Business Not as Usual is a fun, black, age gap, millionaire hero, grumpy sunshine romance!!! I love all of those things separately, and was so excited to read this for that reason. Unfortunately… this ended up not really working for me for a variety of reasons.

Let’s start with the pros:

⁃ I love Dreamy!! She reminds me so much of Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds. She’s a free spirit, wears crazy colorful colors, and is just a ray of sunshine.
⁃ There wasn’t any unnecessary conflict or miscommunication, which I loved!

Now for what didn’t quite work for me:

⁃ I disliked Karter so much, which made it really hard to root for Karter and Dreamy as a couple. He constantly talked poorly about his exes and how “materialistic and shallow” they were, and I am never a fan of men talking down on women. In his eyes Dreamy was so special and “unlike other girls.” Karter villanized women (his sister, exes, etc) for drinking fancy coffee, traveling the world, wearing fancy clothes, caring about their appearance… and it read a lot like misogyny.

⁃ Dreamy is poor and Karter is rich, and this difference was brought up very often - it just seemed a little excessive like those were their only personality traits.

⁃ Some of the dialogue felt a bit unnatural and stilted to me, which made it hard for me to connect with the characters or find any true chemistry between them.

Karters characterization unfortunately made it difficult for me to be invested in this book. He is praised by Dreamy for doing the bare minimum, and he acts like a know it all who has not one ounce of awareness of the experiences of those who are different than him (or emotional intelligence).

I am a bit sad this didn’t work for me, but definitely recommend others try it for themselves!🤍


CW: mentions of suicide, grief, sudden death of a friend, verbally/emotionally abusive ex

This book was fun and smart and enjoyable. It had so much going on and was so realistic. I have heard so much about this author and I look forward to more by this author.

This was a fun read. It had a lot of good external and internal conflicts for the two main MC's. I don't always prefer the third-person narrative however the author did a great job with this. The conflicts towards the ends seemed a bit rushed and the beginning a bit too long. Overall the romantic aspect of the story did shine through and the scenes with the two characters definitely showed the passion.. The characters were likeable and the chemistry was clear between the MC's.

Fun story and Karter is the winner in the story.
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This story offers a funny and realistic take on the life of an average gal slugging away at a job that is hated, just trying to make it by. I recognized myself a few times in Dreamy's predicament!

Cooper created two fantastic characters with style and grace, that are kind and caring individuals, perfect for each other. I had fun with this story, the visualization is on point here! Dreamy's wild wardrobe could be a story on its own. But sometimes her mantra got to be a bit much, until it wasn't!

Karter is a dreamboat and the author balanced the pair beautifully while crafting a story that is rich and flavorful, romantic and sexy. Each is powerful in their own right and super supportive.

Business Not As Usual is a how-to guide to juggling all life throws at you while working and creating a business, plus falling for the right person to help carry the load with you. Flirty, fun, and fresh!

Business Not As Usual is my first book by author Sharon C. Cooper and it was super fun!

The story was so sweet, quirky, and fun. I will definitely recommend this to my followers.

I absolutely LOVED Dreamy and her dream of winning the lottery. Her grandpa is just adorable, too. Karter is pretty close to perfect. Their story is magical!