Partner Track by Cat Wynn is a captivating contemporary romance. Don't judge this book by its cover! This may seem like your usual romantic comedy, but it is so much more. There is heated drama, undeniable chemistry, and lots of steamy romance. It's a sexy enemies-to-lovers book with enjoyable characters and humorous banters. I look forward to reading more from this author.

DNF at 10%. Promising start - loved what we saw in the courtroom and the initial tension between main characters. Unfortunately the pacing was then off for me and it lost me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy. Yeah

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was steamy, clever, funny and held my interest. I enjoyed this book and would read other books by this author.

(Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review)

Publication date: 26 April 2022
Publisher: Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin)

Plot

Perdie Stone only requires three things in life: Lucille, her lifelong best friend. Bananas, their cute rescue pug. And she was offered a coveted partnership position at her Charleston law company.

When she won against hotshot Ivy League attorney Carter Leplan on a case, she knew that she has done well. Until, they're both stranded by a strange storm with only one room and one bed to share. When their paths keep crossing repeatedly, how would Perdie handle it?

Thoughts

This book had all the tropes you could think of: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, office romance and age gap. But it didn't give a strong impact.

The perspective of an older woman-younger portrayed Perdie to be more immature than Carter. The book also focused more on the sex element as a means for Perdie and Carter to get together but the smut did not deliver it at all. There wasn't a proper direction plot wise and a lot was left unanswered, I felt like I was reading it only because I wanted to get to the end.

There were also no trigger warnings in the book but there should have been. Some triggers to watch out for: sexual harassment, death of a pet, misogyny

First, I feel like I have to mention that Greenville, SC (where the main character is from) is spelled wrong- my husband’s originally from that area so it really stood out. So…. I enjoyed this book in the end. There were some details I didn’t love about the heroine- her admitting to flirting with a married man (even if she hadn’t planned to do anything about it- ick) and the vaping (also ick)! That was just not my thing. I did like that she wasn’t perfect but did finally try to improve herself through therapy towards the end.
I felt like the illustrated cover (which I generally prefer) was maybe not quite fitting for the level of spice in the book, but maybe it’s because it was just slightly past my comfort level in that regard.
I liked Carter, even though some of the thing he said and did when he was alone with Perdie were just a little weird for me. I especially liked Noah and assuming there will be a follow up book with he and Lucille. I’d actually be much more interested in their story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

This book was good, not great. I loved the relationship between Perdie and Lucille, and I loved Carter as a love interest, but I struggled with the speed at which their emotional relationship grew. She hated him, then was basically obsessed with him, then they fell in love extremely quickly. I think if the book would’ve been a tad longer, and some of those emotional moments between them had been expanded, I think it would’ve been a better read for me.

This is a fun and well written debut novel with a lot of spice and the best part, a cute dog! While the chemistry between Perdie and Carter is something you can feel from page one, my favorite relationship is actually between Perdie and her best friend Lucille. I’m hoping Lucille gets her own story because she is a riot!

The characters in this book are all very much flawed, but it makes them more realistic and I do feel like Perdie in particular shows a lot of growth. Told only from her POV, their story is a workplace romance with an older woman/younger guy and it’s mostly light and funny besides one small part regarding a death. I’m looking forward to reading more from this new author!

This book is my top read of the year!! It was so refreshing to read. I usually don't read age gaps but I'm so glad I read this one. Perdie was a sarcastic and snarky woman - so different from the usual heroines we see these days and Carter was the perfect sweet, dirty-talking hero! I related to Perdie so hard and it was so great to see her work through her struggles. This is a debut book for this author and I'm such a fan. I cannot wait to see what else she brings.

I enjoyed Partner Track even more than I thought I would! All the trope goodies brought together in one steamy novel with rivals-to-lovers, one bed, forced proximity and forbidden workplace romance.

We jump right into meeting Carter and Perdie in their element, the courtroom. When their flights get cancelled and there's only one hotel room left, what else could they possibly do besides share a room with one bed? Spicy time starts early in this book and the first two steamy scenes don't even go "all the way".
I really loved the friendship between Perdie and Lucille, it was an anchor for them both and the perfect definition of platonic soulmates. Best friends since they were kids and now they're about to enter their 40's together, I love their bond! I loved getting to know more of Perdie's backstory and why she reacts the way she does to her feelings for Carter. The dirty talk was well written and kept the scene flowing without being too cringy, which is always a bonus. I enjoyed the story line and how well Perdie managed to get things together, especially after openly attending therapy and working on her issues!

I would have loved to see this in a dual POV, we didn't get to flesh out Carter as a character as much as I would have liked. There were times when their jealousy and games were a bit frustrating, considering both MCs are in their thirties. Also, (SW) there is a pet death towards the end of the book - I have seen a lot of complaints about it, but I felt it was fairly heavily implied with the number of times it's mentioned how sweet and old he is, so I wasn't surprised by that scene.

Overall, a solid 3.75/5 stars. Thank you to Carina Press, Cat Wynn and Net Galley for this eARC!

I picked up Partner Track partly because the cover is so objectively terrible I felt like they were trying to keep me from reading the book. But I had also heard that even though it looks like it takes place in a megachurch, the book was high heat. The book does have a lot of sex and does not take place in a megachurch.

Perdie is an associate at a firm in Charleston, SC. When we meet her, she is in a deposition and just about to eat the opposing counsel, Carter Leplan, for lunch. I love seeing characters we are told are smart and competent be smart and competent. It was great. For a minute.

Perdie is a mess, and I usually like a mess, but, everything in Partner Track is mess. The plot careens from scene to scene without a lot of sense of direction. A lot bothered me in the book, but here are three things that took this from tolerable to intolerable.

1. Carter Leplan, takes a partner position at Perdie’s lawfirm. He takes the position he knows she wants (knowing they weren’t even considering her does not make his actions ok), he does it without discussing it with her, he is senior to her in authority, he still wants to have a romantic relationship with her. Putting himself in a position of authority over her with the goal of having a relationship with her is an act of bad faith. And then he tells Perdie she needs to do more to fight for their relationship all I can say is, “nope!” I realize that we forgive a lot of red flags in romance, but I can’t forgive that red flag.
2. Perdie blocks Lucille’s boyfriend’s number on Lucille’s phone without her consent. (Yes, Lucille had done something equally bad, yes they agree to be better at boundaries, but Perdie lost me at that point and it was way too early in the book for Perdie to lose me).
3. The death of Bananas the Pug. It’s not that I think animals can’t die in romances. Beloved pets die and that can be a part of a character’s emotional arc. However, in this book it just felt kind of pointless.

There are some nice moments between characters, some good bits of banter, and if you’re in it for the smut, it’s got good smut.

CWs: lots of alcohol, misogyny, sex pest boss, power imbalance relationship, the dog dies near the end.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Carina Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Right off the bat, the steam hit me in the face, and I was here for it. Perdie and Carter seemed to jump right in to the flirty banter, which made me laugh out loud, and were instantly attracted to each other. The tension was palpable and I loved the workplace hookups and flirty winks, glances, and texts. The sex scenes and dirty talk were enjoyable, but at times it felt like more like just added goodness instead of leading to more of a plot development. I don't feel like Carter had enough to go off before really wanting a mutually exclusive relationship with Perdie, and even after their snowed in days and one weekend business trip away, I felt like they needed more development in their relationship.

I liked the relationship between Perdie and Lucille and it really reminded me of Liza and Maggie's relationship in the T.V. show Younger. Their relationship was just an added cherry on top to this novel.

The workplace situation was frustrating at times because of the misogyny that Perdie faced. It made me nauseous to read at times because of how blatantly sexist her bosses and male colleagues were. I was proud when Perdie spoke up, but several times she seemed to just ignore or brush it off.

Perhaps the most unbelievable thing was the snow storm happening in Charleston and Perdie and Carter just not realizing it would happen. Living in Savannah, GA, which is very close to Charleston, I know that the times when we have had snow (which is very few and far between), everyone and their mom knew it was coming. Grocery stores were sold out of milk, bread, and water, schools were canceled, work was called off early because of the potential for road closures...it just doesn't spring up on you.

Overall, it was a fun hang and I liked it, but just wanted a little bit more character development.

Thank you to the author and the publisher, Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin), for sharing an ARC of this book with me, through NetGalley!

I confess, it took me 34% to connect with the book but even then hero Carter Leplan…. He was dreamy!!!

This book had it all. Age gap (heroine is 39 and hero 34), forced proximity, one bed, hero heroine initially at cross road, office romance and a strong, deep friendship.
I would say this is Perdita stone’s story. A strong, bold lawyer she was nevertheless frustrated about the work place inequality. I never thought women had to go so much. At times it made me mad on behalf of all the ladies.
But I’m happy that she finally took control of her fear and achieved so much.
It was clear initially itself that Carter was smitten with her. He showed his 100 percent to her. Vulnerability and all and I applaud him for it. And what a dirty talker he was 🥵. This book is one of the steamiest book I’ve ever read.

There was also a bunch of secondary characters that I loved.
recommended.

2,5 stars.

Let my start by saying that this book lacks severe trigger warnings. I cried my eyes out and not because the book hit me so much, but because of how close to home this hit. I lost my Nina last year and there is no warning for an animal death in this book. Besides this point there was so much sex that there was barely any plot it felt like. The characters didn't seem as rounded nor did they grow and in general I just didn't really enjoy it. This book simply wasn't for me.

Great debut novel. I only wish I could have seen just a bit more backstory and it could have been a longer to flush it out a bit. However these are probably personal issues of mine rather than overall flaws with the book. The plot line was not unique in the slightest which is why the author really did a good job in making me interested in the characters., All in all, it was a solid book and I'll probably re-read at some point.

This is a high heat story about a woman who is a tenacious lawyer, fighting tooth and claw to make partner, and the man seven years her junior who waltzes into the position.

It's a pretty strong debut. It's high energy and features a female friendship which is so deep as to be family. Also, it is intensely spicy.

But that high energy borders on frenetic. I sometimes felt a disconnect between scenes - things that I wish had been explored more or more fully fleshed out. I was annoyed at the FMCs assumptions about her female coworkers. The last 25% is too fast - a lot happens, a lot is resolved, and it's where I felt that disconnect most keenly.

There's a lot to enjoy if you can just go with the flow and not worry to hard about the specifics. While this book wasn't a hit for me, I'd check in with this author in the future and see how it goes.

CW: misogyny, death of a pet

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Complimenting the enemy is a bold strategy.”“Enemy, huh? Well, if you’re my enemy, then maybe I should switch to your side.”

Oh I really enjoyed this one and whew! The smut was just amazing. Don't judge this book by it's cover. It may seem like another typical rom-com but it's so much more smutty than I expected it to be. Carter & Perdie's personalities clashed hard and the games they played always snagged my attention. It's a sexy enemies to lovers book with enjoyable characters and humorous banters. Carter & Perdie's chemistry was off the chars amazing! The writing was perfect and some scenes just downright gave me butterflies and I was won over! I'm looking forward to read more of the author's work. The downside however was that sometimes I felt like Perdie was too self absorbed and her inability to commit was dragging out but Carter balanced that out, I loved him!

Thank you Netgalley & Carina Press for the ARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

I absolutely adored Partner Track . What an incredible debut from Cat Wynn! First off, it's not very often you get a romance novel where both MCs are lawyers. Not only did it make for a great workplace enemies-to-lovers, but it also emphasized just how prevalent the "boys club" mentality can be in certain fields. Brava!

On top of that, I am TRASH for a messy AF heroine. Perdie Stone, you have my heart. Though I found the push-pull relationship between Perdie and Carter to be a bit frustrating, especially in the final 25% of the book, I absolutely adored Perdie's independence. Plus, a heroine over 35 who cohabitates with her bestie (and their pug) and smokes weed on the regular? Sign me up. I'm all for destigmatizing cannabis use in romance.

Overall, lots of laughs and sarcastic banter (aka my love language). I love Cat's voice and I can't wait to read more!!

For more romance reviews and to listen to my podcast, please visit www.boobiesandnoobies.com

Sometimes sexy times aren’t enough. This is a fun story that falls into a lot of tropes.: age gap - she’s 39, he’s 32, snowed in with only one bed available, workplace romance etc. Perdie Stone just beat out a Harvard lawyer in a case that she hopes will make her partner at her firm. Trapped for a night together at a hotel she shares a room with Carter Leplan. It goes all hot and steamy but they live on different coasts. And then he shows up as the new partner in her law firm.

This story has lots of fun moments but there are others that sort of make you cringe. Told from Perdie’s POV she doesn’t understand why Carter took a job with her firm. But that doesn’t keep them from sexy times. At times both behave immaturely. They jump to conclusions and get jealous over little issues. I would gladly have given up one of the intimate scenes for them to have an honest conversation that wasn’t what is your favorite color. You get very little background on Carter other than he’s always been privileged, handsome and smart. I’m not sure how he relates to Perdie and her background.

This is a good debut novel but I felt some things were brought up and then dropped. Did he really not care if he has kids. It deserves more than a 30 second conversation on an airplane. Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press & Carina Adores for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for a copy of this book.

What a fun sexy book! I love the attraction between Perdie and Carter. I normally enjoy office romance but I always struggle when one person has more power and they are working on the same project. That just seems unethical and the book did address this.

I loved Perdie and Lucille's relationship and how strong their friendship was. This book was a lot of fun and I enjoyed Carter's parents as well.

Ok, this book was honestly, just what I needed. After I finished it, I dipped into Cat’s DMs to tell her how much I enjoyed and she said “I was just trying to write a good time.” And honestly? Yes. That’s exactly what this book was.

Partner Track is funny, steamier than it looks and full of tropes I love (see below). The book opens with one of my favorite kinds of meet cutes: the “she just eviscerated me professionally and I’m so hot for it” meet cute. The main characters are rival lawyers on opposite sides of the table. He’s young, hot and his reputation precedes him. She’s slightly older, has to fight twice as hard and is often overlooked. But when she bests him on an important case, he wants more. The heroine is kind of a bitch and he loves her for it…like…we stan a beta.

I thought the pacing was perfect. These two get into all kinds of situations and you’re just left smiling, watching it unfold. They get stuck together because of snow more than once, which is *chef’s kiss* You get all kinds of inappropriate workplace banter and honestly… So. Many. S E X scenes. But beyond how fun this book was, it touched on some serious topics as well. Like power imbalance and even commitment issues that stem from childhood trauma and seeking therapy to address them. Yes to this!

Shenanigans & tropes you can expect:
-white, M/F, cishet couple
-workplace/forced proximity
-opposites attract
-only one bed (DONE RIGHT)
-rivals to lovers
-dirty talking beta hero
-couple toy play
-age gap (she’s 7yrs older)
-“she doesn’t do relationships, he does”

Partner Track releases 4/26

Rating: 5 stars
Heat level: 3 flames
Swoon factor: YES!!

*Thank you to the author for the early copy via Netgalley

CW: strained parental relationship, on page explicit sex, on page alcohol & drug use, stalker/manipulative side character (challenged), pet/animal death, office sexism (challenged), seeking therapy