⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

Okay, I loved this one! The premise was amazing and oh so steamy! I couldn’t get enough of Chandler and Finn. I don’t know what it is about a one-night stand trope, but I find it even more enjoyable when it totally goes horribly wrong and the two characters somehow are forced into a close proximity situation after thinking they will never see each other again. It is just soooo good!

I really enjoyed watching Chandler and Finn work together both professionally and… physically. I loved the sex positivity as well as OCD/anxiety representation. Both of these characters were just so well written that I wanted more (in a good way)!

This is my second book by Rachel Lynn Solomon and I can’t wait to read more!

Thank you to Rachel Lynn Solomon, Berkley Romance (@berkleypub @berkleyromance), and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Full review will be posted on Forever Young Adult on 7/24/23:

First Impressions: Foot Fetish

I question why there’s a pair of high heels on the floor near the bed like she just kicked them off when she’s wearing socks. (Also, my feet get so hot at night so I don’t know how people wear socks to bed.) Anyway, aside from my foot-related questions, I like it! It’s cute and a little saucy.

What’s Your Type?

Existential Dread
Hidden Identities
Sex Lessons
One Night Stands
Lovers To Coworkers To Lovers
Mental Health
Dating Famous People
Fandom Culture
Dating Profile

Chandler Cohen is an aspiring journalist turned ghostwriter, because who can get a journalism job for a livable wage anymore? After wrapping up her second gig, she’s feeling stuck in a life rut: still renting a room in her cousin’s house, not loving her job, and she finally slept with the friend she’d been in love with for years…only for him to tell her they were better as friends.

Finn Walsh is a middling actor best known for being the loveable, nerdy boyfriend in a Teen Wolf-esque drama from ten years ago, and now he makes a living off the occasional Hallmark movie and attending every single fan convention he can. But he’s got more in his life to talk about, and he wants to write a memoir about said life…but he desperately needs the help of a certain ghostwriter.

Meet Cute: Sexy Stranger

The second book Chandler wrote was for a popular Instagram influencer she never spoke to during the writing process, so she’s excited to get a photo—and maybe some actual acknowledgement of a job well done—when she goes to the book’s launch. To no one else’s surprise but Chandler’s, the celebrity “writer” doesn’t even recognize her. Feeling despondent, Chandler grabs a drink at the bookstore’s bar and meets a hot, funny, and charming stranger. The impromptu date night is AMAZING—until they get back to his hotel room. It may be the worst sex of Chandler’s life, and she isn’t sticking around until morning to talk about it.

The Lean: Hum-drum

Things start off mighty awkwardly when Chandler and Finn have to work together after a night he thought went great and she would love to forget. But despite trying to keep things professional, they are still drawn to one another as more than coworkers. I appreciated they were open and honest with each other, and it was refreshing to see a male lead who wasn’t automatically the most amazing and sensitive lover in the world. It was all very mature…but also kinda boring, chemistry-wise? They just didn’t sizzle, and I can’t pinpoint what it was that didn’t work for me. It’s possible I never really fell in love with Chandler or Finn separately as people, so having to watch their love story without any investment in its success left me cold.

Dirty Talk

Finn asks Chandler to help him become a better lover, so a lot of the “sexy” moments are peppered with Chandler’s tutorials. Informative, yes. Sexy? Meh. It’s nice to see some frank and informative sex talk, but I’m assuming the people (i.e., many, many hetero men) who need it the most aren’t reading this book.

Let’s instead look at their first night together, which was alternately cracking me up and giving me major second-hand embarrassment:

“Does she like that?” he asks.

“She?”

A smirk as he uses his other hand to tap between my legs. It takes me longer than it should to process what he’s saying— and then it hits me. He’s talking about my vagina. Like we’re two separate entities.

“Mm-hmm” is all I can say.

And

“You feel so good,” he says. “So hot. So ready. I love how hot and ready you are.”

In the parts of my mind that aren’t cringing, I remember that Little Caesars sells pizzas called Hot-N-Ready, a fact that does not make me any hornier.

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose

Solomon can always be counted on to craft an easy-to-read, thoughtful book that aims to entertain and also highlight universal issues that plague thirty-somethings today. I do appreciate that she doesn’t shy away from heavier topics that may not get talked about enough in the genre, but I think you also need to make sure you’re in the mindset to want that. This isn’t “just” a fluffy romance novel.

All of her novels are based in Seattle (which means you may spot a cameo from a previous book here and there!), but this one also bounced our characters all around the country as Finn traveled to meet fans at conventions. Sometimes it’s nice to change things up!

We Need To Talk: Nitpicking

When your characters are so mature and the primary thrust of the novel is the romance, it can be tough to figure out that third-act drama. Are they going to break up? Do you eliminate that plot-beat altogether? How hard do you go? I think a bit of my frustration with Chandler (who is our only POV) is that early on she latched on to Finn’s casual statement about how he’s only ever dated people in Hollywood, and so she makes the immediate assumption that means he will only ever continue to date Hollywood types forever and ever. So she uses this as her basis to fruitlessly agonize about wanting a relationship with him that, in her mind, will never happen. Of course, this is contrary to every freaking signal he is giving her. And like, yes, I know a smart person like her can be stupid when it comes to love. But because there was literally nothing else in the plot keeping them apart, this one little “miscommunication” is given so much weight. Sigh.

Was It Good For You? Yeah…

Will plenty of people LOVE this book? Yes, they already have! Did I like it? Yes! I just didn’t completely love it. It could’ve been me, it could’ve been the book (I did have some similar issues with Solomon’s Weather Girl. Maybe I just prefer her YA voice??). It’s only been a few weeks between finishing the book and writing this review, and already the finer details of the story have escaped my brain. But, overall, there’s plenty to enjoy, especially if you want something relatively drama-free.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Berkley. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. Business or Pleasure is available now.

RLS is and will always be my romcom queen. In my mind, she can do no wrong and this book just continues to solidify her standing as one of the top romcom authors out there today.

This book was just amazing. It was laugh out loud funny at time. Heartfelt at others. And I love how RLS imparts deep and meaningful discussions on mental health in every book. This time it was OCD and anxiety.

🧦 REVIEW: Business or Pleasure 🧦

⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

SUMMARY: After a failed one-night stand, celebrity ghostwriter Chandler Cohen sneaks out to attend a pitch meeting for a new project, only to be greeted by Finn Walsh: C-list actor, subject of her new book, and worst lover of her life.

Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books are reliably great! She writes contemporary romantic comedies featuring realistic characters with relatable flaws. Or maybe just relatable to me? 😳 They are always awkward AF and also typically struggle with some kind of anxiety and/or depression.

This was a fun read because to fit in her interviews, Chandler must travel the fandom conference circuit with Finn, and I love a good forced proximity and/or one bed trope. She, of course, agrees to give him sex lessons, and there are just a lot of sex positive shenanigans taking place. Because of all the fandom/fan culture stuff, this one reminded me of Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert series.

TL;DR Overall, it was an engaging and nuanced contemporary romance while still providing the silly sexxxy tropes readers of this genre are here for. 🙌

Thank you to @netgalley @berkleyromance and the author for an arc in exchange for an honest review! This book came out July 4 and is available everywhere.

Rachel Lynn Solomon has become my newest must buy author with this Business or Pleasure I adore how she always makes the most realistic characters and this was such a fun read!

Chandler and Finn were such lovable characters and I was so invested in Chandlers journey in finding her own path while trying to write in someone else’s voice. Chandler’s confidence in her craft but doubt in her own voice was so wonderfully layered and relatable. I’ll definitely be thinking about these characters and how fleshed out they were for a while.

I loved the formatting of this book so much! With all the little snippets of extra content between chapters I really felt like I was researching with Chandler and enjoying all the interviews and episodes she would have been watching. These “commercial breaks” in the story were such a unique addition!

Rachel Lynn Solomon is such a solid character and world builder and I have no doubt I’ll love her next novel as much as I loved this one.

This was not only hot and spicy, but sweet and tender! I loved Chandler and Finn and their relationship! This is probably my favorite of her books so far, and I can't wait to read her next one!

I’m filing this one under “everyone needs to read this except for my mother”. This one’s too spicy for you, mom…look the other way!

Ok, now that we’ve established the spice level, let’s talk about this plot. It is so unique, refreshing, and important. Comfort — and all the ways we deny ourselves the simplicity of it — is truly what I feel this book is about. Being comfortable with yourself, your partner, your friends, and the public is a topic that is strangely taboo for so many. In this book, Chandler is comfortable enough with her body and sexuality to offer to teach Finn ways to improve his own performance. Finn becomes comfortable enough with Chandler to open up about his mental health that he’s struggled to keep hidden from almost everyone. These two tremendous acts of comfort change the characters in ways they never expected.

One common trope you will NOT find in this book is miscommunication and I cannot express how much I love that! If you find yourself screaming at characters to just open their mouths and talk to each other, this book will be a refreshing break from that. I also loved the positive take on mental health and how it can be both different and the same for two people.

I absolutely loved 𝑩𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 by 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧. The chemistry between Chandler and Finn was sizzling, and they were a delightful couple. The way they communicated their needs through frank and open conversations was fantastic. I couldn't get enough of their story. I liked how genuine and heartfelt the interactions between the two were. The whole idea behind the story was enjoyable too. You hardly ever see male characters shown as anything other than perfect in bed, so it was nice to see Finn, even though he's a celeb, being portrayed as a relatable and flawed guy who needs a little help between the sheets. I found Solomon's writing style quite engaging, especially in the steamy scenes where Chandler and Finn were so open about their desires and mastering the art of pleasing a lover. Seeing them try to keep things strictly professional after sharing such intimacies was very entertaining. This forced proximity, he-falls-first, spicy hot romance was perfect from beginning to end! It had me laughing out loud one minute and swooning the next. It was a highly enjoyable and empowering female-forward read. It gets a full recommendation from me!

Our main character Chandler Cohen is a little bit lost in life. Her ghostwriting career isn't her dream job, and her last straw is when she meets her latest employer who has absolutely no idea who she is or the fact that she wrote her entire book! Now, enter Drew. A mysterious stranger that swoops in on her wallowing and one things lead to another....and they have a one-night stand together that yields less than satisfactory results.

Good thing one-night stands are exactly that: one. Except, that Chandler's one-night stand with Drew turns into her next ghostwriting gig with him as Finn Walsh; a famous movie star. Thus, we embark on their journey together where we find out that it doesn't always have to be a choice between business or pleasure, why not both?

Rachel Lynn Soloman has once again executed a great romance book that has a refreshingly honest look into female pleasure, mental health struggles, and going after what you really want.

Business or Pleasure is a fun read that touches on more serious topics like the downsides of fame, feeling stuck in your professional life, and sex positivity. Readers will fall in love with confident and kind Chandler. They will enjoy reading about a relationship that starts off rocky, but becomes fulfilling and fun through the work that the characters put into it.

Chandler Cohen is feeling disenchanted with her job ghostwriting celebrity memoirs after a less than stellar experience writing for a social media influencer. However, when her agent offers her a new, enticing job writing a memoir for one of the stars of a teen werewolf TV show that she's never watched, Chandler begrudgingly agrees. The only problem? The man who she is supposed to be writing and traveling with is also the man who she had a very unfulfilling one-night stand with despite their spark when they first met.

When Finn learns that the reason his beautiful and interesting one-night stand ghosted him is because of her disappointment in their encounter, he is shocked. However, he sees an opportunity to learn how to satisfy his partners after Chandler comes back into his life as his ghostwriter.

I was slightly disappointed with this book. I felt like it didn't have as good of writing as her previous two books Weather Girl and the Ex Talk. I really couldn't connect much with Chandler or Finn. They didn't have a whole lot of personality. Finn was brought forward to be this hot nerd. I think this book mentioned Lord of the Rings far too much. The chemistry between Finn and Chandler was lacking. I honestly am surprised that after the horrible first night together that she would want to keep doing stuff with him. Also who just asks someone to give them sex lessons? I did like how the guy was the one that needed them. I've read a lot of books where it's the female asking for help. But the sex between them just didn't feel like they were meant for each other. I was surprised that the big issues for them wasn't really that big and instead of being at 80% in was more like 90% and was resolved very quickly. I think it would have been better if we got a little of Finn's point of view during this book and not just hers. Overall it was a decent read and kept me entertained but it's not my favorite by her.

Such a fun book! I loved the honest conversations about sex, and the body positivity! This was way spicier than I expected! But Rachel Lynn Solomon did it again!

A love story about a Hollywood C-lister and a ghostwriter writing his memoir after they have the worst one night stand.

From the one line pitch I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one, but I trust Rachel Lynn Solomon to write incredible books. And I was very right to do so. This was one of the healthiest relationships in romance. Vulnerability, communication, and soooo sex positive. I loved seeing Chandler and Finn be friends and not just romantically involved. The banter, flirting, and spice was all incredible.

I loved the idea of Finn being so open to learning about having better sex and taking Chandler's advice without much ego. Like seriously, where can I get my own Finn Walsh? Because this man sounds absolutely incredible. The fact Chandler was allowed to be more experienced without being portrayed as slutty was so refreshing. I loved their communication about sex, pleasure, and fantasies. Also the fact that toys were so normal was nice. And Finn being the exact opposite of toxic masculinity was lovely

As always, RLS does incredible mental health rep this time with Finn having OCD and Chandler having anxiety and panic attacks. The Jewish rep was also on point.

This is a Romance. I gave this book several times, and I just could not get totally pulled into the story. I may come back to this book at a later date. I did not hate the writing, and it may be I just was not in the mood to read this type of book. I will say that out of the 30% of the book I read I found parts of this book to be cheesy and dry, so this book may just not be for me. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Berkley) or author (Rachel Lynn Solomon) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon was such a joy to read and exactly what I hoped to get out of a RLS book. The characters were lovely and the chemistry was perfect. The romance was paced very nicely throughout the book. This will join Rachel's other books as some of my favorite contemporary romances!

I had heard good things about this book at a library conference and it definitely lived up to the praise. I loved this book so much that I made an effort to not tear through it, I wanted to savor it. I loved Chandler and Finn so much. I loved their relationship but I also enjoyed each of them on their own. I also liked learning about ghostwriting and I loved seeing the con life. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC!

If you're looking for a fun, sex-positive, and entertaining read that will keep you hooked from beginning to end, Business or Pleasure is the perfect book for you. Rachel Lynn Solomon's latest release is a delightful and steamy romance with depth, starring a male lead reminiscent of Dylan O'Brien's character Stiles, in the iconic show "Teen Wolf."

The story follows Chandler Cohen, a talented ghostwriter, who finds herself in an awkward situation when she attends a book signing for a novel she wrote, only to discover that the author doesn't recognize her. However, things take an interesting turn when she meets Finn Walsh, a charming man with whom she shares an immediate connection. Their night together results in a hilariously awkward hookup...which Chandler would rather forget.

But, of course, fate has other plans. Chandler's next project involves ghostwriting Finn's memoir, who happens to be a C-list actor known for his role as a lovable nerd on a cult classic werewolf show. (Think "Teen Wolf"). As they navigate their professional relationship, Chandler and Finn's chemistry intensifies, leading them to strike a unique deal: Chandler will teach Finn the art of satisfaction when they're not working on his book.

It's not often we get a book that tackles sex and sex-positivity directly, and what makes this book stand out is how the subject is discussed in a healthy, respectful, and open manner. Rachel Lynn Solomon handles the subject matter thoughtfully, normalizing healthy sexual relationships and exploring intimacy with authenticity. The steamy scenes are expertly written and deliver the desired impact, adding to the overall enjoyment of the story.

As someone who loves shows like "Teen Wolf" and "Vampire Diaries," I couldn't help but be charmed by the fictional Nocturnals series, which mirrors the iconic werewolf show. Finn, our lovable and funny male lead, is reminiscent of Dylan O'Brien's character, Stiles, bringing a nostalgic and entertaining element to the story. If you grew up watching compilations of "Stiles Best and Funniest Moments" on YouTube, you'll find yourself easily drawn to Finn.

While the book is undoubtedly fun and entertaining, it also delves into deeper and more serious topics. Finn's struggle with OCD is portrayed with sensitivity and authenticity, shedding light on a mental health issue that is often misunderstood or misrepresented. Additionally, Chandler's openness about her past abortion and the characters' discussions about their Jewish identity offer a refreshing level of depth to the story, making it more relatable and thought-provoking.

Overall, Business of Pleasure is a fun and steamy read that goes beyond the surface, exploring important themes while keeping readers thoroughly entertained. Rachel Lynn Solomon has crafted a story that effortlessly blends humor, romance, and meaningful conversations. If you're looking for a book that will make you laugh, swoon, and reflect on life's complexities, this is a must-read for you.

A cute and almost unexpected read from where the story started! Didn't expect such depth of character development and enjoyed the storyline about a ghost-writer. Highly recommend this one!

Chandler and Finn end up working together after a disastrous one night stand and the relationship that blossoms from that awkward encounter is so sweet and spicy!

I loved the role reversal with Chandler being the alpha and teaching Finn what to do in the bedroom. While it was spicy, some parts felt a little clinical when Chandler was teaching Finn 🤷🏻‍♀️

Finn was more emotionally mature which was refreshing. I loved that he helped Chandler evolve. Every interaction between the two of them brings them closer together.

Read For:
🛏️ One Night Stand
🅱️ Beta Hero
🧬 Opposites Attract
🍸 Meet Cute
🧠 Mental Health Rep
❤️ Teen Heart Throb
👩‍🏫 “Teach Me”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️

Rachel Lynn Solomon continues to be incredible and everything she writes is a masterpiece. The sexual tension was immaculate but was balanced perfectly with the communication and such softness. I loved this story so freaking much! Also the mental health representation is always spot on and RLS is amazing in how she presents this and allows us to relate.