Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Contemporary Romance
July 4, 2023 by Berkley

Review by Melanie

This is the third Rachel Lynn Solomon contemporary romance I’ve read and I think that’s enough data to conclude that she’s now an auto-read author for me. Her voice is just a perfect blend of biting wit and vulnerable self-doubt, her characters are beautifully rendered with layers of complexity and the romance just feels like a punch to the solar plexus. There’s so much care taken, with the characters’ development, the relationship’s progression, and the way the plot unfolds. She truly is a masterful storyteller and I just feel like she doesn’t get quite enough love for her contemporary romances. 

Business or Pleasure features a particularly favorite microtrope of mine, in which the MMC is bad at sex and the FMC has to tutor him in it. It’s not very commonly found in romance novels, the idea being that the main characters are immediately able to tap into their love interests’ sexual needs and desires and fulfill them. That is, after all, part of the fantasy, the escape we readers want when we pick up a romance novel. However, one reason I truly adore this microtrope, where the MMC is bad at sex, is because it forces the MMC to be in a vulnerable position, where he’s admitting to a lack of knowledge and skills and a need for help. And it showcases an MMC who is willing to listen and learn and is eager to please his partner. Though the impetus may be that he’s not great in the bedroom, there is nothing sexier than an MMC willing to do anything to please his partner, even if it means acknowledging he needs a little guidance and instructions on how to do so. 

Most of the books I’ve read featuring this microtrope usually have one scene illustrating the MMCs lack of knowledge and perhaps in the same scene or a follow-up scene, the FMC gives him a singular tutorial upon which time he is declared a master at giving pleasure. However, this delightful book takes things to a whole new level. Chandler, the former journalist turned ghostwriter of celebrity memoirs meets Finn, the former star of a teen drama turned C-list actor of the occasional Christmas themed movies at a bar. She doesn’t recognize him especially when he uses a fake name to introduce himself (Drew) and therefore is completely unaware that the man she’s currently flirting with also happens to be one half of a popular pairing from a werewolf show who now pays the bills by traveling the country and appearing at fan conventions. The two engage in witty banter and verbal foreplay before moving things to Finn’s hotel room, where they engage in one of the most hilariously terrible and awkward sex scenes I’ve read in a romance novel. I kid you not, I laughed so hard I woke my husband up. It is truly awful, poor Finn knows his way around sets and can hit his mark on the first try but has no idea where the clitoris is, resulting in Chandler faking her way to a good time and then sneaking out of the hotel room once Finn falls asleep after mistakenly assuming the sex was mind-blowing. After all, she assumes, he’s just passing through Seattle, so it’s a one and done and she’ll never have to see him again. 

Cut to the following day when Chandler’s agent calls, having set up a last minute meeting between her and an actor who wants to potentially hire her to help him write his memoir. When she shows up at the restaurant, harried and a half sweaty mess, it’s only to discover that the man who introduced himself as Drew the night before and very much did not blow her brains out with incredible sex, is actually Finnegan Walsh, one-time star of the hit tv series Nocturnals. Hemming and hawing because she doesn’t know if she really wants to travel the country with him, going from con to con as she gets to know him and hep pen his memoir, Chandler reluctantly agrees. She is broke, currently at loose ends, trying to figure out what she wants to do next, and even though the thought of spending the next few months in close proximity with a man responsible for one of the worst sexual experiences of her life does not fill her with joy and excitement, the money is too good to pass up. And so, the book finds them crisscrossing the country together, Finn making appearances at various cons while Chandler undertakes the task of unwrapping who he is beyond the public facade he presents to his adoring fans. 

Early on in their working relationship, they have a clear-the-air conversation about their one night together and Chandler lets it slip that the night was hardly mind-blowing for her. One of the reasons I also love this trope is the way that the MMC responds to this criticism and Finn does not disappoint. He is humiliated and crushed but never, not once, does he become angry at Chandler, instead choosing to focus his disgust at himself. He even calls up past girlfriends and partners to verify whether his ill-fated night with Chandler was a one-off or if in fact, he is just bad at the sex. When he realizes he’s kind of a sexual dud, he begs Chandler to tutor him, and what might normally be just one scene turns into an entire book of “lessons”. Chandler, who also minored in gender and sexuality studies in college, is uniquely qualified to provide tutoring in this manner and the book goes deep into the lessons. She even creates a syllabus! (Oh, what I wouldn’t do to get my hands on this syllabus). 

So while Chandler is tutoring Finn in the art of pleasure (lessons include enhancing the sexual tension and building up desire, the importance of foreplay, a guide to finding the clitoris and how to handle it, and yes, even dirty talk) the two also find themselves learning about each other, their hopes and dreams and fears. That Chandler should learn about Finn is sort of inherent in the job description – after all, she’s been hired to ghostwrite his memoirs. But he also gets to learn about her, initially through the sex lessons but also through their deepening conversations, and before long, the working relationship/tutoring sessions grow into actual feelings. 

I love that both of these characters are searching for purpose and there is a lot of growth that happens in this book, for both of them but especially for Chandler. The dark moment, when it comes, isn’t so much as dark as it is a much necessary time to reset, to take some time, and figure out who Chandler is and what she really wants. And I love that Finn gives it to her, and allows her the time and space to figure out her own future without inserting his own needs into it. In fact, this is a thing Finn does remarkably well for much of the book once the sex lessons start, putting his own desires aside to figure out how to give Chandler what she needs and wants. And there is nothing sexier than that. 

I simply adored this book. There are a lot of side characters as well, Finn and Chandler certainly don’t exist in a vacuum. We meet their families as well as Finn’s co-stars from werewolf shows, all of whom give depth and context to who these two people are. There is a great mental health rep (Chandler has anxiety and Finn has OCD) and Jewish rep and we also see Chandler opening up to Finn about the abortion she had while in college. All of it is addressed very matter of factly, without judgment or regret, an unapologetic recounting of something Chandler was fortunate enough to get to choose for herself. And Finn, to his credit, reacts perfectly, without judgment, just full of understanding and support. 

The beauty of this book lies in the character development. It is not very plot heavy beyond the sex lessons microtrope. But the growth shown within each of these characters and the journey each of them takes to a place of self-acceptance and love is as important as the development of their romance. I truly loved this book, adored the characters, and found myself rooting for them, both as individuals and also as a couple. 

Grade: A+

Content Notes: mentions of mental health issues and therapy, toxic parental relationship, parental abandonment, mentions of past bullying, on-page bullying, mention of abortion in the past

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