Thawing a heart of ice is an art in this steamy age-gap, ice queen romance. After years of dead-end jobs, 26-year-old Elliot catches a break she never expected. Her new boss, Cameron Pierce, is as icy and ruthless as the rumors say. But Elliot is determined to make this job work, even if it means burying her social life. What she doesn’t expect is the scintillating chemistry that grows between them. Cameron, 47, is a perfectionist and has had her fair share of subpar assistants. When her best friend claims to have found the right one, Cameron is skeptical. At first, she’s convinced she’s made a mistake as Elliot struggles to keep up. But Elliot proves to be the perfect fit. Perhaps a little more. With a breach threatening to destroy her empire, the last thing Cameron needs is a battle with her raw attraction for Elliot. A battle she’s starting to lose…
Chloe Peterson is the author of heartfelt lesbian fiction. She loves writing stories that celebrate the diversity of the LGBT community. Chloe relaxes by watching home building shows and reading fan fiction.
the main character was giving me absolutely nothing and it felt like i was reading the same chapter over and over again….but i’ll give this 2.5 stars bc at LEAST there was some chemistry between the main characters
2.75 stars - an OK falling-for-the-boss workplace romance
This is a serviceable, ice queen workplace romance with basic likable characters. If you work in the corporate sector or IT, you might find the corporate espionage part a bit cringe. Apparently corporate and IT security isn’t a thing at this company. 🙄
The romance itself was fine.
Shelved: sapphic romance, falling for the boss, rich girl/poor girl, ice queen, Kindle unlimited, age gap, what do you mean your R&D folks don’t have individual logins?!!
It seems like it was inspired by Devil Wears Prada but the worst kind of fanfic. 😠
Cameron is so mean, a complete b*tch. I don’t think I despised any character as much as I despised Cameron. I think Elliot would be a perfect Extra for any book rather than a main character.
The writing style was almost irritating. There was not a single drop of chemistry between the two MCs. Supposedly, they were attracted to each other for no reason whatsoever, and abruptly they were in love because Cameron took a break from being a b*tch to Elliot.
4 ★ | It’s no secret I love Peterson’s writing. This one is probably my least favourite out of the series though. Still found myself fond of it. Just compared to the others it’s not AS good. Just my opinion. Could have delved deeper though. I love the boss falls for assistant trope so bonus points for that. Plus I love an ice queen being thawed and in the end they’re really a big softie. I’d recommend this for sure.
there were so many things about this book that made me lose interest and stop reading, but i pushed it through. starting with the main characters, there was no development at all. i kinda liked elliot, she was super sweet, but couldn't stand up for herself and allowed cameron to step all over her and snap at her for the stupidest things that weren't even her fault, and she just took it with her head down, so that was a little bit annoying bc even i was angry at her. cameron is supposed to be this ice queen but it was poorly executed and really most of the times she just came out as a bitch. the plot was weak and predictable and boring as well.
the thing that annoyed me the most here was the timeline that was all over the place, which was so confusing i could barely keep it up, the skipping of events that made me so confused i thought that i had missed a chapter or something because it made absolutely no sense. for example, there was the event that elliot was supposed to organize (btw this was said to be the most important event of the company and the thing that would make elliot either keep or lose her job) and then there was NOTHING about it for the rest of the book???? elliot just took this task without even questioning and there wasn't anything about how she pulled this off, it was only mentioned twice after that when cameron says it's going fine and then the other time that she says it all worked out and was a success. i felt kinda stupid because i was literally waiting for this event to happen because the writer made it seem like it was important for the story? but no. there's also that one chapter that showed us their first kiss after they apparently spent a weekend together in one of cameron's house. THEY JUST APPEARED THERE OUT OF NOWHERE??? LIKE WHY, WHEN, HOW??? none of this is discussed it just happens because. it made me feel really disconnected with the whole story.
there were some cute scenes between elliot and cameron, nothing much. so yeah giving this 2 stars for effort i guess..
3.7 ⭐️ A great sapphic ice queen workplace romance.
This is my first read of Peterson’s and I throughly enjoyed it.
It follows a woman who takes on a job as a PA to a head of a large corporation, who is incredibly closed off emotionally. It had slight Devil Wears Prada vibes which I adored.
This one is a bit of a slow burn and was fairly low angst. It’s also an age gap romance (26 & 46.)
There is spice but there’s just a dash of it.
Rep// sapphic MC (26), sapphic MC (46.)
Set in // New York, USA
TWs listed below, please skip if you don’t want vague spoilers.
TW// loss of a child (past), mention of a car accident (past,) alcohol.
Introductory book to the series. I liked it, it was simple, low angst and something I appreciated was that the pace was good. Cam and Elliot were opposites, Cam's some kind of ice-queen.
Cameron is a big business owner, and Elliot is her new assistant. This story is very similar to many, with an ice queen boss and her timid assistant. But Ms Peterson’s characterisation is what makes this story stand out. Elliot is especially well written, her insecurities showing through, but also her stubbornness and determination. At first glance, Cameron seems to be a nasty person, but this is her way of covering up grief and hurt - and also trying to hide her growing attraction to Elliot. In my opinion, this is what the author writes best - strong stubborn women, but with an undercurrent of vulnerability. I have read these books in the wrong order - I read Hayden’s story first, and I feel that is a slightly better book. Only slightly, however.
2.5⭐ The majority of this wasn't good whatsoever, towards the end (when Cameron started to behave like a decent human being) I enjoyed it. I wish we had got to see more of them as a couple, before they suddenly decided they were in love - which didn't make any sense and I don't think they had any chemistry. The timeline was extremely confusing which made the pacing weird and it felt like I had somehow skipped a chapter. I've read two other books by the author and I thought the writing was good, in this one it wasn't. It was way too jumpy and lacked detail in basically anything that was important.
I was really excited to read this series but after reading this I removed all but one (Reids) from my list. The next one would be Haydens story but I didn't care for her at all. The way she was written in this made me imagine her as a 80 year old grandma.
Este libro me mostró como se puede arruinar un libro con una escena de sesbian lex super forzada con la cuál me re decepcioné porque me estaba re gustando incluso con ese cliché de "amor a primera vista " que no me gusta. Tiene un slow burn que explotó en el momento que no tenía que explotar,creo que si hubieran esperado más y se hubiera desarrollado de otra forma este libro tendría un puesto en el top 10 de mejores libros del 2025.
Why do I keep trying with these types of books! This was a hard pill to swallow because it had some potential, but it felt like nothing was fleshed out at all, even the love story was tepid and immediate. There was no 'ice queen' to be seen at all in this. Apparently, a grumpy look makes you an ice queen now. If you want a better ice queen romance check out any literature by Lee Winter.
This book was mediocre. Very sped up and It focused on too many things other than the known relationship tat was growing. There was not really much emotion till the end. It really was just about the sex and even that was not very descriptive at all. It didn't last long and it was mostly basic shit.
How it started: Ice queen boss billionaire, and owner of Pierce Tech Corp, Cameron Pierce needs ANOTHER assistant, as she goes through them like nothing else. Her fellow billionaire friend, Hayden convinces Cameron she has the girl for her!
Enter Elliot, much younger than Ms Pierce, is determined to make this excellent new opportunity work for her, and this she does, and then some!
This book is everything! Sweet and sexy, spicy and it has some suspense too! I want to mention the spice, it’s written to perfection! 🥵🥵
I am so impressed as I tend to be a little picky with my sapphic reads!! The writing of this first time author is exquisite and intelligent. I can’t wait to get to the second book!
I absolutely adored the side characters, especially Ms Hayden Jones, fellow billionaire and great friend to Cameron! She’s also a very funny character, and great news….in book 2 Hayden becomes a main character!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Loved the little bit of suspense in this too, it gave the story some extra excitement!!!
An all around awesome, fun story and introduction to this Billionaire series, that I know is going to be phenomenal! 🤩🤩🤩
When I finished this book I immediately forgot what I even read. For the life of me I don't understand why they fell for each other. I dont want to be mean but I just felt like there wasn't any chemistry untill the epilogue. Maybe if I hadn't reread two of my favourite books I would've been more appreciative of what this book is, for now I just felt disappointed.
No es mal libro, pero tampoco es lo mejor, al principio empieza bien, es ágil, con trama y conectas fácil con las protagonistas, además empiezan a existir conflictos laborales que intrigan...pero luego todo es malo, de la nada se vuelven pareja, el drama del trabajo se resuelve de una forma tan absurda que pfff...y bueno ese final es ...ni siquiera lo recuerdo bien y lo acabo de leer.
I am a big fan of Chloe Peterson’s work. She has a special way of telling a story. This book was just as special. It hit a lot of important points that remind you about the workplace world. Strong women being in the CEO Power roll but needing men on the board to keep the world turning. This story of Cameron, who owns her own company but is forced to be a bitch so no one takes advantage of her and her newly hired personal assistant, Elliot the shy in awe of boss but headstrong in getting things done correctly for her. The story takes you along on an adventure in a business world where deceit is around every corner. A must read!
This was fine. Not great, since the characterization is only slightly shallow and the book could have been longer for events not to seem rushed, but overall, it was a fine, light, fun read.
Allora, questo libro sulla carta aveva tutti gli ingredienti non solo per piacermi ma proprio per farmi innamorare. Age gap alto (21 anni) con una delle due donne molto vicina ai 50 anni (ne ha 47), relazione capo/dipendente, rappresentazione queer, ice queen. E invece purtroppo è stato una vera delusione. I personaggi sono stereotipati al massimo (davvero, io non ho proprio capito i loro caratteri) e fanno proprio cose a caso senza un minimo di logica. Le cose succedono solo per far andare avanti la trama e ci sono un sacco di salti che fanno sembrare che il libro sia stato tagliato con l’accetta e varie parti eliminate (proprio quello che servivano per la comprensione della storia, probabilmente). La Romance in modo particolare è gestita proprio malissimo. Inoltre i traumi delle protagonista proprio trattati in maniera superficiale, giusto per creare un po’ di drama. I personaggi secondari sono praticamente inesistenti e anche loro non hanno una vera personalità (l’autrice ci ha provato un po’ con Hayden e Reese, ma meh). Inoltre la questione dell’age gap voi l’avete vista? PERCHÉ IO NO! Vi giuro rega potevano essere coetanee e non sarebbe cambiato NIENTE. Se leggo un libro con l’age gap (specie con un age gap così alto e promettente) VOGLIO L’AGE GAP VOGLIO IL DRAMMA LEGATO ALL’AGE GAP L’AGE GAP NON DEVE ESSERE IRRILEVANTE (okay, okay, ora mi calmo). Mi dispiace ma questo libro è bocciato.
Piccolo appunto: mi dispiace dirlo, ma ho provato a leggerlo in italiano, ma ho switchato all’inglese dopo poche pagine. La traduzione sembra essere fatta con davvero poca cura: ci sono davvero un sacco di calchi dall’inglese e traduzione letterale di alcune espressioni che non hanno senso in italiano. Non posso trovare “viaggio di potere” per “power trip” perché in italiano non significa niente. Capisco che sia una traduzione indipendente e apprezzo moltissimo il fatto che questa serie venga portata in italiano, ma davvero un po’ più di cura sarebbe meglio (anche visto che l’eBook in italiano costa 10 euro).
Pros + I do love when women have traditionally masculine names. Cameron, Hayden, Elliot? Yes, yes and yes. + It was a cute, easy read. + I liked that there was more going on than just the romance storyline
Cons - Gina's character felt a little untethered. Like she existed just to help the story and was not an organic part of the world. - Personally, the pacing felt a little off. I was often a bit unsure about how much time had passed between each chapter for example. This may just be a me problem. - There were definitely places where the word 'vagina' was used where 'vulva' would make a lot more sense.
An inoffensive read but super unrealistic in parts tbh. If you work corporate you’ll definitely find the parts involving IT & R&D wildly inaccurate lmao