I’m not much of a category romance reader due to its constraints, but I couldn’t resist this one after I saw that this book was by Naima Simone and the first in a connected series. While I haven’t read her other categories, I’ve read her Sweetest Taboo series, and this book is exactly what I expected from her – tons of angst and tons of heat. It’s enemies-to-lovers with just a bit of forbidden love, considering that a relationship between a CEO and the reporter writing an article on him would definitely get them both in hot water!

After his father disappeared with millions of dollars embezzled from the family company and his clients, Josh gave up his own dreams to take over the helm in an attempt to make reparations. It’s cost him everything – his relationship with his brothers, his own art career – and the last thing he needs is another hotshot reporter who’s looking to capitalize on rehashing his family’s downfall. But something about Sophie tantalizes him, and Josh isn’t what Sophie was expecting either. Sophie’s intrigued and moved by Josh’s art and struggles to reconcile it with the cold businessman who refuses to give her the time of day. Neither can deny the instant attraction between them, but will it burn out and leave them both with nothing but ashes?

“The whole shitfest with the hedge fund had left him with precious little—the death of his art career, the eradication of his relationships with his brothers, a ghost of a mother, an overabundance of shame and a ruined family company. But they’d been his choices.
All that had remained in the ashes after the firestorm were the ragged tatters of his pride because he’d had the strength, the character, to make those choices.
And now Sophie Armstrong sought to steal that dignity away from him, too.”


Given the title, it’s no surprise that pride plays a big part for both of the characters. For Josh, he’s proud of how he’s turned around the company and made it successful again, even if it was at his own expense. But that pride isn’t enough to compensate for the loss of his passion and the abandonment by his family. He has enough of it left, though, to know that he can’t afford to get emotionally invested in anyone, even the woman who haunts his thoughts. Sophie also had a serious case of insta-lust for Josh, though she recognizes there’s a serious conflict of interest since she’s supposed be writing an unbiased article on him and his company. Plus, after a previous boyfriend manipulated her to get more favorable coverage for a politician, she’s wary of falling into the same trap again, of compromising her career – her passion – for the sake of a relationship.

“Sheathe your sword, Sophie,” he said.
“So you finally admit that you need every bit of help you can muster when going up against me?” she challenged, amusement lighting her eyes like glittering stars.
“I never said I didn’t. Only a fool would encounter you and not be battle ready with everything in his arsenal available to him.”
She heaved an exaggerated sigh and splayed her fingers wide over her chest. “I do believe that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”


And yes, Sophie and Josh’s relationship is definitely insta-lust, which is not my favorite trope, but the author really sells it. The chemistry between them is intense, even when they’re both operating under misconceptions – the millionaire CEO who’s cut from the same cloth as his embezzler father versus the scheming reporter who won’t hesitate to dig up dirt to sell more papers. As the trust builds between them, the lust transmutes into something more emotional, though the heat level stays sky high. Both characters have some pretty angsty “oh no, not feelings!” moments which were quite fun. They also have some excellent banter, which is always a highlight for me. As for cons, there are a few loose ends – whether his father is still alive, and though it’s pretty much discounted, whether there was actually a secret baby (perhaps his twin brother’s?), and if not, who was feeding that information to Josh’s enemies. I’m hoping these are things that will be picked up in the rest of the series.

Because, yes, I will definitely be reading more in this series – I’m very curious to see what happens with Josh’s brothers and if Josh’s assistant / practically sister gets her own book, as well! Overall, this is a delightfully angsty and high heat category!

I received this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I can always count on Naima Simone to deliver a solid and very sexy read. This book was certainly no exception. Ruthless Pride is a sort of forbidden, sort of hate to love book about a reporter, Sophie, digging into Joshua's past. Joshua is the CEO of a financial company that his dad used to run, before getting caught embezzling a whole lot of money and disappearing.

This book was high angst and high heat and I really, really enjoyed it. Naima Simone keeps the action moving right along without you feeling lost. I thought that the connection between the characters felt real and it definitely worked for me. It also made me want ice cream, which is inconvenient considering I don't have any.

I also thought it was really interesting how Simone set up a series and I'm very intrigued by the overarching plot thread that will tie these books together. The only thing I didn't really love was the last 10% of the book and the fact that the potential secret baby is unresolved. I'm hoping that particular mystery is answered in a later book in the series though!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book.

This is the first of the Dynasties: Seven Sins series, a multi-author Harlequin Desire Dynasties project of seven books involving the fallout of one man’s crimes on several high-powered families.
Millionaire Joshua Lowell has earned his place in the world, painstakingly rebuilding the hedge fund that his father destroyed by running off with his investors’ money, leaving Joshua and the rest of his family to live with the shame and scandal of his actions, as well as the enmity of those he’d betrayed. Now, years later, he’s at the top of his game. In steps Sophie Armstrong, reporter, who’s decided to do a piece on the hedge fund – and Joshua – on the anniversary of the scandal’s breaking. Revisiting the past that haunts him is the last thing Joshua wants to do, but Sophie is determined – and startlingly distracting. She might be just the person to help him focus on the future instead of the past, but first he’s going to have to deal with some unsavory rumors that Sophie’s dug up, rumors that threaten to destroy everything Joshua has been determined to become.

Ruthless Pride was an uneven beginning to what promises to be an intriguing Desire series. Simone definitely has a deft hand at developing both romantic and sexual tension, and Sophie and Joshua were delightful characters, each living and breathing on the page and enjoyable to get to know. Unfortunately, the strength of Sophie and Joshua as characters was counterbalanced by plot elements that seemed unrealistic, and some elements that were introduced but felt like they weren’t really wrapped up by the end of the story. That all said, the development of the Seven Sins world was enjoyable to watch unfold – though I’m sure there’s a lot more to the people and places readers of the series will get to know, the glimpse readers get of Falling Brook and Joshua’s family cannot fail to pique one’s curiosity. Though I wasn’t totally enthralled by this first entry in the series, it had a warm, fuzzy HEA, and in the end I did enjoy it very much, and look forward to reading more of the Seven Sins!

3.75 stars—RUTHLESS PRIDE by Naime Simone is the first instalment in the multi-authored DYNASTIES: SEVEN SINS erotic, romance novella series focusing on the families destroyed by betrayal and greed. This is millionaire CEO Joshua Lowell, and reporter Sophie Armstrongs story line.


Told from dual third person perspectives (Sophie and Joshua) RUTHLESS PRIDE introduces some of the backstory and fall-out of Vernon Lowell’s betrayal of the people who trusted him with their money and their lives. Fifteen years earlier Vernon Lowell disappeared with millions of dollars in client’s hedge fund money, and the man has not been seen or heard from since. In the ensuing years, his eldest son, Joshua Lowell, gave up his own burgeoning career as an artist, to take over as CEO in an effort to repay and repair the damage done to so many people but Joshua never expected the sins of his father to once again scandalize the family. A young reporter has set her sights on the Lowell story, and is determined to reveal the truth, as she knows it. Enter reporter Sophie Armstrong. What ensues is the building but tempestuous relationship between Sophie and Joshua, and the potential fall-out as more sins and lies come to the surface forcing Joshua to chose between Sophie and the life he has come to endure.


The relationship between Sophie and Joshua is acrimonious at best. Joshua does not trust Sophie to not report further on the Lowell family sins, and Sophie struggles between head and heart when she begins to fall for the our story line hero. Joshua hopes to keep Sophie close but never expected to fall for the woman who has stirred up a hornets nest of bad memories and sins. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.


The secondary and supporting characters are limited but we are quickly introduced to Zane Patterson, a man who is willing to do anything to see the Lowell family further disgraced, by any means necessary, including using Sophie, our story line heroine. Zanes story is next in Forbidden Lust by Karen Booth.


RUTHLESS PRIDE is a story of secrets, lies, betrayal and revenge. The conflict resolution does not address certain aspects and revelations but I suspect the plot line will continue throughout the series. The premise is engaging and entertaining; the romance is seductive and steamy; the characters are energetic and dynamic.



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Naima Simone has written another fabulous book that had me hooked from beginning to end. Ruthless Pride is book one in the Dynasty: Seven Sins series. I loved Joshua and Sophie so much. I'm excited to see what's in store for this series.

This was such an interesting concept for a multi-author series! I love this author's work, but I've never read the other authors, so we'll see where this thing goes!

Joshua Lowell is a man on a mission. 15 years ago, his father embezzled money from his own hedge fund, and drained his family's personal accounts, and then went on the run. Joshua gave up his own artist's dreams, and took up the mantle of the family business. He wanted to try to right all the wrongs of his father. As CEO, he's built back the reputation of the hedge fund, made reparations payments to the 10 families affected by his father's theft, and helps with many charitable funds and projects. But, he's lost his family in the process. His mother is a shell of her former self, his twin has run off to backpack across Europe and ignore the family issues, and their hometown, and his younger brother has become the typical rich jerk with a drug problem. Both brothers resent him for taking over for their dad, after what he did, but it's the only way Joshua knows how to make amends.

Sophie Armstrong is a reporter for her hometown newspaper, and she's doing a story on the anniversary of Vernon Lowell's crimes going public. She is confident in always doing her job properly, with integrity, so she wants to get the current CEO's statement for her article. After he repeatedly ignores her calls and emails, she shows up at his office, but he is not interested in talking to her. So, she moves forward with her article, though most of her sources clearly hate Joshua Lowell, and a lot of the statements made about him are conjecture, or rumor. She does her best to wade through them to the truth, but floats some pretty damaging theories in her story. Joshua Lowell shows up at her office the next day, and offers her an exclusive look inside his company, so she can have all the facts. She accepts, even though she's afraid it's a huge miscalculation.

Josh is attracted to Sophie right off the bat, but he HATES her job. He hates the way she's dug up all his family's old drama and made it new again. Sophie begins to realize she's misjudged him, as she gets to know them better, and she's attracted to him too. Josh has SO MANY trust issues, but who could blame him?! The man he looked up to his whole life was a liar and a thief, and now Josh doesn't even know if his father is dead or alive. Even the FBI couldn't find him. Sophie has her own valid trust issues, after her parents' ugly divorce that put her in the middle as a kid, and her last relationship, where she discovered her boyfriend had ulterior motives for being with her. They both had no real interest in overcoming those issues, they just wanted to keep it moving, but they were unable to ignore each other.

Once they actually get together, they can't stay away from each other, though they both agree up front that it's just sex. Of course, neither of them can really stick to that, and they start having heart feelings, in addition to their serious pants feelings. They both basically ignore it, until they can't and things blow up. I loved watching them both helpless to falling in love, and both handling it so poorly.

There's an ongoing mystery situation that will clearly carry over into the other books, and I'm not crazy about that. If it was an entire series of Naima's books, I'd be all over it, but I have no idea if I'll move on with the other books or not, so not having answers is frustrating. I liked the way everything ended up with our main couple, and their connection was steamy and satisfying, but I hate not having the rest of the story hammered out.

Overall the story was highly enjoyable, but I would've liked A LOT more closure on all the issues outside of the couple's relationship. I'll have to decide if I want to know the answers enough to continue on with the series. This was still a 4 star book for me because this author's words always make me believe in her couples, and I enjoyed Josh and Sophie's crazy journey into love with each other. I highly recommend this author's work!

I don't have a lot of feedback to give about this book other than it's just okay. I had higher expectations based on the opening chapter, but ended up feeling like everything was a bit cookie-cutter. What I expected based on the first chapter was a ruthless, powerhouse woman who meets a classic billionaire alpha at every level. I ended up feeling like the characters were trying to be layered and nuanced but had to be rushed through the shorter format of a category romance, so their vulnerabilities weren't as believable and it didn't pay off for me. It's not a bad book--it's just not one that will jump to the top of my recommendation list.

Ruthless Pride is a heartfelt and moving read. Its a page turner and kept my interest. Its wonderful written and a good storyline. I truly enjoyed reading about these two characters.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Desire for letting me read this story.
I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.

I love how the desire between Josh and Sophie leaps off the page from the very start. There is no doubt these two have strong chemistry, but their darn pride denies it. While their professions should make them enemies, and their history should make them wary, the draw between them continues to override their thought processes on these matters. Of course, they are electric once they connect, and that passion flows into their feelings. Haunted by their pasts, moving on isn’t easy for either, but together, they make the path they want!

What a wonderful surprise this book was wonderful I enjoy the story they only thing is I kept thing it was a shifter book and was a little taken back when the main character did not shapeshift. Loved the book and cant wait for the next book in the series.

Naima Simone sure knows how to ignite the pages and your hearts! Ruthless Pride is full of emotion, heart, heat, and heart-tugging romance. I cannot wait to read more of Naima's work.

Naima Simone brings it home with an enemies to lovers story of Joshua Lowell who's trying to prove he's not his father's son and Sophie Armstrong, the journalist who's been assigned to cover Lowell family's scandal.
From the first page, these two are explosive and great adversaries.
These two wounded people who want to be the best versions of themselves despite having pasts that threaten each of their happinesses.
Naima layers Joshua and Sophie, in a way that I kept turning the page, wanting to know how they find their way into each other's hearts.
Great story. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Although one of my favorite type of romances, secret baby, this story dis not have nearly enough dialogue to keep my interest. Stopped around 26%. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Josh and Sophie are just the best! Both have a lot of pride, but also the biggest hearts! I wanted to hug Josh most of the time, for what he took on. This was just an amazing story and start to a new series!