Good afternoon my lovely readers; I have so many exciting things to tell you about today! Firstly I have started writing for another publication which is currently just quietly spreading its wings. With three articles ready to publish on a beauty theme (something I’ve never considered writing about before) it’s a new venture and another chance to write that will hopefully further improve my ability to write creatively. In terms of reviews there haven’t been as many as I would have liked in January so far however thank you for all the new review requests (they will be finding their way onto mylittlebookblog soon.) Today I have a lovely little find from Mae Wood and it’s a rather steamy story; enjoy.

Marisa Tanner’s most important client, multi-billion dollar family-owned Brannon Company, has been sued by nine of its employees for sexual harassment. Marisa is a pro at handling sexual harassment allegations, but will she be able to handle the CEO’s prodigal son as well as she can handle the lawsuits? Clients are off-limits and Marisa could lose her law license and livelihood, but Memphis playboy Trip keeps making strong plays for her. Their attraction is undeniable and chemistry electric. Can she have her career and Trip, too, or will she have to choose? A steamy debut novel by Mae Wood, “Risking Ruin” is a standalone novel that blends the worlds of chick-lit and steamy contemporary romance to create a world filled with strong characters in the lush environment of Memphis, Tennessee.

Who doesn’t a love a steamy story about an honest professional falling in love with their client who they can’t keep their hands off; it’s a clichéd story I’ve read many a time but it doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy this romance novel. Marisa is a Memphis lawyer who specialises in sexual harassment lawsuits. One of her biggest and most esteemed clients is a company called Branco. However when Branco’s counsel are accused of harassment and forced to retire it is down to Trip Brannon, the son of the CEO to step in and take the reins. However he’s a bit of a loose cannon who can’t seem to keep himself occupied with one woman let alone one business venture. Marisa is terrified that he’s is not up to the job, putting significant pressure on her as a proffesional, but she’s also rather attracted to him and as we all know; a relationship between lawyer and client is a strict no,

In terms of characterisation Marisa is a fun and very likeable female character; she’s not worried that she hasn’t yet found Mr Right so to speak and she’s focussed and actually rather good at her job. She’s not so independent that she comes across cold and unyielding which strong female characters do have the habit of becoming. I loved the little snippets from her parents that add a humorous tone and I cannot help but love a good girly best-friend relationship. Erica and Marisa’s friendship is honest, girly and rather darling. The chatter between the two is comical and I liked the space it gave to the main plot. Trip, is pretty hot and heavy (and rather intense) however there’s more to him than first meets the eye and when you take a step back and look at the two characters you see they have a lot more in common than at first thought. The build-up of their relationship is handled well and although we can all see where this is going, right, I still enjoyed the constant will they won’t they of their relationship. Also, I really enjoyed the mystery subplot that Trip and Marisa try and figure out as to whether the sexual harassment suits are connected and it meant that I was pretty hooked throughout!

In terms of negatives, the ending is a little rushed, it’s a shame because all the way through the build-up is perfectly handled and yet at the end it all suddenly pulls together a little too quickly. When I’m reading a book that is obviously assembling a big finale I don’t want to feel cheated out of the excitement to find out if it is all going to be okay in the end. I guess the only other negative is it is a little clichéd in terms of plotline don’t expect anything too out of the ordinary but it’s okay here because of the maintained plot line regarding the sexual harassments. In terms of writing style it moves with pace and despite being quite a short book in terms of length, the descriptions are full bodied and made the fictional world feel real.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it works great as a standalone book but I hear that there will be a continuation of the story which I do look forward to reading. The characters are nicely developed; the storyline does have a few interesting legal insights which made it feel a lot more believable. This would be the perfect summer beach read; not too taxing but a lovely story all the same!