Michelle Love, $0.99, ISBN 979-8201928940
Contemporary Romance, 2022
Michelle Love’s The Boss’s Claim is part of a series called An Edge Gap Romance. Assuming we are talking about a significant age gap, and the hero Evan Sheffield is the bloke on the cover, that means the heroine is either a granny or an “FBI! Open up!” poster girl. This should be interesting.
Rich, debonair Evan walks into a high-priced store to look for a suit to replace his ripped one when he meets Anna, the comely staff. She offers to sew up the gash on his suit, and he’d like her to see a different kind of gash from her.
What, is that line too classy for this website?
Her employer thinks that she’s behaving like a trollop for getting within a foot of a man, hence ruining the reputation of the store or something, and Anna gets fired.
Since she’s hot, however, he hires her at triple her current pay. All she has to do is to be his personal tailor and “whatever”. There are many ways to interpret that “whatever” part, of course, but since he’s hot and rich and generous with his money, it’s a good kind of “whatever”.
He talks about her dressing him and doing other naughty things to her face. That’s okay, he’s hot so it’s obvious that he’s just “joking”. His “jokes” only makes her more thirsty to drop her skirt for him anyway, which only drives home how this kind of story is only made palatable because the lead characters, especially the hero, are attractive.
If he is old and fat, for example, then people would be screeching that the hero is a creepy old rapist taking advantage of a vulnerable, not-so-bright lady. He’s the guy on the cover, though, so hey, this story is hot.
Really, though, this story is all about the fantasy of a hot and super rich bloke just sweeping the heroine off her feet and doing everything nice to her for no reason other than she is hot. Anna doesn’t have to do anything to get her claws into his money and, oh yeah, his love aside from winning the genetic lottery.
Therefore, there isn’t much of a believable romantic journey. Not much conflict, either, and I really would like to believe that the guy on the hero is not Evan, or else Anna’s cloying naïveté will take on a darker turn and our hero is likely going to be hauled off to jail soon.
I personally find this a frivolous story that could use a bit more weight and feelings behind what passes for romance here.
Still, the author’s narrative style is okay and there are far worse things than the fantasy of a wealthy bloke sweeping one off their feet.
Readers that are down for a ride on this fantasy train and are not expecting more may just have a good time with this one.
