A disappointing read for me ... I'm a big fan of the Casey series but the last couple of Vali's standalone books have left me a bit perplexed.  At times the characters seemed more caricatures and even the main characters lacked the chemistry and I just couldn't invest in them or their relationship.  I found the story choppy and it almost seemed like some of the important transitions or set ups were edited out which  left me scratching my head (figuratively).

Beauty and the Boss could've been so much more than what it actually was. We follow Ellis Renoir, a fashion designer at the top of her game who needs a summer intern ready for a Fashion Week. What follows is a plot to take Ellis down from the inside of her own company, and whilst she's scrambling to figure out who is betraying her and how to fight back, the dedication and beauty of her intern may be too much of a temptation for her to resist. 

As I was reading it, I felt as though key parts of dialogue were missing. The relationship between Ellis and Charlotte seemed to develop out of nowhere and their chemistry together wasn't believable. It's a shame that a romance story can't sell me on the actual romance of the main pairing, and I think this should have been developed on prior to the two of them getting together. It also seemed like characters made decisions without any explanation as to why they were doing them, and it just didn't make sense at all sometimes.

I'm also conflicted about Sawyer as a character. At times, she felt like no more than a plot device which is a real shame. I wanted to buy into the relationship between herself and Charlotte, and herself and Ellis, but sometimes it felt like she only existed as a pawn for something bigger. At other times though, I think the affection that Ellis had for her definitely seemed real and helped sell the main relationship a little bit more. 

The crime/betrayal part of the story was predictable. It seemed incredibly obvious who the inside mole was going to be and the only real 'twist' seemed somewhat convoluted in order to connect everyone to each other. I think the bones of a great story are there, but the execution just seems to be a bit lacking.

So I read this story in about a day and a half. I really enjoyed the characters of Ellis and Charlotte. Also Charlotte's daughter Sawyer was a great addition. This was a romance with a bit of suspense included. Halfway through the story I had a sinking feeling about how one character was going to end up and I was correct at the end. But while I didn't think it made a lot of sense as to why that character did what they did it worked for the story. There were some times when I was a little confused at the conversation, who was saying what, but it didn't take away from the story. Overall a good romance/suspense story.

Okay book. A little too slow of a pace and I never felt fully invested in the two main characters. The best part about this book for me were the interactions with the daughter, Sawyer.

The romance between Ellis and Charlotte was somewhat hard to believe in the beginning since Charlotte disliked her and already had preconceived ideas about her boss.  It seemed a little sudden to learn that Charlotte was into Ellis.

I thought that the interactions between Ellis and Sawyer was cute and I was happy that they got along so great.

There are different POV's in this book besides the main characters.  Not sure if I enjoyed all of the POV's, while some definitely advanced the story and made it more interesting, there were a few where I could've done without and wouldn't have missed it.

The plot of the book wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be but I still thought that it was a good read.  I enjoyed the mystery aspect to Beauty and the Boss even though some of it was predictable.

It was a fantastic book. I loved the story! It's a little risque for my teenage/preteen students.

Thanks to netgalley for this ARC.

Beauty and the Boss is a romance book with a bit of a mystery. The plot centers around Ellis and Charlotte. Ellis Renois is a renowned fashion designer who made it in the industry thanks to her awesome mum and her best friend Reuben 'Ruby'. Charlotte is a single mum, who is dedicated to her child and who dreams of also becoming a designer. Charlotte has an interview for an intern position, but Ellis first meets Charlotte's curious and talented child - Sawyer.

Ellis has a history with the interns and she vows not to mess this one up. At first, Charlotte dislikes Ellis, who she thinks is spoiled. But Ellis has a soft-spot for Sawyer and that goes well to put her in Charlotte's good books.

There is a crisis, as someone steals Ellis' designs before fashion week and the company has to change everything! Some people are working to throw Ellis out of business and they have to figure out why and who.

There are some plot twists, by the end it was pretty obvious who it was that was working against Ellis and although I had guessed early on, I didn't want it to be so. It was realistic, but predicable and I think it cheapened the plot while also taking the easy way out. It was also pretty disturbing that Ellis said she would have forgiven Charlotte had she been involved...like ok, you didn't know each other long and that comes with less baggage but considering what she told the person that did it, it was unfair for her to say that.

Their relationship is ok. There is a lot of balance between Charlotte and Ellis. They both support each other and both are insecure and afraid to bother the other. Both have low self-esteem in relationships. They also talk about feelings before acting which is great! Both are aware of the attraction and maturely discuss it.

Sawyer is just precious and talented and mature in a child-like manner, sticking up for the people she loves. She was great.

Although Ellis' character was shown throughout the book to be flawed (you know, normal), I felt that in the end there was too much idiolization of Ellis. Yes, they worked during the crisis to get out of it but one person does not suddenly resolve everything. It's not normal. There needs to be more work invested to solve the other problems.

In conclusion, it's a good romance but it's not a great one. I didn't feel that spark. It was mature for sure and I appreciated the communication.

I wanted to read this book because the cover is so beautiful, but after a few chapters, I had to dnf. It was very confusing because there were so many characters and names, I was lost. Also, I don't like boss-employee relationships because the power dynamic is huge, especially when the boss is very wealthy. It makes me uncomfortable and I really don't want to end hating this book because it's just not for me.

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and  I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

Ali Vali is one of my favourite authors and I've been following her writing since before she was published. Unfortunately this isn't her best work. The premise is interesting but the book itself didn't quite live up to it for me. I felt the two leads didn't have chemistry and thought their relationship didn't develop at a natural pace. The dialogue was difficult to follow at times.

Charlotte has a precocious daughter, a deadbeat ex, and a dream of working in the fashion industry. Ellis has a reputation for womanising,  a high-fashion company, and several enemies.

When Charlotte lands a coveted spot as Ellis' latest intern, everything seems to be looking up; she has a less dead-end job, and her daughter is in a more stable and suppotive environment. But there are problems, too - her growing attraction to her enigmatic, closed-off boss and the machinations of people who will stop at nothing to destroy Ellis and her career. 

Beauty and the Boss is a romance, but it's not just a romance. It's also a crime novel, dealing with betrayal and backstabbing in the fashion industry. More that, it's also a novel about family - Swayer's relationship with her mother and Ellis is one of the key focuses of the book. To some extent, the complexity and detail is a good thing; romances that focus exclusively on love and the two main characters are often rather limited. Charlotte and Sawyer work as a team, and it's good to see a romance involving a single mother in which the child is more than a prop. There's growing friendship and negotiated parenting as well as romance.

However, the divided focus has downsides as well. The plot is complex and slow-moving; it could have done with streamlining, leading to fewer crises but more time spent on each one. There's a lot of information and exposition thrown at the reader early on, and it takes a while to sort out who all of the characters are and how they related to each other.

I think partly because of the slow start, the primary relationship suffers a little - it heats up later on, definitely, but there's little sense of passion and longing between the romantic leads until they're already an item; no lingering looks or skipped heartbeats. To some extent, I think that's probably realistic, but it does mean that some of the emotional punch a romance normally has is a little diluted. 

One thing I really liked about Beauty and the Boss was that lesbian relationships were totally normalised. Coming out/grappling with sexuality stories are important and interesting and should be told, but it is good to see LGBT narratives that don't solely focus on that; it's not equitable if lesbian romances are only apparent as oppositional or additional to heterosexual ones. The world of Beauty and the Beast is one in which homophobia is almost entirely absent, even from the characters you would totally expect to express such views.

Overally, Beauty and the Boss is atypical for a romance. The focus is less on the romance than the wider relationships in Ellis and Charlotte's lives, and there's a lot of plot going on. It's a slower, more complex read than a lot of romances, rather than a frothy romantic whirl.

This was a romance with a little bit of an intrigue plot as well. Business intrigue.

Ellis Renois is a famous fashion designer and the head designer of the Renois House. The story starts when she meets first a young girl named Sawyer, and then her mother Charlotte. Charlotte wants to be Ellis' summer intern and she does get the job, and Sawyer comes along too.

But, just before they can get going working together on the stuff for Fashion Week, Ellis' design bible gets stolen (technically her partner Reuben's is stolen). From the beginning we know who did it and we get to see parts of their plan as well, but, there were also some parts missing, and that was what made the cool little intrigue mystery.

The romance was mostly interesting too, and the characters, heh, they were great.

The only part that was sometimes weird was that in some of the parts of the novel the emotionality of the characters seemed off. Flailing and wailing when I'm not s ure that it made sense in the narrative.

Still, it was a very fun ride and the ending was pretty darn cool too.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

I really can't make up my mind about this book. On one hand I really wanted to like it because I loved her Cain Casey series. On the other hand it didn't really grab me in the same way. For Vali I found this to be mediocre at best. I'm also struggling a bit with this review because although it was good it wasn't great.

The book is set in the high pressured fashion world. Ellis hires Charlotte as her intern who turns out to be the love of her life. Little does she know someone is trying to take her business away from her.
So will Ellis find out who before it's too laye?

The relationship between Ellis and Charlotte was kind of weird. Charlotte didn't even like Ellis and then they are in love. Seemed a very quick turnaround and maybe a little unrealistic. The other thing that bothered me is why was there so much head hopping. Sometimes I got a little lost. Could be my agw who know's the mind had troble keeping up :). Kidding, but there was a lot and the book had a lot of characters. 

Yes I would recommend it but don't expect the Cain Casey quality. Enjoy!


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2163690131

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/ROAMZX40F952Z/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I was very disappointed with this book. I never got into it. The plot was super confusing, there were too many characters who weren't well defined. I didn't understand the relationships between people. No one behaved in a consistent way. The dialog was clunky and the general pacing slow. I had higher expectations and was very disappointed. I struggled to finish it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Ali Vali!  I have all of Ms. Vali’s books and have never been disappointed.  Although many of her writings tend to involve suspense and mystery, I would classify this one as a romance with a thread of corporate sabotage weaving throughout the story.

From the very beginning I was hooked on the book. Ms. Vali creates an exceptional story.  As a matter of fact, I have not found one of her books that doesn’t tell a believable story.  All of her characters are solid.  While reading the dialogue, the language used by the characters makes one feel that the characters are alive.

There are three main characters in this story with a second tier of support characters to help round out the intrigue.  Ellis Renois is the head of an international fashion company.  Over the years the Renois Company has been successful and their designs are always held in high regard.  Ellis enjoys designing clothes and the women who wear them.  A fling with the interns who work at her company is not uncommon.

Charlotte Hammer is the summer intern for the Renois Company. Although she is raising her daughter Sawyer alone, Charlotte has worked very hard studying fashion design in college.  She has completed her studies and hopes that this internship with the Renois Company will provide her with an opportunity for a job and a future for her family.

The attraction between Ellis and Charlotte is electric.  I enjoyed the buildup of their relationship.  Ms. Vali’s writing is extremely smooth and entertaining.  I highly recommend this book and give it 5 stars out of 5.

I was given this ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

This is my second book by Ali Vali and it is brilliant. So why the four stars? That's because I found the flow of the book floundering at times and it is in fact easily fixable by some editing. I don't think adding a few more sentences in each chapter will be catastrophic. 

On to the review. I loved that both the leads and supporting characters are extremely likeable and relatable. Ellis is one of those people who are not just workaholics but are happy to take a break and spend time with family and friends; hence despite her anti-social behaviour at times, one cannot help liking her. 

Charlotte and her daughter Sawyer are a the mother-daughter duo who go with Ellis to New Orleans to get everything ready in time for the NY Fashion Week. However, before all this, there is a heated exchange and some attempts at adding bogus charges, Ellis fires her top two people from the company. Only to have it back-fired by them stealing all the latest designs ready for debut at the upcoming NY Fashion week. 

Madness ensues and we are all backstage with Ellis (through Charlotte) as we go through the stages of creating high fashion designs. 

The book is splendid in its storytelling, surprise twists, legal drama, corporate espionage and what not. It's difficult to put down.

I voluntarily reviewed a Readers Copy of this books.
This was a good story. I liked it and it was well written.

This story does have the romance thing going on but it's tied into the whole mystery surrounding a girls' death from a decade or so ago. Every once in awhile the killer's thoughts pop up into the story and initially that change in POV irritated me. It didn't irritate me enough to stop me from reading but it did throw me off the first couple of times it happened. Then I got used to it in the flow of the story line and just tried to figure out who among Reese's friends was the murderer. You don't really know until near the end (or at least I didn't).

Great story, loved the chemistry between Ellis and Charlotte. I really liked how the characters developed over time and wasn't rushed. Overall a great book.

Complete transparency, I don't necessarily think this book was for me when it comes to the fashion subject matter. A lot of people I'm sure do and will enjoy the fashion story & terminology woven in, but I was a little bored by it. I'm clearly the person whose eyes glaze over at too much description of clothing, so this is absolutely nothing on the author or this book. Lesson learned for me...

The authors writing style is enjoyable. The romance between the two leads had a good build up and didn't just get hot and heavy right off the bat. I loved the character of Sawyer and thought she sounded like a kid which was great. 

Is this book like the Caine series? No. Should it be? No. I liked that she went a different way with an industry and New Orleans. Overall it was pretty well done.