Note of apology: I haven’t not been posting as much for happy reasons. Life has been a little too bountiful as of late, and I’ve been struggling to keep up. I’m hoping to have a handle on all my blessings soon–especially since they’re keeping me from reading as much as I’d like. Boo-hoo-hoo!

Description: Collin Noonan is handsome, rich, and the youngest executive at his company. He’s also an asshole, and is only flirting with plain jane mailroom clerk, Regina Talbot, in order to win a game — basically which executive can bring the ugliest date to their annual “pig party.” But then he unexpectedly starts developing feelings for Regina. Will their romance be ruined when she finds out about the real impetus for their budding relationship?

The Good: This is a GREAT concept, and the main character is wonderfully awkward: shy, plus-sized, and really sweet. The story has a lot of heart and good rising action.

The Bad:  See Editing Issues. The emotional and physical structure of the story leaves a lot to be desired. It’s really hard to get a handle on Colin’s motivation throughout. He takes her to a “pig party” then turns around and introduces her to his family within the same weekend. I couldn’t even begin to understand his psychology — or Regina’s. Her reaction to finding out about Collin’s underhanded motivation for asking her out in the first place, fizzles as opposed to sizzles. The rising action is good, good, good on the way up, but then falls flat at the end. I also found it hard to believe that a bunch of executives would dare to participate in a “pig party,” using women they work with in this day and age — the plot is a huge sexual harassment case waiting to happen.

The Naughty: Steamy. Explicit language. Sex in restraints.

Editing issues: Lots of typos, weird syntax, and missing commas. Some word misusage and odd turns of phrases. Terrible grammar — especially from Collin, who is supposed to be a bright, young business man. Bad e-publisher alert: this book deserved a much better edit, considering that Secret Cravings Publishing only pays their authors 40% of the cover price in royalties. This author would have been better served working with a freelance editor and releasing the book on her own.

Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing

Length: 147 pages

Final Grade: C-

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Theodora Taylor writes and reviews interracial romance novels in Pittsburgh, PA.