‘Amazing chemistry and a hero you’ll fall in love with’ Julie Caplin
Sam Huxton doesn’t do one-night stands, especially not with men she’s just met! But the hot guy at the bar was hard to resist and one night is all they share – no names, no numbers, just some much needed fun… business with pleasure and makes it clear an office fling with Ryan is off-limits. But after-hours…one thing can lead to another. Can Sam trust her heart and her business with the new guy?
Readers can’t get enough of The New Guy:
‘Seriously love this twist on an office romance’ Christina Parker, Netgalley
‘Their chemistry was off the charts’Mad Mom Life
‘Better than most rom coms I’ve watched and read!’ Jennifer Arnold, Netgalley
‘Reads like the perfect rom-com movie’ Sinead, Librarian
‘Very sexy and very sweet’ Morgan Shulman, Goodreads
‘Warmed my heart and read like a movie…What a beautiful sweet surprise this was’ Kelsey Peterson, Goodreads
‘You have yourself a page turning, don’t want it to end story, in essence an absolutely cracking read!’ Margaret Harris, Netgalley
‘A gorgeously sweet romance!’ From Rachael Claire
‘It’s got laugh out loud moments, heart wrenching moments but most important that feel good factor’ Chantiece Bates, Goodreads
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A pretty good romance with some really funny scenes. Guaranteed to make you laugh. Not my cup of tea but was still enjoyable.
I enjoyed this book! I don’t normally read British Rom Coms, so it was a nice change of pace. I will be checking out the authors other books!
Four-Star Review!!
If you are looking for a fun, HEA, British Rom-Com – which also has some depth to characters – look no further than The New Guy.
The New Guy has the perfect amount of romance, without being “smutty” – and Kathryn Freeman’s writing will have you feeling all the feels between Sam and Ryan.
This is the second of Kathryn Freeman’s novels I’ve read and I am super happy I picked this up last week. I look forward to reading the rest of her novels soon.
Enjoy away readers!!!
Great characters with well thought background stories and believable traits. Both Sam the CEO and Ryan, ‘The new guy’ have great chemistry. I’ve taken off a star because the book could have benefitted from cutting it a bit shorter. in the last couple of chapters the troubles, heartaches and angst – all were dealt with satisfactorily before, are repeated one too many times.
Just plain wonderful!!!! Loved every bit of this story and will certainly read more by this author.
Loved the characters in this book! So real, as it reminded me of my late husband, who was a 6’2″ hunk that was unpredictable, witty, but also had very tender feelings just like the macho, egotistical Ryan in this book.
you could almost “know” what was about to happen, then Katheryn would pop in a new event that would keep you reading! Think I have found my new favorite author in Ms Freeman. You have a unique method, so don’t ever stop writing.
I enjoyed the story. It was nice to see that the woman was in charge. Most stories have the man being the CEO.
Favorite Quotes:
Then he peeked at him over his shades. ‘Admit it, big man. You’ve got a soft spot for me.’ ‘It’s soft all right,’ Ryan muttered, causing Lucas to burst into laughter.
I’ve got a bit of heartburn, that’s all. Probably the sausage sandwich I had for lunch from that mobile greasy spoon on the market. Haute cuisine it isn’t. More like haute coli.
My Review:
This is my fourth time reading the clever arrangements of words of Kathryn Freeman and each time I pick one up, I aspire to read her entire backlist, I am enamored with her smooth and engaging writing style, wry humor, and perceptive insights. Her unique and quirky characters tend to be hard-working and admirable yet flawed, struggling, and more than a bit short-sighted at times while still more enjoyable than most people I know. I adored this couple as they traversed the challenging minefield of working together during the day while secretly doing the slap and tickle after-hours. They smoothed and soothed each other’s damaged psyches.
In addition to providing me with an entertaining diversion, Ms. Freeman also added to my Brit Word and Phrases list with lampin – Midlands-speak for a beating, sussed – UK slang for understood or figured out, and bobby dazzler – a person who is considered remarkable or excellent in some way. As such, I’ve astutely sussed Ms. Freeman to be a complete bobby dazzler and will hand out a serious lampin to anyone who dares dis my gal.
A role-reversal twist on the traditional office romance
A 3.5-star story for me (I really wish we could award half stars in the rating line!).
We have a good premise for a reversal twist on the traditional alpha-male CEO/smart/sexy/nerdy/awesome worker bee who turns everything upside down. Our heroine, Sam, is our CEO. Reeling from a horrible personal loss (grandfather’s death), she goes off the rails in the form of a wild one-night stand with the stranger sitting next to her at a bar. A good setup, our hero Ryan goes with the flow, and he’s got some damage of his own. Usually an excellent hook for me, though I did feel early on that Ryan may have come across a bit TOO much of a broody, damaged jerk.
Fast forward to the next morning and viola, Sam is introduced to her newest employee…Ryan. They had a fantastic night with amazing chemistry, but now the reality of their positions and the fact that they WILL in fact be seeing each other again has hit them in the face. Reason prevails and no matter what they thought they felt, it’ll never work…
We had an explosive start to their physical relationship, tempered by the slow burn of the emotional one as they muddle through their lives and their blossoming relationship. At this point, I felt that the pacing could have moved along a little more quickly. Continued miscommunications and both Sam and Ryan being insecure and wounded has them hesitating and second-guessing over and over…
Around the ¾ mark, things picked up well. We learn more about Ryan’s past and start to see him in a new light. It took awhile though, there was a lot of emphasis on his damage that lasted much farther into the storyline that I would have expected. While I appreciated the gender-swap on the roles here, I’m sad to say that I just didn’t relate to Sam. I expected more from her as the company CEO – strength, independence, fierceness, self-worth – what have you – that I just wasn’t getting during my read. I wasn’t as invested in her HEA as I wanted to be, which was a hurdle for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC copy of this book, for which I’m voluntarily providing an honest review.
My general rating rationale:
3 – Perfectly fine story, perhaps some minor editorial errors. Entertaining. Always finish. Typically with this rating I feel like there could have been MORE – be it believably/relatability, character development, internal dialogue, explanations or depth, richness to the overall storyline, etc. May lose a bit of engagement here and there but never consider the DNF.
4 – A very good book. Highly engaging, well developed characters, a great plot, relatable characters, keeps you invested to the last page. Would recommend to reader friends.
5 – Can’t say enough amazing things, loved the H and h, fabulously detailed plot, quick hook, intense investment in both story and characters (often extended to supporting characters as well) throughout the book. Will tell anyone who will listen that they should read it.
Oh my god you have yourself a page turning story, that you don’t want it to end. A gorgeously sweet romance that has laugh out loud moments, with heart wrenching moments too and all with the feel good factor to make this a spectacular first book I’ve ever read by this author. It was a very sexy and very sweet story that warmed my heart, made me smile and giggle the whole way through and just read like a movie you would watch which made me love this book move. Well done Kathryn Freeman and I’ve just found a new author to read as well. Definitely glad I give this book ago. Happy reading!!
This is my first read from Kathryn Freeman. It was a fun and easy read. I enjoyed the characters and storyline. You have your tough, protective but sweet Alpha. Who doesn’t love an Alpha man 🙂 Even though, it’s not what I usually read, I did enjoy the book! I wouldn’t mind reading more of Kathryn’s books.
So I am yet again disagreeing with the majority..I wont give it a 2 because I dont think it is as bad as all that, I normally dont give something that was not cheating (which I truly truly detest) a two. but it will not be more than a 3, and we pushed to get to that. So while I enjoy some assholes this was was a whiner, I got it due you didn’t have the best life but that doesn’t mean you have to go thru your whole life crying about it, you better yourself and give yourself a better chance. Ryan, was an ass to everyone so I understand why people didn’t care for him, and I probably would have stayed away if no one, no one liked him. Kathryn was the boss and she has a one-night with this guy and lo and behold he is now an employee and I could have seen her falling for him if was nice, but again wasn’t. Kathryn as a CEO I would have expected her to be a kick-ass strong woman, but I did not get that from her.
Rcvd an ARC at no cost to author…(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions
The New Guy was a cute gender reversal on the typical boss and employee roles. The boss here is Sam, who upon coming home from her dear grandfather’s funeral, has a few drinks to celebrate his life and meets a grumpy and socially awkward man who stays with her for the night.
Surprise! That man is her new employee Ryan, who she formally meets the next morning.
From there we get some push and pull, and Sam and Ryan start to become friends of a sort. I really enjoyed seeing them get to know each other and start to develop real feelings. The chemistry was lacking a bit for me, but the rest of the relationship made up for it.
The New Guy was nothing new or ingenious, but was an enjoyable read none-the-less. A bit of editing was needed, as some point-of-view changes occurred without delineation, making it hard to sometimes know who was speaking. I’m hoping this is a moot point and gets fixed before release.
A sexy story with heart:
Ryan is gruff and taciturn; Sam is bubbly, not to mention his boss. There are many reasons why they shouldn’t be together however the attraction they have is strong and irresistible. Their journey is tumultuous and they have to fight their way to a meaningful and lasting relationship. Both Ryan and Savannah have insecurities and issues to deal with and it was nice seeing them develop as individuals and as a couple.
I enjoyed the work aspect of the story as the team works to developed the new app and appreciated that it wasn’t too techy nor geeky. The side characters were also a hoot and balanced out the story well. All in all a good mix of sweet, tender, witty and entertaining!
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Thank you first of all to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.
There’s no easy way to say this but I didn’t enjoy this book. Don’t get me wrong it was good but the story line wasn’t anything catching to me. I’d set the book down and sometimes I would just move on to another book. It did remind me of Grey’s Anatomy, you know Meredith and Derek sleep together Meredith starts her new job and it turns out the person she just slept with was her boss.
To the writing of the story I don’t know if because it was a ARC but when it came to which character was speaking it threw me off. Usually when characters are switched to their point of view there is a header or even a new chapter started. Honestly I prefer new chapters to be started not some one else’s point started in the middle but that’s just me.