One of the reasons I’ve taken to gorging on historical romances lately is that it’s giving me something I’ve been finding lacking in contemporaries. The pining, the longing, the actual romance, the tenderness and yes, the steam, it all seems to have dissipated to some degree in contemporaries with a few notable exceptions. 

One such exception is Emma Barry’s latest, Bad Reputation, which has all the classic hallmarks of a slow burn romance, full of mutual pining and tension and plenty of chemistry between the two leads.

Cole James is an actor best known for his starring role years ago on a soapy teen drama (think Dawson’s Creek) desperately trying to resuscitate his flailing career. Cast as the newest lead on the very sexy hit streaming show Waverly (think Bridgerton but with more sword fighting) he finally gets his chance to remake his reputation, from a has been himbo to a serious actor. 

Maggie Niven is also in need of a reputation makeover. The former high school drama teacher, notorious for being fired for directing a polarizing play, is on her second act as a first-time intimacy coordinator on Waverly, desperate to rise from the ashes of her burned out teaching career. 

Both of these characters are driven by a need to prove themselves after professional catastrophes have derailed their careers and when they meet on the set of Waverly and sparks fly, they are both determined to shove their feelings aside in order to maintain strict professional boundaries. 

However, that seems harder to do especially after months filming in Scotland and it’s tough to distinguish who falls first and who falls harder. Scotland proves to be a most romantic backdrop against which they explore the gorgeous scenery with hikes and visits to pubs and private visits to botanical gardens. 

As the two begin to draw closer, there is the additional complication of their jobs. As a first time intimacy coordinator, Maggie is tasked with making sure the cast feels protected and taken care of especially when shooting those very steamy scenes. It’s a fascinating glimpse into a career path we’ve all heard so much about in recent years but very few of us actually know much about. Maggie wants to keep things strictly professional which means no crossing boundaries with the leading man. Add in the fact that the leading lady has her own host of issues to work out and is initially reluctant to work with Maggie who desperately wants to make a go of her new career path. 

As much as I adored the chemistry and slow burning romance growing between Cole and Maggie, one of my truly favorite things about this book is the commentary it makes on how much we, as an audience, demand of the actors and ignore their humanity all for the sake of our own entertainment. Maggie’s insistence on asking Cole specifically whether he’s alright with baring his backside and Cole’s almost dismissive response that this is what he’s basically been hired to do is a poignant reminder that far too often, we fail to see performers as actual human beings with thoughts and feelings and their own agency. 

This also leads to the second thing I love about this book – the consent. I would expect a book that has an intimacy coordinator as the heroine to nail the consent and boy does it. Cole and Maggie’s first time is a masterclass in consent – honestly, all writers should take a look – and the consent is explicit and also incredibly sexy. Cole asking Maggie to tell him exactly what works for her and how to make sex pleasurable for her is delightfully dirty as well as highlighting that for Cole, centering the female pleasure takes precedence. 

The story touches on a lot of timely issues from a big time producer with a long history of taking advantage of his leading ladies to a teacher losing her entire career over the issue of what kind of theater is appropriate for high school students. Above it all, is a beautiful, tender romance between two people struggling to find the balance between meeting their professional demands and following their own hearts and trying to do what’s right. 

I really enjoyed this book a lot, it felt relevant and timely, with a romance that checked all my boxes, full of longing and pining and two characters who clearly adored each other. 

Grade: A

Content Notes: discussion of past sexual assault/sexual abuse, confrontation between victim and perpetrator, on air shaming of heroine