by Lily Miller
About this book
Jules Bennett manages the marketing side of her family’s boutique hotel. Beckett Taylor is Vice President of a rival boutique hotel. Jules thinks Beckett is arrogant and cocky and completely ruthless when it comes to getting his way in business.
When they spent a weekend together at a conference, Jules finds that Beckett may not be what she thinks of him at all. Instead, he is sweet and charming and she finds herself hopelessly attracted to him. After the platonic weekend, they go away with changed views of each other.
They run into each other a few weeks later and continues their friendship and romance. However there are obstacles to overcome, such as the fact that they work for rival companies and that Beckett is getting a promotion and shortly moving to a different continent.
Book review
This was a sweet read. Both characters were great – Jules with a zest for life, opinionated yet knows when to back down when she’s wrong, and Beckett, vulnerable yet family-oriented, charming and sweet.
The romance between Jules and Beckett is an obvious one, both feeling attracted to each other since the conference and picking up when they meet again in their regular lives. Pace was good, with both characters not resisting the attraction too much and minimal angst despite some obstacles to overcome in their relationship. No objection from Jules’ family at all despite what they expect.
What I struggled to get over however, was the fact that Jules and Beckett both hold very prominent and senior roles in their respective companies, despite their young age – Jules is 25 and Beckett is 27. Yes, they may be talented individuals, and their hotels are boutique (and Jules’ is their family hotel to boot), but still, surely they couldn’t have accumulated enough experience yet to take on the top positions that they hold.
I would also have liked to read more about their work and interactions with other colleagues, perhaps how the rival hotels work against each other on some projects. Especially so since the author tells us both characters spend a lot of time at work, but it’s not obvious how their work is weaved into their lives in the story.
I’ve not read the first 3 stories in this series, which feature Jules’ brothers. I may give it a try though – the brothers and their partners appear in this story and they seem to be interesting characters.
Rin Ranger 