I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Hmmm, not what I expected, but I think that's more my fault than anyone else's. Escort/Prostitute Ronnie and ivy league event planner Diana meet as a gift. Diana is smitten with the physicality and chemistry of their connection and soon sees it's evolving beyond that.
Ronnie seems engaged in the physicality, but we really don't see a lot of her emotional attachment.
I don't entirely believe the "love" between the two characters. The book was steamy, and if that's your thing you will probably give it more stars than me.

What a delightful steamy debut novel from S.J. Hartsfield.
Night Life is the story of Ronnie, an executive escort, and Diana, her newest accidental client. Ronnie is a gift for Diana by her friend to help her relax. The chemistry was off the charts from the very beginning of them meeting and Diana becomes a regular customer.
Ronnie is a lovely character and I love that she loves being an escort. There’s no guilt or jealousy and she didn’t get into the job for any other reason than she wanted to. And she’s very good at it.
Diana is an event planner who works for her parents and because her mother has decided to go into politics, she’s now working on her campaign. She doesn’t have a lot of time for her personal life so an escort is just what she needs.
I loved these two together. They were clearly infatuated with each other from the beginning and do everything they can to spend more and more time together. Ronnie, and her boss, begin bending some of their rules for Diana because she’s a high paying customer and Ronnie just genuinely wants Diana to be happy. As time goes on, things begin to blur for the two of them. I was rooting for them every step of the way. Hartsfield did an excellent job at moving the plot forward and kept me interested the entire time. I’m usually a bit wary of steamy romances because I love a good plot but Night Life didn’t have that issue.
My biggest issue was that Diana referred to her mother, and boss, as Mummy and her mother called her ‘boo-boo’ several times in front of colleagues. Even then it’s not a big issue I just found it odd unprofessional when we see them mostly in a work setting.
I recommend this book for anyone wanting a quick fun read with lots of steam. I hope this isn’t the last we see of S.J. Hartsfield.
I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a good book. I liked how it began with the two characters meeting in the hotel for a night of fun. I found it hard to believe that Ronnie wanted more after that one night. But I pushed that thought out of my head and continued reading. It was a nice easy read with a simply developed plot. I definitely think it's the perfect vacation read!

4,5 stars

Night Life is a sexy romance between two women, Ronnie and Diana. One is an escort and the other is her newest client. Her best friend Phoebe knew Diana needed to relax and take some time to herself so she gifted her a night with a beautiful blonde whose only goal is to make her feel good. Whatever she needs, Ronnie can provide. Turns out, one time seeing Ronnie isn't going to be enough and soon enough both women are looking forward to each meeting. However, Diana doesn't have a lot of time on her hands as her mother's campaign takes more and more time from her and Ronnie's boss also doesn't approve "outside relationships" so they have a few things to figure out before getting an HEA.

If you're looking for a steamy f/f romance, this one should definitely capture your attention! The two women had great chemistry and the sex scenes were pretty good. I also believed in their romance and I was so glad to see them go from a business relationship to a more personal one. It was so satisfying to see them fall in love and I liked that the ending that felt real.

I do hope S.J. Hartsfield will keep writing f/f romances as I'd be happy to read them. The only thing I hope won't be in her next book will be the word "mummy". Diana was a grown woman and she kept referring her mother that way and it was childish and a bit annoying to be honest. Other than that, I don't really have a complaint.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is a little gem of a book. It is an easy read, deals with a number of uncomfortable situations in a clever and mature way, and by the end, we get not only the romantic ending that we wanted, but also a really cool twist in the tale.

A book full of female characters, some very pleasant, some most definitely not – but in the end the good prevail and their happiness is not thwarted by the machinations of the selfish, arrogant, and careless ones. I have to admit I would really enjoy it if this became the first in a series. There are more tales to tell in this world – I will keep a look out with some hope!

A solid book from a debut author. I had forgotten the blurb for this when I finally had the opportunity to sit down and read, so it was a nice surprise to find this storyline. It turns out I’m actually quite fond of books with escorts in.

I really liked Ronnie, but I wanted to know more about her. The book doesn’t provide many opportunities to see Ronnie in any other situations besides work and the supermarket, so I would really have liked her character to be developed further. Diana feels more developed as a character and I liked that Ronnie seemed to bring her into her own and encourage some of the confidence she needed.

There’s some mirroring of narrative in the first and second halves of the book which I found enjoyable and the resolution of the inevitable angst was done well.
I really welcomed the way the sex scenes were done in this book. Nothing felt overplayed or read numerous times before. You could feel the connection between the two MCs, both in and out of bed, so the ending felt natural.

I’d definitely be interested in a book continuing the series based on the epilogue - there are a couple of characters that could be cultivated and we could still hear about Ronnie & Diana.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ronnie Kent is an experienced escort and she knows not to fall for a client. But then the gorgeous, mysterious Diana Silver hires her for the night, and then again, and again, leading to a full blow affair.

I have to admit that I don't read many romances where they're naked within the first chapter! The escort scenario flips the typical romance structure on its head, with physical intimacy leading to emotional intimacy instead of the other way round. This story is exciting and ilicit, with a lot of sex scenes, several of them pretty kinky! There is instant chemistry between the two main characters, Diana and Ronnie, and I was invested in their story from the get go. I do think if this had been a heterosexual romance, I would have been put off by the escort/client scenario, but because the book features two women, the power balance felt more equal and it didn't make me uncomfortable.

Whilst there is a lot of sex in this book, there is also enough going on plotwise holding it all together. We have Ronnie's asshole of a boss, and Diana's controlling mother, and a political campaign that Diana unwillingly works on. The supporting cast are interesting and amusing, and all characters I was interested in in their own right. Also, and I may have been reading this wrong, but I read Diana's sister (a minor character who we don't meet but is referred to by other characters) as aroace, which I liked.

There were rather a lot of coincidences near the beginning of the book, and I have to admit that an adult calling her mother 'mummy' kind of weirded me out, but other than that this is a quick, fun read that I was a lot more emotionally invested in than I thought I would have been. I loved the characters, the plot hooked me, the sex scenes were well written, and the ending was absolutely perfect.

This was a good steamy romance! I’m actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. I like the premise of a WLW Pretty Woman story but they don’t actually come around all that often and with this being a debut on top of it, I had my expectations tempered. I’m glad to say that this was an enjoyable read, a solid debut, and all the steam I was hoping for.

I’m currently fighting off a small reading slump. I’ve been reading shorter fiction to combat it which I think has been helping. With all the ARC’s I have left to read and review, I was hoping I would get my reading flow back with this full length book. Surprisingly, I found myself hooked after only the first few pages. The pace of this book was really good for a steamy romance. Because steamy romances have a lot of sex and less plot, if it’s not written well the story can drag. I’m happy to say that was not the case with this book. This never felt boring or repetitive and I’m impressed with how well it kept my attention. The story even had a baby twist or two, and while I figured out one, the other I didn’t see coming and it made the ending quite enjoyable.

The best part of this whole book was the CHEMISTRY. Lovely in your face chemistry and I just ate up every second of it. I was all in on this romance. You feel the connection between these two women and you just hope there is some way that they can have a HEA. The sex scenes are really enjoyable too. There is plenty of steam and I’ll just say that the scene with the remote was great.

Now, I do have to say that the book had a couple bumps. Both to me seemed like more newbie author bumps and if Hartsfield can tweak a few things, I think she will be a force to be reckoned with. While this book was packed with wonderful chemistry, the characters needed to show more of that emotional drama. There was not enough of that inner voice that could not stop thinking of each other. It was there, but the overall emotions just need to be bumped up a level. The last thing is that the characters were unevenly built. The one character of Diana, has a best friend, another friend, and an intense mother in her life. In comparison, Ronnie only really has one co-worker who is a sorta friend. Because of this, once the characters are apart, the story surrounds Diana so much more than Ronnie. Diana becomes the main, main character that you connect more with and learn much more about. It’s a shame too because I really liked the character of Ronnie and wanted to connect to her even more. I’m hopeful that a better character balance should be an easy fix for Hartsfield’s next book.

Overall, I’m quite happy with this book. Even with a couple newbie bumps, Hartsfield is a very promising author and this was a good debut. I would easily recommend it to fans of steamy romances, especially if you are looking for a WLW Pretty Woman type of story. I can’t wait to see what Hartsfield writes next and I’m putting her on my authors to watch list for sure. I just noticed that the price of this book is pretty low right now. Not sure if that is a pre-order price or a permanent one but you sure get your monies worth at that low price.

After finishing this one I wasn’t sure what to write in a review, but here it comes anyway.

Ronnie has been working as a escort for a couple of years, when she is hired by Diana’s friend to entertain Diana for a night. It’s against the rules of her agency but because Diana’s friend is a regular an exception is made. Diana isn’t the type to enjoy a thing like this, but when she meets Ronnie the sparks fly. She hires her time and again. The lines between client and escort blur, but they risk a lot.

I can’t stand Diana being so in controle with Ronnie and referring to her mother, her employer, in a work setting as mummy. Are you 5? Come on! Diana is afraid of her mother an Ronnie of her employer, who is a total B*tch, yes with a capital. The story of Ronnie and Diana is sort of sweet, but I feel there is just something missing. The ending is nice, a good little FU. Overal the story is a average but it reads nicely.

This was a fantastic and fun read featuring LGBTQ themes and a queer couple. It’s light, and fun, and a perfect escape read. It’s definitely reminiscent of a queer Pretty Woman, but also more modern. We don’t have enough books like this, so I really enjoyed it.

I don't normally enjoy steamier romances that have very little by the way of plot, like this one is, but I was pleasantly surprised as to how well everything seemed to fit together. It looks like this is a debut novel, and it does have some bumps in it, but it doesn't take away how enjoyable this was. It doesn't have super dynamic characters, but they are interesting enough to make reading about them fun. It's told mostly from the point of view of Ronnie Kent, a high end escort who is very, very good at what she does. She is surprised by the instant connection with the intensely beautiful Diana Silver when she is hired by the woman's friend for the evening. When Diana constantly hires her out, and they feel more like dating, Ronnie isn't sure where the line between being professional and falling for her client starts and ends.

A couple things that I would like to point out is that while Ronnie isn't dynamic by any means - this is more Diana's story than anything, so Diana does some growing- she is still interesting, smart, sweet, and fun. She's a top notch escort who is a homebody when she's not working. She can pull off the evening gown and a suit. She's perceptive and sharp as a tack, but has problems really communicating her feelings, especially when she realizes that she might be jealous of Diana's work partner. Diana also has some fun character traits. She's a talented businesswoman, is sharp and charismatic, but just wilts under her oppressive mother. It's kind of interesting to read about, even if she refers to her mother as "Mummy", which irked me to no end.

There's a lot of sex, with some lighter BDSM elements. But there's almost no drama involved with the consensual aspect of the kinkier sex scenes. In fact, it is made very clear that Diana wants Ronnie to tell her when her limit is, and that Ronnie finds it very sexy that Diana is always aware of listening to Ronnie. Which brings us to the chemistry - this wouldn't work without these two having off the charts chemistry, and they do. Ronnie is almost instantly attracted to Diana, and the same goes for Diana. It's kind of funny to read about the smooth Ronnie trying to find ways to get Diana to have sex with her faster when they first meet- even if Diana is equally awkward and smoldering.

If there are some issues with the book it is that Diana's mom is almost cartoonishly snotty and manipulative - there's even a point where she is trying to deliberately set up Diana with her campaign manager, only because the campaign manager is from a prominent local family. Diana knows this, know that the manager is attracted to her, but cannot seem to put her foot down because she really cannot say no to her mother for the majority of the book. It is a good part of the book, and one of the areas that has depth to it, but man, whenever Diana's mom gets more than a couple of lines of dialog, she feels out of place.

I'd say this is a great debut for Hartsfield. It is what it is: a steamy romance with some light plot elements and some subtle commentary. For novels like these, I just look for whether or not our protagonists are likable, have some personality quirks, and have chemistry with each other. Diana and Ronnie are two people who you know are just destined to be together, even if they didn't quite get it yet. Also, like all romances, it has a nice Happily Ever After Ending, but I think I enjoyed this one is probably the most fun, especially given Diana's and Ronnie's talents.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is one of the best books I've read in a while. I couldn't put it down i was hooked. This is the first time I've read a book by this author and I was blown away. The passion between Ronnie and Diana was palpable and intense. You felt the fireworks whenever they got together.

Of course not everyone was happy for them, I couldn't stand Diana's mom she was absolutely horrible. The end was perfect, I felt like I was watching a movie when Ronnie took a chance and proclaimed her feelings for Diana, it was beautiful. I'm about to read the book again, it's that good!!
Received a generous arc from the wonderful publisher and author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC

I was intrigued by the synopsis of <i> Night Life </i>. And I was not disappointed.

I expected this to be a romance, but I think it is a bit in between a romance and erotica fiction. Which I didn't mind, it just made me feel like I knew more about the character's bedroom habits than about the character's themselves. At least in the first half.

The second half I absolutely loved. The conflict and the being conflicted and the thinking about consequences was absolutely amazing and I wasn't able to put the book down for the second half, honestly. I really liked the whole set up and the relationship between Ronnie and Diana. While they were intimate right away (quelle surprise coming from that premise haha), the falling in love was drawn out and was often only visible to the reader through touches and looks when reading a scene from the other's POV but it was fantastic.

An absolutely enjoyable read.

If you loved Pretty Woman, you will love the Night Life. Slow building romance that's volcanic intimacy. Family drama, learning to stand on one's own, and loving yourself are some of the themes of the book. The writing is concise and clear with lovable characters and real life scenarios.

The synopsis of Night Life is the reason I picked to read this one. I like a good romance dealing with escorts and their client and after reading I thought it worked. Ronnie Kent an escort is hired for Diana Silver to help Diana relax. Diana is initially against this relaxation and just plans on talking to Ronnie. After this initial "date", Diana doesn't plan on connecting with Ronnie again. Because of the demands of her parents, Diana's schedule is just too busy. Well guess what? Diana ends up hiring Ronnie again and again and eventually the lines blur.

The one thing that makes this romance work for sure is that there is chemistry between the mains. From the moment they meet they for sure are attracted to one another. All of this other escort themed romances I have read in the past dealt with lesbian escorts. Ronnie is no lesbian. She enjoys both men and women and I sorta liked that Diana did not have an issue with this. I liked that this wasn't just about a woman hooking up with an escort and falling in love with her. There are secondary characters that help make this romance work. There is also a twist that comes toward the end that makes Night Life stick out more.

3.75 Stars

This arc was provided by the publisher for an honest review

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

Did you like the movie "Pretty Woman"? Then this is a story you will enjoy.

Two women explore their sexuality and sense of adventure together.

Thankyou NetGalley, the author and publisher of "Night Life" for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel.
I liked the premise of the book, of a client and her paid executive escort connections and relationship. The storyline had a decent sequencing and the minor characters including Lena and Stacy added additional layers to the plot. It was an enjoyable easy read, and overall I found it flowed well, especially the first half of the book.

The characters could have been better developed. It was hard to understand either Diana or Ronnie's rationale at times, and the frequent bumping into each other was a tad over convenient. The hints of BDSM didn't work for me, due to inconsistencies essentially of character. And the conclusion whilst giving a satisfactory ending, in the final chapters, just felt rushed. If you can ignore the flaws, this story has a lot going for it and with some revisions could well be at least a 4 if not a 5 star read.
3.5*

I enjoyed this a little more than I thought I would.
The story is not a new one but it felt different. A story of an executive escort who fell in love with her client.
I found the plot predictable although it didn't diminish my reading experience. It was also a bit unrealistic in the way they kept running into each other. I get that the writer didn't want to drag the story but that could've been a little more realistic. I wish we knew more about Ronnie and Diana's relationship. It just seemed so superficial.

I however really liked the steamy scenes and how the book ended.

Overall, this was a fun and light read. If you love romance/erotic fiction/lgbtq novels, you would absolutely enjoy this.

Loved it! This is a new author for me, and maybe one in general I'm not sure, but I'll definitely read another book of hers again.

The story starts with a bang right off the top, and it was fast paced the whole way through. At first, Ronnie and Diana's first encounters are pretty tame in nature (writing wise) and I was a little confused that such a topic wouldn't go into the nitty gritty details. Alas, as it continued and their connection grew, the scenes got steamier. At times, they would go back to subtle and "fade to blacks", but I ended up appreciating it. With a book about an escort and her client, it can sometimes get repetitive with the full on sex scenes. I never got there, and was glued the whole time.

There is a little BDSM in the book, but not very much. Very light, and more of a controlling aspect with Diana as opposed to the whole 9 yards. It made total sense with how her life is away from Ronnie, that she'd want control when she was allowed to let go.

Their chemistry was off the hook, but it was also believable that feelings developed (I doubt I'm giving anything away). They strangely made sense together.

Totally would give this a buy recommendation.