Two people running from their pasts. Two people who crave distraction. Two people who find the perfect diversion in each other.
Maria is starting over. Square one. Blank slate. New beginnings. Empty bank account. Yikes. A girl's got to work to live, and at this point, she'll take any job she can get. Even if it's working for the infamously difficult, insanely hot, and notoriously womanizing photographer, Benji Reed. She's used to hard work and hard times, but she hadn't anticipated how hard it'd be to resist her new boss. As her passions reignite her determination to live, Maria must face the consequences of moving forward. Because if she wants to piece together a new life, she must first pick up the fragments of her old one.
Benji wants to be left alone. Excepting the occasional company in his bed, so long as it's on his terms. And bedding his new assistant was definitely not in the terms of employment he (reluctantly) gave her. But let's be honest, not sleeping with her wasn't written on the contract either. Unfortunately, feelings aren't as clear cut and decisive as printed words on paper. As sweet, charming, seductive Maria melts his icy exterior and slips past his defenses, Benji must face the demons from his past if he wants to keep the people he cares about safe and close.
Vic Tyler is a new author of contemporary romance novels.
She likes to think she weaves intricate stories about complex characters who come to life, but that's the roundabout way of saying she writes too much and overshoots her estimated word count by 45%. (See? Concision is very hard for her.) So if you want a fantastic (and very hot) bang for your buck, you came to the right place.
When she's not writing, VT is a compulsive orange eater who's a little too obsessed with finding the right espresso-to-milk balance for her lattes. She's fond of exploring all kinds of things (except caves), baking 'til her kitchen's a mess, and laughing at the questionably funny. Oh, and she also enjoys doing puzzles, which is why you'll often find her breaking her characters' hearts and finding new ways to piece them together again.
For a debut novel I thought this was really really good. It was a steamy but sweet read with strong characters that I really enjoyed from the hero (Benji) to the heroine (Maria) to the other characters who kept me just as hooked.
Benji seems to have met his match with Maria but they are both hiding things that will impact any possibilities of being together but this is the first time Benji wants to fight against his reputation and show someone what’s behind the facade of the arrogant playboy.
I voluntarily reviewed a advanced readers copy of this book
The book is more than brilliant. I love it. It embodies what I look for of a good story:
- Entrancing plot - Well developed characters with their nuances - Well executed narration and dialogues between the characters - Answered every why's and how-did-it-happened
Hard Focus is a must-read-and-definitely-commendable story. It's rare to see such mixture of story characters in such a story plot. You'll love Maria and Benji as much as I do.
I absolutely loved this novel except for one thing...and it’s a personal preference....but I’ll get to that later! These characters are full of life and depth. Each one had emotional baggage and were real! It’s a great enemies to lovers or opposites attract trope! They were sexy, passionate, and at times absolutely infuriating! I am so happy I read the novella Adoring You since it showed the sweet and romantic story of Maria’s parents. Benji and his attitude began in the doghouse but turned into the man he needed to be!
Here is my reason for not giving this book 5 Stars....Let’s Talk About Sex! Or better yet writing sex scenes! No prude here! I even got the SMBD light that had to do with control issues. BUT this author used some of my least favorite words and phrases ever. Being a review I’ll keep my terminology tame😂😉 1. For the love of all that is sexy never refer to lady bits as “my hole” icky icky *cringe* 2. I also hate the words c*nt. When it is being used in a romantic sex situation. In other books some characters are rough & they are straight up ”screwing” or makes sense. Or the point is talking dirty. 3. During sex scenes let’s keep to 2 maybe 3 names for all our privates and fun zones. I think close to every clinical term and slang was used for both sexes!😆 If these scenes received a little editing I think it would be a 5 Star stellar book! I read an ARC so these things could be different once published!
I absolutely look forward to reading more by this author!!
Thank you so much to the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased and honest review!
For a debut novel I have to applaud this author, overall it was a very good story. However, in my opinion there were a few thing lacking which would have made it a great novel.
Maria is trying to find herself and in doing so needs a job. She just so happens to take a job working under the infamous photographer Benji Reed. He is known for being extremely sexy and set in his womanizer ways. What starts out as hate at first talk turns out to be something more.
Now let's talk about the good behind this book. The characters were pretty well thought out. The main characters had a great connection and boy was it a steamy one. They were both troubled in different ways and I think it was one of those two broken hearts come together to make one whole, I love that concept. I loved watching them grow and become "friends". The progression behind their relationship was beautiful to see. I also liked the mystery behind some of the background characters. And because of that, it made me intrigued as to how their story would play out next.
Now for what I was not so keen on. This is just my personal preference and how I think the story would have shined more. The flow of things started out a little fast for me. And as much as I enjoyed the sexy scenes, a lot of the word use just felt wrong to me. There were so many words used for the same subject in one passage and on top of that a lot of the words used were not sexy in my opinion.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in return for my honest review.
This book was such a quick read and now I'm itching to read the next book in the series. The story itself is quite the cliche love story between two people (one non-commital and one that is like a hopeless romantic), but I still loved it. The book was much raunchier than I'm used to reading and I found myself skipping through certain parts just because of how descriptive they were (this book is 18+) for sure. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars is that there were a few phases in the book that I found kind of cringey...a side from that, I loved this book.
Struggling to make ends meet, Maria eagerly accepts a job as a photographer’s assistant, even if this photographer was the devil himself. The devil is so bad, but he was too good and fine.
Everything Benji did offended Maria. But if she was so offended by him, then what’s with all the sexual fantasies? Geez, did this girl have problems. Maria has always been known to have a good head on her shoulders, but she just turns into a smoldering mess around Benji, who is as arrogant and chauvinistic as can be.
The writing was fairly simple and not overly impressive. Readers are basically in the character’s heads as they constantly talk themselves into and out of these things. I admit it was a little annoying at times. Story was progressively slow, even though it quickly alluded to sexual implications. This was basically your typical enemies-to-lovers romance, although it didn’t really feel like a romance to me because, frankly, I didn’t think the two characters meshed well.
This is a debut book from this author and I will read more without complaint. I was in from start to finish.
Maria is a great heroine, taking a job as the assistant to one of the most demanding, arrogant, devilishly handsome and cocky photographer in NY on short notice could have been the biggest mistake of her life but she’s determined to make it work even if she’s fighting her attraction to him she’s not letting anything get in her way. Starting again and building a life away from a past she just wants to forget is the only way she can see of moving forward that is until she starts to fall for the man behind the camera. Could they really have something or is she just another notch on the bed post to be discarded?
Benji Reed renowned photographer within the fashion world in NY, difficult, demanding and arrogant, also no assistant makes it through a week before quitting. This time he doesn’t want her to quit, Maria sneaks under his skin before he knows it he’s wanting to make her smile. Benji has never had to work for a woman before but this time he’s up for a challenge. Maria makes him face his past and now he wants a future with her but he’s got a secret he’s not told her, he’s leaving to work in the Amazon for four months can he convince her to wait for him and that what he feels for her is love. He’s no longer the manwhore people though he was Maria is his and he’s going to claim her.
Such a great book I was gutted it ended loved the secondary characters too and I’m praying that Brie and Grant are getting a book! Highly recommended.
I am sure plenty of people will love this book and frankly I expected to be one of them after reading book 0, Adoring You, in this series. I found the story for this one to be lacking heart. Benji does not come across as a nice person and Maria is just confusing. She despises everything about Benji yet keeps having sexual fantasies about him. I personally do not understand this mind set. I get attraction but once I get to know someone and find them to be lacking from a personality and moral standpoint and not even really trying to change, physical attraction gos away. So the fact that they embark on a friends with benefits agreement makes no sense to me. I don’t even know how you call it this. They are friends? They don’t want a relationship? What do you call friends? This is a relationship. For whatever reason this one just did not resonate with my personal moral, ethical and emotional beliefs so it didn’t;t really work for me. With all of that said there was something about it that kept me reading each and every page of this book, thus my 3 star review. I am not done with this author or this series because Adoring You was fantastic. I look forward to giving the next book a read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
4.5 stars👍😁❤️! I really loved this story about Maria and Benji. It was angsty, touching, funny and really sweet. You really get involved in all the characters growth and how they start changing throughout the story.
Maria and Benji have both had difficult obstacles in their lives that make them act like they do in the beginning of the story. But when they grow closer they really want to help each other through the hard times and this is done in such an emotional and beautiful way that I was close to tears.
The only things I had a problem with was that the beginning 2 paragraphs didn’t fit with the rest of the story and that she uses some words I don’t like in some of the dialog and sexscenes.
The tropes are workplace romance and enemies to lovers. The trigger warnings: sexual assault, graphic sexscenes and sextalk and talk of past sexual assault of a minor.
Vic Tyler is a debut contemporary writer and in my opinion it was a really great debut with a well written, lyrical and beautiful love story.
I totally ship Maria and Benji, but hope soon to be shipping Grant and Brie too😁❤️! I will definitely follow this author and read the next books in this series👏👍❤️!
Thank you so much to vic Tyler for the arc! I love your book😊👍!
Sizzling hot attraction in this complicated romance
This is beautiful story about two people whose past experiences left them bruised emotionally and made them vulnerable. First time when they meet the chemistry and attraction between them is sizzling hot. Both are bound to work together and are trying hard not no to give in to the undeniable attraction to each other. Even if none of them wants to be in relationship they agree to be "friends" with benefits. Soon both of them discover they started to fall for each other but vulnerability and past ghosts doesn't allow them to communicate properly with each other. Jealousy, past events, not being open to each other causes a huge rift in their fragile connection. When Maria decides she cannot take the uncertainty anymore she leaves Benji. Will he be able to finally use his words to salvage everything he thinks he doesn't deserve and salvage what their build together? I really enjoyed reading Redeeming You. I shed some tears, there were some angsty moments that kept me on my toes and made me turn the pages to find out what is going to happen next. I would also gladly read more of their story as well as Brie's and Garret's one.
i read this book as part of an arc program. This is the story of photographer Benji and his assistant Maria. Maria took the job as Benji's assistant and she hated him from day one. Benji was arrogant and mean, he was also a known playboy. Maria used to be a classical cello player until a personal tragedy made her quit playing. When Maria took the job with Benji, she thought he was attractive, but hated him. After they worked together for a while, Benji was more and more attracted to Maria, he thought it was because she didn't throw herself at him. When Benji and Maria entered into a friends with benefits arrangement, both agrees not to sleep with anyone else and that they didn't want a relationship. But the longer they were together, the more they felt for one another and neither would admit it. I liked this book, i thought they had a connection with each other they didn't have with anyone else. I think Maria was good for Benji and made him realize he was worth loving. Maria had to deal with the death of her parents and start making music again. Good one.
About the book: Maria is the new assistant to Benji, the infamous playboy photographer. They irritate each other to no end. Can it turn into something more?
Review: The book is multiple POV which can go one of two ways. Fortunately I felt that the multiple POV flowed and added to the story. There is sexual content and some language so I would recommend the reader be 18+. I really enjoyed the story and was able to read it in one go. I would enjoy reading the book about Maria's parents that is in this series.
This book was a very quick and light read. Overall, I can’t say that I liked it. It wasn’t bad, just not memorable enough. It reminded me too much of Fifty Shades” but lacked character struggle and uncertainty that those books have. I kept waiting for something to happen to Benji or Maria. Typically there is a struggle that the characters have to overcome to end up together. However, in this book, past Benji being somewhat mean to Maria for like five minutes, everything was good with them. It really needed some drama in my opinion. Some parts of it didn’t make sense, such has the safe word or her calling him sir. Just felt unfinished. There is definitely a lot of potential here for the second book. I’d love to know more about Brie, Jenny,etc.
Hard Focus (Troublesome Affections Book 1) by Vic Tyler is a New Adult, Contemporary, Erotic Romance. An enjoyable, steamy, funny, amazing, well-written read with a beautiful story and scorching hot scenes. Wonderful first and second characters. I love Maria and Benji's story the chemistry between them was sizzling hot. I couldn't put it down I was hooked from page one. Definitely, a must read. This is the first book I've read from Vic Tyler but definitely, it wouldn't be my last one. I can't wait for the next book and I hope there'll be more stories about their friends. For adults only 18+. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
Great debut novel for author, Vic Tyler! This is a steamy story about the love-hate relationship between successful photographer Benji, and his assistant Maria. Maria is altering things around after a life-changing experience and starts working for Benji, who is a read jerk, and always gets what he wants when it comes to work and women. Maria, who is broken at the time but very strong-minded, vows to not take any of his bs. She cannot deny his hot physique though. I really hated Benji at the beginning of this book, but as time went on, he grew on me. If you’re looking for a read where the hated, bad boy turns into the caring, sex-god by the end, then this one is for you!
I really enjoy a good romance novel so I was immediately interested in the synopsis of the story.
But the depth of the characters was lacking for me. I felt no draw to any of the characters or really much of anything for them.
The writing was also a bit lacking for me, with Maria , saying things such as " Like I wanted him inside of me all the time", just seemed really immature.
There was nothing unique or special about this book to set it apart and lure me in.
On the positive , the book is extremely short and an easy read , from start to finish with no interruptions it took me a little over an hour to finish.
What a great story! At first it was familiarly confusing but the story made sense after a bit of a read. Michele has changed her name to go by Marie. This is the story of why she did and how she ends up as a photography assistant. This was a little on the darker side but full of both heartbreaking moments, happiness and if course some steamy moments. A well written, well rounded story. I cannot wait to see how the series developed. Especially cannot wait to read about Grant and Brie!
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book from BookSprout.
I love this book. It’s full of from the characters main and minor. I find that it’s seems to flow from Adoring You. I love how Maria ( Michele) how strong she is and refuse to let Benji push her around. What I like most about this couple is that they complement each other very well. I’m looking forward to reading more from Vic Tyler. This book will leaving you wanting more and will definately turning the pages.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A picture is worth a ten thousand words and music is the background of our lives..
When you first meet Benji you hate his womanizing ways, yet you can’t help appreciate his sizzling chemistry and his handsome physique. I feel in love with Maria instantly her beauty talent and naïvety. The immediate chemistry these two ignite is an epic romance. As the author very poignantly develops an undeniably sexy story where you experience every emotion love, hate, want, fate, hope and laughter. Truly well written and definitely a great first novel.
Redeeming You by Vic Tyler is the first novel in the Troublesome Affections series. The book is a quick and easy read.
Maria is a photography assistant to Benji, a photographer in New York. She has a painful past she wants to forget and Benji is very demanding and in-demand in his line of work. They have a short and intense affair that you don't get to see grow much unless the second book will be more of these two main characters. There are some steamy scenes in this book so it is definitely 18+
I received an ARC trough the New Adult book club for an honest review...
I liked this book. It was a debut novel, but didn't feel like one. The characters are enjoyable, well thought out en I could relate to them. The story is told in different POV's, which really helps to get into it. It was good to see what both Maria and Benji were thinking. It was a really good read and I find myself hoping the story of Brie and Grant will be the next book. I will for sure be reading that as well.
I loved this story! I loved how Maria was not a model and thick-skinned and I loved how Benji didn't care about her weight or how much she ate. Being around models and looking like one you would think Benji would be vain and just a horrible person (which he is to a lot of people). I thought their love story was a little fast but the book felt fast-paced as well so it makes sense to me why I feel that way. I really enjoyed Vic's writing style she really has a way of pulling the reader in. I would really enjoy reading a book about Brie and Grant!
I loved the sassiness that this author brought to the characters. I could see the scenes playing out in my mind like a movie as I read the words describing the characters actions and reactions. The emotional connection was instantly created by the very first scene in the book and it never let go. I laughed and cried and laughed some more. This was a very well written and fun book with great characters and a wonderful storyline.
Benji is a playboy photographer and Maria is his new assistant. They don’t really like each other but are still attracted to each other. Both have baggage and don’t really want a relationship but they become friends with benefits. Will they find happiness together? Fast-paced read with plenty of drama and lots of emotion. The sex is steamy but Benji isn’t the nicest of guys. It was a good read.
This is the first time I've read a book by this author and I see it's the first one being offered by Amazon. Her writing is really good. The heat just leaps off the page! I'll be sure to check out new books as they're offered.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Benji Is a straight up a prick. Benji will get you angry and down right wanna smack the guy. But he’s hot as hell and sexy and in the end with have you swooning! Maria strong willed and determined has a past. Two people with so much chemistry. Loved this story very angst and sexy and hot! Definitely a page turner! 5/5 stars
For the first book for a writer, I think it is well written, and even the characters were interesting. Sometimes I felt I lacked some of them. To know a little more about them. But the story and story flowed. I'm glad I was given the opportunity to read the book and hope to read more books in the future.
When I started reading this story, I couldn't put it down. I read the book in one day.This author is an awesome writer.I cannot wait to read more of their books. Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Redeeming You is the first book I've read by Vic Tyler. Even though I enjoyed the storyline, I just didn't feel the connection between Benji and Maria. Maria is just too confusing at times, and I found myself skipping past lots of her narration.