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★ 2021 UPDATE ★

Laila Renaud is only concerned about two securing an internship position at the prestigious Hamilton Associates, and forging her path as an influential businesswoman of color. To do that, she must sock-it to her long-time rival, Ryder Hanson and prove that she is the cream of the crop. But the moment she lays eyes on Dylan Hamilton, the princely CEO at her internship site, she is forced to devise a Plan B, because being in this man's presence is sure to turn her world - and her goals - upside down.

For Dylan, it was a good thing that his firm only took on one intern a year, and had chosen Ryder Hanson. It meant he wouldn't have to see Laila Renaud again and he could ignore the raw desire which had almost overpowered him when he'd seen her sitting in his boardroom on the day of the work shadow. But when his business partner insists that the firm bring her on as a second intern, it's only a matter of time before the sparks burst into flames.

Laila is driven by success and after being double-crossed in love and business, she has no time for love.

Dylan is driven by an intense desire to show Laila that she can have both success and him, if she wants.

All she has to do is say oui...

All he has to do is convince her to say it.

READER ALERT

This story contains extremely passionate and descriptive sex scenes. Not suitable for readers under the age of 18 years, or those who may be offended by somewhat graphic descriptions of sexual encounters. Brooklyn's characters exhibit real emotions and desires, and though she is their creator, she is also very sensitive to their needs and wants, and works in partnership with them to create their unique HEAs.

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 2018

200 people are currently reading
91 people want to read

About the author

Brooklyn Knight

32 books234 followers

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5 stars
115 (49%)
4 stars
69 (29%)
3 stars
38 (16%)
2 stars
10 (4%)
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2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Rosie.
1,649 reviews32 followers
September 9, 2018
I read the first three chapters of this book prior to release so I was really anticipating loving this story.

The story had me confused and conflicted. It's clear that Laila Renaud has chemistry and history with her internship rival, Ryder Hanson and I didn't understand why if she was being paired with the CEO, Dylan Hamilton. It felt like unfinished business between her and Ryder that should have been officially finished. Without any residual feelings of hurt and anger regarding Ryder before Laila meets Dylan. She should have been over it! For me, this distracted from the story.

The author has Dylan make a fatal error that's a no-no in romance. Dylan tells his best friend of his encounter, in detail and that turned me off. No man that cares about a woman or finds her special would share anything, with anyone about their intimate encounter.

Laila's argument or the pivotal moment between her and the hero was weak. I didn't understand her stance given what she told Dylan she expected from him. He honored (after consulting with a team member) her wish and she got upset about it.

The last scene between the friends, if you can call them that was very revealing. However, the female character's threat was weak because I wanted to know exactly what she had that was so damning that would get the male character to go along with her crazy plan.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book when it drops in November to find how it all plays out.

Read It! Your opinion may differ.
Profile Image for Ka-Bee Brown.
346 reviews4 followers
September 30, 2018
Indecisive!!!

Overall the book was a good read, with that being said, Laila got on my nerves with her indecisiveness; on choosing which man she wanted to be with, with Dylan or Ryder. Both men were so different from each other. Ryder being a manipulative person, and Dylan and the man who wanted to give her the world. I can understand wanting to be a successful black woman, and wanting to do everything on her own; but at some point we all need assistance from someone. In this case Dylan was the man, who was willing to give her every thing she wanted, but, Laila, couldn’t make up her mind. I like the fact that Dylan was fighting to show her that she could have it all
In the end she made the right decision. Read the book to find out what decision she made!
Profile Image for Nene.
1,783 reviews25 followers
September 30, 2018
Awesome read,
I received this book as an ARC for my honest opinion. I love the cover and this book did not disappoint. I love the two main characters, my only disappointment is I have to wait to see what happens next. I don't want to spoil the read so I want comment on what the story was about. I would recommend this book to read.
Profile Image for Rachel.
379 reviews7 followers
October 8, 2018
Forbidden office romance and quasi-love triangle. Beautiful cover. Spoilers ahead.

Here you have competitive academic rivals and former lovers Ryder (forgot his last name) and Laila Renaud. Very early on you learn that Ryder betrayed Laila by claiming full ownership of a proposal they worked on together which landed him the coveted internship with Hamilton Associates. Some kind of way Laila is selected to shadow an executive from HA, and its at this time her eyes land on the CEO Dylan Hamilton, and its pretty much infatuation at first sight for both of them. The story becomes a push/pull, I want you but can't have you, please forgive me and give me another chance with Laila caught in the middle of two headstrong men.

The characters:

Laila suffered from the classic case of cut off your nose to spite your face-itis. I liked that she wanted to establish herself as an intelligent and shrewd businesswoman, and didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize her goals, or her integrity. However, by the end of the novel she became exasperating. She was going to throw away her chance to graduate after resigning from her internship even after Dylan said he'd put in a good word for her. She accused Dylan of lying to her, and I spent some time wondering what exactly did he lie about? Dylan was upfront with his feelings for Laila knowing what it would cost him and that his career could be put on the line as well. He connected with her intellect, shared her drive and passion, told her he loved her, but Laila was truly on some bullsh*t. She tried to play the victim when really nothing had been done to her by Dylan. She pretty much Elena Gilbert'd her way through this novel, and by the end I just wanted Dylan to collect his balls and move on to someone who was willing to say what she wanted and stick to it.

Dylan Hamilton, he was a male character that did not irritate the mess out of me, or even vexed me, so that was refreshing. I appreciated seeing his sensitive side, although I felt he was a bit too sensitive and fluffy sometimes. He honestly, at one point, came across the like the shy, blushing virgin scribbling in his diary about the girl he had a crush on. But when he needed to assert himself as the boss, he did.

Ryder: I have mixed, well maybe not mixed emotions about him. I definitely didn't like or trust him after discovering how he betrayed Laila, and that he couldn't exactly by happy for her and continue to be with her if she had been offered the job at HA by the end of their internship. He claimed to love her but his love was more obsessive. Obsessive to the point he hired a PI to snoop and dig up dirt on Laila because he had a hunch that was egged on by a fellow colleague. And if his suspicions turned out to be true he wanted to ruin her. Yes, I felt the love Ryder.

The writing:

This story is told in first person by the points of view of the aforementioned characters. I was a bit surprised to read from Ryder's POV, but it added an element of suspense to the story, because you just weren't sure what he was going to do to "win" since winning meant everything to him.

There were some odd word choices that threw off the pace of the story. I never knew eyes could quiver, shiver, and tremble. Are they cold? Do they need a sweater, blanket, or gloves? And why were necks stretching, jerking, jumping? Are these people giraffes? Necks were doing everything and mine started to feel sore after a while. There was also some missing words in sentences, and inconsistencies when it came to location. The university, Johnson and Wales that Laila and Ryder attended is located in Rhode Island, however the story takes place in Miami. Hmm. There was also a mention of Dylan being the best at what he does in the West Coast, yeah, nah. Miami is east coast. Might have been a typo, but a quick Google search would have cleared up any confusion. Other than those nitpicks this was a fairly decent story. The ending didn't wow me, but I did like the relationship between Dylan and Laila. I just wish a bit more attention to detail was given to her character in terms of not making her seem wishy-washy.
Profile Image for La Vida Rose.
605 reviews22 followers
September 30, 2018
When I got going into this book, I wasn't sure who the romance was supposed to be between. I thought it was supposed to be about the relationship between Ryder and Laila. Imagine my surprise that the author inserted Dylan, the CEO as the romantic partner for Laila. It was confusing, because it seems there was definitely some unfinished business and spark left between Laila and Ryder. Why throw in Dylan? He fell way too hard way too fast. Is she really that bomb? That's what I was thinking lol She got two White men on their knees wanting her love and she keep playing with both of them. Stubborn about her career advancement or not, she is 26, she needs to be self-assured in her decisions about her personal life just as much as her professional life and she annoyed me. Dylan was willing to give her basically whatever she wanted professionally and she rebuffed him! Girl..stop it. And how convenient was it about the private investigator? I also feel bad for Ryder, despite his inclination to basically RUIN Laila and Dylan, it was only after she kept giving him little morsels of hope only to refuse him and ask for friendship lol I'd be mad as hell too! And we also have the bitter ex-gf, Emily and we are left with a cliffhanger, which honestly, I am not super inclined to read the next book in this series. 2.5 stars
304 reviews1 follower
October 5, 2018
Oui a BWWM Romance

Laila and Dylan. What a story. Dylan the hot CEO and Laila the ambitious intern. Talk about blazing passion. It just oozed off page. The passion between them was electrifying. I loved how romantic and passionate and loving Dylan was. He knew from moment he saw her she would be his. He was the better man. I hated what Ryder did but he was the typical jealous jilted ex lover. I kind of wanted him to move on with Katelyn, she seemed to be good for him. I almost felt sorry for him. Love makes people make foolish decisions. I’m not happy this is a cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers and wish I would have known this was a cliffhanger. I hate waiting to see what happens. I liked this author’s style of writing, the dialogue, glad there wasn’t so much swearing and dirty porn sex. The love scenes were full of passion. The man literally wept with love for her. She makes him a better man and he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. I hope the sequel comes out soon. This is one I might have to read again.
Profile Image for Red.
226 reviews5 followers
August 3, 2021
I liked it OK. I liked how driven Layla was at first, and as a 26 years old woman she didn't strike me as naive or anything, but the way she jumped into that relationship with him during their business trip had me side eying the hell out of her. LmI found it very unprofessional. Also, I found cringey/limit creepy having him calling her like her father used to in incorrect French (you wouldn't say 'ma belle fille'). I think it was supposed to be cute or something but I found it very odd, it only gave their relationship some weird 'daddy vibe' and emphasized their age difference (which wasn't even that big). Add to this the whole sex 'dominating' bit and I was a bit 'hmmmm'. I am not sure their dynamics needed this. It was so very cliché... Also I think Layla would have benefited to have some other people to connect with beside her white boss turned lover and her white ex turned rival. Like that Ashle girl just disappeared like 'pouf'. So Layla's life revolved around her internship and her men issues, which shrinked her character a bit. I was a bit disappointed by that.
445 reviews4 followers
October 20, 2018
Frustrating heroine but great read

I like this book but I did not like the heroine a few times. Okay so Laila is a hard-working woman is who is trying to land her dream job at Hamilton and Associates. She goes in to shadow someone and the CEO is mesmerized by her. Not just her beauty but also her brains. He lets her know about his attraction but she says no because she doesn't want her professional reputation tainted. She very quickly gives in but tells him he has can't give her special treatment because of their relationship. Yet the FIRST time he does that she gets upset. She says he threw her under the bus and obviously values her rival's opinion more than hers. What kinda nonsense? There is way more to this book but this part annoyed me beyond measure. This is a really good book that has a lot of twist and turns. Please pick it up.
Profile Image for A.
416 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2021
Unsure

This was the first book I read by Ms. Knight. My true rating is like a 3.95 but I wasn't quite sure it was 4 stars. I felt some kinda way about the ending and story. It wasn't a cliffhanger but I was left unsatisfied. It was like having foreplay but not allowed to finish.
I liked Laila's drive for success but she bordered on insane at times. She didn't sound logical. She jumped to extreme conclusions and became overly defensive. Her reactions were like she thought the 🌎 was against her. If Ryder messed her up, then she took it out on all other men.
Dylan was alpha but then not. At points, he begged. I wasn't sure how I felt afterwards.
Overall, it was interesting 🤔but I needed more. What happened to Ryder? Was Laila as successful as her desired to be?
Read it and see what you think?

Happy Reading 📚😊
Profile Image for Linnetta Solomon.
180 reviews2 followers
October 3, 2018
Awesome read!!

I have to say that I really enjoyed it  and cannot wait  for book 2.  I loved the way Laila and Dylan went through the changes they did to realize that anything can happen and you can have it all  (especially Laila). Felt sorry for Ryder for a minute, but he was dirty for some of the things he done to Laila, like throwing her under the bus, just to get the position and to make himself look good.   It was a shocker to find out that Stefan and Emily had been cheating behind Dylan's back for so long. And he considers himself to be Dylan's best friend.  

I'm looking forward to see what kind of drama Emily bring to Dylan and Laila's life. And especially if Stefan will help her try to break them up.

CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!
Profile Image for Cammyjoe.
1,427 reviews8 followers
November 3, 2018
C'est magnifique!!

Well, That was a fantastic read...
Dylan, is such a wonderful guy, I absolutely adored him, and Laila at time, got on my last nerves. She is a very strong,beautiful, intelligent and independent woman who is very driven and goal oriented. But when it comes to the affair of the heart , she is very confused and indecisive...
Nevertheless, Dylan and Laila will be a POWERFUL force !!
I felt bad for Ryder, he could have the girl, but when you are a misguided fool, who are dishonest and put success before the woman you proclaimed to love, by stealing her project that you claimed as your own and on top of it trying to destroyed her... Shame on you Ry!!
Well, book 2 here I come!!
Profile Image for mrs_dash1027.
46 reviews3 followers
September 29, 2018
Great read!

Great second novel from Brooklyn Knight. Still interracial romance but significantly different from her previous title. I enjoyed the development of the characters although I would have liked further development of the ethnicity of Laila as I often overlooked the racial piece. I appreciated Dylan as a dominant character, but who also exposed his vulnerability throughout the book. I would have liked to know more about their backgrounds but that's simply because I wanted more of them. I am looking forward to a follow up novel, but appreciated that there was no major cliffhanger. Great read!
341 reviews4 followers
August 31, 2020
First novel I've read by her 2 1/2 stars

This was ok. My first read by this author. The storylines were kinda safe. Ryder as far as he went, it seemed thAt the author needed to pick a side with him. Like he is driven to go so far to win her, but just give up in the end? Good guy/bad guy, liar, what???? I was confused over Laila and Dylan, what was she reAlly upset About??? Even their sex scenes were kinda boring.
1 review
January 5, 2024
In love with what exactly?

The book was okay and surprisingly I enjoyed the two male characters (three with Stefan) more than the FMC. I’m confused as to what exactly these two men were obsessed with because she was not interesting at all. Maybe with more backstory about her dad, insight into her family/struggles/friends, literally anything. I mean I guess Laila…go on girl, give us nothing!
Profile Image for Lorice DeBlanc-Brim.
1,468 reviews11 followers
October 12, 2018
Awaiting the next book!

I feel Laila was playing games when it came down to both men. If you know what you want, you don't go backwards. Dylan went after Laila like a successful charging bull . Ryder have some serious issues. The way he loves is not something a woman need to jump on board for. I'm simply shocked at Stephan and Emily. I hope their deceit is figured out very soon.
151 reviews
May 28, 2020
Good Read

This is the second book that I’ve read by this author. I have become a great fan of her writing. I was surprised to find that the second book in the series is a continuation of Dylan‘s and Leila‘s love affair. I thought their chapter was closed but I guess I will see what’s next for them.
Profile Image for JemmaT.
414 reviews11 followers
September 30, 2018
Like!!!

Dylan and Lalai fought the attraction but strong feeling like that can't be ignored. That Ryder was too much. Certainly don't know what love is. Stefan, wow!!! Waiting for next book.
1 review
October 3, 2018
This was an excellent book about a true romance story in the corporate world.

This was an excellent book about a true romance story in the corporate world. Our book club can't wait to read her next book.
Profile Image for Doris Barner.
37 reviews1 follower
April 13, 2019
Let me say it was well written full of emotional drama. The author built these incredible characters, intimate scenes and the pace gave the book the energy to keep me engaged, but the climax lacked and left me wanting. I will have to give Oui 4 stars.
105 reviews
January 21, 2022
Juicy!!!

I could read this book a second time!!! The author had me on the edge of my seat with this story. I was annoyed with the main character sometimes but the story was amazing! I have to read the next installment.
Profile Image for Ty.
363 reviews1 follower
October 14, 2018
good read

this is my first time reading a book from this author and I can say that I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more can't wait to check out what's next
Profile Image for Ally.
253 reviews16 followers
November 27, 2018
Say my name..."Dylan"!!

OMG! Brooklyn Knight has done it again! Can't wait for book 2!
Dylan Hamilton and Laila Renaud are on fire!
50 reviews
January 30, 2019
Tumultuously Good

Wow... I had so many emotions running through me reading this story. The author’s description of envy place and moment kept me glued and entrained.
134 reviews4 followers
February 8, 2019
WONDERFUL BOOK!

Filled with drama, passion
& Sizzling love making!
Glad Laila gets the best man!
Dylan stakes his claim & doesn't
give up !!!!
Sexy alpha!!!
Profile Image for D.K. Ricks.
Author 1 book5 followers
February 22, 2019
Rollercoaster Ride!

This story of Love was up, down, around and back again. Which Man would win the complete heart of Laila? The story had you turning page after page to find out!
Profile Image for Katara Johnson.
551 reviews9 followers
January 7, 2020
Laila

Cute story. I love how Laila has to juggle some situations in her take charge way! Interesting learning about a certain business in a different country! Will start Book 2 !
Profile Image for Nancy  L Thompson.
2,158 reviews15 followers
March 6, 2023
Too much.....everything

Too much unnecessary drama throughout this book. It was an ok read but I wasn't truly impressed with either character
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

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