Photo credits: OpenClipart-Vectors (pixabay), Jo Wiggijo (Pixabay) Edited by Vaishali Title: King of Wall Street Series: The Royals #1 Author: Louise Bay Publisher: self-published Year of Publication: 2016, 2017, 2018 Format: E-book/kindle app ISBN – 978-1-910747-32-2 Genre/Themes: Contemporary romance, Office romance, Adult Fiction, New adult romance, business/workplace, single father Review... My second book from Louise Bay and King of Wall Street follows suit with its later written cousin in the Gentleman series, The Wrong Gentleman, apropos to the reading wake of both. This first instalment into the Royals series plated up an offer I couldn't refuse. With a medley of favourable tropes that embrace a single father storyline, a billionaire bossman at odds with a new hire and an enemies to lovers theme, one could call me athirst to mark another ripe romance off of my list of delectables. The flaring chemistry was fantastic, a hate energy already seemed to be established, the heat rating for it was just a degree short of 'give me more', and romancing friends, I do enjoy the tense push and pull of a hate to love romance when you just know what sits under the surface of the distaste or how easily that energy might shift in the right moments. In all the right ways. I'm saying all the best things because it can be that good. However, after reading a few enemies to lovers romances in my time, that fragile dynamic can also work the temperamental energy in unfavourable ways, and as such, It can also go just badly for me just as quickly. This story was an attention pull from the start, and before I get into why this fell out of favour in a few different ways, I must begin by saying that my aversion did eventually plateau when I felt a bit more comfortable with what I was reading and where things were going. It's definitely a swoony 'head over heels' notion to know that a hero is so affected by his heroine that she seems to infiltrate the barrier of even his strongest efforts to remain functional, but I don't like the idea of a hero using his attraction to the heroine as a reason for unprofessional prejudice. That's where Max's character initially went wrong. He has a solid reputation for being iron-clad and even unforgiving, and while I can deal with an abrasive boss who deigns to acknowledge his employees, one who pushes the onus of what he feels onto the apple of his eye by belittling her in the way of scraping at her professional performance because he can't deal with his feelings doesn't particularly receive well. I actually thought Max would have a semi-acceptable reason for his prejudice, but apparently, Harper's singled out by him because he doesn't know what to do with his attraction bar being beheld by the grudge of what that means for him. While I didn't take to the 'I like you so I've decided to hate you' playground pecking approach in the space of a professional setting, I bring up something that never sits well in my romance-chasing soul. It's typically cause for rinsing my hands of a story almost immediately in most cases. Sexual scenarios involving a hero with other women, or even knowing that post-meeting the heroine the hero still maintains an active sex life - despite being extremely attracted to her (as Max was) - is a major deterrent for me. It also goes a long way in snuffing the root of anticipation I might have had brewing for the couple. There is no cheating here but Harper does once get a priority seat in hearing the rattling soundtrack of Max's vigorous lovemaking. For me? this representation is never something I relish. I never see it as a pleasurable route to satisfaction in any way. And despite Max's later comment about being lost to Harper from the start, I doubt he maintained celibacy for her, which always feels like a conflict of interest to me. While Max and Harper are presented similarly in the fact that they have little interest in relationships (much preferring the casual type), it's yet Max (the guy) who has a fragrant, frequent sex life, and yet Harper (the girl) who has one not worth mentioning. If it's a case of showing Max's sexual power and prowess for the desirability factor, that can be achieved through sexual situations with the heroine he's meant to be paired with. So in short, this acts as quite the quick repellent to me even if I gathered myself to soldier through. This brings me to my neighbouring point. That a hero usually always has the claim to a rampant sexual history and the heroine has the right to an average/below average experience with past partners until one ultra-masculine specimen comes along to right the offense in his chest thumping way is something I've always wanted writers to challenge a bit more rather than staying rigid to the course of extreme inadequacy (or inexperience) and extreme perfectionism. The guy getting the best sex life and the girl getting the worst is something I really want writers to push up against rather than to blend into with the ol' male-centric grain. Not wanting to date, being love averse or celibate is absolutely reasonable because a character's relationship with sex is dependent on who they are as people, what's desired in life, what's wanted from it and the stories that have shaped them. It's a personal, character-dependent choice and I fully appreciate that... Harper has had past relationships but - and I'm speaking with many romances in mind - the representation generally and often feels entrenched in male power and female powerlessness. Harper's a great sexual match for the Wall Street King, and they both have a fantastic sexual experience with each other, but as I dismount my philosophical horse, it comes down to a simple question: why simply is the heroine made to wait rather than want for her own sexual awakening? Or to even have had a past where she's enjoyed building connections and sexual relationships with the people she's known? If the hero is the biggest, baddest most virile beast in the jungle, then I want the heroine to be the biggest baddest power-fulfilling feline in the forest just because she can be. I love an alpha male, but I also love an alpha female who has all the realistic/flawed/vulnerable traits we love to see in women but who still shares an awareness with what she deserves, indulges her own instincts and enjoys what mother nature wouldn't fault her for enjoying. I think fiction should really try to emulate that. Or perhaps I'm wearing a bit thin reading about sexually free heroes and sexually neglected heroines. Now that I've carved a space for these thoughts though, I shall stop rambling before this point devolves into a non-point. Interestingly enough, the big bad of Wall Street is somebody who gradually grew on me and the further I made headway into the story, the more I began to see a man with integrity and who might have been poor with communication but who knew how to care. A family man who, outside the professional setting, felt just as lost as any other parent; a father who'd decided that his daughter would always be number one while struggling with both rephasing into a full-time parent and not easing well into her growth as a young woman. One such man who had the appeal of a squealing truck on the warpath turns out to be one such man who was made to be more smypathisable and likeable than I expected him to be. The other side of his life makes Max more accessible as a human being with his own personal life. His tendency to audially check out often with his sisters and daughter was quite funny. As mentioned I didn't like that he made a reasonable professional situation utterly personal - and Harper is guilty of the same in the final conflict - but underneath it all, I saw a good guy under that well-tailored suit and disinterest. Eloquent in the language of business but inarticulate in the personal land of love. But while Bay's hero grew on me, her heroine sadly did not. Harper's Introduced as this truly career-focussed, career-driven woman who's deflated by the man she idolised during her educational years. Sounds great so far. And after finally making it into Max's company, the heroism dies when her fantasy swiftly wears off. Even better. Neither of the MCs sat well with me in turns, and while Harper found her boss to be disappointing and disenchanting, it was Harper that I found to be equally disappointing and disenchanting. She was really bothered by Max's coldness and rudeness (even dubbed him that non-affectionate eight letter word that starts with an 'a' ad nauseam), and instead of using the opportunity to focus on herself and how she might thrive, she's always in some way, desperate for his approval. I didn't understand why Max's distance became so problematic. He's a wealthy power suit and should probably be taken as such, but I think an inferiority complex tied to an absentee father and a misleading daydream is a strong thing in play. She's also tremendously complaint-prone. She boasted a picture of how much she hates her boss, which becomes meaningless when she continually melts in the presence of Max's sex appeal. It was that situation where one overlooks a hero's behaviour because his masculinity was too potent to spurn. Harper really felt like the human embodiment of a switch, as was the story in many ways. She constantly bemoaned how terrible and awful Max was but was eagerly quick to eat up the lust and sample the sex whenever it was on offer. So, I did struggle with her character because, whenever it came to Max, she felt like the female equivalent of 'the boy who cried wolf'. I'm not a personal chaser of the 'i hate you but I'll still get my sexual jollies with you' interpretation of a romance. Unless it's done in a way I like. I'd rather the hate take time to turn and burn into something less hateful with a show of one's character before the protagonists actually give into the sexual draw. That's where the development is. The author, however, only pulls off an impulsive transition in place of one that phases into clean stages. Bar Harper's complicated relationship with her father, which really did imbue her with some depth and flawed importance, she wasn't particularly interesting. She had spunk, smarts, stubbornness and Independence (some great traits) but she didn't bring an awful lot of attraction to the story. Next to Max, who had a better trajectory, her representation felt very stroppy and I stopped humouring her back and forth struggle the more she cavilled. She had a lot to learn in a professional sense which pinpoints a great undercurrent, and it was nice to later see Max give her guidance, which really brought home her new newness Into the Industry. I was also disappointed that Harper's relationship with her mom isn't available for us to see. It would have delivered a nice comparative to her soured relationship with her father, and yet, even as her mother exists off-page, I'm left unaware of how strong or weak their mother/daughter relationship really is. I did like that Max's resistance to a relationship fell on a very realistic, admirable reason. It wasn't particularly down to a deep-seated fear of being in one, but because he believes his daughter deserves the best of his time. And because he believes - like many a hero - his life is mighty fine just the way it is. Max makes quite some strides though, and even though the emotional current in this book is a very mild in-and-out shadow, Max's feelings felt more developed than Harper's. Grace was also a great secondary character, especially in the role of providing intervening judgement calls Harper needed to hear now and then. I don't expect flawless representations in a character but the heroine's tendency towards being pretense-prone, and even a bit unevolved in a personal growth and mindset sort of way, made her difficult to like as a leading lady. While the story can still be enjoyed because there's plenty of potential in the writing and the outline, the execution doesn't deliver with its best effort. All required components are on the page but as a personal opinion, I'm not sure it's tackled with the finest hands. In terms of the romance, there's definitely room for development. The bedroom scenes are second to none but there is a lack of acute depth. While their relationship feels hateful and immediate to begin with, It's hard to really read into where the enmity comes from, especially on Harper's side (even if Max quote on quote is a bit of an alphahole initially), and their lack of experience with personal romantic relationships does show. As a couple, Max and Harper do sort of do things backwards, and the epilogue is a testament to that. But from a personal reading experience, an epilogue is much better received when there's an adequate emotional resolve and emotional engagement throughout the story, and that's what makes this feel like a 'scratch the surface' sort of romance with a hero and heroine who barely scratch the surface with each other. Everything feels very delayed. If the smut had been coupled with a more developed emotional chemistry, this would have been better. From Harper's telling, her career is a big cornerstone in her life, she wants a lot from it and the story talks a big game of how diehard she's been to be a functioning member of Max's company and to work along the Wall Street idol in person. That's why it was inconsistent to me that the author leaves out what becomes of Harper's professional aims when she departs from Max's company. This could have been cleared up with a few lines of what happens with her in that area of her life. If you're looking for a hate-to-sex-to-love, horrible boss/stubborn employee with benefits romance that works in reverse, this is definitely for you! The dream-reaching afterglow doesn't last very long for a junior researcher when her romanticised hopes for a power-partners professional relationship with the Max King dies like a limp insect. The man, the myth and the Wall Street legend isn't the man Harper spent her schooling years shadowing from a distance, and while his lack of amiability changes the narrative quite quickly, she's still determined to do her best and be her best. But with two sides to every person, her demon boss has another of his own. The King of Wall Street, as the title rightly takes ownership of, is exactly what Max King is. He's cultivated a big name for himself in the financial district, and with a reputation for being a cut-throat but hugely profitable businessman, he knows his power and he knows his position. One can't be a moneyed man without a seat of power to house his mighty money-making tush, and his stands poised as any other pillar on a famed white-collared street, King & Associates. Not many realise that he's a single father among a family of women who keep pushing and pecking at him to find a life partner. While there might be some truth to never meeting your heroes, professional one's included, there might also be some truth in having some fun with them anyway. With easy writing, a potent sexual pull, a family dynamic and a fast-chemistry, slow-development romance, King of Wall Street is a standalone Royals romance with a HFN conclusion. Recommended to romance readers and Louise Bay fans who reckon this a reccomended read! I gave this book 3 stars -Content Warning: multiple detailed sex scenes, swearing and a situation where the heroine overhears the hero with an OW. No cheating. --------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------- I love interacting with fellow readers, reviewers, bloggers and writers. Hearing about reader opinion is the fuel to my reader appetite, so get in touch and comment below! SHARE ON FACEBOOK Leave a comment and let's talk about |
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February 2024
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