Photo credits: Darkroom Art (pixabay), Marcela Bolívar (pixabay), Magda Ehlers (pexels) Edited by Vaishali Title: Faking Ms. Right Series: Dirty Martini Running Club #1 Author: Claire Kingsley Publisher: Always Have, LLC Year of Publication: 2019 Format: E-book/kindle app Genre/Themes: Contemporary romance, Office romance, Fake relationship, close proximity Review...
I'm in the pleasant position to say that I've done it. I've finally read a Claire Kingsley romance! Somehow, this managed to cut its way up the cue that is my reading list. But I'm also in the pleasant position to say that for the most part, Faking Ms. Right glides right on by with sweet simplicity, an easy writing style and plain adorable grace. There were some beautiful subtle touches, a feel-good tone and an easy delivery imbues the first standalone instalment in the Dirty Martini Running Club series with a wonderful personality. As does Everly Dalton, the sunshine even-steven half of a trope to a romantic companion who is her truly twilighted other. This book doesn't have complicated turns or unpredictable developments - and many of them can be easily spotted as laid in motion - but perhaps the power (for me) lies in the simplicity of Everly and Shepherd's development and the substance of that simplicity. That which unbuttons and undresses a relationship between a removed boss-employee dynamic to one where eyes finally lock, sights shift, feelings thrive in close proximity and results in a big yellow beanbag chair in the centre of a stoic man's private penthouse. There's always something truly delightful about a bright heroine who disrupts a stoic man's sense of structure. I need more of this. Shepherd Calloway is a man who doesn't believe in mincing his words, or even using too many to get his point across. All it takes is a glare, unnerving silence and perhaps the fear of God will enter the body of one who clears breathing distance. He's a man of poor tact, brute silence and has one tone within the office space: clean, mean silence that promises nothing in return. Shepherd's entrance to a work day is the night to Everly Dalton's day, because every day that he walks into the office with the shadows of intimidation smoking at his heels, Everly walks in with the beams sunlight trailing hers, and very few are impregnable to her glow (with the exceptions of her apathetic boss). As Shepherd's assistant, Everly may very well have been little more than pleasant office furniture to him but she's also lasted longer than any assistant that came before her, and three years under her belt as his second hand and she remains fully intact with a bright morning smile, excellent prowess and aglow at a daily job well done. Through her occupation at his side, she's learned the art of administrating her automaton boss, and as familiar as she is with his working routine, she knows little more about the man behind the desk. As we thirst for, the discovery's about to begin... While Faking Ms. Right doesn't flesh out an emotional connection to its full depth, it has a slow, easy and delightful romantic development and I loved being a part of Shepherd and Everly's. Their on page relationship and slow burn chemistry is something I always found myself looking forward to. An opposites attract this definitely is. A grumpy/sunshine romance this also definitely is. Another thing: this is that romance where the brooding hero loses the battle with a historical straight face and smiles only for his heroine. I wouldn't expect a showstopping outcome or a romance that turns heads at first sight, but Claire Kingsley may very well have my admiration for deciding to not fall into the overzealous trapping of a superfluous delivery. I loved the seamless match of a hero and heroine that just seem to fit together. I also really appreciated the characterisation because while this was light-hearted, sweet and spicy with the mildest of comical bones, I really believed in the development of the couple. It was natural, easy and gave in the right places. And I think that's what I took a shine to, along with luxuriating in the transformation of a hero who can't stop the process of defrosting for a heroine he can't stay away from. And one who steadily chips at his emotion-resistant thaw. I admit to pausing with reservation when I began Faking Ms. Right. There were admittedly a few things, mainly in tandem with thoughts/feelings and situations pertaining to Kingsley's hero that I might have grimaced at. There are some situations that feel unrealistic such as Annie's inappropriate request in profiling a certain someone for donor material. The rationale with that plot particular was a poor judgment call on Everly's sister's part to even entertain the idea. And there's also the addendum fake engagement which didn't feel needed on top of a fake relationship. But, there's also a lot of believability and fondness to be found in this story and with these characters. I especially loved getting to know the other Calloway men, giving weight to Shepherd's difference of character and his distanced personal relationships with even them, but always being there for them without fail. And as someone who similarly struggles with personal connections, maintaining personal relationships and being emotionally misunderstood, it was heartening to see - through Shepherd - that internalised some us may be, the feelings are still in the right place, even if they look different on the surface. I would have liked some follow up with this though, to perhaps address how Shep might tackle his emotional redundancy within his relationship with Everly. Especially as he seems so resigned to the state of his emotional status quo, which is where his character suffers. For as many collected tropes as there are, Claire Kingsley works the ones included really well. The delivery isn't overblown and I appreciated that the inevitable conflict scenario isn't propelled on the heels of miscommunication, even if it was duly misjudged on Shep's part to wait as long as he did to make amends knowing that he played a poor part in the situation. While I would have liked a bit more grovel from him, he was so unexpectedly endearing for a man who would never be accused of anything less than emotional irresponsivity, that within situations where he was defenceless, it was clear that he didn't wear the role of a hardened man for the sake of being a hardened man. He just doesn't know how to be himself around people or how to leave that place, and believes he's not capable of being anything other than his mother's example. There are a few layers to Shep, and his receptivity and draw towards Everly spoke louder than any two-minded refusal did. As for Everly, she's truly rainbow-esque, and one colour in her inner rainbow radiates the biggest: yellow. She's a kind, warm and caring heroine, and while these buoyant sweet-on-the-surface heroines can sometimes fail to assert their own strength, Everly definitely has her own. She's fun, easy in every way, a real social butterfly who cares, shares and sees the best. Very little could mar her sparkle and with a bit of Everly attitude she holds her own. While she's capable and carries herself well, I did want her to push for some more grovel during the conflict phase considering how distraught she was when Shepherd resorted to his typical withdrawn Shepherd way. I did need and want more shared moments between her and her untouchable hero though. This does follow the lane of a contemporary romance more than it does the rom-com It's said to be. To get into a bit of backstory, Everly's been a remarkable assistant to Shepherd the past three years, and there isn't a particular attraction to each other until the book really begins. In that time, Shepherd's had multiple short-term, surface-deep relationships with outrageously beautiful women which usually amount to monetary advantage on their part and intentional distance on his part. Everly's had a self-professed parade of 'dating disasters' and has had her fair share of atrocious romantic adventures but It's not clear if she's been in actual relationships during their three years only bound by a professional relationship. While there's definitely some grounded relatability in backsplashing Everly's comical romantic history, it was also hard to believe that a gorgeous, smart, bright and successful woman with a flagrantly attractive personality hasn't managed to have even one relationship in that time? So they haven't been on each other's radar beyond practical operations, especially Shepherd, who rarely acknowledges Everly's existence bar a curt borderline. There is an OW situation, which is called upon as a plot device for Shepherd to pull Everly into a fake relationship scheme, and this becomes the basis of the a big lie, fake frontage and a very real chemistry. I’m not too sold on the idea of the beauty trip; where one night of finery and a familiar woman in a beautiful dress grows from a bud to a blossom by the hero’s estimation. Especially when Everly’s clearly an attractive woman in more than just appearance. The story did feel a bit depthless in places and I really believe that with a more integrated emotional connection, the relationship could have reached some beautiful heights. But as is stands, it still sparkles with ease. And I really need to pave into the sexual chemistry here because I never expected that Shep would be the growly hero who'd provide a side of kink and institute a newly-developed fascination for strawberry hair products. The sweetness, the naughtiness, the seduction and the passion in the bedroom were a true highlight for me. It's those little touches that really humanise Kingsley's hero without making him stray from his original self. The explicit sex scenes fasten the chemistry, solidifies where they're heading and yep, they absolutely made me hot under my metaphorical collar as they fed the smut lover in me. It's a magical thing to be a part of a romance where two opposites can augment an easy chemistry and this pair definitely have it. The female friendship group was another suggestive highlight because I love seeing representation of supportive, realistic and honest girl groups who have the backs of their fellow ladies. I love the girl power, and speaking of such, we have a mini series crossover here too! If you've read the second book in the Bluewater Billionaires series - unlike me - you'll be familiar with an empowering collective of billionaire girlbosses, one of whom is Kingsley's heroine, Cameron Whitbury. I know her as the friend to Lucy Score's heroine, Emily Stanton (because this is the book I can claim to have read), and Kingsley carves an appearance for her and her burly bodyguard here. I was two-minded about the series title if I'm honest though, because this might be called the Dirty Martini Running Club, but there's only one scene where Everly and her girl gang have an evening run and indulge in a round of late night adult beverages. It would have been nice to make that a repeated evening tradition. Shepherd Calloway's personal life is a well-kept mystery that loses its edge when he finds it in himself to share what he's never shared with anyone before. You couldn't look at this man without feeling a strong presence that merges hand in hand with wealth and masculinity. He's careful habited power in a suit and his assistant enforces sunshine like a buttery-fine spread. If Everly Dalton's shine is a force, then Shepherd Calloway's grumpiness is a forcefield. With Claire Kingsley's sweet and saucy romance, you'll get a powerful hero with a secret side hobby, a chipper heroine who deserves her HEA, two people who decide that singlehood might be a temporary master plan after a series of dating misadventures and a live-in boyfriend/girlfriend bluff that soon has these two leaping for the bedroom (or car) door. I might just peddle this for readers eager to love a growly hero who's brought alive by the fringes of kink. I can understandably see why readers have a split opinion with this but it's still sweet, soft, sexy and worth a read if my opinion is worth some light CR salt. I'm relishing the day when I get to sample a sweet libation from Claire Kingsley's Boyfriend series. And while there exists approximately 116 miles between me and that goal because my threadbare self might perish in face of my expansive reading list, this is happening. I gave this book 3.5/4 stars - Content Warning: Profanity, a parent with cancer, descriptive bedroom scenes with some kink, alcohol consumption. Some themes include early parenthood separation/past parent infidelity and same sex partner adoption. P.S: This is 2.0 of my review for Faking Ms. Right because I somehow (characteristically) dammed myself by accidentally deleting my first review which I painstakingly worked for days during a particularly bad sick period. That's a whole other level of wasted effort down the drain *excuse me as I mop up the flow of my tears *. I think my original review was a better penned, but alas, we're settling with this one. It's no too bad hopefully. Excuse me as present me continues to berate past me for fudging our efforts...as I again mop up those tears. I'm getting really good at mopping up tears. --------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read --------------------------------------- Some Favourite Quotes: 'Working for Mr. Calloway was not easy. He was cold, harsh, and demanding. He never said thank you, or gave any sort of praise. I’d lived in terror for the first few months I’d worked for him, positive he was going to fire me. He always seemed so angry. But after a while, I realized that was just the way he was. He wasn’t angry at me. In fact, he barely noticed me. Sometimes I wondered whether he’d recognize me if he had to pick me out of a police lineup' '“What is that?” “Hmm?” She walked over and picked up her drink. “This? Oh, it’s my bean bag chair.” “You brought a bean bag chair? And you’re putting it in my living room?” She smiled. “Yes.” “Why?” “Because it’s comfortable, and a great place to read, and my favorite color.” I glanced at it again, a big yellow blob sitting among my carefully chosen furniture. “It’s fuzzy. And yellow.” “That’s very observant of you, Shep.” My gaze snapped to her.' “I made dinner reservations for us.” “Dinner?” “Yes, dinner. The meal that usually takes place after work. And sometimes people have dinner together. At a restaurant.” Oh my god, was he teasing me? My mouth turned up in a small smile. “Shepherd, are you making a joke?” He sighed and glanced away, as if annoyed, but I could see the hint of a smile on his face.' 'He offered to get me another drink, but I declined. After the champagne and the Manhattan, I was in danger of bypassing a little tipsy and heading straight for telling inappropriate stories and asking strangers for hugs. Not that I’d ever done that before. Okay, yes I had.' 'I’d never given it a lot of thought, but sharing a bed was awfully intimate. There was a certain vulnerability to it. Shepherd was an exceedingly private person, and he never made decisions without careful consideration. The fact that he trusted me enough for this was oddly touching. It made me want to be the best fake girlfriend ever.' 'I’d seen Shepherd Calloway looking every bit the hot, wealthy businessman in a designer tux or a perfectly-tailored suit. I’d seen him at the end of a long day with the sleeves of his button-down shirt cuffed to his elbows. I’d even seen him in gym clothes after a workout and rubbing sleep from his eyes in the kitchen early in the morning while he waited for his coffee. But this? I’d never dreamed I’d see Shepherd like this. Messy and a little sweaty, playing bass in a band at a dive bar? He was so sexy I thought I might die.' 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