Blackmail is such a dirty word . . .I need a plus-one for a wedding.A stand-in,And when my friends start dropping names, I panic.But then an idea hits me in the form of Archer Powell.Tall, dark, and gorgeous. Check!Looks good in a suit. Check!The office heartthrob,He’s picture perfect for the position.Maybe even a few of them.Dear Archer Powell,You are cordially invitedYour presence is requested… them.
Dear Archer Powell,
You are cordially invited
Your presence is requested
Your attendance is mandatory . . .
But what happens when your stand-in is a stand out?
Do you dare to fall in love?
The Stand Out features a quirky girl and the office heartthrob, office enemies with (blackmailed) benefits, a fake relationship, and is full of fun, fire, and f—feelings!
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We met Heather in Not the One-Miranda’s cousin who was on her way to university. Heather’s finished university now & works at E11even, a digital marketing company. Her boss, Hadyn, has been difficult & she finds herself in a predicament. Heather has been known as weird & quirky, so she forces a solution to her problem and blackmails her coworker Archer into her plan. Ms Alam has the best characters with the best dialogue, whether it is between Heather and her friends Daisy & Vivi, or Heather & Archer. I found this story appealing because both the main characters suffer from insecurities-it was like a physical connection that burned hot & fast but communicating the emotional connection took a bit longer. I enjoy the author’s style of writing, the pace, flow and timing. Two perfectly flawed people who belong perfectly together.
This book is funny, and sweet and all the things a good romance book should be. I really enjoyed it!
Sweet and spicy and so much fun. Enemies-to-lovers crossed with fake relationship themes made this a book I never wanted to end. I giggled, I sighed, and I loved Heather and Archer to bits and pieces. They both have piles of past baggage weighing them down and I just wanted to hug them both tight, promising that everything would be okay. Their sassy and snarky banter showed they have loads of chemistry together which made for lots of scorching scenes between the pair. I think I say the same thing at the end of every one of the author’s books I read: I don’t know what she’s going to bring us next but I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book from the author through Bad Boy Update.
Take one tall, dark and gorgeous heartthrob and one quirky woman who blackmails him into attending a wedding with her, and you get a great enemies-to-lovers office romance with a whole lotta heat.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
What a book. Donna has done it again.
Archer and Heathers love story was funny and really good.
Heather was a wild fire that was so self-conscious and reserved up untill she bumped into Archer at the pub.
Archer was a great looking guy that loved to play the field up untill he feel for Heather.
They started off seeing eachother through blackmail but turned into real love even though they both were to scared to admit it was real from fake but wow was it a great book.
I totally loved this book. Archer was so incorrigible and just plain yummy. I’m not sure why Heather resisted him for so long. But it was fun seeing them fall in love.
The Stand Out by Donna Alam a five-star read that will stand out in your memory for a long time. This once again proves why Donna Alam writes men that just knock all the boys out of the park. My, my, my I have never been so eager to read and stuck not able to, yesterday this dropped to my kindle before the busiest day in my life!! No sneaky reading for me at lunch. Que getting home and just being so ignorant as I was reading so don’t be speaking to me or expecting any walking husband and doggie!! I have me some of my favourite things to sink my teeth into, the new man in my dreams Archer and his library (the best thing a man can bring in both ways), that being said I would like to own that library not have to give it back.
This is a great story and you can’t go wrong picking it up, Donna Alam is a writer that brings the men to the yard, all of the men she writes just have a little extra sparkle to their eyes. There isn’t one amongst the bunch I would kick out of bed for eating crackers (apart from Kai, but that’s only cause its weird dreaming about a man who has the same name as my brother and is just a better looking version on him(it’s just a little weird, unless I call him Kia in my brain))
Oh Donna, how I missed your work. I love this series so much and I was so excited to read this new addition. I enjoyed it so much. It made me laugh, which is Donna’s specialty, and so much more. Another great book by Donna.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.
I received the ARC from Bad Boy Update. This is definitely a Stand Out book! I love when Donna writes about characters you have seen in other books. Heather is socially awkward so she comes off as aloof at work. To try to get her annoying boss off her back, and stave off office gossip, she invents a boyfriend. It’s been fine, until she needs a date for a wedding. Archer is to hot shot golden boy of their firm and a notorious playboy, according to the gossip she hears, but he is a smoking hot playboy! Archer is intrigued by Heather and their banter leads her to basically blackmail him into being her wedding date! I love their snark, banter and their relationship as it morphs over time to a point where they realize they mean more to each other than just an arrangement. Loved this!
4 stars
The Stand Out is my first book adventure with, new to me author, Donna Alum. This author provides a witty narrative and fun characters, although I found it slightly hard to understand in places as it is set in London and uses a lot of phrases, etc that the American audience might not be familiar with.
While I did enjoy the story, I do feel the beginning of the book (to about the 40% mark) labored on a bit before we became really invested in the characters. Archer and Heather are both well fleshed out characters with loads of baggage but plenty to offer each other. They were funny, with plenty of snark and ended up being pretty sweet but I do wish their backstories had been a little more robust. I appreciated how Archer helped our girl discover herself and let her hair down a little, which she usually only feels comfortable doing with her girls. The girl friend group was very funny and added a lot to the story. All in all a good read!
AnnMarie – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
Donna never fails to make me laugh through a book and Heather and Archer had the perfect amount of comedy, mixed with friendly love/hate interactions.
Our love adventure begins when Heather, spots Archer, on what looks like a date with their employers Top boss’ daughter. She sees this as an opportunity and kind of blackmails him into being her fake boyfriend at an upcoming wedding in exchange for her silence on the alleged date.
Archer decides to have a little fun on this date, but their true characters start to come out and secrets slip and the need for each other grows.
Heather is a little different and quirky, she’s got ADHD and says exactly what she’s feeling.
I loved Archers character. He was the typical male, sowing his wild oats then Heather steps into his life-changing everything he thought he knew. He’s sexy, caring, has a mouth of sin and you can’t help fall in love with him, along with Elvis, his dog!
There is just something I love about Donna’s books, the sex scenes are hot but from the first page, you are hooked with the easy writing and pace along with MC’s who balance each other out, even though they are so different, they come together making it a read you can’t put down and devouring its sexiness.
ARC received for an honest review – thank you
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Overall Ratings;u2063
First Sex Scene – 50%
POV – Duel
Hero –
Heroine –
Story –
Angst –
Steam –
Chemistry –
Desperate for a date to a wedding, socially awkward Heather blackmails office hottie, Archer, into faking a relationship with her when she sees him out with someone who could cause problems for his career. As they spend a lot of time together, they get to know each other better and start falling for one another…
Slow start and lack of communication between the main characters aside, this is one enjoyable read; it’s funny and swoon-worthy. LOVED the banter between Heather and Archer!
The Stand Out is a fake relationship, enemies-to-lovers contemporary workplace romance written in dual first-person POV. It’s a standalone that ends with an HEA. No cliffhanger.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Another winner by Donna Alam. Heather is being publically berated by her boss who says her trouble is not having relationships. She will show him when she shows up at the wedding of an employee with her boyfriend– the problem is he texted her on her birthday that they were over. That’s all right, she’ll blackmail the new office heartthrob; he’ll take her or she’ll ruin him! Thus the name of the book: when Heather loses her heart to the stand-in, Archer becomes the standout as she gets to really know him. Too bad he doesn’t do love! She’ll have to settle for the boy next door? This story has great dialog, plot, sex, and humor; everything a reader wants, Alam provides.
Heather’s boyfriend dumps her via text message on her birthday. Heather and her friends are out celebrating her birthday when she notices a co-worker with someone he shouldn’t be with. She heads to the restroom and as she’s making her way back to her table Archer the co-worker in question stops her. They chat for a few before she goes back to her friends. The next day he brings her a cupcake to make up for his comments on her cupcakes the day before. She asks him to go with her to the wedding most of their co-workers are going to Archer doesn’t want to go but Heather kind of maneuvers him into going with her. While their away sparks fly between them and soon they are giving into to temptation. Will they see that they are perfect for each other? Will they continue being together after the wedding?
This is a great story once I started it I couldn’t put it down. The chemistry between them is blazing hot. This is a well written and very entertaining story. I would recommend this book to any book lover.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book for Bad Boy Update.
I loved this book, the wit, the banter between the characters made this one of the best reads of the year for me. Heather “persuades” Archer to be her “plus one” to a wedding of a co worker. When he accepts, the fireworks begin. I don’t think I’ve read a single Donna Alam book that I haven’t loved. all her books, as well as this one, are witty, fast paced, have interesting characters with sizzling chemistry. Yes, they get caught up in the usual miscommunication, but neither has ever been in a real relationship before. Get this book today, at either 99 cents or free with KU, you are sure to enjoy.
I received an ARC of this book from Bad Boy Update and this is my honest review.