In legal terms, we are what’s known as hot as f*ck.
Declan
Author: Kayley Loring
Genre: Enemies-to-Lovers, Boss/Office Romance
Pages: 310
Release Date: October 26, 2020
What a cute little (steamy) Christmas season read! There was nothing super stellar or spectacular about this book, but it was the perfect read to get me in the holiday spirit! Perhaps a 4-star read, because of said holiday cheer, I’m glad I picked this up right in time to finish the holiday season out!
Declan is a workaholic real estate lawyer. Maddie Cooper has been his executive assistant for the past couple of months – the longest he’s had an assistant in, maybe, well ever. Maddie wants nothing more than to have Christmas day off just like everyone else in the office (or week). Declan plans on working straight through the holidays, but his family has guilt-tripped him, rightfully so, into coming for Christmas Eve and a wedding on New Year’s Eve. During this guilt-trip, Declan announces that he’s met someone – he and his assistant are now dating which is why he’s been too busy to call! And now she has to come to Ohio for the holidays.
Declan shows up at Maddie’s door with a proposition. A literal contract to attend his family’s holiday events this year in exchange for having the 23rd to January 4th off. Hot legal jargon ensues. She has until the night of the office holiday party to decide. Under his workaholic tendencies, Declan has a heart of gold. Absolute swoon when he buys the receptionist a karaoke machine for her Secret Santa gift – a gift he knew she would love and very over budget… and the deciding factor on Maddie agreeing to his ludicrous plan. And speaking of karaoke… singing happens to have a large presence in this book, adding a lot of drunken fun to this story.
Declan hasn’t been entirely transparent with Maddie about why he mentioned he had a girlfriend. And there’s more to the story… will it be happily ever after for Maddie and Declan? Maddie and Declan are flirty from the start of the book and have great banter and chemistry; they are bound to happen! So I mean, of course, but read to find out!
P.S. A fun little addition to the book is Piper, Maddie’s niece. She gets her own moments, stealing Maddie’s phone to text Declan and writing “fan fiction” about Maddie and Declan in her journal. I wasn’t sold on it at first, but by the end, I found it endearing and hilarious.
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