From the New York Times bestselling author of Keeping It Hot comes the continuation of the sexy and humorous Breakfast in Bed series featuring handsome hotel moguls.When Asher Jackson, the playboy co-owner of the Oceanix Hotel Chain, meets Dana Anders, manager of the gourmet coffee shop within the Oceanix Resort, he longs to strike up a good rapport with her. But to his surprise, his typical … her. But to his surprise, his typical charm immediately fails him and he can’t help but provoke her with sarcastic remarks at every turn.
Even though Dana can give as good as she gets, she’s confused by Asher’s hostility toward her–especially when she harbors a secret attraction toward him. When she finds herself with unexpected bills to pay, Dana strikes up a deal. For a reasonable fee, the financially strapped Dana will pose as Asher’s girlfriend to drive away bitter women who are making his life miserable. Asher hasn’t engaged in a serious relationship since his heart was broken five years previously, so he thinks playing husband to a fake wife won’t be a problem. But as the relationship continues he’s no longer quite so certain. And as the line between false animosity and real attraction becomes blurred, Dana begins to realize that the one thing she wants is what she’s pretending to already have.
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3.75 stars– ROOM FOR TWO is the second installment in Sydney Landon’s contemporary, adult BREAKFAST IN BED romance series focusing on the Jackson family, owners of the Oceanix Hotel Chain. This is Asher Jackson, and barista /gourmet coffee shop manager Dana Anders’ story line. ROOM FOR TWO can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Ash and Dana) ROOM FOR TWO follows the acrimonious / ‘pretend girlfriend’ relationship between coffee shop manager at the Oceanix –Pensacola Resort Dana Anders, and co-owner of the Oceanix Hotel Chain Asher Jackson. For months Asher Jackson has been the bane of Dana’s existence with his rude, condescending remarks about her weight and size-remarks unwarranted since the two barely know one another except to work at the same hotel. Dana’s attraction to Asher is tempered by the man’s need to humiliate, and Dana’s ability to give as good as she gets, but when Dana decides to change her method of operation, Asher begins to see a different side to the woman with whom he would one day fall in love. Needing a ‘pretend girlfriend’ for future family functions Asher makes Dana an offer she cannot refuse. What ensues is the enemies to friends relationship that turns into something more, and the potential fall out when the truth about Asher’s behaviour is finally revealed.
Asher Jackson’s reputation as a manwh*re precedes his introduction to our story line heroine, who, along with her best friend and Asher’s sister in-law Zoe, are unable to comprehend Asher’s need to destroy Dana at every opportunity. Asher’s poor treatment of women is legendary as are the resulting escapades aimed at vengeance and revenge towards out story line hero but herein lies a problem with the hero’s likability- his actions, comments and past behavior all contribute to a personality that should be questioned on so many levels. As Asher and Dana work together to alleviate the advances and questioning intentions of Asher’s step-sister Claudia among other potential female advances, Asher will begin to realize that his reasons for his recent behavior towards Dana and women in general are misdirected in spite of his need to bury the memories of the past.
The relationship between Asher and Dana is caustic and bitter for reasons unknown to our story line heroine as she endures a constant stream of biting remarks. The back and forth, childish, and angry diatribes between our leading couple will slowly evolve into a partnership meant to destroy someone else- a partnership that grows into something more. Dana is more than capable of holding her own against the personal attacks by the man with whom she will fall in love but in the end, hurtful words cause as much pain as physical assaults. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including the return of Dylan and Zoe (Keeping It Hot #1), and Rhett Jackson –manager of the Miami Oceanix. We are introduced to Dylan and Asher’s mother Charlotte Jackson and her husband Bart, as well as their step-sister Claudia who may or may not have an attraction to their brother Rhett. There is some great one on one banter, back and forth between all of Jackson siblings, and Dana Anders isn’t afraid to add her own sarcastic and testy remarks into the mix.
ROOM FOR TWO is a story with a little bit of everything: humor, fun, romance, heartbreak, painful memories, redemption and revenge. The premise is engaging and energetic; the characters are playful and passionate if you can get past their initial cantankerous relationship; the romance is sassy and hot. ROOM FOR TWO is a well-written story line about one man’s inability to let go of the past, and one woman who proves that the past is a path upon which a future reveals.