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This is how the worst Friday of my life started… The Dick Hey Sinclair, Mr. Calvetti is as ornery as ever today. He scolded me for taking a message from a woman who asked me to pass along this to him – “your lips are the purest form of pleasure this side of the Mississippi!” She may not be a poet, but she is obviously head over heels for him, so I thought I’d play cupid and give him the message. Dominick (The Dick) Calvetti told me once again to ignore all messages women leave for him. He’s a cruel bastard with a gorgeous face and rock hard abs. I imagine he has those. He’s 6’3” and works out every morning. He has to be built under those suits, right? I know that the nickname I gave him is based on his attitude, but I sometimes wonder if it “fits” in other ways if you know what I mean. Even if it does, I still loathe him. He’s the worst boss on both sides of the Mississippi. I attached a picture of the lingerie I bought for my date tonight. I snapped a selfie in the mirror this morning since you were still asleep. Let me know what you think, roomie. Arietta xoxo P.S. Tomorrow we’re getting you a new phone. I miss texting. Emailing is for old people like The Dick. The Dick Miss Voss, Thank you for your email. I hardly think 34 is considered old, and for the record, I’m 6’4”. Details matter. Sending an email to the intended recipient matters more, especially when you include a sensitive image exposing so much of your body. Also, cancel your date, as you will now be working late tonight. And report to my office. Immediately. Signed, THE DICK “XOXO”

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 2021

610 people are currently reading
664 people want to read

About the author

Deborah Bladon

110 books2,336 followers
Deborah Bladon had never read a romance hero she didn't like. Her love for romance novels began when she was old enough to board the bus, library card in hand to check out the newest Harlequin paperbacks. She was a Canadian by heart, and by passport, but you could often spot her in New York City sipping a latte and looking for inspiration for her next story. Manhattan was definitely her second home.

She cherished her family and believed that each day was a gift for writing, for reading, and for loving.

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5 stars
1,218 (43%)
4 stars
902 (32%)
3 stars
512 (18%)
2 stars
129 (4%)
1 star
37 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews
Profile Image for Melluvsbooks.
1,570 reviews
November 14, 2021
Everyone is so *nice* in this book. 🥰🥰

*SIIIIIIIGH* 😑





I'm sure this book will appeal to a lot of readers. It's *PERFECT*. 🙄

I read quite bit and spend a lot of time combing through reviews. I see the typical complaints. People don't like uneven power dynamics. They don't like it if the h doesn't have really good supportive women in her life. They don't like if she's insecure. They don't want the h to be a doormat. They don't want the H to be too pushy. They want the h to be comfortable and confident in her sexuality. They don't like the h to be a virgin. Explicit enthusiastic consent is a must. Yada yada yada...

And this book? This is what you get when you incorporate every single woke progressive concern in a romance. 👀 The author *woke* it to death. 😅 Every bit of the potential grit and drama has been removed or softened. And we were left with something WILDLY and AGGRESSIVELY boring.

Perfect characters are dull. 🤷🏼‍♀️ This trope calls for a "dick" of a boss, but the author lets us know super early in the book that the H is nothing of the kind. He's basically a SAINT, who is a little bit demanding on the job. So, any tension with that is completely killed in like the 2nd chapter. There are FIFTY EIGHT chapters AND an Epilogue. That's a looooooooong time for no drama at all. This is probably intended to be “enemies to lovers” but is sanitized into “vaguely lovingly irritated to lovers”. Every time I thought we might get a weensy bit of angst or drama, it is resolved immediately and softened to a sad little wimper. 😐😅

This trope (grumpy older boss/ sunshine younger assistant) is a fun trope because there IS a naturally unequal power dynamic. The angst comes when the grumpy dude over steps the line and has to grovel. The age gap trope is compelling because the experience in between the two MCs isn't equal. But you remove all of that, and you remove what makes the tropes interesting, IMO. It's super politically correct, but hella dull. Even if you do have the *PERFECT* amount of humor added it.’😬

Bottom Line? The writing was good, but this book is boring. There's such thing as too much of a good thing. 😬🤷🏼‍♀️ Maybe it's ok if everything isn't perfect?? That’s all I’m saying. I'm going with ⭐️⭐️⭐️ instead of 2-stars because I liked when the H slipped the mold and told his competition to take a hike. More of that and we would have had a book!



⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️

- no cheating or sharing

- OW drama - h is the H's secretary and has had to field calls from panting women

- OM drama - h goes out on a date with a man she meets on the internet

- no dubcon

- h is sexually experienced

- H is a bit of manwhore
Profile Image for Monique.
468 reviews
November 14, 2021
Someone recently asked me "would you rather be gorgeous and dumb or ugly and really smart?" And I'm embarrassed that without missing a beat I said "gorgeous and dumb" ...it's sad but gorgeous people have it easier and this book proved that.

We have the h who dresses pretty quirky apparently (personally I think her vintage style sounds great) but from the get go the H doesn't think much of her and her looks. Despite the fact that she's super nice, really smart, goes above and beyond to make him and everyone around her happy she is nothing more than someone to get his coffee and he treats her abysmally in my opinion.

Now here is where my theory rings true. By accident she sends him an email that has a photo of her in sexy lingerie. Under her vintage clothes is the body of a goddess apparently and from this point on the H changes how he treats her. Suddenly she's worth his attention, he wants to date her and he all of a sudden is nice to her. So basically her being incredibly nice, smart, great at her job wasn't worthy but having a hot rack and banging body was.

Honestly, I get it though, it's romance and I've read loads of stories with this trope so look, I'm not bashing it too hard.

I do love the asshole boss and the badly treated EA/PA trope, it's horrible and cliche and definitely gets my feminism card revoked but I secretly love it. So despite my gripe above I was actually enjoying this book until 60% of the way through but then the H just kind of became a bit of a sap.

Also, the sex scenes. Ok so I'm not gonna lie and pretend I'm reading these books just for the romantic swoon, I'm reading these types of tropes cause I want some 🔥🔥🔥🔥 sex and did I get that? No. It wasn't fade to black but the details were pretty scarce and the author did that annoying thing of having either the h or H recount in their head the sex they had the previous night or day which I HATE!!! I hate the brief summary of the apparently hot AF sex they had. Give me it in real time please and give me more than 1 page. Even if it's only one great sex scene I'd rather that than 3-4 sex recaps which are just teases.

So for that, it lost a star. I could deal with the unfair treatment of the h, the cheesy 180 into infatuation-ville from the H but the lacklustre sex was not cool.

There were a few other random storylines that didn't really flow that well for me but again, I'm reading this trope for the forbidden and hot sex of the boss and employee and sadly it didn't deliver for me which is a shame because that first 60% was actually pretty great with loads of sexual tension and "omg he did not just say that to her" types of situations which I love.
Profile Image for Dilek VT.
1,550 reviews1,696 followers
not-interested
May 3, 2021
This trope has been done a lot of times and I'd also hate to about a stupid heroine who embarrasses herself like that! If you are sending a half naked photo to someone, be smart and check the e-mail address twice... or more.

And I am sure, just by looking at her photo in lingerie, he will realize that she is the one! Nope, I wouldn't buy it, so no need to read and rant about it.
Profile Image for niteskycs.
384 reviews114 followers
May 9, 2021
2 stars

this book started off really well for me, the setup of a boss and his longtime secretary is always interesting for me and i tend to like office romances. however, this fizzled out really fast and i don't remember anything about the second half other than it being quite sappy.

side characters were a cute and memorable, especially the h's bff sinclair and H's grandma and parents.

tropes: office romance, boss-secretary, accidental email, age-gap
Profile Image for Sonia.
1,329 reviews2,108 followers
November 14, 2021
3.5 Stars: The blurb was so good that…

I thought I was gonna get some delicious fighting, push/pull, maybe some grumpy dubcon scenes or scenes where the H humiliates/blackmails her (lol I’m horrible🙈)… but alas, we don’t get ANY of that… THAT disappointed me😒, but I still enjoyed the book.

Arietta, 22, works for a grumpy man, Dominick, 34, who never says thank you or shows appreciation for everything she does. In fact, one of the annoying things she has to do is screen his calls from the many women he’s slept with 😐 because there’ve been a lot 🙄. Everything that she does for him is always above and beyond his expectations, most of the time, she even finishes before he expects. One of the reasons he hired her was because she’s different from others, as in she dresses eccentrically and isn’t trying to be seductive or sexy, which can be a distraction to potential clients. She’s efficient and reliable, exactly what he needs in his life.

Arietta tries online dating and decides to purchase some lingerie before her date. Her roommate, Sinclair, lost her phone and is only reachable by email. Well, when Sinclair asks her to show her what she bought, Arietta takes pictures of herself in her lingerie… which is when the blurb comes in. She accidentally emails her boss versus her roommate, and this is when the relationship between Arietta and Dominick changes.

Dominick can’t stop thinking about her, picturing her, and he wants her. When he hears about her potential date, he sabotages it whenever he can, because she should be his. Even when he tries to not think about her and goes on his own date, he realizes that he only wants her.

They kiss in the 60% ish and have smex around 70% ish, so it’s slow burn. When they finally cave into their attraction, it was 🔥 and they cave in a lot 💦😅🥵BUUUUUT the smex scenes weren’t too detailed 😒. The first ones were good and then lots of the beginning of what they do, and then it goes into the next scene 😐. I hate FTB scenes- and although they’re not EXACTLY FTB, they certainly FELT FTB lol womp womp.

Many times, I felt like we were being TOLD what happened versus SHOWN, which is one of my pet peeves. When they stop using protection, I wanted to SEE that conversation versus just being TOLD that it happened at some point. Even when the secret is revealed at the end, I wanted it to be more drawn now, more angsty, more emotional- but it was anticlimactic 😒.

Was Dominick swoony? Totally… Little by little, he becomes less of a grump, and he starts romancing Arietta, BEFORE she realizes he’s REALLY interested in her (others figured it out before her)- it’s the little things he does that paint the bigger picture. I also LOVED how he attacks OM 😂👏🏻. The epilogue was cute and sweet…

But I wanted an a$$h@l€ grumpy boss 😂🙈.

Overall, I liked this- I didn’t LOVE it. The blurb hooked me… and then it was “womp womp” central lol.

⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing
-previous manhoar- the h writes down messages from previous women he’s slept with
-h uses dating app and goes on a date with OM (the H sabotages them all lol)
-H goes on a date with OW but can’t stop thinking about h
-OW calls and says she had a great time with H- it’s misunderstanding and gets cleared up quickly
Profile Image for Wendy'sThoughts.
2,670 reviews3,287 followers
July 6, 2021
4.5 Willing Stars
* * * * 1/2 Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
I promised a quick review and I meant it. I happened to fall for the book. I was willing to go all in and accept it all. Yes, I knew when things would be the "surprise" and yes, I accepted all that was given in the relationship, happily. I did that because the book just hit the spot I needed.

So here is something to enjoy.

Thirst (The Calvettis of New York, #1) by Deborah Bladon Thirst ((The Calvettis of New York, #1)
Ruthless (The Calvettis of New York, #2) by Deborah Bladon Ruthless ((The Calvettis of New York, #2) )
XOXO by Deborah Bladon XOXO ((The Calvettis of New York, #3) )
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bittersweet (The Calvettis of New York, #4) by Deborah Bladon Bittersweet ((The Calvettis of New York, #4) )
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


~~~~~ Before Reading ~~~~~
November 13, 2020-Yes, Arietta from Catch!
My Boss Is A Handful...
He Is Some Times Cruel...
Always With Attitude...

But With A Gorgeous Face...
Built Body, and Tall Like A Skyscraper...
It Is Easy to Forget...
He Is The Worst...

So I Gave Him A Nickname...
One Only My Bestie and I Know...

It Was My Fault...
When I Sent Her The Email...
About the Worst. Friday. Ever...
And Said Boss...

Because By Hitting That Send Button...
I Made His Nickname The Subject Line...
Oh, And The Recipient...

It Wasn't My Friend...
Instead, It Was My Boss...
Responding About Every Detail...

He Even Signed With
My Nickname For Him And...


XOXO- Release Soon To Be Announced

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Profile Image for Lammie.
752 reviews39 followers
February 18, 2024
This is a sweet and fun read. The emailing between these 2 was super cute.

Gonna do some research to see if Sinclair has a book ☺️
Profile Image for Violet.
142 reviews41 followers
October 8, 2022
That mail is the only interesting part in this book.
Profile Image for Jeeves Reads Romance.
1,683 reviews807 followers
March 17, 2021
Lighthearted slow burn

There's something about this author's light and sexy romances that just works for me, and this was another fun one. I won't say that it was one of my favorites - it wasn't - but the story is low angst and so easy to binge. For me, there was too much focus on the hero's past hookups and too sudden of a shift in the relationship, so I was more disengaged than I would've liked. But it's still a solid office romance with a slow burn that focuses on the emotional build, and that part of the story worked for me.

The story follows Arietta (22), the assistant to Dominick (34), a man she's dubbed "The Dick." He's a serious grump whose sole focus is work, unless he's thinking with his... well, you know. As his assistant, Arietta has taken messages for dozens of Dominick's past hookups, so she knows exactly the type of guy he is outside of the office. And Dominick... well Dominick doesn't think about Arietta much at all. That all changes when a sexy email from Arietta accidentally lands in Dominick's inbox. Suddenly, Dominick can't stop thinking about his surprisingly sexy assistant, and not all of his thoughts are lusty in nature.

I'll openly admit that while I love the idea of an accidental email, I DON'T love that Dominick had ZERO interest in Arietta until he knew that she was hot underneath her ill-fitting clothing. That's a problem for me, no doubt. I also don't love that Arietta has spent so long taking messages from the women in Dominick's life. But those are really the only things that I didn't enjoy; the rest of the story is lighthearted, playful, and kinda cute. If there'd been a little less focus on the playboy stuff and a little more focus on building the relationship, this would've been a GREAT read. So, yeah, I liked it. But I did not love it. Fans of low angst office romances with a touch of steam will enjoy this one, and I am absolutely looking forward to whatever the author writes next.
Profile Image for Ⓐlleskelle - That ranting lady ッ.
1,038 reviews958 followers
April 9, 2021
I picked up this book entirely because of my love for anything remotely epistolary in romance novels, so an employee sending an entirely inappropriate email to her boss by mistake where she admits wondering if his nickname—THE DICK— matches his anatomy... I jus HAD to see for myself if the prospect of good banter through emails and slow burn office romance would be delivered.
Sadly and most unfortunately, for me, it wasn't.

The whole debacle and how it unfolded between them felt dull in comparison to the heroine's offending email to her boss. Where was the tension between them? Surely the hero being a gruff and brooding alpha male wasn't the author's take on office hostility? There was little to none antagonism going on in the midst of the heroine's unfortunate email admitting she was lusting on her boss's dick and him seeing a picture of his plain jane employee in racy lingerie.
The sex wasn't half bad if you're curious about it but since nothing actually led me to it, it rather felt just... gratuitous and dispassionate? I just felt no attachment and no interest throughout.

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Profile Image for Amanda Blanche.
374 reviews42 followers
June 29, 2025
Cute fun quick read. Office romance, age gap. Boss and secretary kind of vibes.

Arietta is a young woman with brains, goals and a quirky sense of fashion. She works for the workaholic grump millionaire Dominick. He is prickly, demanding, abrupt. Dominick doesn’t see Arietta as anything more than his secretary, and as a prolific one night stand kind of man, he likes to keep work professional. Until one day, where Arietta sends an email to her boss and not her best friend. In that email is a risqué picture of her and her true thoughts on her boss. That becomes a turning point for both of them. Seeing each other in new lights and learning maybe they can have something real outside of the office.
Profile Image for Hey Lin.
747 reviews
November 10, 2021
It was good…..I think this is the first book I’ve read of this author. I loved the H sabotaging the hs dates and his jealous moments. I loved how it was obvious to everyone that she was perfect for him.

Cons? She just happens to be a 40 million dollar trust fund baby? Ok…..and the way he fell in love with her and finally saw her was a little clunky. It felt like it came out of nowhere even and only happened af the r he saw her naked pictures. Anyway, I was dnfing books like a mofo so the fact that I finished this one says a lot 😂
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Carol.
1,255 reviews
March 17, 2021
1.75 Stars

This one started out really good for me. I absolutely love the boss/exec assistant trope. However... Well, honestly? Once they got together around the 70% mark I was left disappointed tbh. We had this bit of slow burn going on and then the author basically does a quick jog through the intimate scenes like wam, bam, thank you ma'am! Sure, sure the scenes where he gave and she received seemed more lengthy and detailed then the actual sexin' so therein lies my confusion. Why not give all those scenes the same amount of attention to detail? Why not give us those soft words, looks or touches during the act to build that intimacy and tenderness, huh???? All my fave authors give me this fix and this one just did not have it for me.

Add in that (thinking back on it) that the hero Dominick kind of flipped a switch and went from cute and rude to this big softie. Almost felt like a different person stepped in and replaced him. He literally fell in love in 30 seconds and started spouting how she was his forever in his thoughts. I'm sorry, was I supposed to buy this load of BS? It was unrealistic.

I won't even go into the fact Dominick was the typical dick boss who as the heroine Arietta said liked to "fuck and flee" and the heroine had to answer calls from all the skanky women he boned on business trips who called begging for more. And instead of throwing said messages away as Dominick ordered she collected them into her desk drawer. And by the end when Dominick found them there WERE OVER 100 messages!! Yeah! And I'm just suppose to believe this guy decided in like a two week span (only after he realized Arietta was a beautiful woman despite her terrible taste in fashion) and wants to be a one woman guy when he was boning like random women every work trip and against marriage and all about his business and making money??? Hah, no. Didn't buy it at all.

Sigh. I have many books by this author that I've kept collecting that proverbial dust so this was my first foray trying her out. Sadly as much as I love this trope and the book blurb I felt the things I didn't enjoy overpowered anything I did (which wasn't much). Top being those sex scenes. You can do great things with those without focusing entirely on the sexin' but it just flashed and was over. Super disappointing because you want that big FINALLY moment, ya know? It was bad.

In the end I just didn't like it. Which I can easily blame on my own personal dislikes of the authors choices/writing style. And the fact it was SUPER CHEESY. I only like my cheese on food thankyouverymuch.
Profile Image for Bonny Read.
523 reviews15 followers
February 17, 2022
Sweet, Engaging Romance with some heat!

This is book #3 in the Calvetti Family series, each is a stand alone dealing with a different Calvetti family member. This was Dominic Calvetti's and Arietta Voss's story.

It starts out as a smart but grumpy, task master, workaholic boss (who of course is gorgeous, if only he'd smile more) and an original, hard working assistant with a heart of gold and a high IQ who puts up with him because she has goals she wants to achieve. Add in some unique and loyal friends and family you have the makings for a great story.

The character development was great! I loved everything about the romance development and the sex was hot! There was even some humor in the story.

The romance actually starts to develop after a particularly trying day, when she's working on a draft email to a client which she's supposed to forward to her boss for tweaking before sending it while at the same time emailing a friend to vent about said boss. This is the email she sends to her friend.

Subject: The Dick

Hey Sinclair,

Mr. Calvetti is as ornery as ever today. He scolded me for taking a message from a woman who asked me to pass along this to him – “your lips are the purest form of pleasure this side of the Mississippi!” She may not be a poet, but she is obviously head over heels for him, so I thought I’d play cupid and give him the message. Dominick (The Dick) Calvetti told me once again to ignore all messages women leave for him. He’s a cruel bastard with a gorgeous face and rock hard abs. I imagine he has those. He’s 6’3” and works out every morning. He has to be built under those suits, right? I know that the nickname I gave him is based on his attitude, but I sometimes wonder if it “fits” in other ways if you know what I mean. Even if it does, I still loathe him. He’s the worst boss on both sides of the Mississippi. I attached a picture of the lingerie I bought for my date tonight. I snapped a selfie in the mirror this morning since you were still asleep. Let me know what you think, roomie.

Arietta xoxo

P.S. Tomorrow we’re getting you a new phone. I miss texting. Emailing is for old people like The Dick


Of course the two emails get the wrong address and the boss gets the one above. His email reply is priceless.

He knows she's smart and hard working. He even realises he sometimes asks too much of her, but she always manages to complete every task he sets her and she never complains. He appreciates her, but rarely shows it. After seeing what she's got under the oversized clothes she wears, his interest is peaked. As retribution, he gives her a task with a completion date of Monday knowing it can't be done. It forces her to cancel her date and work the weekend, but she's glad he didn't fire her. When Monday comes and he finds she not only completed the project, but enhanced it and she still has a smile on her face instead of complaining, he begins to see her in a new light and finds himself attracted to her. But it's when he finds out it's one of her many acts if kindness to a stranger that got him the contract with a high profile client he'd been after for so long, he begins to realise what a great heart she has and how truly amazing she is. Thus begins his quest to win her heart and earn her trust.

This was a sweet, fun and engaging romance with just enough heat and angst to keep it interesting.
Profile Image for 1000_books_1000_lives.
518 reviews44 followers
September 17, 2023
Super cute office romance with good spice. An easy but enjoyable read. It was refreshing to read a CEO romance without a third act breakup or miscommunication trope! Definitely recommend this one - and it completed my A-Z title challenge for this year 🥳
Profile Image for Lauren Reads Romance.
448 reviews57 followers
March 9, 2025
3.25 stars

Sweet little romance but lacks any real conflict or angst, everything just falls into place ~too~ easily… which is okay, but also kinda boring? Easy reading and low spice.
Profile Image for Lauren Gibbs.
300 reviews17 followers
July 2, 2025
This was such a fun and flirty read! Ari and Dom had the best slow-burn tension, and that accidental photo moment? Perfection. I loved watching their banter turn into something real and sweet. A grumpy boss and sunshine assistant pairing that totally delivered. Super cute with just the right amount of spice!
Profile Image for Caroline F.
2,408 reviews52 followers
March 16, 2021
I’ve been wanting to try this author for a while now and when I read the blurb for this story, I just snapped it right up!

”Dominick Calvetti doesn’t have a soul. Greed sits in the place where his soul should be.”

Arietta Voss is a very capable 22YO with a genius IQ and a penchant for all things vintage. She’s the executive assistant to Dominick Calvetti. He’s a hard taskmaster and mean with his praise, smiles and gratitude. When Arietta accidentally sends him a rather inappropriate email intended for her best friend, it kicks off an awareness between them.

”I’ve looked at the picture of Arietta in her lingerie three times since I first opened the email. Deleting it would be the right thing to do, but I have never done the right thing, so why start now?”

Dominick is twelve years older than his assistant and has always been focused on achieving success and accumulating wealth. He’s content with one-night-stands and no repeats. He chose Arietta as his EA for a reason – she puts minimal effort into her appearance and unlikely to be snapped up by an interested guy, like his previous assistants. However, he’s baffled when he starts noticing things about her himself – and, let’s not talk about that photo of her in sexy lingerie that she sent him by mistake! Who knew she was hiding a banging body under those weird clothes? All of a sudden, she’s all he can see.

”I know exactly how I want to be repaid. It starts with those lips of hers. I want them on mine.”

Absolutely loved this story! It was fun, funny, sexy and sweet. I loved the dynamic between Arietta and Dominick, as EA and boss, as well as when they crossed the line into something more. They had chemistry for days! Dominick was a hella hot dude but also surprisingly soft and sentimental. He was such a decent guy under his tough boss persona – I loved finding out about all the great things he did and his relationship with his family. Arietta was one in a million. She was kind, thoughtful and insightful. She had a way about her that people loved, including me! I enjoyed her effect on Dominick and how she brought joy to his life. Overall, a fantastic, low-angst read, and can’t wait to read more by this author.

Profile Image for aria.
326 reviews25 followers
February 3, 2022
1.5 stars

This was rlly boring. 80% of the book is the characters talking to side characters about essentially nothing. There was literally nothing happening. None of the good stuff about boss x assistant trope happened. It was super cheesy towards the end. I really did not like this book
Profile Image for Melanie.Reads.
190 reviews20 followers
February 5, 2023
A sweet, grumpy/sunshine low angst office romance. A perfect palate cleanser for between heavier reads.
Profile Image for Mia.
338 reviews
June 12, 2021
“It’s chocolate, Arietta.” She takes a bite of the piece in her hand. “It’s good, but even bad sex is better than this.”
I disagree.  I’ve never had sex that has been as satisfying as this chocolate.”


This was my first time reading a Deborah Bladon book and I was pleasantly surprised.

This is actually book 3 in the “The Calvettis of New York” series and even tho I don’t normally start a series by the middle or end, with this one it just called to me. I loved the burb and was itching to read this office romance. I wasn’t disappointed!

The books in the series are standalones, so you can read just one, or the entire collection.

“Mr. Calvetti has resting scowl face. He wouldn’t know a compliment if it hit him in the side of the head”

Dominick Calvetti is our hero and the boss. Oh! The joys of having a super hot bosshole!
Dominick lives to work. He believes that success is achieved by working hard and luck as little to do with it. He doesn’t believe in relationships either. He believes in satisfying his needs... with a different woman every time.
The guy seems like an insensitive jerk ate first (at best). Specially because he treats people really poorly, like they’re all beneath him. The fact that he subjects his assistant to having to deal with the aftermath of his one night stands (apparently all women want more from the stud) isn’t helping his case either.

“Mr. Calvetti?” She questions. “Why is she calling you that? It’s the evening. You’re on a date.”
“No,” I say in unison with my assistant.
Arietta takes over with laughter bubbling out of her. “This is so not a date, Marti. Why would I be on a date with Mr. Calvetti?”
I don’t find this nearly as amusing as she does.”

“I’m infatuated. I don’t know how to hide it anymore. I don’t want to because this feels too damn good.”


So I did love seeing him fall for Arietta and see him do his best to conquer her heart and show her how he changed and that she was it for him. Was it sappy, a little, but I was here for it!

“Arietta Voss looks as though she stepped out of a finger painting done by a four-year-old. Every color of the rainbow is represented in the patterned blouse she’s wearing.
Her sense of style has never been on point.”
...
“I’ve heard people in the office comment behind Arietta’s back about how she’s the youngest grandma they’ve ever met.
My grandmother, Martina Calvetti, would have a word with them about how a woman’s age shouldn’t dictate her wardrobe choices.”


Arietta is our heroine. I love her to pieces!
She’s sweet, kind, has a heart bigger than Texas (I heard everything is bigger there) and is feisty. Her personality resonates with me 1000%.
Arietta works hard, it’s not that she has plans to be Dominicks assistant for the rest of her life. She has dreams, and this job is going to help her get there on her own. I love how strong and determined she is. How despite her peculiar circumstances she stranded her ground and walked on her own two feet.

“I’ve been waiting forever for you”

“First dates can lead to lifetimes together.”


The side characters were also very well developed and complemented the story and the main characters perfectly. I loved Marti, of course! Sinclair had a humor that I found delicious and I wanted to kill Lowell, ofc.

“The rain outside reminded me of a gray morning years ago when I woke up not wanting to go to school. I sniffled and coughed my way through an Oscar-worthy performance of a girl with a cold before my mom told me that she knew it was all an act.”

I did like the author writing style.
I’ve had some books from the book sitting around for a while and now I’m wondering why it took me so long to start reading them. I’ll definitely read the other two from this collection.
Profile Image for Steph.
200 reviews67 followers
April 23, 2021
Assez peu réaliste, mais amusant. J'ai eu quelques fous rires et si ce n'était pas de "l'insta love / lust" du héros, j'aurais même pu le noter plus haut. Parce que si j'aime mes romances légères et amusantes, j'ai beaucoup de mal à comprendre pourquoi, du jour au lendemain, un connard remarque le vilain petit canard dans son bureau. Surtout quand il n'y a pas d'élément LOGIQUE déclencheur? 😅 (avoir un rencard , n'en est pas un, franchement...)

Parce que c'est à ça que ce résume ce roman : mademoiselle est secrétaire pour un type imbuvable, froid et désagréable. Pas de reconnaissance, aucun tact ou patience. Au début, monsieur critique même mentalement mademoiselle, qu'il a engagé parce qu'elle est banale et donc, ne risque pas d'attirer ses clients dans ses draps. (🙄😒) Puis un beau jour, il remarque qu'elle est trop trop belle, parce que mademoiselle a rencard avec un dude. Et de là, ça part dans tous les sens hein! 😂

1. Elle envoie le mail pour sa coloc et ami à monsieur. Le tout avce une photo d'elle eh lingerie (son amie voulait voir... Comme si on faisait toutes ça? 😂)
2. Il n'arrête pas de regarder la photo mais répond à son mail en gros enfoiré. (a noter qu'il continu à regarder la photo par la suite, donc qu'il l'a garder et n'a aucun respect pour l'intimité de mademoiselle 🤢)
3. Quand elle rencontre le dude, monsieur espionne et la SMS non stop. (on se rappelle qu'il y a deux jours il redressait le nez en la voyant... 😅)
4. Le dude croise monsieur alors qu'il se rend chez mademoiselle pour le 2eme rencard, on apprend qu'il est marié et père, qu'il compte se faire mademoiselle le soir même. (évidemment 🙄😒)
5. Alors que monsieur et mademoiselle croise les parents du premier, il apprend que celle ci est en contact régulier avce son père et qu'elle apprend le langage des signes pour lui. (🙄🙄🙄🤦‍♀️) Après on la voit faire plein de truc pour tout le monde, avce une aisance digne d'un film hollywoodien. En bref, elle a un script de sa vie et elle sait tout ce qu'elle doit dire ou faire pour chacun, afin d'être une héroïne.

Bref encore heureux que j'ai ris, que c'était stupide mais cute par moment. Que je sois une fan de romance de bureau, parce que j'ai passé à plusieurs doigts de tout lâcher, tellement je trouvais ça con. 😅🤣
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Varya.
768 reviews100 followers
March 25, 2021
This book falls into the "okay" category for me. Meaning I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either.
Everything was good. The male MC was rich, ambitious, calculating and asshol-ish, which I loved. The story was cute and leaned towards the real world side. And considering that it was an office romance between a boss and his assistant, the real world view is exactly what I wanted.

However, the heroine ruined the story for me. She was naïve...like extremely naive and also a kind of doormat. She saw the good in people and situations even when there wasn't anything good to see. Eg- The hero had a client with an addiction problem. He helped his client with that problem....basically he babysat him to his Gambling addiction meetings. And that was only because the hero was a wealth manager and needed his client not to gamble all his money away....or the hero wouldn't be able to make any money. A good, calculated business decision right?.......as claimed by the hero himself too.
But ofc, the heroine had to believe that the hero was doing it out of the goodness of his heart!! I wanted to grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her.
Other than that the book was enjoyable.
Profile Image for Tired Tiger.
295 reviews6 followers
July 17, 2025
Bland, boring, cheesy, and one dimensional. I came up with better storylines playing dolls when I was 6. Also very naïve, I can only suspend my disbelief so much. The characters are both so incredible and perfect, they totally don't get everything handed to them by side characters that pop up just for that purpose. Everything moved so fast I nearly broke my neck trying to keep up. Shut up, you're not in love after one week. Please. And he only found her hot after seeing her picture in lingerie, don't even at me.

One star for the MMC's dad teaching the FMC sign language (he's deaf), their relationship was so wholesome.

Anyway. Read this for a challenge, I'm now free and can move on to greener pastures.
Profile Image for LorraineW.
104 reviews1 follower
August 30, 2022
Absolutely one of the nicest romance books I’ve read. Personal Assistant Arietta is the loveliest person but her boss Dominick Calvetti is definitely not. Arietta works for a high flying love them and leave them grump. He’s demanding but she loves her job and doesn’t let it drown her cheery personality.

When an email mix up happens Arietta thinks she’s out of a job, but she isn’t. And it’s the start of Arietta and Doninick finding out there are a whole lot of things neither of them know about each other, and discovering underneath it all they’re both the same.

This is the third Calvetti book I’ve read and they’re all worth reading. Roll on number 4.
Profile Image for ies.
1,557 reviews24 followers
December 22, 2021
Fun reading... kaga ero lah, santai banget bacanya dan menyenangkan... Dominic jg gak yg jerk gt, tipikal mas2 baek2 dr keluarga baek2... heroinenya ternyata

mungkin gw akan baca yg laen...
Profile Image for Serena.
167 reviews12 followers
November 5, 2022
The Dick LOL

I loved reading this book! Arietta and I have a bit in common. I love antique shops and second hand items. You can find a treasure trove if your patient. Dominick I a hot male in his prime. Though I rolled my eyes in the beginning at him I grew to love him during the book. Definitely recommend!
Profile Image for Marinda Carlyle.
43 reviews
January 26, 2024
This book was super cute! Definitely a little cheesy at times but full of spice and a cute office romance. Would recommend to a friend who likes this genre and is looking for a quick read:)
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