Kris‘ guest review of Top of her Game by Emma Holly, a standalone contemporary.
‘Rule yourself, and you rule the world,’ Julia Mueller’s mother told her. That was some years before her daughter grew up to become a businesswoman so independent and successful that men found her too intimidating to love. Now Julia – formidably tall and flawlessly groomed – is looking for a man who won’t be tamed too easily. When she encounters Zach, an unreconstructed hunk who runs a dude ranch in Montana, she thinks she might have found him. The closest Julia’s ever been to a horse is looking at mounted police in Central Park but now, on a brainstorming business get-together with her colleagues, she’s happy to swap the boardroom for the stables.
He may be a hick and a ham-handed lover, but Zach’s full of surprises – and that goes a long way in Julia’s world. Where she thinks he’s tough, he’s gentle, and when she’s confident she’s got this particular cowboy broken in, he turns the tables on her. In an environment of snow-capped mountains and hearty breakfasts, has the steely Ms Mueller locked horns with an animal too wild even for her?
This was very Emma Holly. Erotic with a little romance. Lots of D/s, bondage and some spanking in this book. (Holly: That cover is seriously hot..just saying)
Julia is an executive assistant who is having an affair with her boss. He loves to be Dominated by her. But for her the relationship has come to an end, she sees it going no where. So as a last gesture before she quits her job she agrees to help him find a leak among their top people.
So she goes with three other people from their company to basically spy on them during a brainstorming retreat at a ranch. The ranch is owned and operated by a hunky cowboy (Zach), of course. While there everyone pretty much sleeps with everyone else (no m/m though and there is a very little f/f). The other girl with the group, Christine, who is a needy little thing and not complete without a man discovers, with the help of Julia, that she is a sub and learns to embrace that.
Julia and Zach are HOT together but Julia is not ready to do the only one man thing. She enjoys being a Dom and is not ready for anything else, she is scared of the fact that she unconsciously let Zach top her. By the end they get together into a relationship but it is a long road.
Like I said is very Emma Holly, if you enjoy her books then I think you will like this one. If you like a lot of romance in your books then this one is probably not for you. Also if you do not like the hero or heroine sleeping with someone else after they get together then you will have issues with this one.
I liked this one but not as much as some of her others. Menage, Cooking Up a Storm and Fairyville are my favorites by her.
I give this one a:
3 out of 5
This book is available from Virgin Black Lace. Buy it here or here in eBook format.
Read more from Kris at The Reading Spot.
I’m gonna have to try this one out..it sounds interesting.
Thanks for the review, Kris!