Am I shocked that I loved this book? Not in the least. This author writes some incredibly amazing words.

Bossed
Publication Date: March 28, 2017
Contemporary Romance
Loveswept

Reviewed by Kini

He’s the boss. But she’s ready to take charge.

Jenny: Job interviews are a bitch under the best of circumstances, but when your potential boss is the world’s biggest prick, that’s when you should simply walk away. It’s just that I need this job so badly—and I’m mesmerized by Ethan Mason’s piercing gaze. Men like him aren’t supposed to exist in real life. But under the tailored suits and GQ looks, Ethan simmers with barely restrained ambition. And no matter how hard I work to fight the attraction, I’m going to get burned.

Ethan: You don’t become a top agent without learning how to close a deal. I always get what—or who—I want, by staying cool and in command. Then Jenny Jackson walks into my office with her lush curves and “screw you” attitude and blows away my intentions of keeping things professional. All I can think about is exploring the perfect body hidden beneath those conservative clothes or shutting her saucy mouth with one hot kiss. Jenny’s worth breaking the rules over—if I can convince her to break the rules for me.

I picked this up because I thought it would be a fun read and I like the trope of the MCs working together and struggling with their relationship. This was a fun read and the hero, Ethan, is dirty talker. On a scale of 1- Tessa Bailey, he’s pretty far up there.

Jenny is on the job search because she needs a better paying job to help out her ailing father. Her mother was not in the picture so Jenny and her dad have a close relationship. There was a little bit of martyrdom happening with Jenny taking care of her dad. The meet cute with Jenny and Ethan was interesting, they meet at a coffee stand- he is a jerk, she calls him out and then just minutes later she discovers he is the person she is interviewing with. The verbal sparring ensues.

Ethan is kind of a jerk to Jenny and his employees. He has a hard shell, but inside he is all squishy. One thing I love is when the hero falls hard for the heroine and we get to his his internal struggle of how to be a hard, tough assholery of a man and be nice to the woman he wants. Ethan has some insecurities that he struggle with and it was fun to read. Although one of my notes to myself is that Ethan is “way fucked up”. But not in a horrible way, just a man struggling to find himself and love.

Throughout the book, Jenny calls Ethan on his bad behavior. At times it was refreshing, others like when he yells at him at work, felt heavy handed and not at all true to life. Because afterward, she kept her job with no repercussions and all other employees were fine. And this bad behavior did lead to a cycle of back and forth between the two of them, it was a little more than I like.

Ethan has an amazing relationship with his BFF, Matt. I love a good male friendship in my books. The author did a great job with the best friends because they were in the story, but not too much. I foresee books for them.

The sex was HOT and dirty in this book. I have many NSFW quotes highlighted, but I will give you just one moderately warm one.
“Mmhmm, I bet. So fucking naughty” I leaned in and teased her slit with the tip of my tongue. She moaned. I smiled, knowing my tongue could get any reaction it wanted out of her. I reached up and pushed down on her lower back to give me a better angle.

Overall this was a satisfying read. It moved at a fast pace, but had a little too much back and forth for my liking.

Grade: C

Sloane writes a great sports romance. This one has a kick it's a office romance but still based around a his beloved Baseball.
Mr. Mason is a hard boss. Jenny needs a job to pay for her sick dads medical bills.
She is a firecracker and he is not use to anyone standing up to him and Jenny don't put up with anyone's crap.
5 stars of awesomeness and laughter. Sloane puts so much of himself into his books. Can't wait for Scored.
A must read Series.

Boss meets who is much bossier than himself.
Jenny was on her way to her interview.. She stops for a coffee in the park on her way and she runs into gorgeous but a prick of a guy.. She couldn't believe such a good look was wasted....
Finally she makes to her interview with few seconds to spare, she runs into the prick from the park and he happens to be the "Boss". Jenny realizes she will never get her a job after the encounter at the park, she decides to speak her mind and she corrects him on her way out.. "No body" corrects the Boss, but she does and lands a job.
Now they have to work together and she wants him to loosen up a bit with other workers. Now they are working together in same space, their attraction is getting stronger.
Ethan never wanted to have any relationship with any of co workers and believed it won't work. But having Jenny around the office creates more frustrations for both of them.
Both of them couldn't fight their attraction any more and they head on with it but....

It was quick read and fun office romance.. I enjoyed all the characters and I am sure there will be another book about Ethan's best friend and Jenny's best friend...

This is an entertaining and enjoyable contemporary romance with two great main characters, Jenny and Ethan. I really liked reading their story and seeing the relationship develop between them. This book was funny and sweet.

I love a great enemies to lovers story and that's exactly what this is! Bonus- they're also boss and employee.
Cocky, bossy Ethan Mason is used to doling out the attitude but never the recipient of until Jenny Jackson. He's finally met his match! I love their sexy banter back and forth! Jenny lets him have it from their first encounter! Ethan knows he shouldn't hire her but he does it anyways. They both fight the attraction until they just can anymore!! I love the tension buildup!! And wow, what a scene it is!
Love seeing Ethan and Jenny as they grow closer and break down each other's walls. Definitely a lot of back and forth but love the way it worked out in the end!! This is my first read by Sloane but it definitely won't be my last! I look forward to Matt and Kelsie's story in Scored!

I really enjoyed this read. I loved watching Ethan go from a tough as nails boss to someone softer as he fell for Jenny. Jenny challenged him in everyway and it was a lot of fun to watch them spar until they couldn't ignore the connection between them anymore.

I liked the story and the bromance between Ethan and his best friend Matt was one of my favorite things. I loved watching that play out. I'd love to see Matt's story get told so Ethan can lend a hand, too. Jenny was a very strong character going through something extremely difficult in her life. I loved watch Jenny and Ethan work through their feelings for each other.

The one thing that would have completed the story for me a little bit more, would have been some resolution into Ethan's past with his parents. I would have liked a little bit more on how he was going to move forward with Jenny and truly move on from his past. Overall though, I loved Ethan and I loved how he fought for Jenny. It was a good read.

Genre: Romance - Sports, office
Stand-Alone: Yes
Part of a Series: No (but I'd love to see one with Kelsey and Matt)
POV: Dual Jenny and Ethan
Steam-level: Spontaneous Combustion May Occur
5/5

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down! What started as "oh I'll just read a few pages" turned into an hour, four chapters and a rather late bedtime. The sparks flew the minute Jenny and Ethan met. Both are funny, sarcastic, and loyal. I love that Jenny is smart, snarky and can hold her own against Ethan's wit and jerkiness. I found myself running the gamut of emotions while reading this book which, to me, makes a book great an an author excellent. I'll definitely be checking out more of Sloane Howell's work.

I received an Advanced Copy of this book for free from the author/publish via NetGalley and am voluntarily giving an honest review.

Sexy office romance!

Jenny Jackson needs a job, a good paying job, stat. Her father has a terminal diagnosis and his medical bills are piling up sky high. When she has a horrible interview, where she insults the boss, she expects to walk out without a job offer, but something about her cocky assurance and calling him out has him intrigued and she gets the job. Needless to say, she and Ethan Mason (said boss) do not get along, but the sexual tension is palpable between them. He can't get her out of his head and it's really, really affecting his work. She stands up to him, calls him out and basically acts like no one else ever has around him. He can't help but be fascinated, not to mention he's head over heels in lust with her. But, they both have walls and rules about no fraternization. He especially, has problems with sleeping with coworkers, thanks to what happened to his parents' marriage.

I have to say, in the beginning, I didn't like Ethan. He was pretty cruel to Jenny, well, to everyone. But, once he opened up about why, and let himself be vulnerable to Jenny, I fell for him. He's actually a really good guy with a generous soul. When he changed I was cheering because I knew he didn't really change, he just let his true self show through. On the other hand, I didn't like Jenny aside from her feistiness, her dad and her best friend, Kelsey. Jenny was deliberately cruel to Ethan, even when he didn't deserve it. I do like that she stood up for herself, but she went much further than that and into being malicious and cruel. I understand that she was hurting, and grieving, but it doesn't excuse the way she treated Ethan, at all. If I had been him, no matter how much I were in love with her, I would have washed my hands of her at that point.

But, aside from Jenny's unlikable personality, Bossed is pretty great. It's sexy and witty, and has a great secondary cast. I am hoping Kelsey and Matt (Ethan's best friend) might get their own story. I hope so, because those two will be a match made in heaven!

2.5 -- I liked it, but it was ok...

Two smart-mouthed work associates that are hating and loving their attraction to each other. Guy is the bo$$ with emotional-can't love issues and Gal's emotional issues are related to her loyalty of her dad that raised her and is dying of cancer. Oh, and throw in a love of baseball. But what could've been a standard blah romance is made all the better by dual POV and snappy, dirty banter. Are the lines swoon worthy and making me wish I could use those lines or even have that kind of dialogue with a future mate? Heck, no. But, it evoked a mood that made fun reading of what seems like a dysfunctional, torturous courtship into a hot, quirky symbiotic relationship.

By no means is this a deep story that'll stay with me. I can imagine a ton of readers not agreeing with my rating, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. And for the readers that feel similarly torn as I did on an "ok like" and not a "like, like" will know what I mean when I say, "Are we finished here?"

I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book

I loved the tension between this couple and how they both gave as good as they got. I really liked Jenny because she was soo snarky and not afraid to stand up for others. I loved Ethan because he was so blunt and to the point but in the end he was more understanding than any man Jenny could have ever met especially when she was acting irrational.

Overall I really liked this book, it made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me sigh at all of the romantic moments. Very good job Sloane Howell!

I absolutely love Jenny Jackson. She is hands down one of the coolest, most feisty heroines ever. I so need to be friends with her. She may be little but she packs plenty of attitude, fortitude, and strength. With an extra side of snark, wit, and ball busting!

Ethan is a snide, smirking, arrogant ass. You learn that in the first minute of meeting him. So why can't she separate her annoyance from her attraction. And why for the love of all that's Holy does she find this jerk hot!?!?!

I found myself smirking and giggling at the ridiculously funny comments, one upmanship, and humor.

It's a fun and sweet story. We all know how much fun it is when the arrogant jerks are on their knees...Did I mention it's hot too? Whoops my bad! Ethan has a filthy dirty talking mouth and he is incredibly bossy. Just saying...

Perhaps you want to know what it's like to be Bossed!


reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood

This was my first time reading Sloane Howell’s work, and he can call me a fan now. Going into Bossed, I was prepared for an office romance, but beyond that, I really had no other expectations, except for the hope that there’d be a healthy dose of Mr. Howell’s notorious sense of humor. Once I started this story, though, I quickly realized it was going to be more than just a simple workplace romance. Part romcom, part sports romance, part office romance, I was quite surprised by the depth of emotion in this book. Howell’s writing was very engaging. His style was energetic and crisp, giving him a unique voice that resulted in Bossed being a well-developed, smartly paced and feeling-packed romance.
The back-and-forth banter between Ethan and Jenny was spot-on and what I loved most about this book. A top sports agent, Ethan was self-made, cocky and arrogant and ran his business tyrannically, expecting nothing less than perfection from his employees and didn’t hesitate to verbally eviscerate them for the smallest of mistakes. No one ever dared to challenge him, until Jenny crashed into his life. From their first encounter, she gave it right back to him, but the thing was that she was whip-smart, especially when it came to their shared passion: baseball. Both had serious trust issues to overcome before this budding relationship could get any real traction. Ethan’s walls were high and practically impenetrable, and with everything that was going on in Jenny’s life, she struggled to let him in as well.
Bossed had all the makings for a great contemporary romance. Laugh-out-loud humor and off-the-chart sexiness. A story with just enough angst to keep it interesting without weighing it down. Great supporting characters who rounded out this story into something special. But it was Howell’s obvious talent as a writer that really shined in the way he took those ingredients and blended them into an outstanding story that left me with a smile on my face and a happy heart. There was just so much here to enjoy, and I absolutely devoured this book! Sloane Howell’s Bossed gets five smooches from me!
~ Danielle Palumbo

This is a feel good book and loved the romance. I would definitely check this author's books at the bookstores and online. Congratulations with the book!

A fun, sexy read. I loved the interaction between the two main characters, Ethan and Jenny. A great story with fun characters, humor and had you feeling many different emotions. This was my first book by this author, but won't be the last.

There are a lot of schmexy books with Alpha men and Destitute women. But there are few written at this level of perfection. Jenny Jackson is desperate for a job. She has a sick father with lots of medical bills and no money to pay them. As she's heading up to an interview, she bumps into someone and they battle it out. Just as she regroups from the verbal altercation with the hot stranger, she heads into the interview and who is sitting behind the desk...the guy she just ran into.

This story has so much to offer, it's witty, charming and very steamy. The characters are likable and I really hope to see a book two with their friends, Matt and Kelsey.

So, I have been out of the world for a while, burying my head deep down into my books (I mean textbooks!!!) preparing for exams and all ;)

It has been a while and now that I sat down to write the review, this was my first pick. So, I was really having a tough time juggling between things and did not have a moment to relax and it was getting to me. Solution: Read a book, duh!

That's how I picked this book one fine day when I really, really wanted to relax, unwind and forget about everything else! To start with, the sexy cover and the description did me in when I requested for an ARC. That's how we usually decide a book isn't it? First the cover and then the description and of course, the author :P Besides, when you see Loveswept, you don't really need to check anything ... it will be good ;)

Guess I have ranted enough! So, this book was a quick, steamy and interesting read. I liked that Jenny was a strong character and not a doormat. I also liked Ethan ... once we get past the tough exterior and his walls of Troy ;) he's sweet, kind and caring, really! OH, & he has a really FILTHY mouth!

For an interesting and entertaining read, I would have really given this a 5. I was pretty irked with Jenny more than anything in this book ... I liked that she stood up for herself and all ... but overreacting and blaming Ethan when it was not his fault was NOT OK in my books ... I also like that Ethan let it go and did not want her to grovel, but I wanted her to grovel, damn it!

If you want a HOT, steamy, entertaining and interesting read that's not just all spice but also has substance, you have it with Bossed!

I have to admit this is my first book I’ve read from Sloan Howell. And I’m kicking myself for not grabbing one of those books sooner. It’s refreshing to know that not only a woman but a man can write sexy, heart stopping romances to keep me wanting more.

From that very first page I was hooked and couldn’t read this fast enough. Sloan has witty humor and a dirty mind mixing those two into a titillating story. His characters were likeable and relatable. He made the reader fall in love with his characters.

This story had little angst with a mix of humor and sexy scenes. It was a office romance with a twist. It was emotional and heartfelt and melted my heart. From the baseball stats to the flirty comebacks and everywhere in between this book was a sure hit. Sloan hit it out of the park with this story.

I’m sure to pick up another book by this author and devour it just like I did Bossed.

I loved this book and look forward to reading more by Sloane Howell.