Well. Shame on me for having this in my library for literal years without reading it – it was PHENOMENAL! My eyes were absolutely glued to every single page once I got a feel for the story. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting the plot to be about, but this surprised me in the BEST of ways. It’s tense, sexy, angsty, heartbreaking, dark, suspenseful, uplifting, and intimate all at once, with emotion packed into every scene. They say that hurt people hurt people, and that’s never been truer than with the characters in this book; they’ve both endured unspeakable things, and that influences every interaction (tons of triggers in this one). The sexual tension snaps and crackles, with a slow-burning love story that takes these two from strangers to enemies/boss and employee to lovers as they grow and evolve throughout. I pulled an all-nighter because I was so immersed in this unpredictable love story that I wasn’t willing to go to sleep without finishing – and that’s the highest compliment that I can pay a book.
The story follows Daisy, a woman who was just released from prison. Her life was ruined because she trusted the wrong man, and that experience has made an impact. She couldn’t clear her name, but she’s determined to move forward – and that means doing everything she can to get custody of her teenage brother back. When Daisy is assigned a job working as a maid at a large estate, she has no idea what’s in store for her. Her new boss is a temperamental jerk who can’t seem to stand the sight of her, and their volatile interactions threaten to jeopardize everything Daisy is working towards. But as Daisy gets to know Kas better, she realizes that there is a softer side of him lurking beneath the surface. He’s an angry Kas-hole one moment and a caring guy the next, so the contrasts are endlessly confusing. And as his softer side starts to show up more frequently, it becomes impossible to ignore the connection between them.
We only get Daisy’s perspective, so it took a long, long time to piece Kas together. I kinda loved that. Just like Daisy, I wanted to slap and kiss him in equal measure, but I loved that Daisy always stood her ground. Her own life experiences gave her the fire to withstand his pressure, and that just made the tension ratchet up to unexpected levels. The whole thing was unexpected, honestly. I managed to go into this blind, and that is definitely how I would recommend proceeding. I wasn’t entirely sure that I was liking the vibe at the beginning, but once Daisy and Kas started interacting more, I could not put it down. The heat and tension between them was immensely compelling, and I wanted to know more about the mysterious man at the heart of the story. My heart ached for both of them, and I wanted to see these characters heal together. Every frustration and struggle ended up being worth it; this was SUCH a great read, easily one of my favorites of the year. And I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wBrzXs
Audio Note:
Your enjoyment of the audiobook will depend on how you feel about British accents! The story itself is set in England, so there’s a definite British feel to some of the language, but it’s easy to forget that aspect if you’re reading the ebook. As an audiobook with a British narrator? Not so much. I drifted between the ebook and audio throughout, and I had no trouble understanding the narrator, but I preferred looking at the text during relationship-building scenes. Since it’s a single perspective book, there’s also a single female narrator, but I think she did a great job. The runtime is a little longer than the typical workday, which worked out for me – I listened to the first half while working, and then finished the story with full focus in the evening (and early hours of the morning, lol). It worked great for that. The romance has a slow burn feel, though there are some moments that are pure chemistry earlier on. It worked well on audio, though I appreciated having the text available.
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/3LmDm02
Blurb:
From New York Times bestselling author Samantha Towle comes a sexy, suspenseful romantic standalone novel…
Daisy Smith has spent eighteen months of her life paying for a crime she didn’t commit. Now out of prison, she has only one focus—to get back custody of her younger brother, Jesse, who is deep in the foster care system. Desperate to rebuild her life and show the system that she is responsible enough to care for Jesse, she takes on the only job available to her—working as a maid at the Matis Estate.
On day one of her new job, Daisy meets Kastor Matis, the only son of the owners and her new boss. An enigmatic, handsome Greek god of a man, Kas is closed off, cold, and…well, kind of a bastard.
The more time Daisy spends around Kas, she starts to see there might be more to him than just his cold, bastard ways. He may actually have a heart beating in that frozen chest of his. But Kas has secrets, too. Secrets that he’s determined to keep.
Secrets make Daisy curious.
And you know what curiosity can do…
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wBrzXs
About the Author:
Samantha Towle is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.
A native of Hull, she lives in East Yorkshire with her husband, their son and daughter, and three large furbabies.
She is the author of contemporary romances, The Storm Series, The Revved Series, The Wardrobe Series, The Gods Series, and standalones, Trouble, When I Was Yours, The Ending I Want, Unsuitable, Under Her, River Wild, Dead Pretty, The Two Week Stand and Sacking the Quarterback which was written with James Patterson. She has also written paranormal romances, The Bringer and The Alexandra Jones Series. With over a million books sold, her titles have appeared in countless bestseller lists, and are currently translated into ten languages. To receive an email when Samantha releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter – samanthatowle.co.uk/newsletter-sign-up
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