
This story was well written. I practically cried for little boy Jace. What he endured as a child and then as a Man was heartbreaking. So glad Anna came into his life when she did. Also what she endured while with her ex was sad but I'm glad she got out when she did.
For a moment I nearly gave up thought I’d get the same plot line and predictable story I’m stuck in at the moment however this book suddenly threw me a curve ball and I was hooked. I couldn’t put it down and I’m glad I didn’t loved the story and look forward to more
Wonderful characters that feel genuine and have enough depth. Plenty of room for future forays into their lives in other characters books. Lovely use of imagery with photos and how moments captured only reflect what we see.
This was such a beautiful story. The more I read, the more I wanted Jace to find peace and some normalcy to his life. Anna was the key to his freedom from childhood trauma. Once you start this story, you do 't want to put it down.