Hired: Hadley

The Foster Brothers #2

by Nora Phoenix

Sebastian LeClerc is richer than Midas. He’s also a grumpy a**hole, a playboy, and the world’s worst boss. At least, according to Hadley, who was crazy enough to take the job as Sebastian’s PA.

Big mistake. Huge.

Sebastian may look like Richard Gere and be equally charming in public, but it’s all an act. Hadley should know, as he’s one of the few people who gets to see the real Sebastian.

Except Sebastian does seem to appreciate Hadley, calling him his sunshine. And when something nice comes out of his mouth on occasion, Hadley’s heart is all aflutter.

Oh no.
It can’t be.
Has Hadley fallen for his boss?

Hired is the second book in The Foster Brother series, a contemporary MM romance series about four men who chose to be brothers that can be read as stand alones. It has a grumpy billionaire boss, a sunshiney assistant, falling for the boss, a sweet guy who soaks up praise like a dying plant, and some delicious spanking.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Gay, Enemies To Lovers, Queer

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 8, 2022

About the author

Would you like the long or the short version of my bio?

The short? You got it.

I write steamy gay romance books and I love it. I also love reading books. Books are everything.

How was that?

A little more detail? Gotcha.

I started writing my first stories when I was a teen…on a freaking typewriter. I still have these, and they’re adorably romantic. And bad, haha. Fear of failing kept me from following my dream to become a romance author, so you can imagine how proud and ecstatic I am that I finally overcame my fears and self doubt and did it. I adore my genre because I love writing and reading about flawed, strong men who are just a tad broken..but find their happy ever after anyway.

My favorite books to read are pretty much all MM/gay romances as long as it has a happy end. Kink is a plus… Aside from that, I also read a lot of nonfiction and not just books on writing. Popular psychology is a favorite topic of mine and so are self help and sociology.

Hobbies? Ain’t nobody got time for that. Just kidding. I love traveling, spending time near the ocean, and hiking. But I love books more.

Come hang out with me in my Facebook Group Nora’s Nook where I share previews, sneak peeks, freebies, fun stuff, and much more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/noras...

Wanna get first dibs on freebies, updates, sales, and more? Sign up for my newsletter (no spamming your inbox full…promise!) here: http://www.noraphoenix.com/newsletter/

You can also stalk me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoraFromBHR
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nora.phoenix/
On Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nora-...

Reviews

[Kati *☆･ﾟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4**** stars


A grumpy/sunshine, boss/employee romance at its finest; entertaining, sweet and hot.

He’d never seen this coming, had never expected it, and yet here he was, […]

Meet Hadley, the sassy and experienced personal assistent and Sebastian, his new boss and CEO of a big robotics company who has genuinely no clue how to utilize a PA without even realizing it. Of course they have the hots for each other (otherwise we weren’t here, reading about them, right?) but because of their work relationship they are reluctant and also neither of them is looking for a relationship or dating at all.

“I’m not sleeping with anyone else either as long as we’re together.”
“We’re not together.” Hadley’s tone was sharp.
“Sleeping together, then. Whatever. Same difference, so don’t make a big deal out of it.”

I loved seeing Hadley take on the challenge as Sebastian’s PA to bring order into the chaos as well as change to the office and to Sebastian himself, who hadn’t been happy for quite a while.


The storyline felt familiar but had also threads that felt some kind of brand new. And even though the story lost a bit of its momentum in the last quarter and got all mushy towards the end, I enjoyed reading this book A LOT and I’m looking forward to continuing with the next book soon. And as far as I can tell, these books work pretty fine as standalones.

I so came to love Nora Phoenix’s writing over the last weeks that it was time for me to go for one of her contemporary romances after binging both of her omegaverse series.


side note: I loved their debate about labels of sexual identities and their importance. It was interesting to follow their ping-pong of an argument (no they were not fighting) and different view points on the matter.



**************
The Foster Brothers Series:

Book 0.5 - Marked: Myron - skipped
Book 1 - Jilted: Jaren - skipped
Book 2 - Hired: Hadley - 4.0 stars ♡
Book 3 - Loathed: Lagan - 4.0 stars
Book 4 - Nicked: Nordin - 4.25 stars

[Kaity · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

as the goodreads rating scale says for two stars.. "it was okay".. also the pet name Honey is my least favorite...

this had the makings for something great, and to me this fell flat, not sure if that was due to me not reading book one, but i love me a grumpy boss and sunshiney assistant, but this one didn't flow in the way i was hoping.

it was a little cheesy and i have read other Nora Phoenix books that i enjoyed way more, i enjoy how she writes, it made it easy to read this book. But overall this wasn't worth it to me, but can't take back my time now.

[Ky · Rating 4 out of 5]

* 4 stars *

Second book in The Foster Brothers series and it's Hadley's turn to find his happily ever after.

He finds it with his grumpy boss, Sebastian, who is struggling under the pressure of his position and all his responsibilities. He's not equipped to head a company this big and he's not happy to remain in that position but he sees no way to change his future and do something that brings him joy.

Hadley initially was supposed to fill in for a few days as a favor to a friend but he ended up staying after liking both his job and his boss too much to walk away. He was an experienced PA so he saw immediately what the issues were and was able to suggest solutions to Sebastian.

I liked seeing Hadley work through the mess he encountered upon arriving at the company. I liked how efficient he was, how quick to find solutions and how supporting he was. He wasn't afraid of Sebastian and didn't shy away from saying what was wrong when something wasn't working properly.

What I didn't like was everyone attitude toward Sebastian's money. They let him spend them on things for them and the general opition was that he had so much that he didn't know what to do with it so it was okay. It felt like they were taking advantage of him, even though that wasn't their intention. Anyway...

Sebastian for his part, was practically drowning under the weight of his position. He didn't know how manage a company of that size and didn't have anyone to guide him or help him through. I found him a little naive as it hadn't crossed him mind that he didn't have to do everything himself but rather he could delegate some responsibility or chores to other people to free up some of him time for the things that actually were important and really did need his attention and involvement.

It reminded me a little bit of one of my favorite Alessandra Hazard's titles, Just a Bit Bossy, but on the fluffier and sweeter side.

It can be read as a standalone but all the brothers are getting page time so we get to know them a little bit also. Jaren's book is already out so now I look forward to the last two brothers getting their stories.


~ I read an ARC of this book. ~

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

This was so refreshing to read especially after the disaster that was the first book. There are just some tropes that always hit, one of the them being boss x assistant. It went from being boss and pa to hooking and leading to more.

And here he was, watching this magnificent spectacle, but the reason he was happy wasn't the show. It was Hadley. Doing this for and with Hadley was what made him so grateful and happy.

I just loved how they didn’t get together around the 50-70% mark. I liked seeing their relationship progress especially since the first book didn’t do that. Both of them, Hadley and Sebastian, actually had chemistry. They were a match for each other. I loved seeing Hadley help Sebastian in ways that no one did before, as a pa. This is a mild spoiler, but the bucket list just gets to me every time.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

After being let down as a child, Hadley doesn't like or want to be committed to anything...not relationships or work. He is happy with hook-ups and his temping jobs, which he more than excels at.

I was surprised that Sebastian didn't make him CEO of the company a day after his arrival in the office after straightening out the mess that Sebastian had made of the files and his ten-thousand ten e-mails. Yes...that's not a typo...TEN THOUSAND PLUS. Sebastian is a good guy, just not CEO material. He doesn't want it. He wants to design robots.... which he is very good at. But right now, he IS, for better or worse, the CEO of his family's business and he is struggling. He's gone through 22 P.A.'s and this year, and the year isn't over yet. He's never been able to keep a P.A. for more than a couple of days. Hadley not only isn't put-off by Sebastian...actually he's quite attracted to him...but he wants to do the job he was hired to do and has an over whelming need to help change things for the better for Sebastian. The question is, can Sebastian show Hadley, and make him believe, that that commitment can be worth it?

I absolutely adored Hadley. What a sweetheart! He had had an over-whelming heart-breaking past and you can't help but love how Sebastian made him feel that he was actually seen and that he wanted to help him find his way. In the beginning Sebastian was a "Mr. grump-pants"...but under all the gruffness was a big-kind-hearted, sweetheart of a man, that was willing and able to make changes to benefit the people around him.

This is well on its way to be another fantastic series from Nora Phoenix. I have never read anything bad, boring, or mediocre written by her and I can't wait to learn more about the other brothers now!

[Cheesy (Rhysand's wife) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,2 💫 | No tenía idea de que esperar de esta historia, pero me ha gustado mucho 💖.

Es mi primer libro de la autora y definitivamente no será el último.

La narrativa es sencilla y te hace conectar muy bien con los personajes, no solo con los protagonistas, sino con todos. En este caso, los hermanos de uno de los protagonistas, Hadley.
Cada uno de ellos tiene su propio libro y los dos siguientes me llaman la atención así que espero leerlos luego.

También la familia de nuestro otro protagonista, Sebastián, me encantó. Es fácil y natural.

Ambos protagonistas me gustaron. Al principio Sebastián era un grosero gruñón, pero Hadley nunca se dejó y le hizo ver que estaba equivocado. Cuando yo digo que Hadley llego para cambiar su vida, hablo en serio. Ese hombre le hizo ver cosas de las que Sebastián no se había dado cuenta y de las que nunca se habría tomado el tiempo a considerar si Hadley no hubiera aparecido. Su salud, su trabajo, su comportamiento, su entorno, las cosas que le hacían "feliz", toda su vida en geral dio un giro completo gracias a Hadley. Y todo para bien 😌✨.

Es muy loco lo mucho que una persona puede cambiar por completo a otra. Mucho más si tenemos en cuenta que Sebastián no era grosero y amargado, sino infeliz. Cosa de la que también se da cuenta gracias a Hadley (y a sus amigos).

El romance también me ha gustado mucho, muy dulce, pero sigo sintiendo que me falto algo más aunque desconozco el qué. Aun así, es un libro que sí recomendaría.

Se nota muy bien a la hora de leer que la autora ha investigado todos los temas que se tratan en el libro, ya sea si solo sería para una escena, un capítulo o un diálogo, se puede ver que no ha puesto información solo porque si, lo que obviamente me agradó 🙂‍↕️.

[Nanna Mørk-Sander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a sucker for the boss-employee trope, and it was well done here with both time for them to develop their relationship in and outside the workplace.

Additionally, we get the grumpy-and-the-sunshine trope, which is also a favorite of mine. All of this paired with Nora Phoenix' writing, which I always enjoy, this was an enjoyable read that I read within 24 hours.

[Santy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it.However...

This was a good book and much like the first has zero Drama and virtually no angst.

However, I felt like it could've been better edited. Not for typos, but some extrapolations and details given could've been better summarised. This would've made the story tighter and the pacing crisper.

Nonetheless, I liked it and will be continuing the series.

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

slightly better than the first one and that’s only because of sebastian , writing style still off tho

[Hemmel M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not porn.
I thought I have to explain that, because the first chapter is like the first scene in a porn movie: they meet, discuss sexual appetite and although they are employee and boss, they randomly mention what sexual fantasies they have about each other for the next weeks.
After that, we learn to know the characters and what problems the plotline exists of.
It is a mediocre romance and the narration has it's good and bad moments. The bad is the overly emotional expression Solo enjoys so much.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This was... okay, ish. Sebastian was incredibly obnoxious at first, particularly during the chapters that were from his POV. Then he became an entirely different character, which just didn't work for me. Overall opinion: not worth rereading, but I didn't outright hate it.

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! As good as the first!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very similar to book 1, in the it was very sweet and low angst. A comfy sweater kind of read.

[Book Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me

Too many consent violations

Likes:
-The book has a plot
-No cliffhanger

Dislikes:

- Hitting during sex before asking for permission is a consent violation

- Placing an arm around someone’s throat without permission is a consent violation

- Entering someone without a condom after condoms have been agreed upon is rape, even if it happens through neglect and not malice

- Consent after the fact is not enthusiastic permission and it is not safe behavior

- Telling allies that they must agree instantly with the values and behavior of all LGBTQIA people and move in lock step with everything LGBTQIA people do (even when those behaviors might spread STDs to their partners), then it means that the author seems to think a-l-l-y is spelled m-i-n-d-s-l-a-v-e. If some LGBTQIA people want to be fully and unconditionally accepted without offering the same unconditional acceptance to others, then that is hypocrisy and those people have some soul searching to do to determine if that is really who they want to be.

This book is not for me and I don’t recommend it.

[Maria 📖✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pensé mucho en mi puntuación para este libro, 3.5 estrellas me parecía muy poco pero 4 estrellas me parecía mucho, así que me costó bastante llegar a un punto medio.

Pero hubo algunos detalles que me hicieron decidir que no era un 4 estrellas en su totalidad.

Puntos positivos:
El libro con una buena trama (tropo de secretario y jefe millonario) y protagonistas que me gustaron mucho encajando perfecto en este cliché.

El secretario de nombre Hadley es un personaje que me gusto mucho porque es inteligente, dominante (a pesar de ser el pasivo en la relación) y es quien lleva las riendas tanto en lo laboral como en lo sentimental, eso me encanto, me maravillaba lo completo del personaje.
Sebastián su jefe por otro lado, nos lo presentan primero como alguien frio, distante y gruñón pero es una cosa tierna conforme lo van profundizando, sin embargo suele ser así solo con su familia y posteriormente solo con Hadley.
Su +18 es exquisito, me gusto mucho.

Lo que me hizo decidir que le daría 3.5 y no 4 estrellas como su puntuación final:

Infinidad de descripciones y diálogos entre los personajes que PARA MI no aportaban NADA a la trama, mis respetos para la autora por informarse de todos los temas que fueron tocados en el libro (los empresariales principalmente) pero en serio yo no necesitaba detallada y explícitamente punto por punto del como funciona la empresa de Sebastián, las funciones de secretario de Hadley paso a paso y páginas de páginas de sus responsabilidades. Entiendo que debemos tener una buena base de lo que respecta a sus puestos y todo eso porque la relación se desarrolla en el ámbito laboral pero me pareció exagerado como eran páginas enteras de explicación sobre esto.
También las conversaciones eran más largas de lo necesario (esto hizo que me durmiera un par de veces leyendo el libro) me gusto mucho ver como la química de ambos protagonistas salía a relucir en sus conversaciones pero algunas de ellos con otros personajes me parecieron exageradamente largas y sin valor alguno.

Esto y el hecho de que no es una trama innovadora o con alguna diferenciación entre las de su género, y que tampoco hubo algún capítulo que me hiciera sentir fuertemente alguna emoción (tristeza, emoción, expectativa) si no que todo fue en línea recta sin nada para resaltar, me hicieron decidir que está era la puntuación adecuada: 3.5 ⭐️

Igualmente el libro me gusto y me sirvió para darme cuenta que la autora tiene una forma de escribir que me agrada y tambien un personaje secundario que me atrapo con sus pocos diálogos (Nordin), quiero intentar leer sus otros libros de esta misma serie, y darle la oportunidad a todos los hermanos.

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, rounded up.

This one, I loved.

Sebastian and Hadley were so good together, though it took them a little while to get there. It didn't help that Sebastian was every personal assistant's nightmare with his grumpiness. Thankfully, Hadley stuck it out and saw the real man behind all that.

And the way they finally came together, when the L word was spoken the first time… just aww! It was the perfect scene for this little hopeless romantic’s heart.

Overall, a great book. This series doesn’t have the kink that I’ve gotten used to with Nora Phoenix’s books, though there’s a bit of spanking in this one. Even so, I enjoyed the hell out of watching Sebastian and Hadley as they worked their way to each other.

I'm looking forward to the next two books, Nordin's especially. He's the most secretive of the brothers, and from what I've seen so far, probably the most entertaining. He cracked me up at one point in this one.

Full review can be found at -

[Vaga16 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadley si trova a sostituire una sua collega come assistente personale di Sebastian LeClerc, titolare di un’importante azienda di robotica.
L’inizio non è dei migliori, visto il carattere scontroso e burbero del Capo, ma una volta capito il perchè del suo continuo malumore, Hadley si trova davanti un uomo dal cuore tenero, che dimostra il suo affetto in modi diversi.

Secondo libro più carino del primo, forse perchè i protagonisti, Hadley e Sebastian, sembrano avere più carattere dei precedenti.
Molto hot. Questi due ci sanno decisamente fare.
Inoltre anche le loro interazioni non sessuali sono più dinamiche e divertenti.
Forse mi sarebbero piaciute più scene tra i quattro fratelli, per capire meglio il loro rapporto.
Vedremo nei prossimi libri.

[Rielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid and adorable 3.5 stars.

It wasn’t as good as the first book, but that had more to do with way too many things feeling similar than any quality issue. A lot of the same language, an on the spectrum MC, and similar timelines for the relationship coupled with similar obliviousness.

I will say that Hadley was a little ray of sunshine to the only mildly grumpy Sebastian. He was perfect and it was so satisfying to see him do everything I wanted him to do in fixing the company and just completely understanding and protecting Sebastian from the beginning. Everything about this book was so cute and felt like it was paced well.

[martina (the life of a chaotic reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful workplace romance.
i loved sebastian, maybe because we basically are the same person but whatever.
hadley broke my heart and put it back together so many times.

the only downside: it’s written in 3rd POV.

[Andi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the chemistry between the two men. It was obvious they really liked and eventually loved one another. It's been a good series so far.

4.5 founded up

[Jess Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nora Phoenix is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors and Hired: Hadley just helps prove that even further. The Foster Brothers series is about four men who have never had a family but the one that they have found within each other. As you read this series you will get to follow each brother's journey on their path to finding their HEA.

Hadley was one of those characters that I could never quite connect with. While I loved his journey of love there was just something missing for me. I felt like even at the end there was something lacking even when he figured out what he had been searching for was right there in front of him.

Sebastian on the other hand won this story from start to finish. His path from arrogant billionaire to a man in love was so heartwarming. There wasn't one moment through this book that I felt like his story didn't make sense. He was having to come to terms with falling for someone for the first time and realizing that the path he was on was not the right one for him.

Sebastian and Hadley together just make sense and I know that with me saying I didn't love Hadley that might not sound right but it is. Their paths connected at just the right time and even though I wanted more from Hadley I still really enjoyed their story.

[Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like Nora Phoenix giving us a tame Disney version of her stories for broader public consumption. Given the other books of hers that I read, I expected this story to have some good angst and raunchy and/or kinky sex scenes. But overall, it was a pretty tame story. Also, while both MC's had issues (one grew up in the foster system, the other had trouble reading people) their issues didn't really manifest in conflict or angst to the degree I was expecting. The book has somewhat of a Cardeno C feel where everything just magically worked out and was resolved with ease. I think I would have liked it more had the story come with a warning preparing me for this type of story, but because I was expecting something else, I ended up feeling the story was just okay.

[Sabrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @25%

This has been sitting in my reading shelf for over a week. (11 days) where I would have finished it ages ago if it were keeping me entertained.

I lost interest way before I hit 25%. It is slow, excruciatingly slow and I love slow burn but this is just… boring. Nothing entertaining has happened in the background. Its just the occasional flirting and scenes describing…. Office work.

So far, I haven’t hit it off with Nora Phoenix and I think we should break off now that we can before it gets worst.

BUT this HAS to be only just me because this book, and almost every Nora Phoenix book, has over 4 1/2 stars sooooo….

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, bland. Writing felt a bit tiring to get through, found myself skimming big paragraphs of characters thoughts and lost interest as the book progressed.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro súper adictivo me entretuve mucho leyéndolo y me divertí mucho y tiene todo para ser un excelente Romance Solo que le faltó algo al final.

[HecAph · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Este libro de la serie tampoco me gustó, no puedo dar una reseña extensa porque lo deje cuando me quedaban 100 páginas para terminarlo y cuando lo volví a agarrar ya me olvidé de las cosas que había leído. Pero me aburrió bastante, eso si, el cambio tan abrupto en la personalidad de uno de los personajes fue demasiado, ni siquiera hubo un crecimiento, fue como si me lo cambiarán de un momento a otro

[ML · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rtc

[Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the characters but didn't love the story. Also, the poor proofing/editing was very distracting.

[Leaundra · Rating 5 out of 5]

41/2

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bellissimo, divertente e meraviglioso con Hadley e Sebastian!! 🤩🥰💖
💖💖💖💖💖