Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey

Skeptic scale: ♥♥♥♥♥

Because kick-@ass career women CAN have it all.

Excellent! I found a new fave author! Yay.

She: Career-oriented tabloid journalist trying to get an exclusive interview with H at the behest of her rabid bitch boss.

He: A famous writer whose horror fiction is being made into a movie. He eschews publicity and never gives interviews.

Conflict: H&h had been high school sweethearts and the h breaks his heart when she hightails out of their small cozy town to make a name for herself in LA. He loves the small town life and wants to be near his family and desperately wishes she would stay back.

What I liked:

1) I liked that the h, while career-minded, didn't come across as an iron bitch. Too many times we see the bitch/career personality pairing and its unfair to career women everywhere

2) Holy sexual tension, Batman!

3) The minor characters in the extended family scenes were sympathetically portrayed and didn't come across as cliched small town hayseeds

What I didn't like:

1) I never understand why things are so all or nothing. Why does it HAVE to be LA vs small town in New Hampshire? She can't find a job in Boston, Connecticut, NY and he, as a rich and famous writer, can't bloody move to ANY city with an Internet connection?

2) They really don't meet for 20 years even though their families are friends with each other and she's come back to visit since leaving? They were never even curious enough to look for each other on Facebook? She never wrote him a "congrats on your success" note that whole time after having been each others best friend in high school?

I get why a writer would use these devices to create real separation and longing between the characters. But I just wish it was a little more realistic. But in the end, I didn't even care because the story was sweet and fun and hot.