The Billionaire Boss Next Door by Max Monroe

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Title: The Billionaire Boss Next Door
Author: Max Monroe
Published by: Indie
Release Date: May 16, 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 317
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Comedy
Source: Social Butterfly PR
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

My new boss has it all.
In spades.

Gorgeous green eyes? Check.Hard-and-sexy body? Check.Intelligence? Check.Success? A big fat billionaire… Check.

Too bad I haven’t started out on the best foot.

My big mouth has already turned him against me, and tempting good looks and success aside, Trent Turner is no peach either. He’s stubborn and thick-headed, and son of a fruitcake, he thinks he knows everything there is to know about the hotel business.

With him running the development of the new Vanderturn New Orleans Hotel and me doing the design, our work relationship is far too intimate for two people who absolutely despise one another.

But that’s not all.

See, he isn’t just my billionaire boss from hell. He’s my new neighbor, too.

Same city.Same building.Same floor.

Trent Turner is my billionaire boss next door.

Holy moly, let’s hope my career—and hormones—can survive.

Disclaimer: If you generally love to suffer, hate fun of any kind, and are allergic to laughter, this book is not for you.

My Review:

I received a free copy through Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

3.5 stars — This was a VERY hard book for me to rate.  Honestly, if it hadn’t been an ARC, and I hadn’t been worried my slump was affecting my enjoyment, I might have DNF’d it.  The first half of this book did NOT work for me.  I couldn’t connect with either main character.  The situations/dialogue were over the top and the book felt like it was trying too hard to be funny.  I didn’t quite understand the depths of the hate Greer and Trent had for one another.  It just…didn’t capture me.  But I pushed on, and I’m really glad I did, because the 2nd half was exactly what I remember loving about Max Monroe.  The craziness got reined in so it added to the story without taking over.  The characters started to show heart and depth, and I connected with them.  And I fell in love with the romance.  Honestly, it was like 2 different books for me.

I’m not even sure how to go about the rest of my review for this one.  Normally I would touch on each main character and my personal thoughts about them, but my feelings weren’t consistent.  I started this book not understanding who Greer was AT ALL.  I mean, I get that she was hiding her insecurities behind snark and sassiness, but she was like a Mr. Bean character at times.  There were times where I felt like she was non-sensical.  But then we hit the hump of the book and she settled out into a person I believe could exist.  She was still snarky and sassy, but there was also heart and depth in her.  I felt for her stress over her business, and while I wanted to smack her for the cliche way she eavesdropped but didn’t stay to listen to it all (I mean seriously, *roll eyes*), I still felt her hurt along with her.

I still don’t understand who beginning Trent was.  He was a dick, but I don’t think I knew exactly why he was that way to his team, and how he didn’t see it.  I sort of got that his tenuous relationship with his father influenced a lot of his reactions, but it wasn’t quite enough to explain it away for me.  I REALLY didn’t get his reaction with Cap about Greer getting hired.  That was kind of insane to me.  (also side note: I’m never really going to fall in love with men who make prison rape jokes with their friends)  But once Greer got through to him, this whole sweet soft side of him came out, and I will admit I kind of swooned.  But did I get the transition?  Not really.  If I just accept it for what it is, then I love 2nd half Trent!

As for the two of them together?  Again, totally don’t get their interactions in the first half, but LOVE the romance that develops in the second half!  They were kind of adorable together, and I really loved how Trent loved Greer’s odd ways (when she wasn’t being over the top), and I loved how he kind of brought stability to Greer.  Again, I wasn’t super duper happy with the conflict, but I loved the resolution.  It was just cute and fun.

I wasn’t expecting the occasional POVs from secondary characters.  I’m uncertain how I feel about it.  I really don’t get Greer’s friendship with Emory.  Emory didn’t seem that likable to me.  Quincy seemed sweet, but also kind of flat.  And Cap was…odd.  I’m not even sure I want to know what his love story is going to be like.

It seems that my tastes might be hit or miss with Max Monroe.  I don’t think I have *quite* the same sense of humour, and when they decide to go full out, they leave me in their dust.  When they rein it in, I LOVE IT.  *sigh*  It’s kinda a bummer, b/c when I love them, I LOVE them.  I wonder if I should stick to audiobooks instead though, assuming I enjoy the narrators.  Sometimes great narrators can smooth over the disconnects with me.

Anyways, that’s introspection nobody cares about.  Basically this book was both a 2-2.5 star read, and a solid 4 star read.  I’ll inevitably round down because of the beginning, but I think that if you enjoy all the Thatcher stuff in their newsletters (I haven’t read his book yet), then you probably won’t have the same problems as I did.