Snowbound with the CEO by Shannon Stacey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Romancing Rakes for the Love of Romance.
Rating: ~4 hearts: I loved it!
Review:
One of my favorite romance tropes is the office romance with characters who are secretly attracted to each other, and when one of those characters is the boss, the ultimate revelation of the secret is all the more appealing for me. In SNOWBOUND WITH THE CEO, we get the caring and considerate boss and his efficient executive assistant, neither of whom dares make a move on the other for fear of ruining their successful work relationship. It takes the intervention of Mother Nature to force them together in a secluded hideaway where they finally feel safe enough to make the next move toward happiness.
Adrian Blackstone is the adorable CEO with a heart who never dared acknowledge his attraction to his assistant until he saw her off the clock at the hotel bar after they were both stranded by a fast moving blizzard. Rachel Carter has been crushing on Adrian for over a year but knows that doing anything about it would end the best job she’s ever had. The protected bubble of their forced hotel stay helps them finally act on what they both want. But when the roads are clear and they have to return to the real world, what seemed so clear before might not be what they can actually have.
SNOWBOUND WITH THE CEO is much like a category romance in its setup, plot, and conclusion, but because this is Shannon Stacey, the writing never falls into cliché. We get to see why the hero and heroine are so drawn to one another, and why their return to the office makes them both behave in ways that each completely misinterprets as a rejection of the other. The misunderstandings are understandable and never too frustrating, making the ultimate resolution between them all the sweeter at the end. As an avowed lover of epilogues, I was also quite happy with the one presented here. My only real dissatisfaction with the story was that it was so short, even shorter than the category romance which is so strongly resembles. But the length doesn’t prevent SNOWBOUND WITH THE CEO from being yet another satisfying read from Shannon Stacey, and I’ll continue to read pretty much anything she writes.
Favorite Quote:
She tried to pull away, but he held her fast. “Whoa. First, your job is not in jeopardy. You are invaluable to me. You could probably whack me over the head with a wine bottle and steal my wallet and I wouldn’t fire you. Second, I like the Greek god thing. And third, since I’ve only heard you call me Adrian in my mind — sometimes when I’m dreaming and sometimes when I’m in the shower — I want to hear it from you more often.”
