Marble isn’t the only thing that’s hard at this museum.His body is as chiseled as Adonis. His lips are as sculpted as David. And his ego is the size of the Guggenheim.You know the type—wolfish smile and the gravity of a black hole. The kind of man who sucks all the air from the room the second he enters it. My cocky boss thinks this internship was wasted on me, and he doesn’t hesitate to let me … hesitate to let me know.
But he’s wrong, and I’m going to prove it to him. If I can stay away from his devil lips, that is. Lips that cut me down and kiss me in the same breath, leaving me certain he’s on a mission to ruin my life.
And maybe my heart, too.
A brand new STANDALONE romantic comedy full of steam, laughs, and heart by bestselling author Staci Hart
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GAH. This is the Staci Hart that I freaking LOVE. Rom Com with an incredible story line, phenomenal characters, and a storyline I could easily obsess over. I mean, does ANYONE write romance like Staci Hart does? The answer is a big, fat, resounding HELL NO. I am still giddy and smiley from this book, and that’s how you know it was a great rom com — it stuck with me, and I think it always will!
Piece of Work has everything I love in a book — angst, tension, hilarity, a super hot, a**hole alpha male, and a super awkward, adorable heroine. It’s also packed with things I didn’t realize I loved until Staci Hart showed me, like an internship at the Met (HELLO ART AND ITALY AND OTHER BEAUTIFUL FASCINATING THINGS) and female empowerment in the form of fantastic roommates and the hilarity of figuring out makeup for the first time. (We’ve all been there).
Let me start by saying that Court Lyons is HOT. Like, holy fried cheese on a stick. I dare you to get through the first description of him without fanning yourself. Here’s this man who is so severe, so intimidating, so freaking SLICK in his business attire that I instantly knew I’d fall for him. Then, when you find out more about his past, about his shattered heart that makes it nearly impossible for him to love, it’s like a recipe for melted butter in my book — I was a puddle, so gone, so in love, SO ABOUT IT.
Rin is my favorite kind of heroine — she’s awkward and shy, but also has a fierce boss b*tch inside her. I loved walking in her shoes, even when she tripped over them LOL, and I was immediately sucked into her story. I mean, her and her friends are EXACTLY like me and my crew, and I could literally see us having the same conversations. I remember my first time putting on lipstick, how crazy I felt, like a freaking clown, but then the next thing I knew, I felt AMAZING. It was like a little confidence boost in a magic tube. Getting to relive that moment with Rin and her friends was SO fun!
What I loved most about this book, though, was Hart’s writing. I swear, no one writes romance the way she does, ESPECIALLY romantic comedy. Her writing is just so witty and fun, but also poignant. How does she manage to balance that?! It’s beyond me, but I found myself laughing on one page, swooning on the other, and then wiping away tears the very next. Piece of Work is unlike any romantic comedy I’ve ever read, which I’ve learned is par for the course with Staci Hart. She’s not one to give you what you expect, what you think you want, or what you’ve already read before — every book she writes, every sentence she crafts is unique and magical. I absolutely loved every single word!
Piece of Work is a delicious, triple-layered cake: there’s laughter, there’s romance, and there’s heart — with writing only Staci Hart’s magical mind can conjure up being the buttercream icing to top it all off. Grab a fork and dig in, my friends, because this is one romantic comedy you CANNOT miss. *licks frosting from fingers*
4.5 STARS!
Piece of Work by Staci Hart was wickedly entertaining and filled with angst!
We have Rin, our heroine, who went from the ugly duckling and transformed into this majestic and badass swan! Intelligent, an Amazonian, and a bit awkward, Rin finds confidence thanks to a tube of red lipstick called “Boss Bitch”. She owned that color and finally owned who she was. She stood up to those who would look down at her, despite her being tall.
Then we have Court. God, was he an asshole. Arrogant and pretentious. Just a moody bastard. He noticed Rin when she wore that red lipstick with confidence. He soon found his attraction to her intellect as well, but Court is a hard nut to crack. He carries hurt and pain that weigh heavily on his shoulders.
I must say there were moments that these two did annoy me and I just wanted to shake them, but the chemistry was just electric and hard to deny… even when they fought so hard against it.
Best part of the story had to be the Red Lipstick Coalition squad! This group of women brought pizzazz and humor to the story. There were times I just laughed out loud. I also loved learning about the differences in art history. It was fascinating to say the least. Take me to Florence , please.
If you love a story that will make you swoon and frustrate you to pieces, this book is right down your alley!
*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*
4 “Please” “David” “Everyone has a price.” “Boss Bitch” Kisses
Aaaaaaaaaaand that’s why I love Staci Hart’s books! Oh…my…GAH! This is what she does to me people and I looooove it so much. I’m a glutton for her punishment and I can’t fathom a time when I’ll ever get enough of her books. (Spoiler alert – that will be never!) I don’t even know where to begin with all the amazingness that was Piece of Work – it was angsty and sexy and perfect with a surprise slice of taboo that I loved! It pulled me in right from the get go…Rin is endearing, sweet and adorable and Court is maddening infuriating but impossible not to love and the combination of the two of them stole my heart and I couldn’t stop loving them.
Hyo-rin Van de Meer…such a gentle, sweet, kind, smart girl. I loved how different and extraordinary she was, although in the beginning she kind of hid herself away. She’s an extremely unique blend…Korean and Dutch…she’s an exotic 6 foot Amazonian goddess but she practically melts into the background. To a certain degree, I got it…she’s more on the shy side and when you already stand out so much, sometimes it’s easier to do things that draw attention away from that…but I loved seeing her transform and come into her own. She blossomed throughout this book, I felt like PoW was just as much about Rin figuring out who she really wanted to be as it was about her relationship with Court, which was really awesome. It was empowering to see her make necessary changes that truly improved how she felt and not to impress anyone, but for her own self-confidence. It was a process but it did such amazing things for her. I loved her dedication to her education, pursuing her Ph.D, and her love of art…she’s very driven and passionate. I loved her obsession for oatmeal cream pies, that she could trip over air and her quirky personality.
‘My favorite parts of the day were chatting with him in the morning and saying goodbye in the afternoon. Don’t get me wrong. He was still cold and distant, dismissive and borderline rude, but when we talked about topics we both loved, the conversation was rousing. Refreshing. A meeting of minds, and his mind was as beautiful as the rest of him.
Added bonus: the view.’
Dr. Court William Lyons…good sweet ass hole loving stars I wanted to knee Court in the balls and climb him like a spider monkey – sometimes simultaneously. There is no way to sugar coat it…Court is a cold hearted jerk face. He does some stuff that makes you want to strangle him, shake him, slap him, scream at him – the list of things I wanted to do to him was endless…and he rightfully deserved my wrath. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel…ass hole is not Court’s only mode – it’s his defense mechanism. Court’s history is not good…his dad’s kind of a prick and he’s been burned too many times to not have learned his lesson….so he did – he built a wall 50 miles high and 100 miles thick and nothing is going to penetrate his armor or get him hurt again. Ha! Jokes on him cause he didn’t see Rin coming!
‘With his hands on my body, with his lips against mine, with all the passion in his heartless chest, he poured himself into me, filled me up, seized me like I’d always been his. Like I’d been waiting for him all this time. And I rose to meet him with a familiarity I felt in my marrow.’
Rin and Court are a delicate balance…strong to delicate, light to dark, ass hole to sweet heart – they should never make sense and yet, they work perfectly. Their differences complimented each other so well – like logically, it shouldn’t work but oh-em-gee…it’s the best thing ever. They’re incredibly unique and I loved that about them so much. I loved how their relationship progressed…it was so well tuned and flowed effortlessly, created magnificent tension. I loved the forbidden aspect of it – gah, give me a taboo romance all day, every day – and it’s funny cause I really wasn’t expecting that angle – cause I’m a ding-dong and it didn’t even occur to me – but as soon as it did I was like yaaaaaas! I loved Florence…every second of what happened in Florence was the best. I just truly loved their bond…it was genuine and real, they completely connected on every level and it was impossible not to fall head over heals for them.
‘The line between love and hate was as thin as people said, and I’d learned the intimate truth of it. Because, incomprehensibly, I wanted him, and I never wanted to see him again. I wanted to kiss him, and I wanted to kill him. I wanted him to apologize, and I never wanted to hear the sound of his voice as long as I lived.’
Staci Hart…my god what this woman does to me, it slays me in all the most amazing ways. I feel like there are approximately 72.3 billion reasons why I am a die hard Staci Hart reader and just not enough hours in the day to go over each and every reason in complete detail, but I’ll try and paraphrase as best I can. The authenticity in her characters always blows me away…they feel so genuine and real and I absolutely want to be a part of their lives and be their besties forever and ever. The way she weaves her stories…the flow and pace is so smooth, I’m not reading, I’m experiencing everything with these amazing characters and it translates brilliantly. And the pièce de ré·sis·tance – the emotions…they’re interwoven completely through every detail, it’s all a crucial part to how Staci brings the characters and stories to life. I feel deeply for every aspect of what is going on and that’s what keeps me turning the pages. I really have to applaud Staci for writing this book – I know she mentioned the research that she had to do having never been to Florence and it’s kind of funny because I was just in Florence 8 months ago, so it was really fun to get transported back and I could put my own experience on what she was writing.
‘Her face softened, but a glimmer of pain passed across her brow, shifted behind her eyes. “Court—”
“Just let me…let me say this,” I said, brushing her cheek with my knuckles, tucking her hair behind her ear, my fingertips tingling at the contact I’d been wishing for.
She nodded once.
“You were right. You’ve done nothing to deserve the way I’ve treated you. You’ve done nothing to betray my trust, and I’ve done everything to betray yours. And I’m sorry, Rin. I couldn’t stay away from you when I should have. I broke a vow to myself and punished you for it. But every rule, every line, everything I know to be right or wrong is blurred when it comes to you.”’
Okay – I hate to say it but there was only one flaw in the book that caught my attention and let me state that I know we’re reading fiction but still, I need a certain level of believability but it’s fiction, but it’s not fantasy. So, here’s where my trip to Florence plays a part…because had I not just traveled there, I never would have caught this detail…and this fact does play a part of what’s going on in the story line. Excuse me while my history nerd comes out and takes over – because I actually loved this fact about Florence and it’s history but I will say, honestly, unless you’ve been to Florence, I don’t know if it’s possible to easily find this information. The Medici family is the reason why Florence has all the art that it has, including the Statue of David. The last lineal descendant of the Medici family – Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, as one of her final acts before she died, created the Family Pact. Basically, it guaranteed that all the art and treasures the Medici family had curated over their entire reign would remain in Florence. The way all the tour guides we encountered stated it was what was created in Florence, would never leave Florence – it was a way for the Medici family to live on after they were all gone. Personally I loved that it was a woman that did that, because it was also her way of giving a middle finger to the patriarchy because “technically” she couldn’t own any of the art her family was responsible for because she was a woman (yay for oppressing women! #sarcasm)…so this was her way of making sure no one else (or no other man!) could own it either – it belong to the people of Florence who would carry on the love of Medici’s for all they had done for the city. Knowing that did take a little fun out of the fiction for me for some aspects but seriously, that was minor in comparison to everything else that I took from this book.
‘I drew in a ragged breath, the question on my mind, in my heart, the meaning double, a test and a desperate desire. “What do you want, Rin?”
Her eyes were wiped clean of fear or scrutiny, her face purged of uncertainty. Instead, it held the pure honesty of a woman with nothing to hide, and my heart lurched in my chest when she answered, “You. I only want you.”
A step.
A breath.
A moment.
And she was mine.’
I was a tiny bit nervous about the ending…because I really didn’t want it to be rushed and with everything that was going on, I was just concerned about what direction it might go in. My concerns were completely unnecessary because while Staci totally kept me on my toes, the ending was fantastic. I loved what she did with it, I loved what it did for Rin and Court, I loved basically every second of these two crazy kids and I couldn’t even feel bad about how much I loved it. There was so the opportunity to do drama for the sake of drama…and I was sooooo thankful it didn’t happen! And the epilogue…freaking loved! The best way to complete Court and Rin’s beautiful story and I don’t think I could have wished for more. I’m so happy that we’re getting stories for Rin’s roommates – Val, Katherine & Amelia. I love their friendship, it was super awesome the way they all supported one another and especially with their little pact towards the end, I feel like they have endless amounts of awesome to offer and I’m dying to read it! Up next is Valentina in Player…and I can’t wait to see what Staci does with her story!
Rin is driven by her love of art and as her doctorate leads her to an internship at the MET, she is excited and overwhelmed. Rin likes to be invisible, never having found comfort in her own skin, but finds that this might not be the best decision as she starts her internship. Her new boss, Court, intimidates her with his confidence and sexiness. When her friends rally around her, a tube of lipstick becomes the impetus for a transformation. Court is working to prove himself to his father who runs the museum. His father is a real jerk which puts Court in situations that causes him to question people’s motives. When Rin ends up on his team, he is shocked by her intellect and her beauty blows him away. I enjoyed the transformations that both characters went through on this journey. Rin had to embrace her true self and not be afraid to show her confidence while Court had to learn to trust and open his heart after being crushed. When these two finally connect through work, there is a wonderful chemistry and shared passion that is a joy to experience. I had fun reading. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
A fun sexy romance book that will definitely have you laughing and swooning at the same time when reading the story of Rin and Court. I really liked the area where the story was portrayed; something different than I’ve read before.
Rin is starting as an intern but the first day isn’t going as she thought it would be. She’s not really an outgoing person and comes off shy but underneath it all there’s a strong woman waiting to come out and show her bosses and the world for that matter what she’s worth. Trying the best she can at her new job, it’s not easy when her boss is very handsome but a definite Mr. Know It All. But despite it all she wants to prove she is capable in her job! The more they get to know each other, the more she sees there’s more to him than just this rich exterior. But he’s been burnt before, will he let his guard down?…
This was my first book by Staci Hart. It begins with a beautiful swan of a woman, Rin Van De Meer, a half Korean, half Dutch, self-perceived ugly duckling. As she is studying for her Ph.D. in Art she lands an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Her assignment? Renaissance Art and the Medici family’s influence during that time.
Ohhhhhhhh my gosh. It’s a dream come true. Her boss on the other hand is exactly what the title depicts – “A piece of work”. He’s really messed up and terribly flawed. But somehow Staci Hart has a way of writing it, so it all makes sense.
I encourage you to pick it up if you like lighthearted rom coms. I didn’t learn anything new about the Renaissance, but I did learn about a “delightful” (sarcasm intended) fetish I didn’t even know existed. Just make sure you haven’t just eaten. You’ll thank me.
Court and Rin, burn up the pages in this beautiful love story.
If you like art and art museums your going to love this beautiful story of a heart broken man who doesn’t believe anyone could love him and not expect anything in return from him.
Rin, has landed her dream internship at the Met. The only problem is that although she’s great at writing papers and doing research, she’s not so great at putting herself out there, with her lack of peopling skills. She just prefers to blend in instead of standing out.
With some help from her friend’s she help finds her inner warrior.
Court, has been used and manipulated when it comes to love. He has buried his heart deep down inside and thrown away the key. Work and curating is his passion. The pieces for his lofty exhibit have taken all of his time, until he takes notice in a very tall leggy woman who has been tasked to shadow him and help with his exhibit.
Staci Hart, has done a wonderful job in this intriguing story of art, love and gaining self confidence. Her beautiful words take you all the way to Florence Italy, to secure one of the most known and beloved statue.
I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
First, I listened to the audiobook and Teddy Hamilton is awesome. He’s one of my favorite narrators so listening to him is no chore. Emily Woo Zeller is new to me and she’s good- her male voice was a little forced but otherwise, I think she did a great job.
Court, ah Court. What a mess. He was written to be hurt by the past and to be a bit of an ice King. The problem is that he was pretty clueless and kept making mistakes. Push and pull and constant backtracking and awful timing, he made this book a little tiring.
Rin is an intern at the Met and that’s where she met Court, her boss. I adored the idea that a woman should play up her assets and support herself to build her confidence. Clothing and make-up may be a bit simplistic but still, it reminds me I should dress up a little more too. 🙂 I also love that this is an Asian protagonist.
Overall, the story was a little too drawn out with the push and pull. I loved the narration and that kept the story lively for me. But the story itself was a 3.5 stars.
Loved the female protagonist. She discovers her strength throughout the story. Enjoyable read that I would read again
Loved this book!
Loved it. Great characters, steamy and witty.
Hilarious!
Enjoyed reading the complete series. The characters felt like friends and you didn’t want the books to end. Well done!
Thoroughly enjoyed!
Unique, lovable characters that make you fall in love. Staci Hart is a master storyteller. Highly recommend.
I thought the main character was an unusual choice. In fact I began the book and then put it aside for a different one. When I reopened it and read further, I couldn’t put it down. Rin, the main character, reminded me of Cinderella, and Rin did find her HEA.
Loved this book!
This was a good read. I enjoyed the story.
Not a page turner. Somewhat unrealistic
This took a bit of time to grow on me b/c I didn’t “buy” the relationship between the two main characters. Rin initially seemed like too much of a wallflower to attract someone like Court. Was easy to read and steamy/compelling enough to keep going. By the end, I was totally on board and it set up the rest of the series (Red Lipstick Coalition–which I enjoyed even more) very well. Not my favorite Staci Hart but would still definitely recommend.