hhushaw's review against another edition
5.0
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This was a fantastic read, the chemistry between the two characters jumped off the page from the very beginning. I loved experiencing their story, and am excited to re read it!
patricia71's review against another edition
5.0
Fiona Riley is one of my favorite writers. This is the 5th book I read and I think I gave them all 5 stars. I love the way she writes. The banter is fun and sometimes funny, The chemistry is smoking, The sex scenes are hot
sherpawhale's review against another edition
4.0
Good chemistry with a slow burn between two characters who are afraid of a relationship. Not Riley's best but definitely a solid one.
elvang's review against another edition
3.0
I am a big fan of Fiona Riley. Her Miss Match series was entertaining, sexy and each book starred characters I fell in love with, quirks and all. The humour and sparks are present in Room Service but I didn’t enjoy this read as much as I did her previous novels. The public displays of affection in the workplace and while socializing with coworkers set off all my “inappropriate” bells and whistles. There are lots and lots of sex scenes to keep everyone entertained but they felt more like filler to cover a weak storyline.
I’m still a fan of Ms. Riley but this book did not work for me. Maybe it’s an age thing and my old codger side got the best of me with this read. The notes I made while reading this went along the lines of ‘flirting, flirting, flirting, inappropriate workplace flirting for professional women” and "PDA’s make me cringe. If I was one of their subordinates I’d be shouting “Get a room!”
ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.
I’m still a fan of Ms. Riley but this book did not work for me. Maybe it’s an age thing and my old codger side got the best of me with this read. The notes I made while reading this went along the lines of ‘flirting, flirting, flirting, inappropriate workplace flirting for professional women” and "PDA’s make me cringe. If I was one of their subordinates I’d be shouting “Get a room!”
ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.
mjsam's review against another edition
3.0
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed Riley’s previous books very much and was looking forward to this one, it was good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the three matchmaker books.
I enjoyed both leads, though I preferred Savannah, Olivia was a bit hit and miss in that she seemed to change personality towards the end, going from ‘I have roots and want to settle down’ to ‘I’m commitment phobic’ was annoying. I did enjoy the secondary characters, both Olivia’s sister and Savannah’s brother were fun additions and Reagan was also a great side character, especially since I thought the ‘jealousy’ trope was going to pop up and was relieved when it didn’t.
For the most part this is an enjoyable, somewhat slow burn romance. I say ‘somewhat’ because even though the leads spend a lot of time together and get to know each other there are weird PDA scenes that pop up that I just couldn’t get behind (see under the cut for more details). I liked that the leads did get to know each other, and their chemistry was great but the ending was a bit too filled with miscommunication or lack of communication issues that could have easily been avoided. Riley is a good author though, and this is filled with witty dialogue and interesting characters and is worth a read. 3 stars.
My main gripe with this book was the ridiculousness of the PDA scenes. First they have phone sex when they’ve barely begun flirting and then just keep working together like it didn’t happen, then not once, but twice, they make out (and not just kissing, full on groping) in public places. I actually went back in both scenes to make sure they were still in public. No way would two astute business women be that stupid.
I enjoyed Riley’s previous books very much and was looking forward to this one, it was good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the three matchmaker books.
I enjoyed both leads, though I preferred Savannah, Olivia was a bit hit and miss in that she seemed to change personality towards the end, going from ‘I have roots and want to settle down’ to ‘I’m commitment phobic’ was annoying. I did enjoy the secondary characters, both Olivia’s sister and Savannah’s brother were fun additions and Reagan was also a great side character, especially since I thought the ‘jealousy’ trope was going to pop up and was relieved when it didn’t.
For the most part this is an enjoyable, somewhat slow burn romance. I say ‘somewhat’ because even though the leads spend a lot of time together and get to know each other there are weird PDA scenes that pop up that I just couldn’t get behind (see under the cut for more details). I liked that the leads did get to know each other, and their chemistry was great but the ending was a bit too filled with miscommunication or lack of communication issues that could have easily been avoided. Riley is a good author though, and this is filled with witty dialogue and interesting characters and is worth a read. 3 stars.
Spoiler
My main gripe with this book was the ridiculousness of the PDA scenes. First they have phone sex when they’ve barely begun flirting and then just keep working together like it didn’t happen, then not once, but twice, they make out (and not just kissing, full on groping) in public places. I actually went back in both scenes to make sure they were still in public. No way would two astute business women be that stupid.
theamandashelby's review against another edition
4.0
I’m a big fan of Riley’s Perfect Match series. Riley does a fantastic job of writing connections between her characters. I enjoy her dialogue and the interactions she writes allows her readers to really buy into her relationships. Her characters are likeable and her secondary characters always fit perfectly. If you enjoyed her Perfect Match series you will enjoy this one as well. Riley could easily become one of favorite go to authors. Hope she keeps em coming.
carriegessner's review against another edition
2.0
This one just wasn't for me--both from a story standpoint and a technical one. I just didn't connect with any of the characters. One of the things I appreciate about contemporaries is that the heroines usually have great friendships with other women, but here, Olivia's kind of terrible to Reagan, who's supposedly her best friend. That's where she lost me. Savannah was pretty two-dimensional, too. I think part of the problem was that their jobs were so glossed over that what could've been an opportunity to show them connecting professionally just felt empty.
Mostly, this felt like a first draft. There was a lot of info-dumping toward the beginning and a lot of telling throughout. The technique of telling can be used to great effect, but here, I just felt like we were going through the story motions. We couldn't get from point A to point B without a lot of summary in between. At one point, Savannah mentions that Olivia "gave her a tour of some of her favorite NYC haunts before the week began," but . . . we never saw it. Scenes like that would've been great opportunities to deepen the connection between Olivia and Savannah. A lot of the dialogue could've been polished, too.
One small detail that irked me a bit:
I like to read romance because they're generally fun, quick reads. I started reading this before Sparks Like Ours, was kind of slogging through it, and ended up finishing Sparks Like Ours first. Room Service probably didn't benefit from being read adjacent to a Melissa Brayden book. Overall, this wasn't for me, and that's okay.
Thanks to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books, and Fiona Riley for the e-copy.
Mostly, this felt like a first draft. There was a lot of info-dumping toward the beginning and a lot of telling throughout. The technique of telling can be used to great effect, but here, I just felt like we were going through the story motions. We couldn't get from point A to point B without a lot of summary in between. At one point, Savannah mentions that Olivia "gave her a tour of some of her favorite NYC haunts before the week began," but . . . we never saw it. Scenes like that would've been great opportunities to deepen the connection between Olivia and Savannah. A lot of the dialogue could've been polished, too.
One small detail that irked me a bit:
Spoiler
Savannah's whole reason for being closed-off was that her ex-girlfriend "had struggled with depression after the loss of her mother and started an affair with someone she'd met in a bereavement group." I felt like this kind of made light of depression, especially since Savannah never examines if she could possibly bear any of the blame. I just thought it was a bad reason and would've liked a more nuanced explanation.I like to read romance because they're generally fun, quick reads. I started reading this before Sparks Like Ours, was kind of slogging through it, and ended up finishing Sparks Like Ours first. Room Service probably didn't benefit from being read adjacent to a Melissa Brayden book. Overall, this wasn't for me, and that's okay.
Thanks to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books, and Fiona Riley for the e-copy.