Business or Pleasure
Ratings35
Average rating3.7
I picked this book up after seeing Hannah B's review of an ARC. I was a huge Teen Wolf fan back when it was on the air, and well, Business or Pleasure is 100% based on something similar to Teen Wolf. In fact, the main love interested, Finn, is almost certainly based on Dylan O'Brien. BASICALLY WHAT I'M SAYING IS, I was destined to pick this book up even without Hannah's excellent review.
Business or Pleasure is about a ghost writer named Chandler who has a one night stand with a washed up actor without realizing who he is. They have a truly awful hook up together, and then the next day, Chandler finds out said hook up is actually her next client. There are a lot of laughs in this book, but also a lot of really touching moments as well. It flows nicely together without feeling choppy or forced. Truly, I enjoyed every aspect of this book.
Chandler and Finn's relationship starts out on a rocky, unstable surface but as they get to know one another (and come to an ~agreement~) they really mesh well. Solomon did an absolutely fantastic job at making these two feel like real people. Neither one of them is good at everything, neither is a total failure. They're each likeable in their own way, and I just...YES.
The steamy scenes are excellent – especially the ones where Chandler is teaching Finn how to be good in bed. He's an awesome student – listening to what his teacher is saying and actually applying it and reaching for more. There's quite a few hot scenes in this book, but you won't see me complaining AT ALL. They all were different enough, and well written enough that it doesn't feel repetitive or like too much.
I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK, OK. And if you are a contemporary romance fan, a Teen Wolf fan, or even someone who just needs a genuinely nice, steamy book...please pick this one up. Four and a half stars.
I’m not going to lie….that was ROUGH. I have read other books by this author and absolutely loved them, but this one was not it for me. I would like to say that it was largely because of the premise, but it is also execution of said premise that made this painful. I’ll be the first to say that I didn’t read the synopsis too closely, so that is on me. I saw the author’s name and got excited. So imagine my surprise when the book was largely just a bunch of spicy scenes where she teaches him how to pleasure women. Not my jam to say the least.
That aside, there has to be some good plot points, right? EH…. sorta…sorta not. Its mostly chapter after chapter of her following him like a hopeless puppy to yet another indistinct convention or “con” as the fans say. It all blended together after a while. They would get on a good roll of talking about deep topics such as his OCD or her anxiety about her career and taking chances, but then it was undercut by yet another “lesson” in bed. The book was just trying so hard to be sex-positive by hitting the reader on the head with it, but it went way too far and now my brain is bleeding. I mean, they literally have conversations (yes… MULTIPLE conversations) about how she was a gender studies major so that’s why she knows so much about sex. Just yikes. I’m not even a gender studies major, but I got insulted that the entire field got generalized as just “being good in bed”.
I know the author can write, but the book just felt… disjointed and weird. If you said that the plot points were created largely through a spinning board and some darts thrown at it, I’d believe you. I’ll still try reading more from this author in the future, but I will definitely be paying more attention to what exactly it’s about.
I really wanted to love this book. It has so much Susan catnip going for it: sex positive FMC; abortion as a thing that happened, but didn't define FMC's life; Jewish MCs who love their religion without being traditionally observant; MCs both living with mental illness; and queer representation. But I just...didn't.
I feel vaguely guilty for saying this, but I never warmed up to the MMC. I get that he has Issues (including OCD), and he's lovely to to the FMC even when she tells him he sucks at sex, but....he sucks at sex. He's a 34 year old guy, none of his previous girlfriends (including one he dated for several years) enjoyed themselves in bed with him, and he had NO IDEA whatsoever? It's great that he doesn't get angry when the FMC tells him the honest truth, and he is an enthusiastic student of her sex lessons. It's also true that TV/movies etc. provide a very skewed view of what women really need to orgasm, so he didn't have great models to follow. But if he's such a great guy, why didn't he pick up on any of the clues his previous lovers must have been giving?
I get it, not all MMCs have to be amazing at sex right out of the gate, and Solomon is trying to transcend the genre tropes. Maybe I'm too old and hard-wired from 40+ years of Old Skool romance novels. Maybe I don't love pages of explicit sex that includes dirty talk and spanking. All I know is, in the end, I admired what Solomon was trying to do more than I enjoyed the book itself.
Read if you like:
- One Night Stand
- Friends with Benefits
- Sex Lessons
- Only One Bed
- Teen Wolf Vibes
- Ghost Writer
- 90s Teen Heartthrob Actor
- Funny
- Mental Health Rep
There is much to love about this book: honest communication, vulnerability, self-discovery, personal growth, sex positivity, consent, OCD and anxiety representation, FMC more knowledgeable on sex and MMC willing to learn.
This is one of the healthiest relationships I've read on contemporary romances, full of much needed green flags.
It was the easy and cozy read I was needing, and I find it perfect as a summer read or to help with a reading slump.
I just didn't love the ending, mostly because I wasn't in the mood for a third act breakup and have chosen this book because some reviews stated it didn't have one. It really is a minor breakup, but I wasn't expecting it, and ended up feeling the ending was rushed. I would have preferred reading about both characters working together for their HEA, as their open communication was my favorite part of the story.
Great read for contemporary romance readers. I highly recommend it!