Review: Help Wanted by Allison B. Hanson

Who said mixing work and pleasure was a bad idea?

For Kenley Carmichael, getting fired for sleeping with the boss’s husband is almost funny—at 28, she’s still a virgin. Not that her now ex-boss would believe it—Kenley’s got the face and figure to attract plenty of men, even if she’s never found the right one. A job at New Haven Custom Boats is a chance to start fresh and learn a whole new skill set. Trouble is, she can’t stop wishing her incredibly hot new boss would introduce her to some decidedly un-businesslike pleasure . . .

Zane Jackson needs a new assistant, but when his pregnant sister hires her replacement, she chooses a girl who reminds him of the kind who broke his heart in high school. Zane might not be that shy boy anymore, but sweet, sexy Kenley makes him feel every bit as awkward as he did then—and even hungrier to kiss her. She’s the perfect woman for the job—but he wants her to be so much more.

Interoffice dating can only lead to trouble—unless it leads to true love . . .

Kindle Edition

Published September 12th 2017 by Lyrical Press

Terri's Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review is long overdue as I have been trying to organize my thoughts on what I wanted to say about the story. I'm conflicted however it is due to personal circumstance so I want to ensure that I am fair.

As far as the actual storyline, there is no need to go in to detail as the book synopsis covers it well.  This is a workplace romance where the two try to mix business and pleasure and all of the awkwardness that ensures.  There is also a sub storyline regarding another one of Zane's employees which I actually enjoyed better.  At first it felt random as it started well in to the story but then I really started to enjoy it.  In my opinion, these two storylines could have been written independent of each other to create two shorter stories and it would have been just as good, maybe even better.

Now to keep my promise of being honest...there are two things that I struggled with.

1.  I hesitate to read many stories in this genre where the girl is still holding on to her V card.  I am no prude and don't expect a girl to wait for the perfect guy, the wedding night, or promises of forever.  What I do feel seems to be important is that if a girl holds on to it until the age of 28, then it means something to her.  In these cases I always feel like it is given up just like that for lust and I am not sure that is realistic.  Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.  It is just my opinion.  I just feel like it was rushed in this scenario.

2.  I couldn't identify with Kenley's reaction in the aftermath of her violent incident.  I feel bad about this but I felt her reaction was a little too much.  This again is personal opinion stemming from a situation I was in that was almost identical however with more people and weapons.  While I understood the alone thing, I went through that as well, I felt the rest was not similar to how I dealt.  This is just a case of my real life conflicting with the story.

Now you would think based on these two items that I didn't enjoy the story.  That is not the case, I just didn't identify with Kenley.  Knowing this, I still like the story and was entertained.  If I am being totally honest, this book caused me to have an hour long debate with my husband about how people handle situations differently.  For that, I thank Hanson as I love when a story makes me want to discuss it!

About the Author

Twitter