A Review by Wendy
4.5 Packs a C.D. Reiss Punch Stars
* * * *1/2
* * * *1/2
Spoiler Free
Writing shorter stories can be tricky...will there be enough description of the characters to capture our interest and understand their motivations... Will there be enough substance throughout to merit our concern and identify, care and believe what is happening... and most of all do we feel like we were given it all with nothing left to chance or rushed...
Because shorter means everything counts...Every set up, scene, bridge, conflict and outcome... there is no room to regroup or smooth over.
In Roman Prince...Reiss hits every note for me. She takes all she learned and presented from King of Code and laced it into this. She takes the real quandary of today's working world... Where you spend more of your waking hours at your work environment making it more than difficult to meet other people... people you might be attracted to...or develop feelings for...
This situation is a breeding ground for the complicated issue of relationships between employees. Numerous companies wanting to steer clear of any litigation of any kind have started to ban any type of coupling. This way they are under the mistaken impression they will be safe from any sexual harassment accusations.
It is with this in mind, the new company Raven Crosby is starting with, has brought in a firm which promises a fool proof system of Weeding Out:
Any salary bias between men and women
Any sexual harassment of any kind
And institutes an Absolutely No Fraternization policy with its workers
Raven came from QI4, a top tech company and had been having a work/buddies arrangement with the creator for awhile. It had been mutually agreed upon... both just using each other for release. Yet when the man came back after dealing with a company crisis, Raven sensed a change. She was fine with it ending but it did make her feel as if she needed to reassess her way of working and what she wanted...
What she wanted was security...
She wanted to have a constant in her life...
Something she never had growing up or in early adulthood...
Now was the time and this position would be the answer to her stability needs.
Then Roman Bianchi walks into the first meeting Raven is having at her new company and makes it difficult for her to think, speak or act like the professional she is...She collects herself as best as she can...remembering her vow to stay away from workplace romances or hook ups. She had been there/done that- and she was not going down that road again.
Roman is a man on a mission; he loves his position and practicing law. He is holding out for the "Brass Ring of Success" Partnership... his name on the letterhead. His boss has more than hinted to him this contract with this company could make it all happen...But seeing this woman in front of him... a bit flustered...and done up in professional trappings... makes him wonder what is she wearing underneath it all...
These two are thrown together to map out this harassment program all the while fighting the need that develops equally for the both of them...Brakes are applied... but as the way of the world...When the desire is there...sometimes it cannot be stopped...
Reiss takes us on a cat and mouse game where both players switch being the cat or mouse...The need and desires are equal, the risks are front and center...and when feelings start to emerge...WTF are they going to do now...
This shorty has more than what is on the page...it allows the reader to see clearly all of the ramifications that are presented with real twists and turns that happen in the workplace. The coupling of these two... Copyrighted Reiss ...Never to just fill up a page...Always constructed with layers upon layers of sensuality or raw taking...and then the insight of what the actions meant to the characters...whether they understood it or not...
I don't think Reiss could write a grocery list without meaning... and aren't we lucky for that.
Prince Roman is a delicious journey into Reiss' newly discovered interest in the Silicone Valley. It is worth the time.
CD Reiss is a New York
Times bestselling author. She still has to chop wood and carry water,
which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with
God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn't pick up she's at
the well hauling buckets.Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master's degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere but it did give her a big enough ego to write novels. She's frequently referred to as the Shakespeare of Smut which is flattering but hasn't ever gotten her out of chopping a single cord of wood. If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine. ***NONE OF MY BOOKS ARE SAFE***
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