Good book. After reading the beginning of this book, I wasn't sure how Axel would redeem himself. He is a Hollywood heartthrob who is all about what he wants, no matter if it inconveniences someone else. The person he most inconveniences is his personal assistant, Maddie. Both characters frustrated me at the start.

Alex thinks nothing of dragging Maddie into whatever he thinks he needs, from mattress shopping to buying gifts. She was hired to manage his schedule and other career-related activities, yet he always manages to make any request about his career to get around her objections. She is on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Maddie lost any romantic ideas about Axel early in her career with him. She's frustrated by his thoughtlessness and lack of respect for her time. She is ready to leave on a long-planned and awaited vacation, during which he's promised not to contact her. When he gets into trouble, the next thing Maddie knows, he is on her doorstep, begging to stay with her, completely blowing off his promise. Maddie did what she always does - caved in and gave him what he wanted.

After a few days, Maddie finally has enough. I loved seeing her stand up to Axel and tell him she quit. He has two weeks to find another assistant. In the meantime, his brother Lynx <i>(Rivals at Love Creek)</i> asks Axel to fill in as the drama teacher at his school for a couple of weeks. I enjoyed this segment. Axel and Maddie are great with the kids, and Axel gets a taste of "normal" life. He also begins to see Maddie in a new light after hearing his brothers talk about her. At the same time, Maddie sees a different side of Axel, one that she likes. I liked seeing them grow closer, though both fought against putting a name to their feelings.

Maddie has some self-esteem issues because of what she perceives as her model mother's disappointment in her "plain, ordinary" daughter. There is no way she can believe that Axel would be interested in her. But Axel has deep-seated fears about committed relationships, thanks to his birth father. Maddie and Axel move on when the two weeks are up, each pursuing new career opportunities after sharing a fantastic night. I loved seeing Maddie come into her own, doing what she loves with a boss/mentor who appreciates her. I loved the boost to her confidence and what came out of it.

Meanwhile, Axel gets caught in the manipulative claws of his ex-girlfriend. I understood why he caved in to her blackmail, but the effect on Maddie was devastating. I liked the support Maddie received from her friends, family, and Axel's family. I rooted for Axel to find a way to free himself. The ending was well done. Axel's emotional conversation with his adoptive father opened his eyes to the truth of his feelings for Maddie. I loved seeing them find their way back together. I look forward to seeing more of them in later books.

To say that I didn't enjoy this book honestly feels like it might be an understatement. Lindo-Rice had me somehow intrigued and also so convinced that these two characters needed to do a lot of either growing up or therapy on how to reckon with their own demons before they tried to have a relationship built on the ground of Maddie working as Axel's assistant and feeling like she had no boundaries because he bulldozed over them. I somehow liked neither of the characters and so while I was pleased to see character growth from beginning to end, I couldn't really believe it? It felt unearned somehow. I wish I knew how to better explain what I mean, but these characters felt so two-dimensional. They were certainly struggling with real things. Axel is a celebrity and used to other people catering to his whims. He's kind of an awful boss in that regard, although he tries to make up for it with expensive gifts he mostly lets Maddie pick out for herself. And Maddie is deeply insecure and lets Axel run right through her boundaries and then gets mad at him constantly for doing so. And I can understand why, but it was something about the way the two communicated that really kept me from buying into their shifting dynamic. That said, the writing was certainly compelling and it kept me reading, so I would still recommend it. I'm definitely inclined to try Lindo-Rice again in the future, but I may look a little more into what the tropes are before I do!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

While this is a part of a series about the Harrington brothers, you don't have to read the prior one to fully understand and enjoy this book.

There is kissing in this book and anything else was just alluded to with no details. Anyone would enjoy reading this.

At first I really didn't like Axel Harrington. I was intrigued with how the author was going to redeem him in the reader's eyes to make him into the male protagonist worthy of Maddie. Axel is a self-absorbed actor that really took some getting used to. It took time but over the half-way point, he started to grow on me.

I felt the ending was a bit rushed but overall the book was one that should appeal to anyone.

Decent, but not a winner for me. I think many others would like it more.

I'm a fan of longing and yearning and pining, and there isn't that here. Maddie and Axel have worked together for a while and never caught feelings until now the power dynamic is shifting and they're waking up to an attraction. Great, just not what I tend to like out of a romance novel. I found them to blow a little hot and cold, with Maddie wanting to fall for him them getting annoyed and turning away over and over in the span of paragraphs. Probably realistic, as she fights the attraction and wrestles with her self esteem, but I found it a little tedious to read. I loved Maddie's mom and their relationship.

Everything with Axel's girlfriend/ex Natasha fell flat for me. She's offpage for most of the book, with no way as a reader to know who is correct about her character. Maddie seems to like her, even while acknowledging that Natasha would make Axel fire Maddie if they got married, Axel thinks about the proposal as classic manipulative Natasha, but then there also seems some shades of "she knew I wasn't ready for marriage even though she is" as thought she actually has feelings for him, and then when she reappears near the end of the book she is just manipulative and thinking of her career only. I don't know that I believed the stakes for continuing a fake relationship.

Overall, this passed the time nicely, but I wouldn't seek out the other books in the series.

Maddie is a screenwriter working as an executive assistant. She is at the beck and call of Axel until she finally decides that enough is enough. However, as she pulls away, Axel realizes he can't live without her. It could be the beginning of a Cinderella story, except that none of the characters are particularly likeable. The author goes on and on about how unattractive Maddie is, as does Axel at the beginning of the book.

I missed the release date because I piled too many books on myself (metaphorically speaking, of course)! Oops.

It’s been a long time since I read a Harlequin novel, but this certainly fit what I remembered from past books I’ve read and enjoyed. This is a light, fast read - which isn’t a bad thing, in this case. It’s exactly what I needed at the moment.

The “Cinderella” theme was a bit of a stretch for me, but Michelle Lindo-Rice threw in enough suggestions that she did make it fit.

Good book, would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A totally average category romance - maybe trying to accomplish too much in the page limit, but the characters are well-developed and the plot is mostly well-paced. It's pretty cheesy at points, but I've read worse, honestly.

Maddie has had enough of her job as personal assistant to heartthrob Axel. Of course she has a huge crush on the movie star (who doesn’t?), but she’s tired of him taking her for granted. After she gives her two weeks’ notice, he realizes how much he stands to lose. Will he come to his senses before it’s too late?

I love how smart and strong Maddie is. Axel is arrogant and clueless at first, but it’s nice to see him grow into a worthy partner for Maddie.

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