The Little Black Dress

Love in Las Vegas #1

by Piper James

Never underestimate the power of a little black dress. Especially one as lucky as mine.

Every time I’ve worn my favorite black dress, something good has happened. I’ve talked my way out of speeding tickets––and into a date with the cute cop––and I’ve found money on the ground, won cool prizes on the Las Vegas strip, and even got a cushy job with an even cushier paycheck.

It’s my lucky dress, and in it, I can’t lose.

Until I did.

Thanks to an enthusiastic bidder at an art auction, the dress failed me when I needed it most. I disappointed my boss and got fired, even though it wasn’t my fault. It was his. The man who writes thirty-five million dollar checks for ugly, ridiculous paintings.

Now, I’m unemployed, broke, and incredibly close to losing the life I’ve built for myself. When I score a job as an assistant to a billionaire casino owner, I’m over-the-moon happy. Hoping there’s still some luck left in my little black dress, I wear it on my first day to meet my new boss…

Jared Hart. Owner and operator of The Black Hart Casino.

And the insufferable, grumpy, gorgeous jerk who got me fired in the first place.

I want to tell him to take his job and shove it, but I need the money. Plus, being his assistant might give me an opportunity to exact a little payback.

Game on, sir.

Oh, and I’m setting that dress on fire the first chance I get. Its luck has obviously run out.

The Little Black Dress is a steamy romantic comedy with enemies who turn into lovers, lots of laughs, stellar friendships, and it brings all the heat. You might want to keep a fan nearby while you're reading.

Genres: Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Rom Com, Workplace Romance, Audiobook

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 8, 2022

About the author

Piper James lives in Idaho with her husband, two teenage sons, two cats, and a dog.

Her favorite things are romance novels, coffee, potato chips, and her Jeep Wrangler…and her family, of course. Seriously. She loves her family more than coffee and her jeep. *exaggerated wink*

When she’s not writing, she watches ghost shows and spends most of her time trying to convince her family their house is haunted. Because it is.

She wrote YA paranormal romance for 6 years under the name Wendi Wilson before giving into her desire to write spicy romcoms, and it was the best career decision she’s ever made…until she decides to write a book about the ghosts. Because they are definitely real.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5. Stuck it out but skimmed a ton. I didn’t feel their attraction or why they were together at all and it happened really fast. I found her to be immature and get drunk whenever something didn’t go her way. Once they got together it was just sex with a few “sirs” and “dirty girls” thrown in. And seriously she wore that dress way too many times. He even called her out on it for like 3 times in a week.

[Mari Pequenos Retalhos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun read, even if the story is not exactly funny. The main characters are interesting and Sophie's best friends are great. I think there were moments where the story was way too simple, but still, a nice read if you don't want anything complicated.

[Bella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mmmmm no. Did not like it. There was no real build up to anything. In fact the chemistry felt forced and like I was in no way invested in it all.
I feel like there’s just was too many characters introduced but we don’t really get to met them so there is no substance.
It just jumps to the fucking like, give me tension, give me having to hold back.
So yeah. Not a fan

[HappyKT]

DNF 29%

Typos. Emotionally Immature MCs. The point that had me quitting was a flashback with an extremely crude and vulgar scene between secondary characters.
No thanks.
Plus, a redhead protagonist female with a hot temper and gorgeous body has been overplayed, right?

[kessa (taylor's version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

uhh really repetitive and predictable, but the set up was cool

[LianaReads blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Pretty easy and basic romance story
Kindle unlimited read

[Ayat · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️2.5 ⭐️

Just because you can physically write a book, doesn’t mean you should.

Why were they fucking before we’d even hit 50%? This book is all smut and zero plot development. This was not enemies to lovers.

[Maria Soledad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The transition from hate to love was too sudden. I didn't really like any of the two main characters. Sophie read so much younger, when I learned that she was 32 it astonished me: she came off like an immature 23-year-old. Jared, on the other hand, seemed too intense and broken for such a cliché reason. Never trust a rich person whose only friends work for them. There was no world-building, like what did they do all day in that office? Nobody else works there? it never came off as real. The main characters NEVER spoke to each other (seriously, they have almost no conversations), the romance blooms over a fun day that we are told about, not shown. My favorite part was the cat and an author that appears towards the end, I wished we could have seen the fun café that is mentioned. I only kept reading because I have been not finishing a couple of books and wanted to say I was able to finish a book.

[Haley · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know why my question is….? How to authors create a character and then not have that character act the way they would with the experiences the author has given them. For example, Mr Jared Hart, our main love interest, has been used in an extreme way by his ex, Victoria, who wanted to marry him for his money. I can’t believe that he would jump so quickly into a relationship with Sophie without making her sign a ND, without getting to know her better. This just doesn’t make sense. Now if what Jared wanted was just to have domineering and uninteresting sex…well that could drive the plot of this book easily then. I’m really disappointed. I lol’d so many times in the first couple pages of this book. For goodness sake, just learn how to make things last longer. Patience, relationship building, yearning….those things make a much better book than straight sex and physical attraction.

[Poppy Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

No surprise here. This book was amazing! I loved every moment of it! It is always a good day when Piper comes out with a new book. I always stop what book I'm currently reading to pick it up.

I think enemies to lovers is my favorite trope. And Sophie's and Jared's story is no exception! Their meet cute was on point. I loved how how fiery they were towards each other. It just made their love that much sweeter and the sex all the more passionate 🔥🔥

I love this entire cast of new characters, and im excited to see how all of their stories progress:)

Oh! I also got super excited when Sophie mentioned the fact that her parents live in Sweet Pea! I love overlapping worlds ♡♡

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 74% …..yeah…. They hook up. Almost at the snap of a finger. No real build up, no getting to know each other better. Then for it to go to a light BDSM scenario with her cheekily calling him “sir” and him saying he will spank her. Comes across forced and cliche. It lost me. 2*dueces, Im out ✌🏻*stars

[Jamie Fenstermaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, easy, and steamy read, even if it was a bit too insta lovey for me. Yes it may have been simple and straight forward but that’s exactly what I was looking for. I’ll definitely read the other two books in the series as I found myself loving Sophie’s friends too.

[Sana · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Piper James has written an incredibly swoon-worthy and steamy romance.


Enemies-to-lovers is my favourite trope and this story is no exception! I loved how fiery they were towards each other, which made it all the more sweeter when they got together.


I loved the setting of Vegas — the city that never sleeps — and I can’t wait to see where she takes the rest of this series.


I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Myndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun with this book! I liked the enemies to lovers type story and how both main characters were so charismatic. I was happy the author chose to give us the male main character's back story so we could see why he was the way he was. I also found the female male character to be endearing with her superstitious beliefs. I honestly love everything I read by this author, she never disappoints.

[Erin_ReadsAfterDark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book!!!

⭐️: 4/5
🌶️: 2/5

Okay this was so cute! I loved the whole book and couldn’t put it down. The banter was great and the connection they had from the beginning was undeniable. It really just had me smiling throughout the entire book. Definitely a good easy read if you’re looking for something fun.

[Lianne]

Light and easy read. Was expecting more of a romance book than smut so ended up skimming a number of pages (didn’t read the reviews beforehand so wasn’t aware). Not bad for a short read but also not a book that I could not wait to read throughout the day.

[SEM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, it has nice little twists. The MFC is uplifting and chirpy, while MMC is working on himself.

The events around one of their main argument feels rushed and all of a sudden it was solved and the epilogue started, aside from this the story was pleasant.

[Jennifer Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book… I wish I could give more than just five stars, because this book deserves them. Every book that I’ve read by this author, I have absolutely loved. She’s a new favorite author of mine. And this book sure knocked it out of the park. From the start, I was hooked, and drawn into this story. These characters, you will fall in love with them. Sophie is optimistic when she puts on her lucky black dress and heads to an auction to her boss. But she doesn’t realize that losing that painting, was the best thing that happened to her. And Jared was determined to win the painting. Not knowing how his life would change because of it. With every new book that Mrs. James writes, her stories and characters get better and better. I definitely recommend this book, and every other book by this author. And I can’t wait for the next book she writes.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first Piper James book I’ve read and I really enjoyed it

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

So Cute

This was really cute! It moved pretty fast but I loved the dynamic between Sophie and Jared. Can’t wait to read the next one!

[Karina · Rating 2 out of 5]

she should’ve gotten rid of that black dress after that first night

[Werda · Rating 2 out of 5]

TITLE: THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS 👗🖼️🎰💄
⭐️Wow, the author really made it a point to reinstate the "little black dress" every chance she got. To the point it didn't seem all that special. Like even Jared was all like “is that the only dress you own?” I mean, he ain’t wrong to question when she’s wearing to so much.

⭐️I would've preferred to see the dress a little less often, as this would've allowed it to pertain its "luckiness" and charm to the readers. But if she's literally wearing it every chance, she gets than it's not all that.

I give him a pointed look, and his lips twitch. “There’s no such thing as luck.”
“You’ve said that before,” I say, rolling my eyes as my body relaxes.
Arguing with Jared is familiar territory. I feel much more comfortable bickering than trying to process and accept compliments from him.
“And you should’ve listened the first time,” he says, his lips curving up into a devastating smile “Take it from a man who makes millions of dollars every year from people who believe in luck.”

⭐️However, I do want to point out that the title is very clever and so original. I love how the story surrounds it.


THE STORY AS A WHOLE

He’s speaking with an older man wearing a tuxedo, a top hat, and a monocle. I can’t even make this shit up. I’m half-tempted to walk over and ask him if he has any get-out-of-jail-free
cards for me in the Community Chest.

⭐️I was laughing out loud whilst reading every chapter at the start, and then I was skimming over words towards the end. This literally sums up my experience with this book.

“It’s a grim reminder that you will never love me the way you loved him.” Of course, she wouldn’t, fuck-face. My father was the love of her life. We lost him suddenly and unexpectedly to a heart attack thirteen years ago, and neither of us have fully moved on.

⭐️ It started off with such nice potential but the chapters towards the end seemed filler, stiff and ruined the whole book for me.

⭐️The supposedly romantic scenes were cringe-worthy and the $ was literally so embarrassing and so awkward, I skipped through it all.

⭐️The writing was relatively good, though at times it seemed a little too extra.

“Well, Sophie Jameson, are you stalking me?” I ask, arching a brow.
“Oh, no. I’m asking the questions here, buddy,” she says in that same drunken drawl. “You ruined my life.”
“Is that a question?” I ask, tilting my head to study her

⭐️The story layout started off as good but then it went all over the place. Finishing the book, with a lot of unsolved parts. Ie, the Hartfield guy thing, the Harrison thing, etc. It also felt like there wasn't anything ever happening. The supposed conflict was so underwhelming


SOPHIE aka RED
🩷I like the nickname "Red", but I wish it was used more often for it to seem even sweeter.

If I had my way, I would stay in bed today. All day. I would’ve left a fresh supply of adult diapers on my nightstand so I wouldn’t even have to get out of bed to pee. Seriously.

🩷Same girl. Same.

🩷She started off as such a nice and strong character but by the end of the story she just seemed whishy washy.

🩷Though I really applaud her for her work ethic, her determination and her wit. Like only a wildly insane person or a wildly lucky person would be able to work with a crook like Hartfield for so many years and manage not to get fired.

🩷I wish her obsession with "luck" was dived into more. It would've certainly given her more depth as a character. Though I really liked to see the change in her perception and accomodation regarding Jared's cat, Deuces.


JARED

“I feel like the luckiest man alive right now.” She freezes, and I lift my head to meet her wide blue eyes. “You don’t believe in luck.”
“Oh, Red,” I say, shaking my head. “I do now.”

🖤This guy, from the get-go was cheesy. But at least he was funny cheesy at the start. At the end, he was just plain old cheesy.

“Nothing can excuse the way I treated you. I let old hurts dictate my thoughts and actions, and for that, I am sorry. My heart told me to trust you, but my head got in the way. I hope to have the chance to make it up to you. To prove I’m better than that. To prove I’ll never hurt you like that again.”

🖤Like this guy thinks one thing but does another. Like how does he literally jump from one chapter wholly trusting her to literally planning an outing to embarrass and derail her.

🖤Doesn't have the vibe of someone who owns a bloody casino and is apparently succesfull

🖤And he has absolutely no charm except that he cares for his mother.


SOPHIE x JARED

“But I’m wearing my little black dress,” blurts out before I can stop it.
He stills for a second before straightening and turning to face me once more. Tearing the check from the booklet, he holds it out to the woman without taking his eyes off me.
“Am I supposed to know what that means?”
“It’s my lucky dress,” I say as if that was the dumbest question I’d ever heard.
“There’s no such thing as luck.”
I rear back as if stricken. “No such thing…?”

🩷The chemistry was CHEMISTRY-ING at the start of the book, I was on edge, it was funny and hella exciting to see them bicker and get at each other's throat.

He looks at me, one corner of his mouth tugging up. “What do you mean, weird? You’re only having breakfast with your boss, a man you detest, after passing out drunk in his car and sleeping in his bed with his unlucky cat.”

🖤But lo behold, it's not even a few chapters later, but now we have them switching their opinions about each other and suddenly they are kissing. Like what?

🩷I thought there was going to be angst, there was going to be some enemies to lover kind of thing. But this was so underwhelming it, it quite literally let me confuse as to how a couple with so much potential just end up in the gutter with their romance.

“I want you here, with me. Always. I want to go to bed with you at night and wake up with you in the morning. I want to cook you breakfast before I leave for work, and have your beautiful face be the first thing I see when I walk in the door after a long day. I want that, always, and one day
soon, I’ll ask you to be my wife and make it permanent.”

🖤The whole NOT PROPOSAL thing was so unnecessarily cringe, I was quite literally skipping over scenes because I genuinely could not be bothered to read all that extra as hell effort Jared made to seem romantic, only to have him ask her to move in with him? Like boy you, okay? Like why not just ask her to marry you man? it was so weird. Like if you wanted her to move in, maybe you could've asked without all that scavenger hunting? You could save that for when you ACTUALLY propose. Men.


OTHER
⭐️The mother seems cool

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Ava calls out.
“Or anything she would,” Zoey follows up.

⭐️Ava was the star of the show. Can't wait to read her book.

[Eren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book on TikTok. It sounded cute so I got it immediately.
It’s a super cute light, airy romance novel. It was a great read after the few dark romance books I’ve been reading.
I fell in love with the characters and the plot was pretty good. A solid 4.25 stars.

[Kerrie Barry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book because it was 99 cents. I thought it was going to be a sweet romantic novel. Needless to say, I was very mistaken. This is smut, terribly written smut. There was no romantic buildup, no character development, and simply no story at all. The main characters went from hating each other to having light S&M sex within the span of three days. 10/10 would not recommend.

[Bree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Update: The writing wasn’t great and there could’ve been more depth to their story because it was basically insta-love with them knowing nothing about each other. Not super terrible but not great.

12/23: Only 40ish% through and homegirl has worn this dress like 6 times😐

[Reem · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf @13% :((((

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was yet another funny, entertaining read from this author that centered on a pair of stubborn office enemies who, no matter how hard they try, can’t seem to stop thinking about each other. The dual POVs gave an inside glimpse into the MCs’ backstories, and I think the author did a great job at keeping her characters’ personalities consistent throughout the different shifts.

Fresh on the job market after getting fired from her personal assistant job, thirty two year old Sophie is determined to put the past behind her—and forget all about the annoyingly handsome stranger who caused all this to begin with. When a job working side by side with the owner of a famous casino catches her eye, Sophie is convinced her luck is finally back to normal. Meeting the owner face to face, however, shocks her into rethinking her lucky streak; what are the odds her new boss is the man who was responsible for getting her fired in the first place? But the more she thinks about it, the more she likes this arrangement. Their close proximity means she gets to dish out some revenge on the man who ruined her life, and though it’s not the same, making his life a little more difficult while she searches for another job may be the universe’s way of paying her back.

Thirty five year old Jared has a good life: a mother he would do anything for, a successful job running his father’s casino, and good friends he knows have his back. Despite what his mother says, he prefers living alone with his cat and isn’t in the market for a partner any time soon. What he does need, though, is a new assistant, and with his trusted friend and current assistant on the hunt for the perfect replacement, Jared knows he’s in good hands. He doesn’t know how to react when his new assistant arrives and is none other than the gorgeous, feisty redhead who’s been giving him shit for something that wasn’t his fault, but when he realizes how close this arrangement puts them, he vows to have a little fun tormenting his new assistant until she gives up her campaign against him and quits.

As their constant bickering turns into tension neither of them expected, they can’t deny their attraction to each other, but when their past barges into their happiness and threatens to tear them apart, Sophie and Jared need to decide if staying together is in the cards for them.

This book was fast paced and yet a slow burn at the same time. The overall story was good, and although the romance was the main focus of this book, the author didn’t skimp on the back story. The coincidences bringing the MCs together were both funny and sweet, making sure to follow the theme of luck within the book.

The banter between the characters added to the tension between them and when it finally snapped, things moved very quickly. It was romantic and wasn’t overly spicy, having enough of both to even out the plot. The enemies aspect of their relationship did die off after they got together, so instead of trading snipes back and forth it was more of a sarcastic comment or two thrown around. That’s not a bad thing though, and I enjoyed reading how their relationship shifted with their new dynamic.

This author always writes interesting, romantic, and spicy books and this one is no exception. I liked it a lot!

[Natward1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t finish by page 86. There’s just nothing original about it. The set up is the typical dime a dozen romances. Dual pov. Girl sees guy, monologues every detail about his amazing good looks. Guy sees girl. Monologues every detail about her amazing good looks. Does every romance novel character have to be the extraordinarily good looking? Or at least why does that have to be the immediate focus and so emphasized? I don’t know I just think after the 400th romance novel I’ve read with this exact set up I’m just over it already.

Also I don’t like Sophie. Why is she so pissed at Jack? She is so rude to him and calls him all these rude names and yells at him and is an overall bitch to him. And He did absolutely nothing wrong. I actually like him. He’s really nice. She’s coming off as emotionally immature. And Unable to control her emotions when something bad happens. I would have kept reading if I would have liked her. If she was fun and cool and interesting. Nothing that comes out of her mouth is unique or interesting or fun. She’s dull and pissy. This is My other least favorite romance novel trope that happens all the time is when the girl is uptight and bitchy and mean to the guy for no reason. Can you imagine how we would feel if Jack treated Sophie the way she treats him?

Plus I would have liked for Sophie to get her new job more organically, or, for it to happen more naturally. Not so obviously set up by the author to get the story to go a certain way and only being able to think of the easiest route there. Like, she just goes to interview and of course every single other applicant is model gorgeous and applying only so they can hook up with Jack. Because of course they are because it’s a romance novel and apparently that’s the only type of character we can think of. Hot people. Like, use your imagination! Think of other types of characters! That’s just not what would happen in real life. Sure there might be a few of those but not every single one!! There would also be other types of characters that would be applying. It just would have been much more interesting and added more layers to both Sophie and the story for Sophie to get the job not just on a default because she was the only one not trying to get with Jack, but because she convinces him to give her the job with her wit and good personality and capabilities. Basically he’s just like well you’re the only girl that claims she doesn’t want to hook up with Jack so you’re hired. That’s boring. It’s just all such straightforward writing. No digging deeper to really create an immersive, realistic experience with multifaceted structure.

But mostly I just don’t like Sophie. I don’t like how she treats Jack when he did nothing wrong. The author was trying to make an enemies to lovers situation happen but since she doesn’t want to make the guy actually do anything wrong because he’s the lead and we need to love him, the only thing that authors can come up with is just to make the girl get mad over something that isn’t even jacks fault. Enemies to lovers have to be done with so much more finesse because watching characters being just mean to eachother isn’t a good time.

[Katie Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 ⭐️ // Plot Moods: this book’s entire personality is spice and it not even entertaining spice (and this isn’t even the worst thing about this book)
Plot pace: fast
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

Reasons I don’t Recommend This:

Contrary to how it’s marketed, it’s not a grumpy-sunshine or enemies-to-lovers romcom. At best, it’s a dislike-to-lusting-after-one-another, cause there really isn’t any relationship building. In this book, there’s a thin line between hate and lust and these two jumped it (and each other) almost immediately.

The plot-line is a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen. Mostly for said reasons above. The kicker is that, like with most boss-employee relationship tropes, they acknowledge the power imbalance, but then they both just shrug it off and let their hormones take the lead. What makes it all the more unacceptable—because I actually am convince you can write an acceptable boss-employee romcom—is that everyone in their lives, including other employees (with the exception of Scotty but he doesn’t count cause he’s a former employee) don’t seem to care. In fact, they cheer them on and tell them to go for it, like it wouldn’t be a HUGE problem. Now, when Jared breaks her heart and she ends up quitting, he does the right thing and helps her get another job, taking all the blame for her departure on himself (good for him). But their whole relationship is built on s*x and nothing else. They only have one date and I don’t even think it got a whole page—we just read about them planning it—and that’s only after they had s*x a few times. It’s like the romance of this story was a total afterthought for the author and she put so much energy into the s*x scenes she didn’t really care about actual relationship development.

Or character development for that matter. Because when we get to big conflict peak of the story line, our MMC messes up and then the author flips a switch for his realization that he messes up. Not to mention, the build up to his mess up lacks development too. We know his ex-stepdad is a pain in his butt but there is very little evidence that the man has some sort of emotional power over Jared. He didn’t even like the guy when he was married to his mom. And that whole thing about his almost-fiancé? Felt like the editor told the author she had to add something to make Jared’s insecurities seem believable. Except it doesn’t feel like he cares about it all that much.

Our FMC in this character is kind of annoying. I should’ve stopped reading on the first page when her inner monologue was all about how much she had to pee. She’s also OBSESSED with superstitions to the point it’s like girl, how do you even function? And when she’s not obsessing over bad-luck-good-luck or her list for her boss, she’s drunk. Her only past time is getting drunk with her friends and jumping her boss.

So yeah, I didn’t really like this.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there anything more classic than a little black dress?

Pretty much every fem lady has their favorite #LBD. The dress that makes them feel confident, sexy, like they can take on the world. Maybe even a little lucky.

Sophie has one. It got her her job as a personal assistant and it’s going to help her get that painting for her boss at auction.

Jared has other plans. He needs that painting for his mom- and he’s got the deep pockets that mean he will get it no matter what.

And thanks to Jared, and her douche of a boss, Sophie not getting that painting means she’s out of a job. How could her lucky dress let her down?

But maybe her luck is turning around. She finds another assistant position, to the owner and CEO of a casino on the Strip, in just a couple days. Awesome, right? …Until she starts and finds out on her first day who she’s assisting.

Yeah, considering the bad impression she left after the auction and much after the auction. When she was drowning her sorrows with some friends she may have drunkenly accosted him. In his own casino.

Of course she didn’t know who he was at the time or when she interviewed to be his assistant. Despite being sure this is a bad idea, they’re both a little desperate and decide to give it a shot.

Enter the #enemiestolovers trope! Amongst my personal favorite tropes, when two people can’t stand each other but also can’t fight their attraction, it’s 👩‍🍳💋.

The tension grows through nearly half the book and, with a little #brat D/s action, things get a little spicy.

This book is so well written in a dual POV style with the respective MCs’ personalities shining through. Sassy for Sophie, grumpy for Jared. Delightfully told with a, frankly, spectacular epilogue. Like, seriously, if anyone ever does what Jared does for Sophie in the epilogue? That’s it, I’m done, consider this confirmed bachelorette officially taken.

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