Being a Canadian from Toronto, I loved the local rep and the guest appearances of Montreal and northern Quebec. I loved the love story - bad boy boss and assistant with a longstanding crush... but parts of it got lost in the work drama, especially when the mob becomes involved... I loved that both characters are of Asian descent, although that is explored more in Elvin's case..

I wish there was more depth of interaction between Ray and his family - I think that could have added an interesting dimension to the book that explored and tied into Ray and Elvin's growing relationship.

This is the first book of Hudson Lin's I've read and I am definitely intrigued enough to read more! I plan to add book 1 of this series to my TBR and I can't wait to see what future books will look like.

There is a lot to unpack in this book. Book 1 had fallen a bit flat for me, but I really liked that the author had representation from the Asian community, as this one also does. So, I wasn't sure what to expect with book 2, as sometimes the second in a series can be underwhelming. I enjoyed this one quite a bit more.One of the biggest reasons why I enjoyed it, was the reality that was brought into it. Ray was super rich, and along with that, he had a job where he did things as he wanted, no matter what, and always got away with it. The consequences, thus far had been minimal. However, in the case of the situation he found himself in, Ray was going up against something unexpected at a paper company of all places (I won't say what, because spoiler), and clearly had no idea how to handle it. In the end, that is quite obvious. Even that, though, shows a reality when you get yourself in over your head, and you think you can do what you want. Sometimes life will just kick you in the nuts and say "Nope, I win". Meanwhile, though, Ray finally figured out what a great person he had in Elvin, his assistant, but more than that, his person.Elvin, very clearly, was in love with Ray. How nobody saw that, it's truly a mystery. Even knowing, though, that he would likely never get a chance to be with Ray, he continued to help him with what he could, (even in a particularly yucky situation), knowing he was making Ray's life easier. Ray was a fixer, always wanting to clean up for everyone in his life, and taking so very little for himself. It was lovely to see him finally get a chance at the love of his life finally. And once they got together, they were good for each other...other than some dumb stuff Ray did...but he got his crap together, so we'll forgive him. :)Having an MC that was pansexual and one that was demisexual (and a virgin!) was great. With Ray being the type of person he was, Elvin as well, it seemed appropriate for both of them.Side note: Ming grew on me quickly. Definitely recommend this one. It has some action, some unexpected twists, some heart-wrenching moments, but an HEA.4.5 pieces of eye candy

I really enjoyed this MM romance. I chose it because I've been on a fanfic kick and I needed to get back to reading actual books (nothing wrong with reading fanfic, but I have a lot of arcs publishing soon that I really need to get to). I figured it was kinda like an AU and it was, which definitely helped. It had a lot of things going for it though.

First, the things I loved. Diversity! This was set in Canada and the leads were both asian which was a nice change from the standard white male leads. Also, there were many characters of color. Ray is pansexual (I loved that it made it clear that he included nonbinary folks in his one-night stands, though I do question the wisdom of lumping 'trans' in with 'nonbinary' and separating it from 'men and women.') Elvin is demisexual. There are several other non-straight couples / characters mentioned, though the focus is on Ray and Elvin's deepening relationship.

The way Elvin and Ray discuss the power imbalance inherent in their relationship and that it gives them both pause was refreshing. As was the way each took care of the other in his own way.

Also I loved that the sex scenes were pretty minimal. Since Elvin is demisexual, it made sense. It was refreshing, as I read romance for the romance rather than the sex anyway. The ones that were there felt earned with their close emotional bond and romantic connection.

As for the things I didn’t love as much, the plot felt rushed at the end and tended to fade into the background. Everything gets swept under the rug and wrapped up far too easily for uncovering a mafia drug-smuggling and money-laundering operation. A lot of things — like how they missed it all when they bought Caron paper in the first place — didn’t really add up or get explained. I didn’t care that much, as I was in it for the romance anyway, but it still would have been nice to have the plot a little more developed.

All in all, it was a lovely afternoon escape that hit all the right fanfic notes and kept me engaged.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for providing an e-arc for review.

Personal assistant Elvin is in love with his boss, Raymond. Even though Elvin knows nothing can come of it. When Raymond investigates a business his company has acquired, he suspects that something isn't right. With Elvin at his side, he uncovers some dangerous truths. Can Raymond extract his company from the situation and keep Elvin safe?

This is a well-written, intriguing romantic suspense. I loved the characters and the chemistry between them. The plot is full of unexpected twists.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Oooo a M/M office romance! And there was major auditing happening lol. You know that's what I do right. Well I don't do surprise audits. Those sound horrible. Our clients hire us and they still don't want us there so a surprise audit sounds like it's even more fun.

Raymond is wealthy, from his family, and a very smart partner at his company. He chose to work outside his family business to make a name for himself. His executive assistant Elvin goes above and beyond even coming to his house before work to shoo away his one night stands and make him the perfect cup of coffee. But Elvin has a very different homelife with his father having health issues and his mother working very hard for his younger siblings. He is very much helping to support them in any way that he can.

Loved the demisexual rep and pretty sure Ray was pansexual but I missed if they said it. Just from his preferences.

The slow burn as these two who were always around each other realized that they were actually perfect for eachother was steamy. Elvin needed that connection and he had never had any with anyone before and Ray had tons of connections but nothing ever felt right.

Though that ending jeez - Canadian Mafia! 

Recommend if you like:
🔢 Slowburn
🔢 Office romance
🔢 A well balanced ledger 

Thank you harlequin and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Caution: Do not read if you're even a tiny bit hungry. Lin's descriptions of food are mouthwatering and make me crave what the characters are eating. Short of reading a food blog or receipt book, you'll want to order in these foods.

Going Public is complex with just the right amount of twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. Ray and Elvin are great characters. I love how neither are perfect and their flaws are dealt with head on. Elvin's family is lovely and, even with several siblings, each has a distinct personality.

If you're a fan of the opposites attract trope, you're going to love this book. Elvin and Ray's differences are a point of contention, more so for Elvin, that is just one issue these character face in their relationship.

Other tropes you'll find: one bed, forced proximity, workplace romance, boss-employee romance....Going Public has EVERYTHING. I doubt any reader won't be able to find something to love about it.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

I enjoyed reading this book.

This is book two in the Jade Harbour Capital series but it can easily be read as a standalone. This story felt different from book one and didn’t get to me emotionally quite as much as book one. It’s a boss/employee story and I liked Ray and his assistant, Elvin, very much.

Ray comes from a very wealthy family but declined to join the family business in favor of following his own path to become successful without help or influence from his family. Elvin is the oldest in his family and he does a lot to help his them and his younger siblings. He loves Ray but not because of his wealth.

This story took a couple of turns that I didn’t see coming and I’m not exactly sure how I felt about the way Ray handled things. He didn’t get away it without consequences which was good but also a bit unexpected.

I almost forgot to mention that this was a pretty slow burn romance with minimal sexy time. If you’re looking for something that’s hot and heavy between the two MCs this one might not be for you. It’s much more about the relationship they have with each other and I enjoyed it.

I don’t know if there are more books coming in this series but I plan to read them if there are.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

Only now that I go in to review this book, I see it's a number 2. I don't believe I need to have read #1, but I wish I had known about it.

This is a book of contradictions. The romance aspect is sweet and slow. Elvin's demi identity means he wants connection first. Ray is considerate and yet also hungry. It's an addictive mix.

On the other hand, the corporate shenanigans are swirly and murky. Ray's moral code sits firmly in the grey area. I am happy he did suffer some consequences for his poor decision-making, yet it's typical of white collar crime. These affluent people are almost untouchable. Which makes it realistic.

I loved Elvin's family, although there were many questions I found left unanswered.

Thanks for Carina Press and Netgalley for advanced copy. Out on March 29.

*Thank you to NetGalley & Carina Press for an ARC of this title.*

This was a lovely MM Office Romance, Demisexual hero, slow burn, low heat, and high emotion love story. That may seem like a lot but this book really fits into so many things. It also has a bit of a feel of Friends to Lovers and "oh, you've been here all along."

This is the second book in the Jade Harbour Capital series and it tugged at my heart in the same ways that that the first one did. It was a very pleasant read and it read quickly and easily. If you like MM Romance but don't want it too be overly spicy, this will be a great option. It is still very romantic while not being overly raunchy or exploitative.

The only downside for me, and it's the same as the first one... the background plot with the business had me skimming at times.

Still a highly enjoyable read!

4 Stars
2 on the spice scale

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for a copy of this book. I loved the first book and was excited to read this. I enjoyed this one but wasn't obsessed with it.

I enjoyed the different family dynamics and the differences between Elvin and Ray's family.

I liked the idea of the forbidden Office romance but felt Ray knew it was wrong but kept pursuing it. For someone that cared so much about the company, it just felt odd to me.

Parts of it dragged a bit for me and the mafia in the story felt like a distraction. I thought all the characters (except Elvin) were way more concerned about the reputation of Jade Harbor then with dealing with the mafia.

A fine interpretation and exploration on romance. I adore the representation offered in this book, particularly for the genre. It is sickly sweet, competently written, and an overall enjoyable read.

Lin returns to the cutthroat world of Jade Harbour, a capital investment firm, in this second book in a series. Overall, I enjoyed this one quite a bit, as the author did a good job with the characters of Raymond Chao and Elvin Goh. Raymond, introduced in “Hard Sell” is Jade Harbour’s fixer and has no problem thriving in the gray zone of the corporate world, where the ethical thing to do isn’t necessarily the most profitable thing to do for your company. Elvin is Raymond’s long-time assistant, very effective at his job but also nursing an ongoing crush on his boss. Both men find themselves drawn to one another but a work assignment is the spark that pushes their relationship onto another level.

Raymond is tasked with auditing one of the companies in Jade Harbour’s portfolio, a paper company, and Elvin accompanies Ray, along with Ming, another Jade Harbour employee, on the audit. It’s here that “Going Public” shines, depicting a world of corporate misdoings and espionage that read almost like a spy thriller but come across as very believable. It’s obvious that Lin has done her research and knows the corporate finance world. And I found myself sympathizing with Raymond’s dilemma, no mean feat since Chao is not necessarily the most sympathetic of characters. And I found the moments where Lin illuminated some aspects of Asian immigrant culture interesting, with this book really focusing on family dynamics with the contrasting characters of Raymond and Elvin in both the personal and work arena.

Some drawbacks for me had mainly to do with some plot threads that were left dangling. Such as, what involvement or knowledge did Raymond’s family have on the situation he found himself in, along with an ending that seemed a bit rushed. And, of course, as with the previous book in the series, I found it difficult at times to sympathize with the characters being somewhat unlikeable.

Still, overall an interesting read with an interesting setting in the business world and worthwhile look at family dynamics. Lin’s an interesting writer and I’m curious to see where else she goes in this series.

Going Public is nothing like I've expected it to be. First, I devoured the book under 12 hours, which, when you account for a full day of teaching, is quite impressive. Second, I was quite...intrigued.
I love a good office-romance. Especially when the main characters have history. Ray and Elvin have exactly that. They have history, chemistry, and a tightknit relationship. They're also employer and employee respectively. The usual concern that the progression of their romantic relationship would be rife with power imbalances was there, in the beginning, but it was swiftly dashed by how comfortable Elvin spoke to Ray and how clearly Ray valued Elvin's opinion in all matters personal and professional.
The plot focuses a lot more on the professional side, for sure. At times, I thought the mechanics were a bit tedious, as I have no interest in business and such.
Overall, however, I enjoyed the book.

DNF at 50%
Going Public was promising but all the technicalities of the audit, the dull writing and 0-100 chemistry really didn't work for me

GOING PUBLIC is book two in the Jade Harbour Capital series. We follow Raymond and his assistant, Elvin. Together they have to figure out how to get their company out of hot water after a scandal is revealed. Elvin has secretly been in love with his boss for years. Working closely together during this stressful time, Raymond finally starts to realize that Elvin is everything he’s ever wanted. Raymond is pansexual and Elvin is demisexual.
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I enjoyed book one, HARD SELL, so I was happy to get a chance to read book two early. I was hoping book two would be even better, but book one is still my first pick.
I had a nice enough time reading this book, but unfortunately I didn’t connect with the characters. I got the sense that Elvin was more genuine and well rounded, but Ray isn’t as fleshed out as he could be. I wasn’t rooting for them. Ray did nice things for Elvin and his family, but I didn’t see any chemistry between the pair that made me believe they were in love. Elvin had concerns about their differences, and I don’t feel like anything changed to solidify their relationship by the end of the book.
The plot also could have been fleshed out more. It felt rushed and in the end all I could think was: “huh?”
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2.75/5 stars. GOING PUBLIC by Hudson Lin is available now! Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for sending me an eARC to review.

I cannot overstate how disappointed I was by this book. Initially, it was a three star read: the writing style and I were not getting along, and I prefer a little more tension in my boss/employee romance. The vibe here was very much more friends-to-lovers than boss & employee.

It lost another star about halfway through the book, for plotlines that came out of nowhere and some math that just wasn't mathing. The attention to detail didn't seem like it was there to me.

And then, finally, we're down to one star at 10% left in the book, which seems pretty late to have something that egregious come up, but even if it had been a 5 star read till then we'd still be here. Ray is sent to prison for conspiracy to commit fraud, because he made some terrible decisions that absolutely didn't have to be made. He's not thrilled about it, but accepts that it's his debt to pay to society. Elvin describes Ray's six-month prison sentence "more like an extended stay in a country club," with a tennis court on site, and tells us that Ray was "delight[ed]" that the two of them got several conjugal visits, because "he wanted the 'full experience,' he claimed, even though his living arrangements were more like a college dorm room than a real prison."

I'm an American and reading this from an American perspective, and this book is set in Canada. But it's clear that Ray's privilege as a wealthy person from an even wealthier family went a long way in quickly bailing him out and then getting him a fairly lenient sentence. It's disturbing to me to see the prison sentence being presented as a small obstacle to be waved through in the epilogue, instead of a life-changing event that Ray got the absolute best version of in a system that disproportionately jails Indigenous and Black Canadians.

Going Public is a complicated work-place romance.

Hudson Lin once again gives us a diverse cast and even has one of her main characters on the sexuality spectrum (demisexual). As a demisexual myself, it is awesome to read a character that I can identify with in a romance. I am also pan which is represented by Lin’s other main character, Ray. I love their romance.

Lin once again brings their knowledge of the finance world to Going Public. This is where the complications come into play. I watched Ray in Hard Sell and I wondered where the line is in Jade Harbour Capital and do they have one. Well, Going Public showcases the difficulty of where the line is and who is ultimately responsible for crossing that line. Lin does not give easy answers and presents hard results for the decisions made specifically by Ray. I was not expecting what happened, which is really great for a book.

One of the issues I have with Going Public is the intimacy between Ray and Elvin when it comes to sex. The first time there is penetration there is a huge lack of preparation, which Ray mentions but it is then thrown away. Mind you, the event is Elvin’s first time with penetration. I think if Lin had mentioned prior to the event that Elvin had self-play with penetration I wouldn’t be thinking: “Bad Ray.” If you have had anal sex before, then you know the first time you really need to prepare the receiver. I was horrified by Ray and Elvin’s first time.

There is also a lot of discussion about how Ray brings home a different partner every night. I am saddened to say that there was no discussion of safe sex or testing between Ray and Elvin. Ray did wear a condom, but there are so many different STIs that I am surprised a more in-depth discussion did not take place.

I have a question regarding how Elvin kept his employment at Jade Harbour unless Elvin and Ray never plan on going public as a couple. The results of Ray’s decisions unfortunately taint Elvin as he is his assistant and to complicate matters further he was actually on-site when the snowball started. As a manager, I would have either transferred Elvin to another business under the umbrella of Jade Harbour and took him out of finance. I point this out because Lin is so on point with every other event that takes place in regards to Ray’s position and actions. Why didn’t this ramification come out? This is a reality for those even associated with the actions taken by Ray.

Lin gives us a complicated romance where family, work, entitlement, and love are intertwined where one does not know how to separate them. Elvin is fantastic. I have held his job before and as a caretaker personality myself, I get him and identify with him on so many levels. I love Ray and Elvin together. The dynamics of true love are beautiful to watch unfold for these two characters.

Going Public is complicated to review if you have literally lived that life. I was Elvin, except for getting a forever love out of it (chuckle). I am a little biased because of Elvin, but I think Going Public is a good office romance where the secretary gets the guy.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

🌟 representation of demisexual and pansexual here!

Elvin and Ray were soooo cute. i love the slow burn and angst. they both worked so well together, with how Elvin always took care of Ray and Ray showering Elvin with everything good that he deserves, especially with his family. it was so heartwarming.

<spoiler> i think the mafia conflict was abit underwhelm though, and i.... didnt like the end solution, even though its realistic, but w h y y y y y did he have to go in..... like... that just shocked me. </spoiler>

it was a fun read :)

• thank you to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review •

I loved the first book in this series, but I thought this sequel fell a little short. It definitely began with the same sweet, tense longing that I'm used to from Hudson Lin, and the setup of an office romance with one's assistant is appealing. However, the drug cartel plotline was unexpected for me, and in my opinion took up way too much space in the story.

This particular title isn't for me, but I look forward to Hudson Lin's future work. The characters were specific and fully developed, their attraction was sweet and believable, and I appreciated the complexity of their respective relationships with their families. Where my attention waned was the external machinations of plot and Ray's fixation on extralegal solutions, all of which is just, like, resolved, instead of showing the long road that sorting all that out would be, emotionally.