“You wanted a lesson in obedience? This is it.”

3.5 stars. Maybe 3.25 if I'm feeling picky? Right now I'm feeling the kind of generosity that comes after I read something bad, and anything I read after it seems pretty good in comparison. This is the 'anything I read after'. Not that I'm trying to negate the good in this book, because there was a lot of it. It's probably up there in my favourites from this author, which surprises me, because I'd thought that I might have more success with her later books, and not her backlist. But even though this age gap, boss/employee romance didn't have any bells and whistles on it, the relationship really appealed to me, and I ended up liking it a lot. It probably helped that it didn't exactly go the way I expected, and sidestepped some annoying plotlines.

Emma has just moved to another city and is ready to start her life anew, after spending years taking care of her mother and younger siblings, and after a breakup with her fiancé. She lands a job at a prestigious law firm, and her boss is cold, demanding, and all too alluring. The setup is a little generic, and I feel like I've read several other books with this exact premise, some from this same author. But I liked Emma and Lillian a lot right off the bat. Emma especially had a backstory that was compellingly written, and I did appreciate that the history with her mother and her family was written with a lot of compassion, but also in a way that prioritised Emma. I do love a little toaster oven, and I didn't mind that it was completely angst free in this case. Lillian was written in a way that was absolutely catnip to me. Like, put her under a box held up with a stick and some string and I'd fall for it level stuff. Cold, but despite her reputation, she's never cruel, and even when she's being curt and strict, there's a reason behind it. THAT'S the kind of ice queen I like. It helped that both she and Emma enjoyed it when Lillian bossed her around a little, and got her to be obedient, lol. Lillian's backstory wasn't as compelling, but it was fine. I was scared for a moment that we are going to have an annoying 'you only want me for my money!!' conflict, but happily, no. She liked spoiling Emma, and Emma (for the most part) liked being spoiled. I wish there'd been more of that! Boss/employee is a trope that I love, but can definitely rub me the wrong way if written badly, and I did like the approach here! It did help that the taboo nature of their relationship, and the fact that it could get them both in trouble, wasn't the only major hurdle and conflict in the book. The book is on the short side, and in a perfect world, there would have been a lot more opportunities to see them together, outside the office. But the author wrote them falling for each other in a really sweet and sexy way. I loved the D/s undertones, and again, Lillian was a dreamboat. The writing wasn't amazing, but I also never ran into that problem I sometimes do with this author, where all of her writing feels stilted and same-y. There was a bit of mystery and intrigue, and even if it wasn't groundbreaking, it wasn't totally predictable. There was a bit of a misunderstanding in the third act conflict that I feel didn't really make sense for these characters, but it didn't last long, so I wasn't too annoyed.

Listened to the audiobook as read by Rebecca Estrella, and I really liked it! I think this might have been my first book by her? Really enjoyed her rendition of Emma. Her voice for Lillian was sometimes a little TOO snappy, but it never brought me out of the story. Really enjoyed myself with this one, and I'm glad I gave it a try. Kudos.

what in the fifty shades of grey and a court of thorns in roses was that.

3.5 stars. It’s not terrible but I felt parts of the book were poorly developed. Probably my least favourite of the Anna Stone books I’ve read.

3.5

~the first 25% of this book I was def questioning still reading this because I wasn’t feeling it at all. tbh by the end I still don’t think I was feeling it. But there was some moments I was like 'oh that’s cute’.

~surprising I wasn’t really feeling the characters either.. I was just reading to read. honestly I think reading this book after finishing boss of her wasn’t the right move because they're similar in the sense of being Boss/secretary romance but BOH was better.

~ that little mystery elements was kinda fun to tbh but not anything special.

Spoiler

anyways current rank of Anna stone book I read
1. boss of her : 5 stars
2. freeing her : 4.5 stars
3. hers to keep : 4 stars
4. tangled vows : 4 stars
5. behind closed doors : 3.5 stars

I only finished this because it was on audiobook, and even then, I was close to just dropping it. The plot felt generally unbelievable from the first chapter and never recovered. The pacing felt awfully rushed, and I felt like the romance was forced.

For the same kind of story with the same tropes, but with better writing, pacing and characters, I'd recommend The Brutal Truth by Lee Winters. There are too many similarities to count, but I assure you, it's 90% the same content with 100% the craftsmanship.