by Jackie Lau
Series: Kwan Sisters #2
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: July 10th 2018
Source: ARC received for review
Rating: ★★★★★
As CEO of Fong Investments, I’m a busy man. In fact, my family claims I’m an obsessive workaholic, and when they force me to take two weeks off, I have no idea what to do with myself.While brooding over an espresso, I meet Courtney Kwan, a biomedical researcher who savors the little things in life. And, suddenly, an idea strikes me—I will pay this woman to teach me how to enjoy my vacation from work.Soon, I find myself doing crazy things like baking cookies, reading for pleasure, buying a phallic cactus, and falling in love. But Courtney is dealing with some serious issues of her own, and I fear that when I return to work, I won’t be able to give her what she needs, and I’ll lose her forever...
Mr. Hotshot CEO is my first Jackie Lau book and oh my god, why is it so hard to review a book that you love? Jackie's writing is so easy to follow, the story flowed seamlessly... I have no idea what to say about this book because I love it too much. It pains me that I can't put my feelings into words and do this book justice but I shall try in this post.
"You've spent the last twenty minutes telling me that you don't know how to have fun. Why would I want to go to bed with you?"
Oh, God. Did I really just say that?
He steps closer to me. Only a tiny step, but it's enough to quicken my breath. He dips his head and whispers, "There's one place I do know how to have fun."
I was pretty much charmed with Julian Fong from the start. He's different from the CEO heroes I've read about--he isn't an alpha-hole, for one. In fact, he is pretty much a normal guy who just happens to be a workaholic. It wasn't until I read Mr. Hotshot CEO that I realized how much I've wanted a normal CEO, so this book is fresh air for me. Julian's kind, respectful, smart (he speaks five languages fluently, what even the f) and *gasps* sexy too?
And rich, don't forget the rich part, Lisa.
Can somebody yell "husband material"?
I loved Courtney Kwan immediately when I met her, too. There is a quiet intensity to her that I like, and I'm fascinated by her ability to live in the moment and savour little things. Her thought process re: her depression is quite hard to read. She has a lot of internal struggles, mostly related to how she might not be able to experience normal things (e.g. having a healthy long-term relationship) because of her depression.
Julian and Courtney's first meeting is one of my favourite first-meeting styles ever. I, too, wanted to be approached by a handsome man in a coffee shop and be offered five grand in exchange for two weeks of teaching him to do fun things. Easy money! I love Courtney's influence on Julian; she had him relax for the first time and doing things he's never thought of doing. I love that food played an important role in Mr. Hotshot CEO. There were so many food details in this, I wept. Jackie actually did a thread on the food she featured in this book.
Oh, did I mention Julian bakes? Husband material.
I don't know what lemon squares are but I want them now.
Julian and Courtney are so easy to root for. I love reading them having fun with each other doing mundane things like walking in the park and eating gelato. That's the main reason I love Julian and Courtney together, I think? They had a lot of fun with each other outside the bedroom, and that is so important to me.
"You look familiar. Wait... I know. You're Julian Fong, aren't you?"
Yeah, somebody recognized me while I was buying Joey the Phallic Cactus.
I also love how Courtney's depression is dealt with re: Julian and Courtney building a real relationship together. Julian messed up a couple of times, sure. He was The Fixer, and he first thought Courtney's depression as something he could fix by throwing money at it. He learned quickly, though (he's smart, after all), and how they resolved that conflict is probably my ultimate favourite thing about this book (there were pens and papers involved).
I love the secondary characters in Mr. Hotshot CEO. Courtney's siblings are great, but the show-stealer is definitely the Fong family. I laughed a lot whenever Julian's brother Vince appeared. He is ridiculously funny, I want him to have his own HEA too. In fact, I'd love it if both of Julian's brothers get their own books. I kind of squealed when Julian's brother Cedric mentioned that he traveled to Malaysia! I'm so starved for rep, I swear. Julian's mother and grandmother are also the greatest.
"It's good to try new things, isn't it? They can make your brain think in different ways. Good for creativity. Good for business."
"You're saying an orgy might be good for my business?"
Overall, I didn't expect to love Mr. Hotshot CEO this much but yeah, I did. My heart was so full reading the epilogue. I'm so glad I still have Grumpy Fake Boyfriend to look forward to--it's going to be a long, hard wait for Jackie's new book to come out so at least I have something to tide me over. I really recommend this to everyone who's looking for a rom-com to read, but be sure to check Jackie's thread of trigger warnings first.
*Quotes taken from ARC.
No comments
Hi. Thanks for leaving a message. I'll make sure to reply to you as soon as I can. :)