A review by emmalb1984
Off Limits by Clare Connelly
5.0
“No commitment. No redheads. Commitment was for Lucy."
Widower and successful businessman Jack Grant doesn’t do commitment after the death of his wife. His loyal assistant Gemma has seen it all as he wanders through life (and his grief) through one night stands with women whose names he can’t recall (or, judging by one encounter, doesn’t even ask for). Naturally, Gemma is a little bit in love with her boss, not that she will ever admit it, but one day Jack decides to act on their chemistry, and decides to indulge in an office romance (well, less romance, and more encounters in offices and on boardroom tables…)
Told in two first person narratives, we get to know Jack and Gemma through their thoughts as they act on impulse and enjoy a passionate affair with no promises of a happy ending, and as a result these wonderful characters come alive as their narratives progress. Indeed, the fact that the characters are telling the story is a great idea as we really get under the skin of Jack and his troubled mind and Gemma's willingness to help him emerge from the depths of his grief.
Jack and Gemma are well crafted and believable, and Jack's grief for his late wife is very well written, sympathetically described and emotionally touching. As he eventually explains to Gemma, his one night stands help him forget his grief for the briefest of moments, but he also knows he doesn't want Gemma to be one of those women. Gemma is equally likeable; she knows Jack well enough to stand up to him, risk their entire (successful) working relationship for the sake of giving in to passion, and asks enough questions to prompt Jack to consider if he can overcome his no commitment rule.
Jack is every bit the tortured soul who still considers himself married to his late wife, and, while he's quite happy to take Gemma as his lover, she will never be anything more because, even if he might have feelings for her, Lucy was and is his wife, and in his mind, anything more would be a betrayal. Clare Connelly has created a wonderfully complex man who you really do feel for as he struggles to accept he can move forward and love another woman whilst still loving Lucy, and as a reader, you soon understand that the cold hearted businessman act is all a front he puts on for the world, and actually, he's a wounded, emotional mess who is struggling to deal with his loss. Luckily for Jack, the author has also created a strong, no nonsense leading lady who can stand up for him, and isn't prepared to be just his little secret fling. Gemma is well and truly prepared to fight for her man, and is prepared to walk away when he can't accept that what they have is something more.
Interestingly, the book opens by quoting the last verse of W H Auden's 'Funeral Blues', and for most of the story I couldn't work out why, but eventually it all makes sense, and I felt it was an inventive idea to use the words to open the story, but only make the reader realise how significant they are in relation to Jack towards the latter end of the book.
Yes it's the Dare series, and it lives up to the ‘Sexy, Passionate and Bold’ billing, but it's also surprisingly emotional (the last chapter is especially well crafted), and simply a lovely story of two lost souls finding each other. Without spoiling the plot, the last line states "I am Gemma, he is Jack, and we have found each other at last" and this in effect sums up the whole story.
I look forward to reading more of Clare Connelly's work in the future.
Thanks to M&B for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Widower and successful businessman Jack Grant doesn’t do commitment after the death of his wife. His loyal assistant Gemma has seen it all as he wanders through life (and his grief) through one night stands with women whose names he can’t recall (or, judging by one encounter, doesn’t even ask for). Naturally, Gemma is a little bit in love with her boss, not that she will ever admit it, but one day Jack decides to act on their chemistry, and decides to indulge in an office romance (well, less romance, and more encounters in offices and on boardroom tables…)
Told in two first person narratives, we get to know Jack and Gemma through their thoughts as they act on impulse and enjoy a passionate affair with no promises of a happy ending, and as a result these wonderful characters come alive as their narratives progress. Indeed, the fact that the characters are telling the story is a great idea as we really get under the skin of Jack and his troubled mind and Gemma's willingness to help him emerge from the depths of his grief.
Jack and Gemma are well crafted and believable, and Jack's grief for his late wife is very well written, sympathetically described and emotionally touching. As he eventually explains to Gemma, his one night stands help him forget his grief for the briefest of moments, but he also knows he doesn't want Gemma to be one of those women. Gemma is equally likeable; she knows Jack well enough to stand up to him, risk their entire (successful) working relationship for the sake of giving in to passion, and asks enough questions to prompt Jack to consider if he can overcome his no commitment rule.
Jack is every bit the tortured soul who still considers himself married to his late wife, and, while he's quite happy to take Gemma as his lover, she will never be anything more because, even if he might have feelings for her, Lucy was and is his wife, and in his mind, anything more would be a betrayal. Clare Connelly has created a wonderfully complex man who you really do feel for as he struggles to accept he can move forward and love another woman whilst still loving Lucy, and as a reader, you soon understand that the cold hearted businessman act is all a front he puts on for the world, and actually, he's a wounded, emotional mess who is struggling to deal with his loss. Luckily for Jack, the author has also created a strong, no nonsense leading lady who can stand up for him, and isn't prepared to be just his little secret fling. Gemma is well and truly prepared to fight for her man, and is prepared to walk away when he can't accept that what they have is something more.
Interestingly, the book opens by quoting the last verse of W H Auden's 'Funeral Blues', and for most of the story I couldn't work out why, but eventually it all makes sense, and I felt it was an inventive idea to use the words to open the story, but only make the reader realise how significant they are in relation to Jack towards the latter end of the book.
Yes it's the Dare series, and it lives up to the ‘Sexy, Passionate and Bold’ billing, but it's also surprisingly emotional (the last chapter is especially well crafted), and simply a lovely story of two lost souls finding each other. Without spoiling the plot, the last line states "I am Gemma, he is Jack, and we have found each other at last" and this in effect sums up the whole story.
I look forward to reading more of Clare Connelly's work in the future.
Thanks to M&B for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.