Bae for Pay

by Melissa Steel

Do you ever look around your office and wonder how you got there? Sam Chambers does - then she heads directly to a shop called Divine Drinks to trade wine tips and witticisms with sales assistant Dean.

You see, things haven’t quite panned out how she had hoped since she was a top writer at university, as her boss at her dead-end job reminds her at every opportunity.

Now she has a reunion to go to with no career prospects and no partner. She can almost feel the judgement radiating out of her phone from Harriet, Sam’s BFF from university. That is until Dean steps in to play her adoring boyfriend for the weekend, with a little help from her friends, June, a Thai masseuse with a love of Communism and AC/DC, and Paxton, a playboy from
university.

However, meddling, misunderstandings and even a ménage à trois could expose them, in more ways than one. Can Sam and Dean convince everyone else that their lives are on track, and, more importantly, can they convince themselves?

180 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2020

About the author

Melissa Steel is writing this in the third person and finding the whole thing a bit weird.
Her background is in professional communications and amateur wine appreciation. She hopes to go pro one day.
Bae for Pay is her first book, a rom-com where everything goes wrong. Her writing has been described as 'the wit of Frasier at the pace of the Gilmore Girls.' She's dead proud of that.
Melissa lives in Edinburgh and has a cat and dog. Both are much more popular than her.

Reviews

[Jonathan Knapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not often I find books laugh out loud funny, but this is one of them. It’s dripping in dry wit and has a warm cast of slightly bonkers yet scarily believable characters, whose adventures range from the sublime to the ridiculous in the most millennial way possible. Definitely worth a read.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and fun read! Sam is just doing her thing, drinking her wine, when her old friend Harriet basically forces her to attend this reunion she wants to avoid like the plague. Enter Dean. Whom I wasn’t entirely sold on to be honest, but she needs a date, so here he comes!

I loved Sam’s two friends, June and Paxton the most, and would love to have novels surrounding them! ❤️ Very interesting characters.

Thank you to @bymelissasteel for sending me your really funny novel! The craziness that ensued at the reunion had me entertained for sure!

[Zannabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this - don’t think I’ve laughed so much in months, perfect Sunday afternoon tonic.
Super easy read thanks to well written characters who could be my real life friends!

[Sally H · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you pick up a short book with a witty title, you expect a certain kind of read - fast, easy and funny. You don't expect to have to work hard, it's the kind of book you plan to devour in an afternoon of sitting in the garden (or ideally on a beach). This book pleasantly lives up to those expectations yet manages to also pack a surprising emotional punch. I really thought I knew exactly where the plot was going but found myself utterly wrong and completely caught off guard by it. The writing in some of those scenes feels so real that you can't help but experience the emotions along with the characters, whether you want to or not.

This book definitely exceeded my expectations, and is worth picking up.

[Amy Ure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun read and so many hilarious moments!