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****ARC received by Netgalley***

3 STARS

Genre: Office love/hate Romance with a hint of mystery & quite a bit of sex
Cover: 9/10
Writing: 10/10
Heroine: 6/10
Hero: 6/10
Humour: 2/10
Hotness: 6/10
Romance: 7/10
Extra book Details: Heroine POV; 1st person. Stand alone.

Photographer's Assistant; Alexa Holland meets CEO Caine Carraway at a photoshoot. She reveals to him that she is the daughter of the man who caused his world to be turned upside down.

Caine instantly hates her and causes her to lose her job. But Alexa is a pushy little thing, she insists that he speak to her ex-boss and get her job back for her. Instead Caine offers her a job, as his PA. The pay is good, but it comes with a price. Caine's wrath. He wants to work her to the bone, punishing her for her father's sin.

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I think if it weren't for a few things that niggled at me, this could have been a happy 4 star read. The beginning didn't kick off well for me. Alexa's MO for wanting to know Caine seemed contrived. After her estranged father did what he did to Caine's life, Alexa feels some kind of instant want to make Caine happy. She also instantly believes that they have a connection.

After I got over this, and things started swinging, I was enjoying it, of course Caine is the perfect asshole with a soft side. I enjoyed the little back and forth, the little emotion Caine showed, the 'smart-assery' Alexa had, the side characters, the sexual chemistry.

But for most of the book I was left to feel that it was somewhat one sided, where Alexa is instantly romantically invested, Caine takes a lot longer to come around. It made me feel like Alexa was over-thinking things. In fact, I seemed to have a little love/hate for Alexa myself. I loved her boldness, her confidence, but I disliked her weakness for Caine.

What bothered me the most was the little repetitive cycle of jealousy. Alexa & Caine seemed to get themselves into an non-exclusive exclusive relationship. They weren't going to see anyone else, but they didn't want anyone else to know. It was just sex; though Alexa always wants more. Because of this, Alexa & Caine got jealous over every member of the opposite sex who came into contact with the other one. It ranged from a his friend, to her friend, to his client, to her blind date, to his other client...

The last quarter of the book notched things up a little, adding some real plot which has been hinted at through the book. It was a little out of the blue, but made it more interesting.

All in all, I didn't love the characters or their romance. I did however love the writing, certain scenes, the emotional side of things and the little bits of humour and wit here and there.