Review: Rock Hard

Rock Hard by Nalini Singh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An alpha boss who is sexy and smart is a fantasy for many women. For women who are great at their job and underappreciated, it is even more alluring. Ms. Singh pens another winner in this series. I expected it to be another story about a character in the rock band from the first book, Rock Addiction. To my delight and surprise, the connection is between the women, not the rock band. Charlotte Baird is a mousy frumpy data analyst who does everything she can to stay safe and unnoticed. This is good to avoid a predator, however to stay employed when a company is going through a ruthless reorganization, this is not recommended. The new CEO Gabriel Bishop is hired to clean house and turn this failing business around. When he spies upon Charlotte and realizes her work is being claimed by his executive assistant, he puts an end to her work being credit to a lazy airhead.

The characters in this book are well developed. Even if Charlotte is not a female I can relate to from a personality perspective, I can understand her and I feel for her. This is the skill of a writer to be able to create a character who is completely different from a reader, yet still be able to enable the reader to "fit into her shoes". Charlotte is a mess. She is still in victim mode. She isn't a survivor because she's still hiding and not able to overcome the terrible assault and violation in her past. This is not a ding on her. It's a fact and Charlotte knows it. What is good about this story is her growth and journey to becoming a survivor. And even better, it's not Gabriel Bishop making her better or even saving the day. He is there as a catalyst to bring her back to life. I love this kind of romance.

The conflict in this book is sad and to see the way Charlotte overcomes it, is wonderful. I'm cheering along with Gabriel. I'm also impressed with how Gabriel responds. He doesn't neuter himself. He stays true to his desires and strong opinons. He just goes slow with Charlotte. Even the sex is slow and a bit too dragged out for me. For those who are kinky, it's all about edging. What I really found amusing are the titles of each chapter. Not many authors title a chapter. Ms. Singh is one of the few who do so. Here is one of titles which says it all.

In Which Gabriel Proposes Kitchen-Chair Sex

In addition to the well written story, the dialog between Charlotte and Gabriel is hilarious. Gabriel is able to rile Charlotte up in a manner she can handle and push back. Their chemistry is hot and the sexual tension is evident. Some of the imagery Ms. Singh paints are hilarious.

His name shouldn’t be Dick. It should be Dickweasel Shit for Brains!” (Kindle loc. 3779-3780)

“As long as I can throw you on the bed like a caveman and pummel you to orgasm with my love-club, I’m good.” ( Kindle loc. 4385-4386)

Dickweasel? Love-club? Where do I sign up for my very own caveman to pummel me to orgasm with his love-club? The imagery invoked by this sentence alone had me in stitches.

This erotic romance is recommended to those who have faith that love conquers all.

*provided by NetGalley



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