
Series: Rock Kiss #2
Published by Tka Distribution on March 10th 2015
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 351
Goodreads

“Trust me, Ms. Baird?”
“Not when you smile like that.”
THE STORY: Charlotte Baird has hidden herself in ill fitting clothes and a mousey personality. After a horrible incident in her past, Charlotte set about protecting herself in as many ways as possible. Her steady date for the past year is more interested in talking about his hobbies than getting physical with Charlotte and that is the way she likes it. When the failing company she works for hires a new CEO to turn around the company, Charlotte is intimidated by the large athletic strong man. She nicknames him T-Rex as he chews up the upper ranks of the company.
Gabriel Bishop is an ex-professional rugby player who has made a name for himself as a turnaround artist for failing companies. Gabriel is protective of the mouse he sees in Charlotte but it intrigued at the glimpses of the strong woman that he sometimes sees.
OPINION: I loved this book because of the strong, complex characters of Charlotte and Gabriel. Their relationship is incredibly beautiful and I really like that their relationship takes time to develop. I appreciated that the book allows the characters to acknowledge the dangers of office romances and especially boss/employee relationships. While those issues are quickly dismissed, the characters at least do acknowledge those issues.
Charlotte’s story is incredibly sad and yet she has survived and managed to create a decent life for herself. I don’t want to give away the exact nature of her past as information is disclosed to readers in the same way that Gabriel learns the truth. The scenes are powerful and heart wrenching.
Gabriel is my favorite part of this book. He is an alpha hero and yet is incredibly thoughtful, caring and protective. He is patient with Charlotte and places her peace of mind above his own desires. For sexy good guy heroes, he is one of the best.
Strong characters and relationships are a hallmark of Singh’s books. Her characters, including those here, are complex multifaceted people. The relationship between these two people is adult and mature. Charlotte and Gabriel talk through their issues and relationship. They are also sexy and sensual. This book is about Charlotte embracing her own sexuality.
For fans of the Thea and David sexy and funny email exchanges from ROCK COURTSHIP (the series novella) will be pleased that there are similar exchanges of written correspondence in this book. While not as extensive or clever as in ROCK COURTSHIP, there are some sweet and funny moments between Charlotte and Gabriel that made me smile.
WORTH MENTIONING: The events of ROCK HARD take place at the same time as those in the first book in the series ROCK ADDICTION.
FINAL DECISION: I loved this book because of Charlotte and Gabriel. Their story made me smile and cry. They are fully realized complex characters. Gabriel especially is a wonderful alpha good guy hero who is sexy and patient and caring.
CONNECTED BOOKS: ROCK HARD is the second novel in the Rock Kiss series. It can be read as a standalone.
STAR RATING: I give ROCK HARD 4.5 stars.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in order to provide an honest review of the book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.