Tempting the CEO by Angela Claire
Contemporary Romance
Released: September 29, 2014
Entangled: Brazen
Reviewed by Sheena
Favorite Quote: “Thanks for the warning. If coming every time I barely touch you is not doing anything for you, you’re awfully responsive…”
Angie O’Hare is a fearless and take no prisoners attorney currently charged with securing the best deal imaginable by the small tech company she represents against a formidable panel of lawyers for the giant company acquiring her client. Jed Worth is a gorgeous, charismatic CEO who finds himself intrigued by a towel clad, blonde beauty locked out of her comped penthouse suite late one night, marooned at the ice machine. Sparks ignite and assumed personalities, witty banter and a hot night a passion ensues!
“His first thrusts were so deep and coordinated, I knew this guy was every bit as experienced as I had suspected…there was a lot of stroking and kissing and post coital petting as we both drifted down and stopped clutching each other for dear life…I felt quite appreciated.”
Their shady little romp is very, very sexy. *Fans self* The inevitable “OMG it’s YOU” meeting the next day where Jed and Angie shed their alter egos and discover that they are on opposite sides of the negotiation table is well written and interesting! I grinned at seeing Angie in action as the underestimated kick ass lawyer who eats Jeb’s highly paid and powered attorney’s for lunch. She may as well have flossed her teeth with Bob, the sexist and rude lead lawyer for the opposition. Seeing Jeb champion her success endeared me to him even more than his master skills of seduction the night before. I loved that he was wealthy and arrogant enough to throw his money around and end the contract battle- while still cheeky enough to rib his team over being trumped by Angie.
“How many Ivy League educated lawyers does it take to handle a ‘pretty face’ from…If you want your bill paid, Bob, I’d get that figure typed in then. You have about ten seconds before I take my business elsewhere.”
Unfortunately, this is where the good times end. Which is rather sad because it had the makings of a great novella. The heroine devolves from likable into a cold fish. I’m talking the chick was colder than the fish on ice at your local grocers seafood section. Eventually I wanted Jeb to say FUCK THIS SHIT and move the hell on….to maybe a woman with a pulse. After finding out her one night stand man is actually the CEO, Angie gives him ice queen cold shoulder to the extent that I found myself with a perma-frown and wondering what the hell her problem WAS. Her rude and cold manner was so incongruent to the events transpiring that I was completely turned off by her. He makes a few gestures that were a little presumptuous and high handed but Angie was completely out of line and frankly stupid to blow him off the way she did and the reasons she gave were so inadequate they do not bear mentioning. At this point, I was so very glad it was a novella because if I had to read about the bitch much longer and it would have moved dangerously close to a big fat DNF.
Despite her incomprehensible and unwarranted rudeness, Jeb is miraculously drawn to Ice Quee-Angie- and he tracks her down, apologizes (totally unnecessary- you let the man grind your walls out and finger fuck you to shattering orgasms only to have a fit because he tries to save you from an accommodations downgrade and spend more time with you??), she “forgives” him and they (I imagine) live happily ever after. Can I just say that it is a really, really, realllllyyyy bad sign when you want to throw tomatoes at a heroine and actually wish – pray and do tribal rain dances in hopes that a new, beautiful and deserving young heroine would enter stage right and sweep your beloved hero if his feet, leaving the original heroine in a puddle of confusion and tears? It would be like a cautionary tale! Don’t be a rude, cunty little twit and you won’t lose your man dammit!– could be the tagline…no? Meh. Just an idea….
This was so not a HEA in my book. Angie took “professional ethics” to an entirely different (and melodramatic) level. I actually like Jeb a ton and hope that he gets a real HEA one day should the author have mercy on him and save him from that shrew he ended up with in Tempting the CEO. I like the author’s voice and would actually try more books by her- but not if any more of her heroines speak to my tomato hurling impulses as much as Angie did. *shudders.*
Grade: C-
Dammnn…not a book for me :(