Caught in the Middle

by Lydia Hall

If I’d known how things would unfold, I never would have hired her.
Jessica went from being my personal assistant to my obsession pretty quickly.

All it took was a single glance at the office…
And when I saw how good she was with my son, it was game over.
I knew there was something there.
Something beyond just how I felt with her inside the bedroom.

But Jessica isn’t prepared to be a part of my life.
She would never be able to handle my toxic ex.
A custody battle was already ruining my life.
And a new relationship would only add to the existing trouble.
I know that and yet, here I am… still pursuing her.
Even more now that I can sense her pulling away.

Jessica is hiding a secret.
A secret that would make us family forever…
It took me a long time to realize that Jessica is the love of my life.
But is she ready to face that truth?

Genres: Contemporary

274 pages, Paperback

Published June 17, 2022

Reviews

[Angie Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lydia Hall has written a 5-star book. This is the story of Jessica and Reed. Jessica has just gotten a job working as a PA for Alan, one of the partners of Bits and Bytes. On her first day, she finds out that Alan has to take leave so that he can go be with his father who is sick. It turns out that Reed, the other partner, has a P. A. that is going to be going on maternity leave soon so Jessica will be taking her place as Reed's P.A. Things are going well for Jessica until she gets a call from a woman who demands to speak to Reed. Jessica was told not to put any calls through to him so she asked if she could take a message. The woman gets nasty with Jessica and hangs up. The woman is Caroline and Reed's ex-wife. Caroline calls Reed's cell and gives him a hard time about not being put through to him. He wants to know what she wants and she tells him that she needs more money for her and their son Olliver (Ollie). When Reed says something about giving her more than what she should have, she threatens him with not seeing Ollie. She tells him to meet her at a restaurant so they can discuss the money. Things do not go well for Reed. He thinks that Caroline is on drugs with the way she is acting. He calls his lawyer and tells him what happened and is given a number for a P.I. to call. Reed has Ollie and he is not feeling well, so Reed calls Jessica and asked her to come over. Jessica goes over and helps Reed with Ollie. After Ollie is put to bed, she and Reed end up sleeping together. The next morning, she pretends that she slept on the couch in case Reed needed her help with Ollie. Jessica and Reed continue to see each other but things are not going well for him. He is stressed out over Caroline and what she is going to do about Ollie. Caroline has found out that Reed had Jessica help him with Ollie and she is mad. Caroline sends Jessica some messages and they are not nice. When she shows them to Reed, he does nothing about them. They get into an argument and she walks away from him. She has taken a few days off and her sister, Anabel thinks she is pregnant so she bought her a pregnancy test. Jessica doesn't want to take the test but she does and it comes back positive. Anabel tells her that she needs to tell Reed, and Jessica tells her that she doesn't want to add to his stress. Anabel tells her that she needs to tell their mom. Jessica calls her mom and arranges to go and see her so that she can tell her. Something happens between Reed and Caroline and she is taking him to court for full custody of Ollie. Reed is just waiting on the P.I. to get him the information he needs to keep that from happening. Reed keeps trying to talk to Jessica but she won't take to him. Reed goes to Jessica's apartment and there he is met by Anabel and is told that Jessica is not at home. Anabel invites him in and they end up talking for more than an hour. Jessica is in her room the whole time Anabel and Reed are talking. A few days after Anabel talks with Reed, she goes to see him. He thinks that it is Jessica coming to see him and he is shocked to see Anabel. Anabel tells him why Jessica is acting the way she is and tells him that she hopes he knows what he needs to do. Jessica is at home and has just ordered her lunch and thinks it is her lunch when there is a knock on the door. She opens the door, and there is Reed. She invites him in and they have a talk. She tells him about the baby.
Will Reed be happy about the baby?
Will Jessica and Reed get back together?
What will happen between Reed and Caroline?
This was a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Arantxa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I have read several Lydia Hall books so I'm always super excited whenever she has a new release and when I saw the opportunity to get an ARC, I didn't hesitate and requested one. And I am super sad to say I most definitely didn't like it. It's not that Lydia doesn't write compelling characters, which most of the time she does, but this story lacked of essence, spirit and magic.

I have read my quota of Office Romance and there's a reason for it: I'm a sucker for them. It doesn't matter how they are presented, I am always loving the trope, yet here I just couldn't bring myself to even finish the book, it took a lot of effort to concentrate or even care about the characters. Both Reed and Jessica, the main characters, are two people that have little to stand out. Reed has a son and he says he loves him but truly there is barely any moments when you get to see that (and there was one specific moment that involved his son being sick and it was such a fleeting moment, when it was supposed to be remarkable because it would add another layer of connection between the two main characters, that I didn't notice when it ended and then I had to go back to see what had happened that I had missed) There are time where insta love doesn't feel so out of the blue but here it felt so not organic that make me have more questions than answers. The satellite characters are just there and instead of having a supporting role, they just pop out on occassions and then fall off the face of the earth. They're the ones that should give a lesson to the reader at the same time as they give it to the main character but the message just wasn't there. I just couldn't finish it quickly enough.

I really wanted to like it and I know this is very harsh to say but I just thought this would be what I'm used to get from Lydia. Maybe in the next one.

[Jessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica is getting ready to start a new job at a tech company, and on her first day, she finds out the boss who hired her is leaving for six months, and her position is no longer open. Before she can start to stress about not having a job, the other company partner states that he will require a new PA as he is getting ready to go on maternity leave. Crisis averted, Jessica starts to work for Reed as his PA. Reed knows how bad it would be to fall for his PA, considering he's already done that once with Caroline, and she ended up being a demanding, gaslighting narcissist who tries to control her ex-husband with their young child, Ollie. But he finds himself attracted to his pretty new PA, and their mutual attraction grows.

The story had potential, and I was looking forward to seeing how their relationship progressed as the story went on. The more I kept reading, the harder it was to stay engrossed in the story. The characters started with a great foundation, but I found the rest of their growth and personalities lacking. They ended up unreasonably shallow to me. I also felt the dialogue was too weak to carry a storyline with the potential this one did. I truly wanted to finish this book, having enjoyed the process, but I could not.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 3rd story in the Spicy Office Secrets Series and in this story we find Reed co-owner of Bits and Bytes with a new unexpected beautiful PA, Jessica. On her 1st day Jessica is told her job would be changed as Alan her original boss is leaving to care for his sick father and Reed’s assistant is going on maternity leave so they offer Jessica the job. When Jessica receives a call from a mean woman she later finds out it’s Reeds ex-wife, Caroline and she is one demanding and mean woman. When Caroline wants anything she uses their adorable son, Ollie as leverage. Reed and Jessica are attracted to one another and one day it becomes more and Reed knows it could lead to problems when Caroline finds out. Jessica isn’t sure she wants to deal with the ups and downs even though she finds Ollie to be cute and really likes Reed. Caroline gets out of control, Jessica becomes sick and Reeds world is turned upside down. When Reed and Jessica are together its a natural and beautiful connection so when life becomes crazy they need to figure out how to move forward. The ending is one of a kind and it’s wonderful to see how Reed, Jessica, Ollie and Caroline make that happen. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rae Walaska · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a steamy office romance about Jessica and Reed. Jessica was initially hired to be Alan's assistant, but when Alan has to take leave and Reed is in need of an assistant while his is on maternity leave, Jessica jumps to fill in. The connection between Jessica & Reed is undeniable, even with Reed's hesitation due to his past. It was just natural for the two of them to take their relationship to the next level. Unfortunately, (for Reed & Jessica) there is lots of drama from the ex-wife. Fortunately, they find their way through the drama and have an HEA.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caught in the Middle

What an exciting story, about two people who have built a company together, very successfully. Together they work well, and one needs to take leave for family emergency, so being they have staff needing to move around to utilize. Learning how to manage with new PA, an ex wife who constantly is doing her best to make Reeds life miserable, there is so much drama, excitement, and emotional feelings, going on. Beautifully written story. Loved it.❤️

[Lynne Seaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reed and Jessica are great. When Jessica shows for her first day of work at Bits and Bytes is to find out her new boss doesn’t need her, thank her lucky stars his partner does. Reed is in lust at first sight but so is Jessica. If they can over come his firm no dating the PA policy and the evil stepsisters that work at the same company. They still have a giant hurdle in his ex wife.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Office romance

Good character development ,you like the ones you're supposed to and can't stand the others! The conflict between Reed and Caroline is the kind of infighting you'd expect in a "broken" couple! There's a few bloopers in the wording that distract you as you read but are passable once you realize what word should have been used( needs a content editor) but a real good story!!!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arc review I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Reed Andrew and his partner at Bits and Bytes softerware company Needs a new PA and Allen hired Jessica moore to help out while he takes care of his family issues. Jessica helped reed also helps with the ex wife who is not nice to him . Awesome story

[Staci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reed and Jess’s story has you feeling sorry for Reed since his ex-wife is a Royal B. But with the incentive of losing his son he finally steps up and gives her what she deserves but still very nice about it then along comes a surprise baby with Jess and boy this has a lot of action.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Joan Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chances

Jessica with a strong personality and Reed with a calming one, Jess was the right person in his life. They had a lot in common except dealing with a very difficult ex.
Jess felt she could handle the situation so she could support Reed as he was dealing with his changes. Until it was no longer easy.
Good story.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 10%

Couldn't get into the writing style at all, insta-love happened... Well, instantly, and it felt very artificial to me. (e. g. Sisters constantly calling each other "Sis" and all the exposition being given in in conversation where it didn't fit in at all) and yeah, that's just the first 25 pages. 

[Alex Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic, riveting read. Deliciously sinful and steamy. Great characters, and a well written storyline. Would recommend.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sue Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read!!
I received an ARC copy of this book via Booksprout and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.
Throughly enjoyed reading Reed and Jessica's story.
Great characters, lovely storyline and a wonderful HEA.

[Breanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. I thought the chemistry between Jess and Reed was amazing. It was sweet seeing how Reed felt about Jess. I highly recommend this book!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[K. Williford · Rating 3 out of 5]

not what I expected

I have just recently discovered Lydia Halls books and have enjoyed the ones I have read. This one does not have the same in depth characters and is a quick read. Seems a bit rushed. This was not at All what I expected.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reed & Jessica had an intriguing read. I got a copy of the book. And am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Barbara Pitcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing read!! Not her best!

[Diedra Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

💖💖💖💖💖

Excellent book. Full of family love and unfortunately a spiteful ex-wife. I would love to read stories of the other characters in the book like the friends and the sister.

[Coline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sympa si on a rien a lire mais pas extraordinaire.

Reed et Jessica sont sympa mais ça reste cliché et pas approfondie.

Les personnages secondaires sont super.

[Lisa Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book , great characters and storyline too

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia muy bonita y rápida de leer ya que te tiene enganchada desde la primera página.

[Lisbeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lectura estándar, nada fuera de lo común y no particularmente memorable.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica & Reed