Perfect Persuasion

Love's Second Chance #2

by Scarlett Scott

After a wild weekend of passion on a business trip, Claire discovers she’s pregnant with her boss’s baby. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if Logan wasn’t the world’s most arrogant jerk. But he is, and she decides to keep the pregnancy a secret, even if it means losing her job.

It doesn’t take long for Logan to realize what’s going on and he isn’t happy Claire tried to hide the truth from him. To make matters worse, he and Claire can’t seem to agree on anything other than the insane attraction that keeps sparking to life between them. One minute they can’t stand to be in the same room and the next, they can’t keep their hands to themselves.

Even as their mutual attraction heats up, both are determined to guard their hearts. Claire can’t make sense of Logan’s hot-then-cold personality and Logan wants more from Claire than she’s willing to give. Can they meet each other halfway before it’s too late?

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Romance

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

USA TODAY bestselling author Scarlett Scott writes steamy Victorian and Regency historical romances with strong, intelligent heroines and sexy alpha heroes. She lives in Pennsylvania and Maryland with her Canadian husband, their adorable identical twins, a demanding diva dog, and one zany cat.

For Scarlett's latest releases, exclusive excerpts, contests and more, visit her website, http://www.scarlettscottauthor.com

Reviews

[Somia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting divorced, and pregnant with her hot but exceptionally broody boss, Chole is having one hell of a time. Their attraction is undeniable but Logan's hot and cold routine means a HEA is going to be anything but easy.

I have to say there were times that I did get a tad annoyed with the characters but not so much that I wanted to wring their necks.

The author needed to develop more potently the background of the characters, the motivations for the behaviour, at times key information came later than it should have.

Overall an ok one time read - it didn't tantalize as I wanted.

Acquired via KU.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense story, there is a lot of background to Logan and how it causes him to react where Claire is concerned. Claire just wants to shower him with love, but holds back when she is unable to read past Logan’s gruff exterior.

Full review on Sensual Reads
http://sensualreads.com/?p=10516

***Reread, good book

[Kanika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the characters felt real but somehow the story is a bit dragged. Logan (H) has been a perfect example of hot and cold. I think Claire (h) was exceptionally patient with him, maybe too forgiving. I for one, had no patience for his crudeness and flipping ass. His efforts came as "too late" and "too little".

Also, the author needs to built the characters more to explain their situation and behaviour.
For example, author just mentioned problems in Claire's marriage but didn't describe it much. Similarly, Logan's childhood of foster days should have been described in a more appropriate manner to actually justify that kind of negativity in his behaviour.

We were also not given details of their one night stand together along with their previous work situation of last 9 years

Overall it was a good read for me but not something I would go for a re-read.

[Madison Vonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good unplanned/surprise pregnancy romance novel

I was turned off by this book at first bc I saw only 3 reviews and they weren't positive, but I don't think that's a fair assessment. I think this one fairs on the better side of KU unplanned pregnancy/work romance books. Also it was a bit different from normal that made it a bit different from the normal trope.
SPOILERS
The story begins when the h, Claire is already into her 2nd trimester but not really showing. She's just put in her 2 weeks notice with her job bc she doesn't want her boss and CEO of the company to find out bc she thinks he'll steamroll her for custody. Although the H, boss Logan, is in the mold of feeling less jerk with a sad childhood we are used to, I don't believe there was anything pointing towards him being inexplicably a billionaire and his backstory kinda made sense (in terms of his ability to start the ad agency he currently runs). Also, I loved that Claire was NOT just a secretary but the creative director at the agency. Although Claire alludes to his cold dismissal of her when they finish hooking up (though apparently they hooked up two times which isn't explained), I was very disappointed that we didn't get to see that hookup and we didnt get to see Claire find out about the pregnancy and go through the first trimester. Apparently since the hookup Claire and Logan have practically no interaction but I wouldve appreciated seeing some of that even if the author slowed us down again for more story arc in the 4th and 5th months.
At that time, as I've mentioned, Claire tried to resign so she can keep the secret form Logan and have him out of her life. Of course, he basically finds out within 2 days of her trying to quit. Then they start to get together only to get mad and stop. Then they "start over" for I think the 2nd time now and go on a weeklong vacation to a quaint town in Maryland.
Of course the first thing that happens when they get back is fight and split again, this time bc Claire hid the fact that Logan was the father and told her mother her cheating ex husband was the father instead. Claire's mother is intrusive and a bit manipulative but never gets held to account. Also once again they split again for a good while this time and Logan says some really cruel things, things that he really never apologizes for. I didn't like that Claire let her mother and Logan get away with some pretty awful crap but she didn't come off as a spineless punching bag - she's just flawed.
When Claire has to be hospitalized with early contractions at 28 weeks, of course Logan comes and they partially reconcile and she moves in with him. Now I'm forgetting if they had sex or not in this interlude.. maybe the 3rd or 4th "start over".. but it goes mostly well with neither of them being honest with their feelings. Claire has the baby and even tho it's special and Logan is sweet, they don't communicate so she moves back in alone, though Logan visits every night. This part I really appreciated. Even tho it would be hella hard to be alone without a night nurse when presumably Logan could afford one, I liked that the author did not just have them cave into each other given the beautiful celebration of the birth of their child, as it would have left too many unresolved things in their relationship. Instead, about two months later Claire fixes Logan bday dinner and they finally tell eachother they love one another and have sex again and get engaged... Not in that order. The love declarations are good, but I think Logan really had more to apologize for than to just admit how much he wants her, and Claire probably should have done or said something to her mom or family to show that she really values him, but it was probably more realistic for being more imperfect.
Overall, I really am in to unplanned pregnancy stories right now bc several of my friends are having kids so it's on the mind. This was definitely above average in the KU universe of these in modern day romance novels, but that's bc we are in KU -land where some authors truly have no concept of spelling or Grammer yet schlap stuff in the Kindleverse and somehow get at least 30 folks to review it. This is much better than those hence why I am surprised at the lack of reviews and, as a result of their limited number, the lower review score. I think this definitely should get a review average of at least 4.3 (and maybe even deserves a 4.4 overall). I am eating as a 5 to bring the average closer to its proper score. The sex was pretty good, but unfortunately there were no complete office scenes, which is a bummer, and I do not recall the guy getting heads, though I'm pretty sure Claire got hers -- I don't like that bc it's unfair and when described right, fellatio is hot to read. So with this inequality, it cannot go above a 7 on the sex-o-meter, and I'd have to say a 6.5/10 overall for also letting us down with no office sex. Although Logan was a tad further than normal on the cruel/cold H, I prefer that to turning into Peter pan in a week.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

👍👍

Not her typical romance novel, but..

This novel had a lot of up and down moments for me. One moment, I was completely sure I wouldn't keep reading it; but then in the next second, something would grab my attention enough to pull me back in.

The overall story line was impeccable, I just could not stay hooked 100%. Definitely worth the read; however, because in the right hands this novel could be amazing.

[Michele Pumphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining read

Enjoyed the plot, the characters, and dialogue. There was a lot of bickering between the main characters at first, but they eventually moved beyond that.

[Busybee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer the first book. This one got a bit draggy and I skimmed through from 50% onwards.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Stacey
Book provided by the publisher for review
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

I am a sucker for the whole “falling for the boss” plot line and Perfect Persuasion did not disappoint. This book is actually a stand-alone sequel to the book “Reprieve” which I had not read and it did not hinder this story at all.

The story opens up several months in to Claire’s pregnancy so we don’t witness the wild weekend she shared with Logan but that doesn’t keep the reader from feeling the heat of these two months after their encounter. Claire is at the tail end of divorcing her cheating husband, dealing with a pregnancy that she is trying to keep a secret and handing in her two week notice to avoid Logan’s finding out about the baby.

And then there’s Logan; he’s as emotionally unavailable as they get. With a life that’s been far from idyllic, he has great financial success but still struggles with insecurity from his childhood. These hang-ups make him a difficult man for anyone to be around. Only Claire, it seems, makes him want to break free of his insecurities.

This was a great story with a lot of potential. What I found tedious at times was Logan’s hot/cold behavior. He could be extremely passionate one moment and then toss Claire aside the next with a coldness that made me wince. These extremes in his personality made it hard to root for him and actually had me wishing for Claire to move on to the next guy who was introduced in the story.

The other thing that was a little misleading in the blurb was the “outside interference that threatens to tear them apart forever”. Logan’s insecurities and his brusque personality did the most damage but other than that, the other outside interference was minimal and I kept waiting for something to happen that never did.

All and all, Perfect Persuasion was a good book, an easy read and well-written. I will most likely go back to Ms. Scott’s previous book and see where it all began. I always seem to come in to a story a book late!