The Boss (Managing the Bosses, #1) by Lexy Timms Review

This is a spoiler-free review! 

I have read a few books by Timms, including Banking on Him and Gambler.

Our female lead has one of the nastiest book families that I have come across. Jamie's sister is engaged to her ex-boyfriend... need I say more? Her mother and sister are essentially vultures, circling and hovering over her at every second of the day, complaining that she has a new job when her sister is getting married in six months. Absolutely insane to see them hound on her and treat her new job as an inconvenience to them, as they expect Jamie to drop everything to help out with the wedding, and by help out, I mean organize the entire celebration.

Jamie's ex, Stephen, is a little rat, plain and simple. He was dating Jamie and then hopped right on over to Christine without a second thought, and now every time he comes in contact with Jamie, he acts like a total creep. Christine is too lost in her own ego to see that Stephen does not care about her, and is so obsessed with insulting Jamie at every chance, that she completely deprives herself of a personality. Stephen lurks around like a snake and pops up at every event like someone said his name three times in a mirror.

When Jamie is introduced to Stephen's old friend Alex, she has the chance to get away from her toxic family and be independent. Alex being a billionaire and a decent human being... now those are just the perks. Becoming Alex's personal assistant that is at his beck and call twenty-four hours a day may take a toll on her, but it is definitely the best thing to happen to Jamie that lets her get away from her horrible family members. Alex is kind and understanding, while still being able to put his foot down and defend people when the time calls for it -- which unfortunately for Jamie, tends to be a lot.

There is just a touch of spice in this book and the author clearly states that it is not erotica, which is certainly the case. Clocking in at just under two hundred pages, this short introduction to the series allows readers to get to know Jamie and Alex without throwing them together in the first chapter. I wish Jamie was able to stand up for herself more, because it became increasingly more difficult to defend her train of thought as she let her family members berate her every single chapter.

Not a super big fan of the ending -- I understand that books end on cliffhangers, but when the chapter ended, I was sure that my copy must be missing pages. The book basically cuts off after one event and readers are expected to pick up the next installment, when book one and book two could probably be fused together to make one typical-length romance novel. I finished this book in about thirty-five minutes... that should give you enough context on how short the story is, and it left me feeling unsatisfied.

If you are looking for a quick chic lit book to read in between lengthier books, this book may be the fun filler you need to get you back on track with your reading goal. It was entertaining for about thirty pages, but the constant harassment from Jamie's family members had me praying for this book to be over. I may return to this series if the second installment is available for free, but for now, this chapter is closed.

You can add The Boss on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Gambler (The Gentleman's Club, #1) by Lexy Timms Review

This review contains spoilers for Gambler.

In an exclusive and illegal card game, Jack wins a penthouse -- and Leo Monahan's daughter for a year. Initially taken as a joke, Jack soon finds out that this man is not joking, and Jack finds himself with a beach-front penthouse and a blonde woman in his bed. Jack is on some time of secret mission involving Leo and his business, and if he has to accept his daughter, Cassandra, for a year to get the job done, he will certainly do it.

Over half-way through the book, and Jack and Cassandra have had approximately four actual conversations with each other, and we have spent a huge chunk of time only learning Jack's backstory and involvement in the security business. 

At this point in the book, the only thing that we know about Cassandra is who her father is and that she is the one that is supposed to run his business one day, so she needs to shadow Jack at his business in order to learn something. There is in fact absolutely no mentoring done by Jack in this book, if you do not count him helping Cassandra try to launch her art consultant career behind her father's back.

However, that takes a quick turn as Cassandra and Jack find themselves in a fake-relationship situation in order to keep up appearances so Jack's old acquaintance, Walker, does not get suspicious of why they know each other. We really only get to see their tension in the second half of the book, with actual development finally at the very end. With this book being from both of their perspectives, you see the conflict that both of them have once they enter their little relationship agreement.

The plot moves very slow in the first 100 pages of the book, and it felt as though the author was dragging out background that could have been glossed over, or realized that she wrote so much background that she decided to try to wrap up the book very quickly. With the book being so short that it basically qualifies as a novella, I should not have been surprised with how little we had of Jack and Cassandra actually interacting with each other. 

We are left on a cliffhanger as Jack comes back to the penthouse after being beaten by a bunch of Leo's goons and he reveals to Cassandra that he is working undercover for the FBI -- total shocker. He spent the entire book running around making secret calls on burner phones and meeting with people that it was obvious he was up to something, but as a reader we did not know if he was worse than Leo or better.

I honestly was not sure if I wanted to continue on with this series, but based off of the ending and how short this book was, I might just have to keep on reading solely so that I can have closure on Jack and Cassandra. If you are looking for a quick, slow-burn, and fake-dating book with a dash of mafia-type undertones, this may be the series for you.

You can add Gambler on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!