Like a Boss by Anne Harper
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Genre: Romance
Publication Date: April 19, 2021

Like a Boss by Anne Harper is the second book in the Accidently Viral series. I hadn't read the first book, Fake It Till You Make It, but I was able to easily read this one as a standalone.

This book was a sweet romance. It is a light read with touches of humor. The characters are likeable and their story in interesting. There are some very cute, sweet moments that will make you smile!

I'm so grateful to Anne Harper, Entangled Publishing, LLC, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I think my favorite part was Nell's family. Their dynamic was great. I always enjoy when authors bring in the families surrounding the main character. I do wish we would of seen more of Quinn's son in this though, and how he and Nell got along.

The reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because I felt like there wasn't much to the romance. It's like that went 0 to 60 really quickly and I just wanted a little more of them hanging out just the two of them instead of chasing pigs and every other crazy thing they got themselves into. I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend if you need a good happy book to read.

This book had so many of the tropes I love – friends to lovers, office romance, and sunshine heroine x grumpy hero. That was a huge pull to me for this book, and I loved that aspect much.

I did feel, though, there was a LOT happening in this book, and it was a little chaotic at times. I also would have liked Nell's character to be developed a little more as I found her a little flat at times.

I enjoy a good steamy romance, but I was a little disappointed by how the steamy scene in this book was written. It was cut off at the right wrong time for me.

High Angst + Low Steam + Cliche writing = Not Impressed. I'm sorry to say this one just didn't hit the mark for me! Thank you for my copy and the chance to read in advance!

Nell Bennett’s boyfriend dumped her on Valentine’s Day! She stops in a diner and ends up filling the waiter’s ear with her anger. In the meantime, people are watching and recording her rant to put on social media. Then she realizes she doesn’t have enough money to pay for the Sweetheart’s Special. That’s when a man steps in and offers to share the meal with her. When they are served, he immediately puts his nose in a book and ignores her. After dinner, they shake hands and go their separate ways.

Quinn is a divorced father to a young boy who has just moved to the area and - oh my - he is Nell’s new boss - a job she had wanted herself. They work for a real estate firm called Heart in Hand.

When a local bully tries to embarrass Nell by taking and posting a rude picture of her on social media, Quinn steps in and makes him take it down.

Donovan Robertson is the owner of Heart in Hand and is ready to sell the business. However, if Nell and Quinn manage to get the listing for a prime piece of property called Dweller’s Cove, he will see Heart in Hand to them.

This is a small town story where everyone knows everyone else. There is always lots of gossip and lots of petty people.

This story has a lot of silliness to it that just did not appeal to me which led to be boring for me. I was looking forward to some humor but this was not what I was hoping it would be. Sorry.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Like a Boss was very entertaining at times and not as much at others. Harper never won me over completely with what had the potential to be a humorous and touching love story.

The meet-cute is very fun. Nell's rant at the restaurant owner and meeting of Quinn was a great start to the book. When Nell finds out later that the man she met at one of her worst hours is her new boss the story again has great potential. Through in a cast of eccentric small town Southerners and the story is sure to be funny.

I really can't even put my hands on why the story didn't live up to it's potential. The sexy scenes weren't quite sweet enough the funny scenes were a little flat. Like the sex toy retrieval. It should have been hilarious but came off as only slightly amusing.

All that said, there were times I really enjoyed the story and I found Nell and Quinn likeable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amara for the ARC.

When you end up sending your BFF multiple quotes from the book, you know it’s a good one!! This book had me laughing out loud so many times. Small-town romance, boss to lovers, HEA and an epilogue.
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When Antonella Bennett, better known as Nell, is dumped by her boyfriend on Valentine’s Day, she never expected to go viral for her rant at the restaurant she stops at and be saved by a good-looking mans with an arresting jawline...😉
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When she is slowly starting to get back to normal, a week later, she isn’t expecting her new boss to be her Valentine’s Day savior!
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The situations these two find themselves in will have you laughing out loud! The chemistry between them at times is almost palpable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely want to read the first one now. Don’t worry, both can be read as stand-alone.

This book was cute. I really enjoyed the main characters and how they interacted. I think the story had a good balance of serious and silly. A great light read. Perfect summer beach read. I also really liked the family dynamic. I love seeing families that get along and have each other's backs.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an e-galley of Like a Boss.

Anne Harper has written a laugh out loud romance for the ages. Small town life plus a viral video, add in a little spice...and you have Nell finding out the man she kissed on Valentine's Day (after a rather scathing rant about love) is her new boss. What could possibly go wrong?

Cute and quirky, this rom-com is a delight through and through. The cast of characters, including all the Bennett siblings, are hilarious in their own rights. I enjoyed this book from start to finish.

*2.5 stars*
This book is about Nell and Quinn who met, had some sparks, departed and later found out that they were going to be working together. Basically Quinn was Nell's new boss in a place with a strict no fraternization code.
This was a light read and just okay for me. It had some comedic moments but overall felt like an average book, one with plot beats that I had read previously.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for the ARC

Like a Boss is such a cute, funny and relatable story. It’s actually a story I can easily see myself watching on the Hallmark channel. Nell is such a relatable character and with her bunch of crazy family, she adds a tonne of laughs to Like a Boss. Quinn took a little for me to warm up to, When his sweet, charming, knight in shinning armour qualities am, well let’s just say I was a sucker. If you liked the first book in the Viral series, you will definitely like this one! Thanks Netgalley and Anne Harper for ,my review copy

I am sitting here staring at all of this whiteness in the review panel while trying to figure out just what to say, because I don't wish to be unkind. I am sincerely sorry if any of my reactions seem unkind.

As a would-be writer as well as reviewer, I feel fervently about good writing. Perhaps if a story is entertaining enough, with an engaging plot, the writing can take a back, back seat. But it shouldn't have to. In Like a Boss, the writing is all over the place. Some sentences read like a bowl of unsauced, cold pasta--all stuck together and unfathomable.

The story as well as the characters brought about an extreme feeling of detachment for me.

It seemed like the narrative was trying too hard to be conversational, to be funny, and ended up feeling more pained than anything else.

I never connected to the characters nor the book, and I tried very hard for three days. I shouldn't have to try that hard to like a book.

Yes, it was unfortunate (well, not really) that I had just read Lauren Layne's latest romantic comedy which immediately engendered a comparison between the two books. But I read to learn as well as to enjoy and having read these two novels was very much a learning experience.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had so much fun reading Like a Boss. This is my first book by this author.

After a tough break up, Nell ends up at a restaurant where it's couples night. Then has a rant that goes viral. A guy (her soon to be boss) invites her to dine with him. She ends up having a great time. And.....the guy is, of course, her new boss. Lots of great conflict. The writing was solid. It definitely held my interest.

Hold onto your hat. This small town, slow burn romance novel was so darn fun. Thank you to Entangled Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Like a Boss is a fun book with some "I Love Lucy"-esque moments that made me laugh in a good way. The main characters, Quinn and Nell, meet on Valentines Day in a restaurant where Nell is caught giving the host a piece of her mind. Quinn steps out of his comfort zone and comes to her rescue. They are surprised later to find that Quinn is now Nell's new boss. He sees Nell as a temptation that he just can't fall for, and at the same time Nell is trying to swear off men.

I really loved this. I loved how Quinn and Nell's personalities complement each other. I could feel their attraction come right out from the pages I was reading. I liked their loyalty to their families and fellow work colleagues. The funny moments worked for me and didn't seem too over the top. Anne Harper is a new author for me and now I want to read the first book in the Accidentally Viral series.

My sincere thanks to Entangled Publishing - Entangled:Amara, Anne Harper, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.

This cover is so cute! I love emojis but I definitely would not want to go viral. It seems like going viral could include people being supportive and kind but it also would bring in the negativity and unsolicited d pics. 

Nell's long time boyfriend broke up with her on the most romantic holiday causing her to go ballistic at a restaurant that was having a couples night. A hottie who was also alone invited her to sit with him to share his couples meal. They felt a connection but parted ways at the end of the night.

Someone caught her rant in the restaurant and posted it online and now Nell has gone viral. This is a very small southern town so everyone already knows everyone's business.

And the hottie who shared her meal ends up being a replacement at her work a week later. Let the tension start....

There are some douchy hometown guys trying to get to her now that she's single and expose her on their own social accounts. And her work place is about to be sold. 

No one has time for a relationship! Especially since she swore off guys in the viral video. We are allowed to be in pain and say things in the heat of the moment when our heart is broken and we don't think anyone will ever be the one again. We don't owe the world an explanation when we change our minds.

This was a sweet romance. Loved the hometown feel of it and Quinn's (that's the hotties name) single Dad grouch non tech status. I guess there are people that don't want the world to know that they are doing. This was a quick read.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you Net Galley and Entangled Publishing for the eArc for my honest and voluntary review.

“It’s hard to be rigid when the person you love is so flexible. Just by being with them, you start to feel the hard edges that life has made on you start to become smoother.” I loved this quote as much as I loved this story. This book was refreshing and a perfect way to get me out of my reading slump. While light hearted, there was a lot any reader can take from this book. Lessons to learn about self love and relationships (familial, friends, community, romantic). This was such a fun read and you couldn't help but fall for each of the characters. The small town lover in me enjoyed this so much. The cover drew me in and I'm glad I took a chance on it.

Like a Boss is book two in this author’s Accidentally Viral series. Both books are completely standalone titles. I haven’t read book one, and I had no issues picking up the series here. I’ve never read a book by this author, but if you follow any of my reviews, you know that’s never an issue for me. I’m always on the hunt for my next favorite author.

This book was a delightful mix of contradictions: innocence and steam, comedy and emotion, humor and heartbreak. It’s a small town, opposites attract contemporary romantic age gap comedy. And yes, it hits all of those parameters completely. With some drama thrown in, as well. And that small town just happens to be nestled in the deep south, which brings along its own craziness. Nell, our heroine, is young but not inexperienced, serious about her career, and has this wonderful, big, and loud family that loves her and supports her unconditionally. And Quinn, our hero, couldn’t be more her opposite if he tried. He’s a quiet single dad looking for a new start and stability for himself and his son. The only thing they have in common is how much they value their careers.

I enjoyed Nell’s quirkiness, and I could understand Quinn’s perspective. Growing up in a relatively small southern town, I’d say that the town’s quirkiness isn’t too far off the mark, either. There were some definite laugh-out-loud moments, some parts where I felt my heart break a bit, and some times where I wanted to smack both Nell and Quinn and tell them to wake up. While I enjoyed the tale, unfortunately, I was able to put this book down for longer stretches of time for me, so I can’t say it was a five-star read. What I can say, though, is that it was entertaining to the point that I will be reading book one, and I will be looking for more from this author in the future.

NICUnurse’s Rating: I give Like a Boss by Anne Harper 4 out of 5 stars!

A delightful and unexpected romance!

This was my first book by Anne Harper, and I didn’t know what to expect. The premise sounded fun and quirky, and although I didn’t warm to it immediately, it wasn’t long before Like A Boss totally won me over. Between Nell’s antics and Quinn’s love for his son—and caring, cute attraction to Nell—it was impossible not to root for these two to make it.

A cast of secondary characters that oozed personality was the icing on the cake of a book that’s absolutely worth the read!

Who doesn't like a woman who has an epic breakdown in a very crowded restaurant, on Valentine's day just after being dumped?? Girl just wanted a meal but can seem to catch a break being suddenly single on this particular night. A man eating alone offers her a seat at his table to try and help her out. What starts as a meal shared by two strangers ends with a surprise kiss and a awkward parting of ways. It's when she returns to work that her mystery man is no mystery anymore, but now her new boss. Yup, sounds about right. What happens after is an odd balance of awkwardness and sexiness that plays between these two for the entire journey of their story.
I really enjoyed the story of these two separately and together where the situations they get into are funny enough on their own but you'll appreciate the chemistry when they let go of their hangups.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

A fresh voice with a smart sense of humor and an endearing sense of heart. Like a Boss battles it's way through emotional turmoil without ever losing it's smile. Harper gives readers a character, learning how to accept the flaws of being human with a style and grace that is all her own.