to read the first book second...

 

'Making It Personal' is the first book in K. C. Wells 'Personal' series and it's about Blake Davis the CEO of Trinity Publishing and he's proud of what he's accomplished over the past  6 years turning Trinity Publishing into a successful up and coming publisher.  He's done all this while firmly ensconced in his closet. Stepping out only long enough to utilize the services of a very discreet escort company to fulfill his needs before slipping back into his closet and returning to Narnia.

 

Will Parkinson's life has been less than easy but he's a fighter and he's survived it all to get back on his feet and if that's had to include working as a highly paid escort with benefits well than it is what it is and how bad can it be if you get to spend the night with a really hot and sexy guy the night before going to an interview for your dream job with the head of an up and coming publisher as personal assistant to the CEO...oops...this could be the proverbial awkward moment.

 

I liked this book a tiny bit better than 'Personal Changes'.  I really liked both Blake and Will. While Blake maybe needed to loosen his tie a little, Will was definitely the man to do it. I really liked that Blake accepted that Will did what he did to survive but he never felt the need to pass judgement or make will ashamed of himself. If anything as their relationship progressed it felt more like Blake truly respected him for having the strength of character to do what he had to, to survive get ahead in the world but still maintaining his integrity and dignity.

 

'Making It Personal' is the story of a CAO and his PA who really know how to put the 'personal' into things. Woven in between the relationship developing between these two are the threads of their personal lives and those of their friends...creating a fun and interesting background for their story to play out against.

I'm sorry. Firstly, I'm sorry I couldn't enjoy this more. And secondly, I'm sorry for myself a little here, because I feel like the odd one out, asking myself if I just read a completely different book. Thirdly, I'm saying sorry for all the bitching that is sure to come in advance.

And that's where I'll start my complaints, so ignore the spoilers if you're not in the mood.

Because what is this even?! I liked the beginning. Son of publishing asshole-father meets up with sweet and inexperienced rent-boy, to get his itch scratched, fighting the loneliness and depressing thoughts. Because Blake is in the closet - actually he is still in the closet under the top drawer of his main closet. But okay, I can work with that. The sex was hot, I liked the guys well enough.

And then the writing kicked me in the balls. Because it was sloppy, immature and hacky - at least to me. Repetitions drove me nuts, sentences were so short, I had to actively look for all the components to make sure they were actually there. Childish expressions, sometimes inappropriate words at times that really made my head hurt. I could not get into this story. At. All. It was like stubbing my toe constantly, on something spiky.

And it got worse, because when things came to a head and everything went BAM!, I was sitting there, shaking my head. WTF was used frequently while reading at this point, followed closely be 'Serieously?!'. I started to get angry when everything resolved itself magically after that, so the two two-dimensional guys with a tendency to speak in a language that was DRIPPING artificial sweetener mixed with honey, could have their HEA. And ALL the people loved them. And were understanding. And loved them some more. Even the homophobic dick of a father with no soul saw the light, was just misunderstood and an all-around sweatheart to boot. He became FRIENDS with his son's lover. FRIENDS. I can't even.

The only exception was the absolutely over-the-top bitch with no heart, no morals and obviously NO BRAIN. She was flat as Texas - mentally speaking - but that didn't matter because in the end, everybody hated her anyway. She was just there to make things somewhat exciting for a little while.

As you can tell, I was NOT happy with the writing. The plot had so many holes, I could go around in circles in there - with an 18-wheeler. The whole conflict felt absolutely fabricated, the villains were either sweet like puppies, or just colorless, spineless props.

I wanted to like this, I really did. Because Office Romance is a nice trope, the potential for hotness and sweetness is great. But this book didn't do it for me on any level. The end just made me angry, not happy. Epic fail for me, because this clearly is an everyone-loved-but-me situation.

This was… well, not good.

The writing in this was one bad. I don't know what happened. I read other books by K.C. Wells and I didn't have this problem at all.

I didn’t like the small ‘jumps’ that were there and events were rehashed trough a memory. I wanted to be there for the real thing, not be told about it after the fact.

There were a lot of things that didn’t add up. We are often told and shown that Blake works his ass of at his company and works late almost every night. Yet at some point Will enters Blake’s office and Blake is watching porn on his computer. They both act like it is completely normal to do this. I’m sorry, what? You are the CEO of the company and have tons of work to do, why on earth would it be okay to watch porn at work?

In the last 30% of the book the events just became more and more unlikely. It was ridiculous. I felt like I was reading a Harlequin novel.



Karen, who suddenly accuses Will of hitting her and sending the police to him. Blake’s old-fashion dad who is suddenly completely okay with his son being gay…. and even though he acted like an ass the entire book, he was now all ‘Son, I am so proud of you’. Yeah, right…



And the book ends with marriage and babies. The marriage, I can get on board with. But the baby thing was a bit much.

I do not recommend this book.

Blake has hid his sexuality from everyone, using an escort service to satisfy his needs. On the night of his 30th birthday, he treats himself and spends an amazing night with Alec. When the morning comes, he finds himself alone and heads to work, only to find out that the sexy escort who gave him the ride of his life the night before is Will Parkinson, the candidate interviewing for the position as Blake's PA. Once Will is on the job, the sexual tension between Blake and Will is hot and I loved how they interacted. Blake is desperate to keep his secret and the drama resulting is great. A 4 star read for me! And book two added to my TBR!

Harlequin is calling. They want their plot back.

Must admit this one was a guilty pleasure, and it almost made me want to start buying Harlequin romances again.