Five years ago, Pearl walked out of Cord's life for a job opportunity she had been waiting for. Now that she is back in town with the job of her dreams, she is determined to not let anything distract her from her career goals. Cord joins the board of Pearl's nonprofit and the fire between them complicates things. Soon they are giving into their feelings, knowing that their relationship could ruin Pearl's career and the reputation of her nonprofit. The challenge of keeping things casual and hush-hush may be too much pressure for them to bear.

From the first scene, I was hooked into the intense and fiery chemistry between Pearl and Cord. I love second chance romances and I especially enjoy ones with the level of intensity that Pearl and Cord had. This book had dual timelines, going back and forth in time between Pearl and Cord's past and their present. I gobbled up the chapters that dove into their past. Denise Williams did an awesome job of building their deep connection while they fell in love. And then she smashed our hearts when Pearl left that first time around.

The depth of Pearl and Cord's characters is what I look for in books. Cord was a sweet man who always tried to do what's right. He was the one who always said yes to doing favors and he wanted to help Pearl in any way he could. Pearl was an independent woman who didn't want saving. She had been burned and she was doing everything to avoid being burned by a relationship again. Unfortunately, that meant that she had to prioritize her head over her heart, as much as it pained her to do so.

Thankfully, Cole fought until he convinced Pearl to give them a chance, and they got a beautiful HEA that had me grinning from ear to ear.

Pick up this book for a stand-out second chance romance. This is Denise Williams' best book to date and it's a must read for you to squeeze in before the end of the year!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

I love Denise Williams' writing. She writes great romance with multi-dimensional characters and just enough spice to give you butterflies. She is quickly moving up on my auto-read list,

This second-chance, workplace romance had a great story. Cord and Pearl couldn't explore their relationship before because of the power dynamic between boss and subordinate. Many years later, when Cord is asked to be on the board of the non-profit that Pearl works at, their love is rekindled.

A personal bias I have is that I wished both main characters were Black. There is one part of the book where Cord is dreaming about Pearl being dressed as a black panther character. That read a bit awkward for me. However Cord such was a thoughtful partner.


Overall, I enjoyed this read. (3.5 stars)

I loved getting another story in the same world as The Fastest Way to Fall. Wes and Britta were among my favorite characters that year and getting to see them together in this book was perfect.

I also loved Cord though. I loved his style, his work ethic, his capacity to love, and most of all his willingness to volunteer even when he was swamped. So many characteristics I love in a man. I also loved his tenacity with Pearl.

Truthfully Pearl drove me insane. But her character growth was good and I loved how devoted to her job and her family she was.

This second chance romance includes a workplace aspect and it made it a little messy - but the happy ever after was really good - so if you like messy workplace romance I bet you'll adore this book.

If you loved The Fastest Way to Fall I really think you'll love this one too!

I received an advanced copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Another solid romance read from Denise Williams with great characters and a unique storyline set within the tech world. I loved the diversity and LGBTQ+ representation and how women and kids were so involved and encouraged to find success in coding. It was so great to see and really well done. I thought Cord and Pearl’s relationship was sweet and I liked that we not only got dual POVs but also the two different timelines. For me, as a reader, it really allowed me to see their growth, why they were so connected, and it really elevated that second chance romance factor!

I struggled a little bit with Pearl’s hesitation and internal struggle with her commitment to the relationship. It made sense at first but after getting more interactions with Cord and seeing how genuine he was, it felt like it was dragged out a little too long for me. However, despite the frustration with that aspect, the characters did engage in some deep, honest conversations that made up for that slow journey to a HEA that was worth the wait!

Thank you Berkley Pub and Berkley Romance for access to the advanced reader copy of this novel!

Cord and Pearl have a history together and when they meet again the sparks fly, but should they risk their jobs in favor of a hot romance? That is the big question and despite their attempts to resist their feelings they just couldn't stay apart. Second chance and forbidden love aren't my favorite tropes, but Denise writes such interesting characters that I couldn't help but be swept along in their love story. I listened to the audiobook and I enjoyed the two timelines in this story and the dual points of view narrated by the amazing voice actors January LaVoy and Joe Arden.

Pearl has vowed to put her head before her heart. She's been burned before, and despite her history with Cord, and their attraction to each other, she refuses to entertain a relationship with him. It doesn't help that Pearl's nonprofit just had a scandal that involved an employee and a board member, and Cord has volunteered himself to be on the board of the company. They can't be together, but their attraction can't be denied.

As always, the diversity and representation in this novel was great. And women in STEM? We love to see it.

Denise Williams is usually my GOAT when it comes to romances. Unfortunately, this one wasn't my favorite. I really wanted to love the characters and the romance, but it fell flat for me. The book is well written, as always, but it just didn't grab me like her work usually does.

If you like a good second chance romance and hot nerds (lots of coding content), you will probably enjoy this book. I will say that sometimes second chance is hit or miss for me depending on the reason for the breakup. This really felt like right person, wrong time and wasn’t an ugly breakup.

I really enjoyed Pearl and Cord as their own characters and as a couple. The side characters were all great as well, including some appearances of characters from Williams’ previous books. I’m a big fan of her books so I was excited to see some familiar names.

Rating represents 3.5 rounded down~

This was an interesting reading experience because while I didn't find myself invested in the romance (the split POV was helpful, the dual timeline, not so much), I very much enjoyed the diversity and representation in the cast of characters, and the issues discussed, like the lack of those things in many current STEM workplaces etc.

Cord and Pearl (I love these character names, together they could make a necklace, haha!) are mostly so-so on-page. But them taking care of Tye together, and their spicier scenes, were among their best moments.

Pearl was an interesting character, and very realistic in how she followed her feelings. Many readers seem baffled she would accept a position whose last occupant left it under a cloud of scandal, but I saw this as her showing sincerity and a desire to help advance the field, serve as a role model, help others.

Cord was much more dimensional than a lot of contemporary romance leads I've read lately. He has a cat, Peach, who he adores, who wears custom sweaters advertising his company and acts very enjoyably catlike the whole book. He's also in a situationship for a while with Abby, a lovable nonbinary character, and I found that super refreshing, even if briefly counterproductive to the main romance.

In fact, there were multiple they-them characters presented in the story, much to my delight from a mainstream traditionally published romance. A diverse and casually queer ensemble of characters, their stories set in the world of coding, mightily improved this book for me.

We love a STEM romance! (Oops, was this a sequel?)

The best part of this book was Pearl's family and friends, especially Ty. I also adored the work Pearl was doing to help young disadvantaged people who were interested in STEM careers.

Unfortunately I didn't really feel the connection between these characters, but I did enjoy their banter and the steam. I like this author's writing so I think it was just the tropes that didn't work for me--I'm not the biggest fan of second chance romance and I was worried for Pearl's job security!

4.5 ⭐️

After a chance meeting in an elevator, falling in love, Cord and Pearl couldn’t be together because Pearl was moving to California to pursue her career dreams. Years later, as Pearl serves as the director for her nonprofit STEM company to support high schoolers, Cord sits on the board. They’re transported back to when they fell in love, but Pearl can’t risk everything she’s worked so hard for, not to mention move past her previous workplace relationships. How will Cord and Pearl now move forward?

Loved the STEM! Loved the strong FMC and the MMC who will do anything for the woman he loves. There were 2 POVs and a past and present timeline which developed Cord and Pearl’s characters beautifully. Definitely enjoyed this one more than the last book.

Technically Yours by Denise Williams is another one of her wonderful romance stories. The main characters are Pearl Harris and Cord Matthews, who we got a glimpse at in a previous book (The Fastest Way to Fall), with Cord very much in love with Pearl. But she broke his heart five years ago, when she walked out of Cord's life for a job opportunity in California that she had been waiting for.

Now Pearl is back in Chicago, with a job she loves, and to her surprise, she discovers that Cord has just joined the board of Pearl’s company, OurCode; a nonprofit organization aimed at inspiring high schoolers to code. Cord is happy to see her, and privately tells her he still has feelings for her. Pearl is determined to keep Cord at a distance, especially since her ex-boss was fired, due to having an affair with a board member, causing issues from members and the board. Pearl did not want to mix relationships that are personal and professional; and now she was promoted to Executive Director at OurCode. A romance between them would cause severe damage to her career and the progress she’s made at OurCode.

The POV’s between Cord and Pearl go between the flashbacks in the past, when they met and loved; and the present time. Cord immediately told Pearl about his feelings, but in a short time she also gave into her feelings, as their chemistry was off the wall. Pearl tries to keep their relationship quiet, as she feared she would lose her job. The secondary characters were all very good, as I did like her family and friends, as well as Cord’s friends. Tye (15 years old) was great, with her working with Cord on the codes, and Cord’s cat, Peach was cute.
What follows is a wonderful, fun, emotional and sexy romance, with a fantastic couple we loved. Pearl was a fabulous heroine, who also had strong feelings for Cord. At the same time, Cord was determined to protect Pearl, especially with her concerns about her job and keeping her director position. Cord would do anything to help Pearl, even if she did not want his help.

Technically Yours was an emotional ride, that was also delightful, fun and engaging. Technically Yours was very well written by Denise Williams. I fully suggest if you enjoy pure romances, that you read this book.

Technically Yours is a fun and steamy contemporary romance that follows two people in STEM careers who, when put together on a new project, have a second chance at love.

Pearl is a strong and independent woman, and Cord is a golden retriever MMC. The pair has a ton of chemistry and complement each other well. Plus, their banter is fantastic. It’s pretty clear from the start that there are unresolved feelings between the two, and their angsty romance is great. I like that the story includes flashbacks to their relationship seven years ago, too, which provided a lot of context to their friendship and feelings. The story also has a dual pov, which I always enjoy. It puts so much into perspective when you get the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of both main characters.

And I have to take a minute and talk about Cord because I might be a little in love with him. He fell so hard for Pearl all those years ago, and the feelings never went away. He is such a cinnamon roll, and his belief in her and desire to support her is super swoon-worthy. He’s nerdy and charming and sexy, and he has a cat!

I enjoyed this romance. The characters are layered and interesting, the secondary characters are great, and I love the diversity and representation as well as the STEM-based setting. I didn’t love the third-act break-up and miscommunication, and there were parts where I didn’t love how Pearl acted, but I did enjoy the overall love story. Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing me with an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

This is exactly the kind of story I like, a strong, capable woman figuring out what she wants and being brave enough to go for it.

Pearl and Cord worked together years ago and had a connection that went beyond work. At that time Pearl was trying to pull her life together and working to create the life she wanted and she took a job across the country. Now Pearl is back and Cord just walked into a gala for an organization she works for. He has had a lot of casual relationships because Pearl broke his heart. Sparks fly but there are complications with work and family and trusting each other. Can they figure out how to be together without losing everything they have worked for?

Read if you like:
💋 Interracial Couple Romances
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ rep with supporting characters
📥 Workplace Romances
🥈 Second Chance Romances
🤷🏻‍♂️ He Falls First
3️⃣ predictable 3rd act breakups

Overall, this one wasn’t my favorite, but I still enjoyed it. For me I struggled with the fact that this was a second chance romance with them going into the second chance romance as coworkers after a huge scandal in the company and someone leaving that created their opportunity to come back together again and to be in that workplace situation again and still going forward with dating and not disclosing it to the powers that be and the fact that the FMC knew this would be problematic but did it anyway?!

It just felt like there was no rational thought for her about her career which she claimed was her top priority especially since we had a very clear he fell first and fell first again situation. Basically the math wasn’t mathing for me and I couldn’t suspend my belief for her decisions.

All in all even with that said there were such great aspects to the book I loved with the inclusive language, the racial and female workplace dynamics, etc, the only thing that didn’t work was the communication around decision making given who the FMC was at her core.

Thank you to Berkley for my ARC in exchange for my review!

Seven years. Seven years ago these two fell for each other but it wasn’t meant to be. Pearl hasn’t seen Cord in all those years but when they come back into each other’s lives they both are hesitant. This one has a bit of everything. Dual pov, workplace romance, alternating timelines, second chance romance and stem romance. This one was full of emotion and had me rooting for them.
.

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Oh man. This was adorable. A little on the spicier side but it definitely added to the story. I really enjoyed both characters. Sometimes Pearl frustrated me with how stubborn she was being but I totally could understand why she was. Cord was just amazing. He was just so sweet and understanding. I adored him. I really couldn’t recommend this book anymore. It really is such a cute and fun read.

Thank you to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We finally get Pearl and Cord's story. I mostly listened to it as Joe Arden and January Lavoy are amazing narrators. They actually helped me to get into the story even more.

Cord and Pearl were a missed connection five years ago. She left town before anything could really happen. Now, she's back in town and sees Cord at a work event. He still has the same feelings for her and she for him, but he is part of the Board of Directors at her work, and it would be inappropriate.

I really enjoyed Cord's character and how much he was still really into her. He was so patient with Pearl and her relationship hang-ups. Pearl's chats with her sisters were quite funny, too. The addition of the mentorship program and Tye was a nice added subplot. Tye had some funny lines. I've read all of this author's books and this one seemed the steamiest of her books, yet.

Read this if you like:

Second chance romance
Dual POV
Past and present timeline
Women in STEM
Steam
Cinnamon Roll MMC

Thanks for the free audiobook @PRHAudio #PRHAudioPartner and to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for the ARC.

“‘I like it when you touch me,’ I repeated, staring up at the stars. ‘And when you talk to me. And when you look at me.’ I inhaled the scent of her hair. ‘And when you’re nearby. And when you’re far away but I know you’re coming back.’” 💕💕 So always, then? 😆

3.5 stars! This is a sweet second chance romance with a couple that is hot hot hot and brings some serious steam to the story. I loved Cord and Pearl, although Pearl was a bit annoying at times with her lack of communication skills. Sometimes I wanted to shout JUST TELL THIS MAN WHAT YOUR ISSUE IS! But it does add to the drama for sure.

My only slight issue when listening to this one is that, when the author gave one of the characters a plural pronoun I had a very hard time following who was being discussed. When you’re talking about one person but constantly saying “they” my mind halts and I struggle to stay lost in the story because I keep subconsciously wondering who the other people are. But I’m hoping that is something that gets less distracting over time. 🙂

“‘So, head before heart.’ ‘Head before heart,’ I agreed, catching someone walking toward us. ‘Reminds me to never rely on others too much.’”

Thank-you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Denise Williams for the eARC!

Me @ Denise Williams: Hey, Queen! Girl, you have done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all and doing it flawlessly. I’d say I’m surprised but I know who you are. I’ve seen it up close and personal. Girl, you make me so proud, and I love you.

As you can see, within MINUTES of finishing this book I was already INSISTING on another one, which truly cements miss Williams as one of my fave romance writers. Whatever she writes, I will read 100% of the time.

Somehow, Denise Williams managed to include several tropes that I generally don't care for in Technically Yours and I still loved Pearl and Cord's romance. If that doesn't show the power of great writing and wonderful character development, I don't know what does. What may be even more important than the romance in this book is the fantastically diverse and inclusive representation within the computer science/STEM fields. I absolutely loved seeing that featured so prominently within the story.

Pearl and Cord were just really well done main characters. I loved everything from their rocky past to the way they worked through their present-day issues. There were a lot of important discussions for these two, from ethical work relationships to where a man like Cord could even fit in at an organization like OurCode. As art imitates life, it was great to not only see this type of dialogue happening on the page, but also see their different approaches and solutions to inclusive advocacy.

I love seeing inclusive STEM representation in books; however, I am not very STEM-minded on my own. That being said, Williams didn't include any overly scientific terms that would take readers out of the story. Even when coding jargon was used that went over my head, it was used in a way that didn't affect my overall understanding of the scene itself.

Technically Yours might just include some of my favorite spice that Williams has ever done. I loved a lot of the things that Cord and Pearl got up to, and I loved the people they became in those scenes: hopeful, but realistic.

Support systems were important to both Cord and Pearl, and that stability was definitely a plus in this story. Cord had friends like Wes and Britta (whom readers might remember from The Fastest Way to Fall), and Pearl had her sisters and her sister's teenage kid, Tye. I loved seeing both main characters not exist in a silo when it came to their romance.

Overall, Technically Yours was a fun, steamy read that kept the importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM at front and center. I love romances with heart, and Cord and Pearl definitely had it.