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    Advanced Reader CopyChick LitContemporary RomanceNetgalleyReviews

    Hot Copy by Ruby Barrett

    written by Dísir
    Hot Copy by Ruby BarrettHot Copy by Ruby Barrett
    Published by Carina Press on 13th April 2021
    Buy on Amazon
    Goodreads
    two-stars

    A meet-cute gone wrong is the start of a surprising courtship in this fresh, modern take on the workplace romance from debut author Ruby Barrett

    Corinne Blunt knows what people think of her—she’s an icy, unapproachable executive. It’s the price she’s had to pay to get to the top. But there’s knowing you have a reputation in the office, and there’s hearing your new intern laugh when someone calls you “Blunt the C*nt” in the elevator on his first day.

    She’d hoped to finally find an ally in Wesley Chambers, but she’s not about to let him off the hook for joining the office boys’ club. Taking refuge in the professional boundaries between them, she relegates Wes to assistant work—which would do the trick, if he weren’t so eager to prove he’s a decent human being.

    Wes is sincerely apologetic, insisting it was a misunderstanding, and to her surprise, Corinne believes him. Being forced to work together was one thing, but long hours at the office with what turns out to be a kind, thoughtful man soon has their business relationship turning personal, and things get complicated—fast.

    Could this be something more serious than either of them dared to hope for? Or is their relationship just playing into the harmful power dynamics Corinne’s had to endure her entire career?

    The role reversal that ‘Hot Copy’ presents—a hard, confident and goal-driven boss and an intern, the former of whom misconstrued a meeting and set them both on a path of dislike and spite—is story I couldn’t wait to get my hands on.

    ‘Hot Copy’ delves into sexual politics in the office and I definitely cringed at the very real issue of sexual harassment here and the delicate navigating it takes around this thorny issue especially when a woman worms her way around it in order to stay ‘professional’. On the one hand, I felt for Corinne, overly-sensitive and spiteful because of her own gender trying to climb the corporate ladder while taking all sorts of harassment along with it.

    But if the story explored this question and put it all in form of Corinne and her struggles, inequality seemed to define her and Wesley’s relationship from the start: from boss to intern, from older career-woman to younger greenhorn-subordinate. I simply saw Wesley differing to Corinne at every point, taking her rejections and her whiplash mood-swings and pushing away like punches to the gut without really stepping up on his own to challenger her.

    On every front, Wesley stayed the passive one, shifting the blame of everything going wrong onto himself, while refusing to recognise that Corinne needed to own her own part in her fickle ways. That she seemed ashamed of their relationship—admittedly a secret one in the office—while taking only the pieces of Wesley she wanted was too selfish and too one-sided for me to call this a pairing I wanted to get behind.

    Above all, where was the communication between them, or worse yet, the reciprocity? There were pages and pages of Wesley cajoling, his rationalising monologues about wanting to be with her, taking the first step of action to do the things to make Corinne comfortable, but her reciprocity was sorely lacking throughout. For once, I wanted her to step up and out of her own comfort zone the way Wesley had done for her, but time and again, it was her tucking tail, keeping quiet and then pushing away when it mattered the most when all the sacrifices were made on his side.

    Even towards the end, Corinne seemed more concerned with her job and career status than wanting to be with Wesley—after all that he’d done for her selflessly!—, displaying a mean-spirited, small-heartedness that I just couldn’t get over. She took and took and took, gave too little while Wesley did too much of the opposite. I never saw her taking the big leap forward but instead relegated him to a side matter; instead it was up to serendipity and chance that that they were together by the end of the book. What could have been a way more satisfying conclusion turned out to be a frustrating, hair-pulling one, where the romance wasn’t one made of a couple fighting for each other, but rather, one where Corinne wanted a foot out at all times.

    two-stars
    Hot Copy by Ruby Barrett was last modified: February 11th, 2021 by Dísir
    22nd February 2021 0 comment
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  • Action/AdventureAdvanced Reader CopyContemporary RomanceNetgalleyReviews

    Feel the Fire by Annabeth Albert

    by Dísir 24th August 2020

    Feel the Fire by Annabeth Albert Series: Hotshots #3 Published by Carina Press on 26th October 2020 Pages: 241 Buy on Amazon Goodreads Fire behavior specialist Luis Riviera goes where…

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  • Chick LitContemporary RomanceReviews

    Pretty Face by Lucy Parker

    by Dísir 14th December 2019

    Pretty Face by Lucy Parker Series: London Celebrities, #2 Published by Carina Press on 20th February 2017 Pages: 222 Buy on Amazon Goodreads It’s not actress Lily Lamprey’s fault that…

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  • Advanced Reader CopyChick LitContemporary RomanceNetgalleyReviews

    Headliners by Lucy Parker

    by Dísir 10th December 2019

    Headliners by Lucy Parker Series: London Celebrities #5 Published by Carina Press on 20th January 2020 Pages: 286 Buy on Amazon Goodreads He might be the sexiest man in London,…

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  • Advanced Reader CopyChick LitContemporary RomanceNetgalleyReviews

    One Christmas Eve by Shannon Stacey

    by Dísir 30th October 2019

    One Christmas Eve by Shannon Stacey Series: Cedar Street, #2 Published by Carina Press on 11th November 2019 Pages: 104 Buy on Amazon Goodreads Zoe Randall is busy living her…

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  • Advanced Reader CopyContemporary RomanceNetgalleyReviews

    Arctic Heat by Annabeth Albert

    by Dísir 29th July 2019

    Arctic Heat by Annabeth Albert Series: Frozen Hearts, #3 Published by Carina Press on 23rd September 2019 Pages: 361 Buy on Amazon Goodreads Owen Han has a fresh lease on…

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  • Advanced Reader CopyContemporary RomanceNetgalleyReviews

    Dine with Me by Layla Reyne

    by Dísir 24th July 2019

    Dine With Me by Layla Reyne Published by Carina Press on 16th September 2019 Pages: 205 Buy on Amazon Goodreads Life never tasted so good. Miller Sykes’s meteoric rise to…

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