Tangled
25yo heroine doesn't take playboy Hero up on his offer when he approached her at a dance club. She just got a job at his investment banking firm & she's engaged to her boyfriend of 10 years. Hero breaks some of his rules & continues to pursue her at work. But when they compete for a lucrative account, his focus changes. This challenge heats up both of their competitive streak. But when they end up being assigned to the same account & heroine's fiance dumps her, their fiery exchanges soon turn into a passionate weekend encounter. When heroine's ex-fiance tries to win her back though, Hero is at a loss & feels out of control for the first time ever. Believing that she's getting back with her ex-fiance he does something that breaks their newly formed relationship. How does he mend this? And will her history with her ex-fiance have a stronger hold over her?This was the 1st time I read an entire romance novel to my husband. I've read thousands of romance books but never out loud nor with my husband. The writing which was in the voice of Hero's POV(point of view) was funny, to the point, sometimes crass, honest, & very 21st-century American manspeak. It held my husband's interest so much that he didn't want me reading a word without him. He could relate with the Hero & was surprised that the author was a woman. It took us 4 days to finish the book. My husband & I laughed & felt the sexual & emotional build-up of the main characters together. We could see the change in Hero as their romance developed. His transformation from man-ho to a devoted lover to heroine was especially believable after he betrayed her. His groveling was well-detailed, sincere, & satisfactory, although sometimes over-the-top & hilarious. Their HEA(happily ever after) is very likely. Hero's believable character development makes it possible.
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I had reservations about the Hero, given his sluttiness. It was his lifestyle & he made no excuses for it. He continued to have sex with random women even after he & heroine met. It bothers me when the Hero is clearly attracted to & developing feelings for the heroine & yet has sex with other women. Anyway, they were only coworkes & heroine was engaged to another man. He did stop having sex with other women once heroine broke up with her fiancé & he was freely pursuing her. I liked how he became a considerate & sensitive guy. Except for his family & close friends, he was a pretty self-absorbed & conceited person before. Willing women were tools for sexual release for him. So his patience with & sensitivity to heroine's emotional state was new for him. I liked that heroine didn't make it easy for him. She wasn't playing hard-to-get. She valued herself & only began softening up to him when he began changing. Our view of heroine is strictly through Hero's lenses. He saw her as perfect for him, flaws & all. He became taken with her the more he got to know her. I liked how he became so enamored with her that he became so unlike his usual self after they broke up. And I loved how he set out to grovel so she'd give him another chance. He made himself open & vulnerable & let go of his pride & self-made rules for her sake. He asked his family & friends for help. He even watched the chick-flik movies he scoffed at just so he can learn what it would take to reach her heart. And I loved, loved, loved what he did to show her as his grand final gesture that he truly was into her & wanted her in his life full-stop. She again that not forgive nor take him back easily. She was a wise woman to question his motives & how long his new behaviors would last. Skeptical but wise. It still did take faith, though, for her to trust that his change & love for her was lasting. And I (and my husband) believed it.
Highly recommended.
