Summary
My boss. My enemy.
I escaped my life.
Leaving everything behind wasn’t easy, but I did it.
I turned the page and flew over the ocean.
This is my new beginning.
My new chapter.
My new book.
Or so I hoped before I met my new boss.
Daniel Sterling.
Rich as sin, illegally attractive, and the face of every magazine cover.
Oh, and the reason why I escaped in the first place.
I made his high school life hell.
He won’t stop until he gives me a taste of my own medicine.
Excerpt
I have an unhealthy obsession.
Or maybe a few.
Not sure what that expression means. Unhealthy obsession. But I heard Mum’s therapist friend tell her that once.
She said Mum needed to control herself and not let her obsessions take hold of her or else it’ll start to affect me.
I think it’s too late and Mum has already passed that gene down to me.
When she was sleeping, I tiptoed to the living area, took the tablet and hid under the blanket, and typed the term on Google.
It was dark except for the tablet’s light that I brought down to its lowest level so Mum wouldn’t catch me. She doesn’t like me staying up past my bedtime.
She doesn’t like me to do many things, actually.
Like being too friendly, talking to people, or playing.
I should always be studying to become something important and make her proud.
I should always remember that ever since Papa drowned last year while saving me, we’re on our own.
Papa might have been a knight and part of the aristocracy, but he accumulated enough debt that cost us our house and everything we owned.
Mum managed to marry a lord soon after. Uncle Henry is nice. He paid all our debts and treats me better than my mum sometimes. He doesn’t tell me to always eat my vegetables or study or not make friends because they’ll use me.
He tells me I’m smart, too, which Mum has never said, even when the teachers tell her that.
But I’m not smart enough to understand what “unhealthy obsession” means on my own, which is why I searched it last night while I was holding my breath and typing with sweaty fingers.
Review
(audiobook) Once again, it was a dark read with heavy topics–abuse in multiple forms from various people, including rape, most notably. And the romance was interesting, though quite twisted.
Let’s sum it up that way: boy and girl love each other from afar but both are convinced it’s unrequited, spend time bullying or ignoring each other instead, until they fall into bed years later; but a misunderstanding leads them to go their separate way. They reunite a decade later, as they hate and resent each other. Hence it’s both second chance and enemies to lovers.
I admit that aspect bothered me a little. I’m all for the enemies to lovers trope, but here it was borderline non consensual. Yes, Nicole had been in love with Daniel all her life, and yes, she was still attracted to him, but she was reluctant and Daniel didn’t really respect her boundaries. With a lot of anger and/or disdain thrown in. I kind of pitied Nicole.
But she also was an unusual character, difficult to like at times. She was obsessive! She admited it herself. Sure, she had a tough upbringing, and she found solace in her feelings for the cute boy, but almost two decades of obsessing over someone isn’t exactly healthy. Not that Daniel was any better–the hate of the title referenced his abhorrence for blonde girls due to his history with Nicole.
I told you, twisted.
That darkened their present relationship. Daniel was an abusive boss, and Nicole resisted him all the way. They slowly realized that their past prejudices were just that: prejudices. Nothing was at it seemed, and they didn’t know the whole story. They struggled to get it out though. In the meantime, Daniel got close to Nicole and Jayden, and that part was cute.
And sexy. Don’t forget the sexy. This book was quite steamy. Though, again, with a bit of dubcon element.
I enjoyed the narration. The female narrator was new to me, but she did a great job. The male narrator is a favorite of mine, and he didn’t disappoint this time either. On top of the accent–both main characters are British–they managed to express the conflicted emotions of the characters. Another good audio for the author.
Quickie
- Series: Empire #3 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #billionaire romance #office romance #erotica #second chance #enemies to lovers
- Triggers: somewhat explicit depiction of rape, mention of violence and murder, domestic abuse, bullying
- Main couple: Nicole Adler & Daniel Sterling
- Hotness: 4/5
- Romance: 3/5
- + I loved seeing Daniel open up to Jayden
- – talk, people, it’ll be easier for everyone
Stalker mode
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