BOOK REVIEW ~ WEEKENDS REQUIRED BY SYDNEY LANDON

Title: Weekends Required (Danvers Series, Book One)

Author: Sydney Landon

Release Date: July 21, 2012 / December 21, 2012

Reviewer bought own copy for review

Claire Walters has worked for Jason Danvers as his assistant at Danvers International for three years, and he has never thought of her as a woman until the day she jumps out of a cake at his friend's bachelor party.

Claire is forced to work a second job at a party planning company to support her ailing mother. She is horrified when Jason not only finds out, but has a front-row seat to the action. With Danvers in the process of merging with another company, Claire is forced to travel with Jason as well as work weekends. Suddenly all the fantasies she has entertained for years about her boss seem to be coming true. Her outspoken best friend Suzy thinks that just getting laid will solve everything. The problem is, Claire sees much more in Jason than just sex.

Jason is determined to know how the beautiful, sexy woman in the cake could also be his Plain Jane assistant who tries her best to blend into the background from 8-5 every day. Now not only does Jason see her as a woman, he fully intends to give her the fairy-tale ending that she deserves!



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Book Review

I grabbed this book because the author is from my hometown and I love to support my local authors. I had never heard of Sydney Landon or her books, but the sexy cover grabbed my attention and the blurb sounded interesting.

This plot is not original--we've all read it before--the office romance where the boss falls for his assistant. But I still love to read a sexy office romance. 

This was overall just an okay read for me. There was never any connection or "pull" to the characters. I couldn't fall for the hero, Jason, at all. He was over-the-top possessive and bossy and it just didn't sit right with me. When he confronts a wacky neighbor, in order to protect Claire--that's one thing. I thought that was very commendable. When he interferes in talking to her boss to say she can no longer work for her? Well, that just made me cringe a little. 

Also, the fact that Jason really doesn't notice Claire, until she jumps out of a bachelor party "cake", half-naked and make-up applied didn't appeal to me, either. He never really had a thing for her until she's "gussied up". 

I did like Claire-she was spunky. She wanted so much to help her ailing mother and she even took a job as a "cake-jumper" (not really sure what else to call it, lol). She has a strong will that has her refusing a hand out from her boss, determined to handle her financial mess all alone. That, to me, takes guts. Sometimes her reactions were a bit over the top and I thought she over reacted on some issues with Jason. But we're human and we're not perfect. 

The only time I came close to liking Jason was at the end, when he decides to walk away from Claire. He sees his mistakes and doesn't want to hurt her anymore. He truly just wanted to help and that was made much more clearer in the ending, rather than at the beginning, when he came across as such a controlling jerk. 

A plus for this story is the secondary characters--Gray and Claire's friend, Suzy. She was quirky and very entertaining. Their chemistry was evident right away. 

Overall, a sweet read without that instant pull-you-inside-the-pages that I like to find in a book.