Rock Hard (Rock Kiss, #2) by Nalini Singh
Romance Contemporary
E book
March 10, 2015
Self Published
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “You have no idea what it does to me to see you put things into your mouth.”
Blurb: What happens when a mouse meets a T-Rex?
Wealthy businessman Gabriel Bishop rules the boardroom with the same determination and ruthlessness that made him a rock star on the rugby field. He knows what he wants, and he’ll go after it no-holds-barred.
And what he wants is Charlotte Baird.
Charlotte knows she’s a mouse. Emotionally scarred and painfully shy, she just wants to do her job and remain as invisible as possible. But the new CEO—a brilliant, broad-shouldered T-Rex of a man who growls and storms through the office, leaving carnage in his wake—clearly has other plans. Plans that may be equal parts business and bedroom.
If Charlotte intends to survive this battle of wits and hearts, the mouse will have to learn to wrangle the T-Rex. Game on. (Goodreads)
Rock Hard, the second installment in Nalini Singh’s Rock Kiss series, brings us an engaging contemporary romance that can be read alone though it is part of a series. We are taken on a delightful journey of love and second chances when a smoking hot and deceptively sweet alpha contrives to win the heart and hand of his shy mild mannered employee. Fans of Singh’s Psy-Changeling series may see a resemblance between Gabriel and Lucas-the hero in Slave to Sensation who remains one of my top fictional alpha males. The fast but steady paced unveiling coupled with the slow burning romance is perfect for the overall tone of the story and subject matter at hand. Singh’s witty dialogue and dynamic characterization only adds to the over all appeal.
We first met Charlotte Baird (Charlie) in book one-Rock Addiction. Best friend of Molly Webster, we learned some of the reasons behind Molly and Charlie’s long-term friendship. Hints were given that Charlie had suffered a traumatic and life altering event in the past though it’s in here we learn the true and heartbreaking extent of it all. Charlie now works for a dying company that has been bought out by a former rugby star and ruthless business man-Gabriel Bishop. Scared of the rumored layoffs and restructuring, Charlie is working late to cement her position in the company when they meet in a rather unusual manner.
“I just met my new boss,” she groaned into the phone. “Or more specifically, I threw an industrial-strength stapler at his head.”
Gabriel Bishop is used to getting what he wants, when he wants it, and normally isn’t attracted to nervous shy woman but in Charlie he discovers an enigma. He soon finds himself fascinated by this changeling who has trouble looking him in the eye but is brave enough to overcome her fears when the situation calls for it. He recognises her vulnerability and guesses at the reasons behind it, realizing that he will have to play this very carefully if he wants her to trust him. Gabriel hires her as his personal assistant and begins an intricate dance of playful seduction as he gently pushes against her shell, instinctively knowing the woman hiding inside is exactly what he has been looking for.
An intriguing mouse was Ms. Baird.
Gabriel found himself interested, and he’d never before found a mouse interesting.
As Charlie and Gabriel get to know one another better, Charlie opens up, her personality blossoming. Gabriel attempts to rein in his dominance, respecting her fears, but gently taking her past her boundaries. She in return helps to slow his workaholic tendencies, making sure he eats and takes needed breaks. Charlie isn’t a pushover though. As her trust in him grows, she begins to push back against his forceful nature.
“Ms. Baird, where the hell are you?” came the growl down the line. “Do you not realize I pay you to be available when I need you?”
Charlotte’s hands itched for that jug of ice water. “Yes, I realize that,” she said, managing to keep her tone polite. “However, I did work well beyond my contracted hours yesterday.”
“What? Ermine complaining already?” A snort. “Don’t tell me you’re pacifying your boyfriend when you should be at your desk.”
Charlotte saw red. “Yes, I am,” she said, her mouth moving ahead of her brain. “In fact, we’re about to check into a hotel.”
Once Gabriel decides to take their relationship to the next level, an intimate level, he woos Charlie in a deliciously sweet and swoon worthy fashion with some funny, sexy, and decidedly naughty scenes.
He slipped the spoon into her mouth, the creamy dessert cold, the spoon warm from his own lips.
The intimacy of it made her stomach flutter. “That’s very improper behavior.”
“No argument,” he said, eating a spoonful. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”
Charlotte wanted to say yes, and back when she’d first begun working for him, it would have unnerved her. But he hadn’t talked like this with her then—no, he’d been T-Rex. Now, though she tried to think of him as T-Rex, she saw Gabriel instead. “I can handle it,” she murmured, and when he smiled, added, “Don’t take that as support for further inappropriateness.”
His smile was slow, creasing his cheeks and bringing the silver into his eyes. “I’m afraid it’s too late.”
I really liked Gabriel and Charlie; not only as a couple but individually. Charlie with her soft snarky wit and strong will to survive. Watching her learn to trust Gabriel; overcoming her fear of him and the intimacy he wants with her is a sorrowful joy to behold. Gabriel delights with his smoldering sexuality and obnoxious charm, making the chemistry between them burn throughout the story. Singh does a wonderful job of facilitating the slow moving romance amongst the backdrop of their personal issues. Legitimate concerns are addressed and nothing is skimmed over or rushed in an effort to add forced drama or conflict to the story.
The main conflict blends well with the subplots. Singh injects her trademark humor to help offset the seriousness of the subject matter. Singh slowly opens the lid on Charlie’s and Gabriel’s issues and begins to systematically and realistically address them using some well placed secondary characters. Charlie learns to let go of her fear and guilt over what happened in the past, accepting she did nothing to facilitate it. Gabriel learns that forgiveness is not a sign of weakness and sometimes letting go is the best way to move forward.
Nalini Singh hits a home run with Rock Hard; fulfilling all your contemporary romance needs without overwhelming you with unnecessary angst or drawn out conflict. I look forward to the next in the series-title and release date to be announced.
RATING: B+
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I NEED to read this!!!
Yes you do.
I loved this! T-Rex was amazing. I loved how he saw her and pushed her just enough and too far sometimes.
Nalini continues to slay anything she writes!
I admit at first I was disappointed it wasn’t one of the rockers but once I started, I feel completely in love with Charlie and T Rex.
“Obnoxious charm” – loved that. :)
I really like how Charlie’s character developed toward the end… It felt like she dealt with most of her troubles herself WITH Gabriel’s support, instead of giving all credit to his presence in her life…
Great review, Tori; this one is a winner. ;)
Thank you. :P
He was obnoxious but in a way that was funny and sweet.
Yes, Charlie was able to hold her own as her confidence grew and that made the story even better.
I liked this book better than Rock Addiction, and was quite pleased with how Singh handled Charlie’s traumatic past. The only thing I really disliked was the throat grabbing. Really irked me.
I never understand the throat thing. lol
Oh Tori great review. I loved this book as well, and my favorite of this series. I just had a blast with these two.
Thank you. :P Charlie and T Rex were pretty awesome.
Reading it now and really enjoying it. Thanks for the review!
YAY!
Great review, Tori. I’d forgotten this was coming out. I enjoyed Rock Addiction…Singh has a wonderful ability to craft stories with just enough tension and angst without making me want to pull my hair out. The dialogue is always good, and the sex ain’t bad either. ;-)
Exactly. I love all her books.
Huh. I’m the odd one out here. I really tried to like this one, but this author just doesn’t work for me. I ended up DNF’ing the first book in the series as well. I didn’t like the cheeky chapter titles. I found Gabriel Bishop to be gentle in his actions toward Charlotte, but his overly blunt way of talking to her was jarring. I’m tired of the boss-secretary trope, and the abuser-out-of-prison trope. *I’ve read this all before!*
Have you read any of her others series? Her Psy/Changeling and Guild Hunter series are both huge favs of mine. May be more to your liking.
Loved your review. Can wait for life to settle down a bit so I can enjoy this!
(((HUgs))))
*whispers* I liked the throat grabbing *adjusts turtle neck*
heh
Psst, Sheena…I think the throat grabbing is hot, too.
I don’t mind holding the nape but hand on the front of my throat makes me edgy and not in a good way.
Yes, understandable. It’s a total trust kind of thing, being able to surrender to dominance in that way. I’ve read scenes that have used it and it has come across as abuse. No thank you, not a turn on. And I’ve read scenes that have used it to convey complete trust between two individuals.
I just finished and Loooooooooooved
YAY!! Wasn’t Gabriel and Charlie simply wonderful together???? Singh says she will be writing books for Gab’s brothers too.