I’ve been reading author Jenny Trout’s blog for quite a few years now. She’s very active around fighting problematic messages in women’s fiction, and writes very funny recaps of books that have these kind of messages yet are inexplicably popular.
Under the pen name Abigail Barnette, she’s contributed her own series to the subgenre of ‘billionaire erotic romance’ with the aim of portraying a healthy relationship rather than the borderline abusive ones so common in romance as it stands. The first entry in the series, The Boss, is free to read, so I gave it a shot.
The protagonists, Sophie and Neil, meet again six years after a chance encounter in an airport hotel…except this time, she’s an assistant at a fashion magazine, and he’s her new boss. Despite a world of ethical issues to deal with – Neil is also twice Sophie’s age and extremely rich – romance blossoms again, although the book ends on an unhappy cliffhanger, setting up for the sequel.
I’ve not read much erotic romance before, and I find it’s not really my thing – I prefer romances to be less sexually explicit – but I did enjoy the story, especially all the stuff to do with the fashion magazine, as I’m fascinated by the fashion world.
I also really like Trout’s writing voice, and so I’ve been reading her new YA story on Radish, Nightmare Born, which I’ll review once I’ve finished it!