Marisa Clair wants to get her artist dreams back on track after a life detour. That means no partying, no shopping…and definitely no men to distract her. Should be easy, but there’s something about her hot and exceedingly uptight boss and she can’t seem to stop herself from ruffling Mr. Tall, Dark and Irritating.
Financial consultant Luke McNamara lives his life strictly by schedule – his OCD simply won’t allow him to do anything else. And the very last thing he needs is a sassy blonde putting lipstick on his collar and messing with his routine. She annoys the hell out of him so why can’t he stop thinking about the color of her panties…and how free he feels when he’s with her?
Marisa and Luke’s plans to steer clear of one another are shot to hell after a hot office encounter. Now the two of them will have to learn to get along as they face a much more permanent reminder of their lack of self-control – a pregnancy.
I absolutely loved this book, read it in less than a day and didn’t want to put it down. The funny thing is that I REALLY didn’t like Marisa at first. There is just something about her that drove me nuts, but as I got to know her I started to feel for her. She comes across as quite self-confident, even cocky, but it is all an act to keep people from looking at her too closely. Ashenden does such a fantastic job of making her so sympathetic that by the time the book was over I felt all of her highs and lows as if they were my own.
From the very beginning, Luke appealed to me – not because I personally have any of his quirks (just the opposite actually) but because he is so heartbreaking in his troubles. He has such tight control over his life that you know he can’t be happy but he doesn’t see any other way to live his life. And then comes Marisa … and she definitely shakes things up. He’s actually the reason I initially decided to pick this one up. I was SO captivated by the idea of a gorgeous, sexy man having to live with OCD. I just read about a similar man in Wendy Sparrow’s novella, On His List and found the idea intriguing. Luke is smart, sexy and caring but he carries a heavy burden and is often mistaken for being cold or weird. He definitely makes you remember that all of those odd people in the world may have things going on that you can’t see or understand. The outer disabilities are much easier to recognize than the ones that are on the inside.
This is Ashenden’s follow-up to Talking Dirty with the CEO and Talking Dirty with the Player and though I’ve not read either one, I’m very much intrigued. The heroes and heroines from both books make very small appearances in this one and their storylines don’t seem to have had any direct impact on this book, so if you haven’t read them either you’ll be fine.
You’ll find Talking Dirty with the Boss to be an interesting new take on the unplanned pregnancy romance – with a flawed hero and heroine who just need someone to see who they are underneath and love them anyway. Sharp and witty writing, combined with interesting and troubled characters, make this a can’t-miss read for romance lovers everywhere.
Romantic Reads and Such 