Talking Dirty With The Boss by Jackie Ashenden

Talking Dirty with the Boss
by Jackie Ashenden
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was another book that I stayed up late for. It sucked me in so hard. Talk about passion and angst. So much of it was like a modern day, old-skool Harlequin Presents: rich, broody hero meets interoffice secretary, lots of unwanted lust, surprise pregnancy, a ton of passion and feelings. But after that thin, upper veneer, it set itself apart in my forever love. The heroine was not a virginal, innocent, docile flower. She went after what she wanted and was confident enough to use her sexuality however she was comfortable with.

Marisa is finally trying to get her life on track. She just got out of a relationship with a married man and her life and finances are in ruins. She works in an office, was a model, but she wants to be an artist. She's just getting ready to pay off her debts and go back to art school when things start happening with Luke. She doesn't do trust very well because of how badly her ex screwed her over, but she seemed calm and levelheaded when necessary.

The hero had actual psychological issues that he was attempting to keep secret. When they do come out, the heroine handles them in a compassionate and calm way. I loved how unflappable she was. She gave as good as she got, didn't let people take advantage of her but was caring and capable of connecting. Luke is so rigid and vulnerable. At first, I felt he was all closed up and serious but we quickly find out how passionate and broody he is. It was so much fun to see him start caring more and more.

Jackie Ashenden books seem to have so many things in them. Half the time I'm going “Oh my gosh! Really?! That too?!”, but in a good way. This story is interesting and so nicely put together. Although we get a nice happily-ever-after, there were a few things I still would have liked to see once I got to the end. We don't get any airtime with Marisa as an artist, so I have no idea if she was actually any good at it. We also don't get to see how they deal with having a baby and/or if Luke is able to deal with his OCD with a kid in the mix.

I wasn't totally sure about the ending. Luke does something sweet and caring. You see it coming, but I was surprised Marisa was able to roll with it and not be a little offended after the way she talked about wanting to do things on her own. Bottom line is that I will now have to get the rest of this series and I will read this book again when I need a smile and a large dose of crazy passion and well-written angst.