Sandy S.
3.5 stars--MAKE ME WANT is the first instalment in Katee Robert’s contemporary, adult MAKE ME erotic, romance series, part of DARE, Harlequin’s new imprint focusing on strong women and the men they love. This is corporate head hunter Gideon Novak, and attorney Lucy Baudin’s story line. Told from dual third person perspectives (Lucy and Gideon) MAKE ME WANT follows attorney Lucy Baudin as she becomes desperate in her climb to the top. Up for partnership at the legal firm where she works, Lucy suspects that as a strong, independent single woman she may be overlooked for promotion therefore finding a husband is on the top of her list. Enter her former friend and corporate head hunter Gideon Novak, and the man with whom Lucy will fall in love. While Gideon goes in search of prospective husbands, Lucy has a more personal request of her own-lessons in the art of sexual seduction-from the man himself. What ensues is the building friends to lovers relationship, and the potential fall-out when Gideon realizes he is in too deep. MAKE ME WANT is an erotic, sexy and edgy story about one woman’s desperate attempts to make partner in the firm, and one man’s need to beg forgiveness for sins of the past. Lucy’s last relationship ended when she discovered the man that she loved was having an affair-a man who was best friend’s with our story line hero. Gideon has always loved Lucy Baudin from afar but lost his chance when his best friend Jeff went in for the kill. Hoping to right a wrong from the past Gideon agrees to help Lucy knowing that in the end, he could lose the woman that he loves. The relationship between Lucy and Gideon is a friends to lovers romance; second chances of a sort for two people lost in a world of betrayal and hurt. As their lessons in sexual seduction grow more spontaneous and romantic, the predictable is about to happen as Gideon forces himself to walk away believing he is not worthy of our heroine’s love. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense. We are introduced to Gideon’s partner and friend Roman Bassani, and Lucy’s sister Becka Baudin. Roman’s story line is next in Make Me Crave. MAKE ME WANT is a predictable story line with a foreseeable fall-out for all concerned. The premise is entertaining; the characters engaging; the romance sexy and hot but I have to question why a powerful attorney would stoop to such an arrangement without considering the possibility of falling in love- the believability is problematic.
Nicole's Book Musings
I really enjoyed this one. It had the perfect balance of heat and story. I really liked Gideon. He has so much guilt when it comes to Lucy, but she is also the one who got away. Now he's between a rock and a hard place when she comes to him to help her find a husband. Another thing I loved about this book was watching Lucy find her confidence in the woman she is. This book sucked me in because of the characters. Lucy and Gideon had me so invested in their journey.
Cherisse-Angel Charles
Lucy is insecure in her ability to attract and keep a man, much less a husband, which is the main requirement she wants to fill. Picking Gideon to give her "lessons" is supposed to be a means to an end, but moments of honesty have her second-guessing her plans. Gideon is drowning in guilt. He feels responsible for Lucy's esteem issues, so he decides to help her out. What he doesn't let her know is that he's in love with her. Determined to be the bigger man, he sets her up on dates only to realise that he's lying to himself about how easy it would be to let her fall in love with someone else. This is a hot, yet satisfying read. Yes, we know by heart how these tropes go: feelings develop even when we plan to avoid them and create escape hatches and contingencies. However, Katee Robert delivers a story with two characters that you can't help but wait with baited breath to see how they'd end up together. I can't wait for the next book in the series. I voluntarily read & reviewed an ARC of this book.
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