Blog Tour and Giveaway: Slave to Love: Julie A. Richman
There are risks to mixing business with pleasure...
IF A MAN HAS AN AFFAIR AT WORK, HE'S A STUD.
He was a royal prick.
The night we met, he ignored me.
Then Mr. Big Shot CEO grabbed my ass in a business meeting.
My boss just loaned me out to this guy.
Now, we’re working on a major project together.
And our chemistry is dangerous.
Combustible.
If I allow it to ignite, I’ll risk losing that promotion.
Worse, what if I lose myself in him?
IF A WOMAN HAS AN AFFAIR AT WORK, SHE'S A SLUT.
From the moment I saw her I knew she was trouble.
IF A WOMAN HAS AN AFFAIR AT WORK, SHE'S A SLUT.
From the moment I saw her I knew she was trouble.
It was the combination of her fresh face, smart mouth and nipples that seemed to know my name.
This woman could satisfy my needs both in the boardroom and the bedroom.
But there was more to it than that.
I wanted her.
Really wanted her.
And I was in the position to change the course of her life.
But I’ve got secrets, secrets that could destroy her.
And either make her mine or drive her away forever.
Sierra Stone is a force to be reckoned with. She's a sexy, tough, unfiltered, and smart sales executive. Hale Lundstrom is CEO of his own successful business and a large new client for the company she works for. And he sees something in her that he likes both for his business and himself.
They are both stubborn tenacious, and not always tactful. They spark immediately and not always in a good way, but eventually are both fighting an attraction they know they should not act on. As they begin to work closer together on a project, their connection and feelings begin to emerge. And just whey can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and a chance to try to move forward, their worlds continue to shift around them.
They are living in a cutthroat world where secrets can damage, and competition to be the best can become too ruthless. Trust can be broken, and without trust and a true understanding it is hard to believe in the sincerity of others. Both Sierra and Hale are strong-willed alpha personalities with their own needs, agendas, and personal issues. In some ways they complement each other so well both professionally and personally and sometimes their stubbornness and single-mindedness pushes them apart.
They are both stubborn tenacious, and not always tactful. They spark immediately and not always in a good way, but eventually are both fighting an attraction they know they should not act on. As they begin to work closer together on a project, their connection and feelings begin to emerge. And just whey can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and a chance to try to move forward, their worlds continue to shift around them.
They are living in a cutthroat world where secrets can damage, and competition to be the best can become too ruthless. Trust can be broken, and without trust and a true understanding it is hard to believe in the sincerity of others. Both Sierra and Hale are strong-willed alpha personalities with their own needs, agendas, and personal issues. In some ways they complement each other so well both professionally and personally and sometimes their stubbornness and single-mindedness pushes them apart.
I loved Hale and the way we began to see under his layers. Initially appearing aloof and arrogant, we began to see his passion, humor, protectiveness, need for success, and responsibility. He had a charismatic, dynamic personality that drew others in and helped make him a success. He was shaped by his past experiences that were slowly revealed. He was a hot alpha businessman with sharp edges, a brilliant mind, and a hidden softer center. He was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it and not having to work that hard to get it.
Sierra wanted to be taken seriously, was driven, but also well liked. She was passionate, bold, and fearless in business...but trust and relationships did cause her to take pause. She was a believer in ethics and wanted to achieve on her own merit and not rely on her outer beauty. But she did usually make an impression on the men around her. She was focused on her goals, being the best at her job, and being a good leader.
Their lives revolved around success in business until they found each other. They challenged and pushed, but also demanded respect of each other. Boundaries in place became harder not to cross. They had a witty rapport, chemistry, and tons of sexual tension that just kept building. And the book did not have to rely on a lot of sex scenes to illustrate that connection. But secrets, omissions, and circumstances had the potential to end them before they could even get a real relationship to a good starting place.
This story ended up having many layers and the characters were complex and intriguing. I enjoyed getting both Sierra and Hale's unfiltered points of view. I was engaged in the story and all of the unexpected twists and turns. The story went some places I really did not see coming. Getting to the heart of the mysterious Hale was an interesting journey. And Sierra was a strong, caring heroine even during the times she felt her weakest. I came to really like them as a couple and felt the good and bad right along with them. The side characters added more humor, snark, drama, and competition. And I love it when there are some character crossovers!
This was fast-paced, sexy, and funny. But it also was dramatic, frustrating, intriguing, heartfelt, and downright swoon-worthy. It was a full story where the character's decisions were driven by ethics, trust, feelings, and priorities as they navigated the competitive environment that they both were immersed in. Sometimes it is not wise to mix business with pleasure and sometimes it just cannot be avoided, but it is the way it is handled and perseverance that will determine success or failure.
ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review.
Sierra Stone doesn’t mix business with pleasure, and takes pride in the fact that she has worked hard for every promotion and accolade she has received. She is a top sales executive who takes charge and leads by example. Her sales team enjoys working for her and work hard to make her proud. But she finds herself insanely attracted to the new client at work even as she begins a new project under his direction.
Hale Lundstrom, CEO of his own company, rarely finds something he can’t have. He sees something in her he has not found before and wants to keep her. But she is not a woman to be kept, and while he respects her principles, he also knows what he wants.
I loved Sierra’s fierce independent streak. One of her big sticking points with her career was that she was not willing to sleep with the boss in order to advance her career, a direct contrast to her counterpart and nemesis within her company. But it is also that same principle that made it difficult for her to fight her feelings for Hale, because as long as he was acting as her boss, she was reluctant to let anything unprofessional happen.
And boy did she have to fight some strong chemistry. From their first meeting, each of these two is battling an incredible attraction. I loved his nickname for her and how she could subtly show her feelings just through the use or lack of a single piece of jewelry. That silent communication was often what drove so much of their actions when apart.
I was a little stunned at first. Sierra and her coworkers are brash and crass when dealing with each other. I wasn’t expecting for her personality to be just so -- I don’t even know -- outrageous? when first meeting her. But a few chapters further and the dynamic between the entire group had been set and smoothed out in my mind and it didn’t take me long to fall in long with both Sierra and Hale. Sierra’s brashness seemed to mellow and smooth out and though Hale remained aloof, his chapters gave a lot of insight into why he acted the way he did. By the time I reached the pivotal high points of the story I was feeling right along with them.
Sierra’s friends Beverly and Monica were a great addition to the cast. Their no-holds-barred attitudes compliment Sierra perfectly, as who else would be able to keep up with the confidence Sierra exudes, and they make for some great, humorous scenes.
This was a great move away from the Schooner/Henry stories for Julie. While the characters are all new, Slave to Love offers readers the same emotional ride (with maybe a few less ugly tears) and the same strong, mature characters (with less lost time) that we have come to expect from her books.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I’m really not quite sure what to do with her. She’s not like the women I date. She’s not like the women I fuck. Yeah, I have women in my company, just not in my inner circle. So, I’m not sure how to balance having a close work confidante that I want to bang. So damn bad.
Would it be a bad thing to keep her in the conference room after dismissing the rest of the team, lock the doors, pick her up and seat her on the edge of the conference room table. Feel her melt into my hand as I run my fingertips down the front of her silk tank top. When she shivers, twist her taunting nipples until they harden, then stop and listen to her moan. Would that lost animal sound be coming from what I was doing to her or because I stopped? I wouldn’t wait to find out as I pushed her underwear aside, and harden even more, the moment I feel her wetness. Using her slick juices to moisten her clit, I’d finger her until she is gasping for air and reaching for me. I’d let just her nails and the tips of her finger graze my hard cock as I hang just out of reach. I would totally get off knowing that it is her need to grab me, making her wilder, and that crazed instinctual desire in her eyes would have me titanium hard. I need to be buried deep inside her.
I know my face is portraying a practiced and perfected look of deep concentration
when my VP of Product Development asks for the second time, “Can we get the go-ahead on that, Hale?”
Shaking my head and drawing my brows together, “Give me your full brief in writing.” I act as if there’s something bothering me in what he presented, when in actuality I’m just buying time because I didn’t hear a word he said.
Julie A. Richman
USA Today Bestseller Julie A. Richman is the author of the highly acclaimed NEEDING MOORE SERIES trilogy (SEARCHING FOR MOORE, MOORE TO LOSE & MOORE THAN FOREVER), BAD SON RISING & HENRY'S END. Saddled with the affliction of serious wanderlust, Julie can often be found behind a camera lens in locales from Paris to Alaska.
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