What You Need by Lorelei James…ARC Review

New York Times bestseller Lorelei James introduces a new family for readers to fall in love with in the Need You series. The Lund name is synonymous with wealth and power in Minneapolis-St. Paul. But the four Lund siblings will each discover true love takes a course of its own…

As the CFO of Lund Industries, Brady Lund is the poster child for responsibility. But eighty hour work weeks leave him little time for a life outside his corner office. His brothers stage an intervention and drag him to a seedy night club…where he sees her, the buttoned up blonde from the secretarial pool who’s starred in his fantasies for months.

Lennox Greene is a woman with a rebellious past—which she carefully conceals beneath her conservative clothes. She knows flirting with her sexy, but aloof boss during working hours is a bad idea. So when Brady shows up at her favorite dive bar, sans his usual snappy suit, and catches her cutting loose, she throws caution aside and dares him to do the same.

After sparks fly, Brady finds keeping his hands off Lennox during office hours is harder than expected. While she makes him feel alive for the first time in years, a part of him wonders if she’s just using him to get ahead. And Lennox must figure out if Brady wants her for the accomplished woman she is—or the bad girl she was.

My Review:

What You Need is the first in a new series from author Lorelei James.  Being a big fan of Ms. James, I was thrilled to get an early copy of this book and I can tell you right now…this is gearing up to be one of my fave series, just by this first book alone.  I loved it.

Now, I don’t want you to think that this is a typical billionaire-meets-sassy-secretary-and-falls-in-love story.  While it is similar in that sense, it’s probably where every similarity ends.  This story gives that trope a breath of fresh air! There is so much about this book that makes it stand out. I could just sit here with a goofy grin on my face thinking about how much I adored it…but that surely won’t help get this review written!

Ok, so yes, Brady Lund is the CFO of a huge company.  He’s a workaholic in every sense of the word.  He’s gorgeous and has a killer body.  What he doesn’t have?  Tons of confidence when it comes to dating and women.  He is a little on the nerdy side, being the financial guy that he is, and he worked his tush off to get to where he is today.  That, unfortunately, hasn’t left him with much of a social life.  But now, partly because of some meddling brothers and cousins and partly because of the feisty blonde who works in the “floater” department in his company, all that is about to change.  It’s as if fate put all her ducks in a row and just sat back to watch it all unfold.

Lennox is just what Brady needed in his life and at just the right time.  She’s opposite him in a lot of ways, but also the same in many.  She’s had a pretty rough childhood but instead of being bitter, she’s learned from life’s lessons and decided to work hard to get to where she wants to be in life.  I really admired her tenacity, values and loyalty.  She’s one of a kind and in a world of people using him to get into the upper echelon of society one way or another, it’s a rarity Brady knows is special.

I loved them together.  Lennox is funny and sweet with a spice to her that I adored.  At one point she says she “never played the shrinking violet well” and no phrase could have been more true about her.  She is kind and caring but will be damned if anyone will take advantage of her or make her feel bad for who she is.  She’s just awesome.  Brady in his nerdy, and at times awkward, ways also knows how to be just a guy and is hardly affected by the wealth he has. He’s just so endearing.  He’s also sexy and take charge which really made him the whole package in my book.  I loved his interactions with his large family and his parents. They’re a special group and I really cannot wait to see more of them as this series progresses.

Between the multifaceted characters and the layers built into the package they are, the emotion in the private moments Lennox and Brady share, the family business dynamic, and so much more, Ms. James really shines.  It bears repeating that I simply loved this story.

Thank you, Ms James, for a fantastic book!  I am looking forward to more of the Lund clan!

Four-and-a-Half Loves

Book Links:

 Amazon  |  B&N  |  iBooks 

About the author:

Lorelei James is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of contemporary erotic western romances set in the modern day Wild West and also contemporary erotic romances.
Lorelei’s books have been nominated for and won the Romantic Times Reviewer’s choice Award, as well as the CAPA Award. Lorelei lives in western South Dakota with her family…and a whole closet full of cow girl boots.

Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Pinterest  |  Instagram