I'm rounding up a 3.5 star rating rather than down ... I like the quick pace of this DARE line, and understand that quickies like this won't have as much development of back story. But Jack has loads of emotional baggage that he brings to this one, and it's not that great. Workplace romances walk a tightrope nowadays, and even in fiction there needs to be a line. I would've liked to have seen Gemma show a little more self-preservation. After all, we don't have to marry everyone we have sex with.

A hot and steamy read that I absolutely enjoyed reading from start to finish. The characters I absolutely adored reading about and the storyline had me gripped from the very start.

Great read. I enjoyed it So I purchased it on Amazon.

It was hot!An interesting story and the characters were well developed!I'm going to check more books from this author!

Off Limits in the first novel I've read by Clare Connelly and also the first novel I've read in the Dare imprint, and to say I was underwhelmed is putting it mildly. It's gets a mere 2 star review from this reader.

I was eager to check out the new Dare imprint, and although I'm not a huge fan of office romances, this one sounded appealing and I truly wish it had been. The basic trope--billionaire businessman and widower, Jack, gets involved with his in-house counsel and personal assistant, Gemma, but since the death of Jack's young wife to a tragic illness after only one year of marriage, Gemma gets to witness her "boss" go through a parade of one-night stands that Jack tells her are the way he's handling his grief. He expects her to wake him up every morning while he parades his hot body around his apartment, naked as the day he was born, and issues her orders for the day. Can you say, sexual harassment in the workplace? I know I can.

Gemma, as it turns out, is a titled member of the British aristocracy, but wants more out of life than just being a wealthy heiress. She became a lawyer instead despite her parents' wishes, so while I liked that about her character, why on earth she puts up with Jack's behavior escaped this reader. Yes, he's a hot stud, but he treats her like dirt. She does show signs of having a backbone but not when it comes to her boss, Jack.

When, after two years of employment, Jack finally gets around to hitting on Gemma, prepare for a number of rather explicit sec scenes between these two. What's missing here is any real emotion between them. Jack gets Gemma off sexually, then it's business as usual, and the sad part is that Gemma finds that acceptable. She fakes her own disinterest in Jack outside the bedroom, although she's secretly hoping for more, and even though he still treats her like the flavor of the week.

To say that I didn't particularly like either of the two main characters is putting it mildly. I simply found that Jack's excuse for bedding half the women in London, which is how he's attempting to assuage his grief over his wife's death, was the lamest excuse I've ever heard for acting like a manwhore. The fact that Gemma, a smart, titled, talented, and extremely capable woman, was willing to become the next notch on his bedpost actually made me cringe, and certainly made me doubt her smarts, especially when she realizes that she's become just another body to Jack, who, after their relationship turns sexual, still expects her to divorce herself from her emotions at the drop of a hat and continue to act her part as his loyal and obedient employee.

Yes, there is an HEA ending to this novel, but it certainly felt like nearly forever to get there, and when I did, I found it to be rather a lame ending at best, and while this novel is fairly well-written, I disliked the main characters and their story, and it didn't make me eager to read anything else by this author in the future.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Ah boss romances, how I love you. This one was actually really good and I would totally read more from this author.

A very hot and sexy story but it took too long for the feelings of Jack and Gemma to get to where I wanted them to be.

This book was not for me. I just felt like it was not real

New series by Harlequin. Enjoyed the storyline.

Seems that I’ve chosen the right book to start my “Harelquin Dare” reviews series. I was not disappointed at all and I liked Clare Connelly’s writing. With fun parts, work ethics and lots and lots of (very) hot scenes, this book was great!

“Off Limits” is not the cute romance type of book at all. It is exactly as the title says: an off-limits relationship, as boundaries are broken, limits are crossed. Our main characters should not get involved. They work very well together, they form a perfect team at the office. She is his assistant, the first one to last that long and to accommodate to his character. But their attraction is stronger than the office stuff and once day Jack and Gemma cross that line. And once you are on the other side, you tend to stay there.

The author did a great job building the characters. Jack’s story is not a happy one and she reveals it step by step. I wanted to say he’s an idiot so many times, but then something from his pasts comes to light and … he’s all good. He’s afraid of commitments, although for a though guy like him it’s difficult to admit. She is ambitious, strong and with her legs down to earth, until he sends her emotions flying. And here comes the part I was not very comfortable with. She knows very well he’s a player. She knows very well he’s not the relationship type of guy and he has major issues. However, she loses her balance very quickly in the book. I wanted to see more convincing from his part. Gemma becomes possessive and she’s not afraid to show it.

I loved each page of this book, it was a very easy read as it kept me right there with the characters. I am warning you, there are some explicit sex scenes in there, so be prepared for a great amount of heat. You might as well have your emotions in check.

I should have loved, or at the very least, liked, Off Limits. It's a trope I normally dig - office romance with a cold, womanizing playboy being brought to his knees by a smart, awesome woman. But, and this is a BIG BUT, I didn't love it. I didn't even like it. The reason? The cold, womanizing playboy. He didn't redeem himself, even at the end when he came to make up with the smart, awesome woman.

Jack is the cold, womanizing playboy. The smart, awesome woman is his in house counsel, Gemma. She knows when starting to work for Jack that he's going to be difficult, and he is. He's a grieving widower who takes out his grief by taking countless, nameless women to bed. But, he and Gemma have a serious spark, a spark that never catches flame. Until it does, a couple years after she starts working for him. And then they spend a few weeks in bed, and Gemma knows what she's known for awhile - that she's in love with Jack. And she thinks that he has feelings for her too. But, he disabuses her of that notion by telling her he only wants her for sex. And the day he tells her this? The day of his dead wife's birthday. And Gemma finds out that she was just a distraction the night before while he whiled away his still heartbreaking grief by taking Gemma to bed. Yep...d bag of the year, of the entire infinite amount of time, this one is. And that's why the 2 stars. I really should 1 star this, but I don't only because I liked Gemma, a lot. She deserved a whole heck of a lot better than the cold, womanizing jerk that is Jack. Even at the end when he came to his epiphany, she deserved better. And I never, not for one second, believed in his supposed 180 turnaround. I never believed he felt anything for her than what he originally told her - that he wanted her in his bed. I don't think he loved her. I don't think he even liked her. How could he, when he didn't even like himself? And why would he like himself? He's a complete jerk, so no reason to like him. Sigh...

A spicy take on an affair with the boss! The characters are bold and go after what they want, so are a joy to get to know and watch as they each try to get their personality mixed into their relationship. While overtly sold as a no-holds-barred sexual rendezvous type of book, there's also an underlying story of heartache and healing. It was really fun to read!

Gemma Picton knows she shouldn't lust after him ... her boss, promiscuous playboy, emotionally stunted soul, sexy as all get out man ... but telling herself something and actually doing it are two totally different things. She's controlled herself for so long, but all of a sudden she wants to be bad ... and she finds herself hoping upon hope that she might actually be able to heal his heart!

Billionaire Jack Grant doesn't want a relationship. He wants sex ... lots of it ... with an endless array of women, never repeating! Gemma is a rock star to him in his business, so he's not one to take that lightly, but he's finding it hard to resist the draw to her he's feeling lately. He just has to get her on the same page that they are sex ... only sex.

Off Limits is a splendid office place romance. The is a sizzling chemistry between Jack and Gemma. It is a fun book to read and a pretty quick read as well.

This is the second book I have read that has been published by Dare and having loved the first one, I was really looking forward to this one!

The book has very strong characters and the story is told by both sides which I really enjoyed. There was good continuity and descriptions throughout and it really brought the story to life.

5 stars from me – very highly recommended – I loved it!!

Honestly? I wasn't too sure about this one for the first third or so. I liked Gemma and Jack--they have good chemistry, though he's got major, major issues (definitely not over the death of his wife being a major part of that) and of course there's the work thing, so yeah, they definitely should be resisting with everything they've got...I'm still not 100% clear about what exactly tripped them over the line from resisting is still a go to OMG, we've definitely given that up, I see! So, yeah; that first third? I got why they wanted to be sleeping together, but couldn't quite get on board with why they were actually doing it when all signs pointed to really not a good idea, folks.

I'm not even sure where that changed, but somewhere along the line I started to get a glimmer of hmmm, maybe this really could work...maybe. Gemma was definitely falling, but Jack? Still a bit of a mystery, to Gemma and to the reader (though this is a dual POV story, we get far more of it from hers than from his).

Then we get to the black moment, and oh yeah, it's black. Even the US women's hockey team winning gold couldn't quite get me out of the funk that their relationship crisis put me in--I had to quick finish the book before the medal ceremony, just to put myself in the proper frame of mind! No worries, though--Jack pulled out all the stops--and his head out of his butt--and gave us all one heck of an HEA that nearly made me forget about all of the earlier agony he put us through earlier.

Almost. ;)

Plus--kudos to Ms. Connelly for not vilifying Jack's dead wife, my personal pet peeve in widow/widower stories! It's always nice to see a romance author who believes that it could be possible to find love twice in a lifetime <3 :)

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for her next book in the Dare line!

Rating: 4 stars / A-

Off Limits is the second book I have read this month that has a convincing portrayal of characters not completely head-over-heels on their love interest. Good job Clare Connelly! I have a feeling this will be a good reading month and it’s only the 1st week of February.

In reality, aristocrats are beginning to be part of the workforce. They may still hold high-ranked positions but they’re working WORKING. This element of Gemma’s character is acceptable. Jack’s rags-to-riches status works too. Their story may be over-the-top but it’s possible it could happen in real-life.

The book is short, only having almost 200 pages. On the contrary, their story was well written. Extra pages added and I think it would feel being stretched for the sake of more page count.

I admire Gemma’s has a mind of her own, I’m tired of clingy women but tagged as a strong-willed character. Jack’s anxiety and fears are morally-correct. I’d say their story is heavily character-driven. They are equally interesting.

If this wasn't a short novella, I probably would have DNF'd this. I like alpha males, but Jack was an A**hole. I also like to feel happy when I read sex scenes, but all I felt was anger. This couple only seems to have angry sex. Also, what assistant in her right mind puts up with her boss being naked in front of her at least once a week? I can't see that happening in the real world and it really set the tone for the rest of the book. Gemma was kind of a doormat. Every time she walked away from him, I was hoping she would run and not turn back. I guess this one just wasn't for me.

Great read! Completely had me hooked! It’s dark, it’s hot, it’s def worth reading! The sexy scenes were making steam come off the pages and I dug it!

I received an ARC eBook of this book

This is the first book I have read by Clare Connelly as well as being part of Harlequin's new digital romance Imprint "Dare".

I thought this was a really well written contemporary romance and I enjoyed the story as well as the characters. I enjoyed seeing how Jack Grant and Gemma Picton's relationship started and then developed throughout the story as well as getting to know more about them as individual characters as well as their pasts/families. I liked Gemma's grandmother and their relationship with one another as well.

I look forward to reading more from Harlequin's new Dare Imprint in 2018 as well as looking into this author to see what other books she has written.

I received Off Limits in return for an honest review from the publisher.
Gemma has been working as Jacks personal assistant for just over 2 years. While everything with them has remained business only it's clear that they both have this attraction for each other. However, something has been holding them back until one late night things turn steamy. Now everything has changed this isn't just about a one night stand it's so much more. What does the future hold for these two?

Gemma knows that Jack has issues and she wants to help him get past them, even if he's not willing to deal with them. They have this sizzling chemistry and they just work so well together in and out of the bedroom. I like Gemma right from the start she's just a sweetheart and you can't help liking Jack.

When I saw the chance to check out the Dare novels I had to jump at it. Thanks to my grandmothers I'm a long time Harlequin romance reader and have been reading them since I was a teenager. I admit I was a little nervous to see how the Dare imprint would play out as I've seen may over the years come and go. I really enjoyed Off Limits it's a little darker than a typical Harlequin but it works which I enjoyed. The characters are great I found Gemma easy to connect with. A perfect quick fast paced story that I finished in one reading session can't wait to read more.