“Design means how something works, not how it looks – the design should evolve from the function.” —James Dyson
Author: Ashlyn Kane & Morgan James
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count:
Rating: 4 Stars
Blurb: Rylan Williams hates conferences: too many people, not enough routine, and way too much interaction with strangers. When he gets stuck in a broken elevator with Miller Jones, the kid who fell asleep in his lecture, he figures things can’t get worse. Then Rylan realizes he’s the same guy he just spent an hour perving over from afar.
Rylan wants to await rescue in silence, but Miller insists on conversation, or at least banter. But just because they don’t get along doesn’t mean they don’t have chemistry, and Rylan breaks all his rules about intimacy for a one-time-only conference hookup. He’ll probably never see Miller again anyway. So of course, two months later Miller shows up at Rylan’s office, having just been hired to work on a new computer program—with Rylan.
And Rylan thought being stuck in an elevator with him was bad.
Soon Rylan and Miller learn that they get along best when they take out their frustrations in the bedroom. Their arrangement goes against everything Rylan believes in, but the rules are simple: Don’t stay overnight. Don’t tell anyone. And don’t fall in love.
Review: When Rylan Williams has to present at a conference in Hawaii, he doesn’t see it as the opportunity of a lifetime like most of us would. A free trip to Hawaii. He is an artist! He hates conferences and he hates presentations, he hates crowds, strangers and stepping out of his routine. After getting completely angry with a kid who slept through his presentation, he escapes the hotel and takes some time to enjoy the view on the beach–the sunset and the hot guys surfing in the sunset.
When he heads for the elevator to go back to his room, one of the surfers runs to catch it with him, leaving an annoying trail of sand behind him. Turns out it’s the kid, the really hot kid, who slept through his presentation. But Miller Jones isn’t so much a kid as a man a few years younger than Rylan. The elevator gets stuck and against every polite societal rule, Miller offers Rylan a blowjob. They end up spending the night together, then parting ways in the morning. They never expect to see each other again. Guess that means they never read a romance novel!
A couple months later, Rylan’s company has hired a sub-contractor for six months to help with a project. Rylan is to share an office with the contractor since they will be working closely together. Rylan designs the artist side of a software program they are creating, while Miller is responsible for the functionality side of it. Left brain, meet right brain. Both sides of both brains immediately recognize that they are attracted to the other.
Miller and Rylan really don’t like each other. They annoy the hell out of each other and the only way for them to work through their annoyance with each other is sex. In a bed, on their desks at work, against a wall, doesn’t matter. They agree to a no-strings, sex only deal. Well, they suddenly start to get along better and annoy each other less and less. So much so that their co-workers notice the improvement in Rylan’s usually dour mood.
Rylan and Miller break every rule they set for themselves, most of them in the first week of their arrangement. But it works, so why fight it? Ms. Kane (whose amazing American Love Songs is an absolute must read for any M/M romance fan) and Ms. James give us these men to love, and I just wanted to shake them. They both make assumptions that throw a wrench into their relationship. I wanted to yell at them to talk to each other already!!!
I must admit that the sex was really hot. These guys were very compatible in that department. I loved them together. Seeing Rylan come out of his comfort zone a little bit at a time was gratifying. Seeing Miller trust his feelings was fulfilling. I liked watching the process with these two men and observing their growth into men with real feelings and the ability to communicate them. There was a little angst but not too much. This was a great book which I highly recommend. It’ll make you smile a lot.
You can buy Hard Feelings here:
