Stevie has a run of bad luck trying to start her grown-up life, but then she meets Jackson and things start to turn around. He’s kind, helpful, and very easy on the eyes. He keeps coming up with ways to be around her, to help her out. Stevie is an independent person but sometimes you have to learn to accept help when it’s given.
So when the two start dating, it’s a bit of a whirlwind for her. Afterall, Jackson owns the hotel she’s working in, that’s how he was able to create the job upgrade for her. Stevie says of him “He was beautiful in the way that wicked things were.” The connection between Stevie and Jax jumped off the page. Jackson is an alpha male, but only for Stevie and nothing in the way that is portrayed in so many books, and I loved that about him.
Jackson is a bit wicked, but not in his everyday life, just when it comes to Stevie. The scenes with them were on fire! Overall though, he is genuinely a good guy. Yes, he has money, but it isn’t a big issue anywhere in the book, he doesn’t flaunt or brag about it, and it bumped him up quite a few levels in my eyes.
What I loved about Stevie is that she wasn’t insecure. Jackson is impossibly rich compared to her, but she doesn’t go running from it, she doesn’t compare their lifestyles, and she doesn’t get hung up on it.
I loved that both of them connected over their rough pasts with their families. For me, it cemented a true bond with them. Wicked Gentleman is more than that of just a simple inter-office/boss romance because Pastore created strong characters. Stevie’s immediate boss, Carol, had me screaming for the first half of the book. I wanted to hit her just as much as Stevie did. So when you’re yelling at a book? You know the writing is great. This was such a fun and steamy book to read, I absolutely loved it.
You can read my review on Goodreads, please consider giving it a “like”. It’s not up for pre-order yet, but Wicked Gentleman will be releasing on June 21st, I will have links up as soon as I get them.
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