Book Review: "Annie Knows Everything" by Rachel Wood

Rom-coms are all too often the cure for what ails me emotionally. Even when the main characters are in turmoil, I’m right there supporting them and tearing up when they realize they’re meant to be together.

Rachel Wood’s debut is sweet, fun, steamy, and so enjoyable. Annie is shocked when she gets laid off from her job in the middle of the week. (People usually get let go on Mondays or Fridays.) Luckily, her best friend works in HR, so Annie gets reassigned to the Data Strategy Team.

Annie’s reassignment is a surprise to the interim team lead, Connor, seeing as he never interviewed or signed off on her joining the team. Oh, and there’s also the issue that Annie really has no idea what data strategy is, and can’t write code to save her life. But somehow, she wins Connor over with her take-no-prisoners attitude and quickly becomes a valuable member of the team.

As she’s winning over Connor and her coworkers, she’s also dealing with some family tension. Her sister is engaged to the worst man in the world (or at least Canada) after they broke up once before. Can Annie keep her feelings about her soon-to-be brother-in-law to herself this time?

Amidst lots of adorable banter and some real wins, Annie and Connor fall for each other. Of course, boss/subordinate relationships aren’t the best idea, but just looking at the two of them, you know how they feel about each other. But Annie’s tendency to go for the nuclear option first proves hazardous both to her job and her relationship. Can she salvage either?

I honestly don’t care that rom-coms are predictable. The chemistry and the banter between Connor and Annie was absolutely wonderful, and I enjoyed the other guys on the Data Strategy team, too. This was just one of those books that put a smile on my face.

Book Review: "Right on Cue" by Falon Ballard

Over the last few years, Falon Ballard has definitely become an auto-buy author for me. Her rom-coms have fantastic banter, terrifically memorable characters, and some eye-opening steam. And her latest book is no exception!

Emmy is the daughter of a legendary Hollywood couple. While her own acting career crashed and burned quite early, she’s found happiness as a screenwriter of romantic comedies, although a foray into more serious drama won her an Oscar.

She’s excited that her latest script will be directed by her best friend Liz. But when they’re unable to find an actress suitable to play the leading lady, Emmy is pressed into service. It’s her first acting job in more than 10 years and she’s nervously looking forward to it, especially to act opposite a close friend of hers.

When she arrives on location for the first run-through, she’s met with an unpleasant surprise: her leading man will now be played by Grayson West, one of the sexiest stars in Hollywood and his action films are blockbusters. While any actress should be delighted to have him as her costar, Emmy hates him, as she blames him for her horrible film debut.

As soon as they interact, sparks fly—but not in a good way—and it looks like this may spell disaster for the film. Although there’s no question they’re attracted to one another, is there a way they can get past the tension and save the movie—and maybe even turn film romance into reality?