Judith’s review of Appealing Proposal by Jambrea Jo Jones.
Attorney Becca Scott doesn’t have time for a relationship. She’s worked hard to prove herself to the old boys’ club and now it’s her time to shine. She certainly doesn’t have time for the tempting Samson Roust. He’s totally lickable, but sex with the boss is never a good idea, unless you draw up a contract to protect yourself. At least, it seems like a great idea to Becca.
Samson, however, knows his passion can’t be contained by a silly document. He lures Becca to his house for a meeting and the case of Scott vs. Roust gets some much-needed deep probing of the personal kind.
This is one of those “quickie” reads from Ellora’s Cave and it a very cute story. But this lady really could take the prize for one up-tight female, although those women who are active in the legal field and the corporate world know that no matter how many power-red suits one owns, the gals still get stuck with most of the grunt work. Becca is determined to be at the top of the heap, just like her mother.
Now the rub comes like this: Becca and Samson were up for promotion to partner in this law firm just about the same time. Their achievements were just about equal, and they had each been with the firm about the same amount of time. Guess what? Samson got the promotion, and Becca is really angry. She has fought her attraction to Samson for two years and he has managed to keep his distance from Becca, even though they really would like to “mix it up” personally. So what’s the solution?
I have never read anything by this author but I thought this was a well-thought-out short story. Some who write short stories really don’t seem to get the fact that it is a truly different literary form and keeping it simple as to the plot and story development is a must. This author has certainly done well in letting us see the inner workings of Becca’s mind and how her need to measure up to her mother’s expectations has driven her all her adult life. A contract for starting an affair? Now maybe that’s not really a bad idea, but it surely takes the joy out of it.
Perhaps the real value of this little story is not only its entertainment factor—and it is really entertaining—but also a way for the reader to see what happens when a person allows the expectations of others to control one’s decisions. Do we need rules for living? I think so, but when the rules become the end-all-be-all, then I think all of us are in trouble. I think that’s the point of this delightful little story.
I give it a 3.75 out of 5.
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place
If you like her work on this one you should read Magnus! I loved it.
She also writes great m/m if your into them.