Limecello’s review of Shattered by the CEO by Emilie Rose
Contemporary Romance released by Silhouette Desire on 1 May 08
I love Emilie Rose’s books like a shopaholic loves Filene’s Basement. I really enjoyed this book too. I expected to like it, but once I started reading it, I had my moments of uncertainty. In fact, I was surprised I liked this book so much, because for about 80% of it, what was running through my head was “the heroine is batshit insane.” That’s normally not a good sign. Yet it might indicate what a great book this is.
Shattered by the CEO has something of a typical Silhouette Desire premise. The hero is a mega-corporate type, and the heroine has been wronged but loves him anyway. I understand that, accept that, and find it easy to enjoy Desires. In this book, however, Tara Anthony takes the cake. She, the heroine, lets the hero, Rand Kinkaid treat her like crap, and forces him to agree to a no-strings-attached affair. It seems empowering, no? Actually, it’s not because she’s convinced she can sex him into loving her. I had a lot of problems with that, so you might wonder why I liked this book so much. Because it’s so very well written, and the ending erases a whole host of sins.
Rand is an interesting character. He’s a jerk, but generally he feels guilty for acting like an asshat. Mind you, the guilt isn’t enough to prevent him from being so horrid, but it’s nice that he realizes he’s being a terrible person. That’s something. He also holds a lot of baggage due to his father’s machinations – although those are somewhat explained at the end as well.
My main issues in the book were that I thought the heroine was crazy, and I’m not sure if the premise of the book was plausible. A clause in a will states that Tara has to work for KCL for one year, otherwise the company is forfeit. However, nobody wants to get into a discussion on probate law. It’s also a convenient way to bring together characters that would never agree to work together otherwise.
This book made me consider a few things – because the whole point is, deep down, Tara believes Rand is a great guy, capable of being a terrific husband, and that he loves her. That deep conviction allows her to take all sorts of abuse (not physical) from him- so he can get over his hang-ups and realize that yes, he does indeed love her. She’s right, and gets the payoff in the end. (Oh come on, that’s not a spoiler.) I had a hard time accepting that, but I still enjoyed this book.
While I spent much of the time reading this book thinking “is she for real?”, the heroine did have her good moments. The secondary characters in this book were a lot of fun, and I expect to see their books being published at some point in the near future. The story itself was interesting and well written, and the characters well developed. I’m looking forward to reading more of Ms. Rose’s books.
Grade: B
CEO Rand Kincaid had never been coerced–until his entire future was at stake. Under the stipulations of his father’s will, Rand had to rehire Tara Anthony as his assistant. It was either get along with the one woman who’d dared to leave him first, or lose his family empire.
But before Tara would accept, she gave Rand her own demands. She wanted a second chance, with Rand back in her home and bed as her lover. And nothing prepared him for where this arrangement would lead.
