XOXO

XOXO

by Deborah Bladon

This is how the worst Friday of my life started…

Subject: The Dick

Hey Sinclair,

Mr. Calvetti is as ornery as ever today.

He scolded me for taking a message from a woman who asked me to pass along this to him – “your lips are the purest form of pleasure this side of the Mississippi!”

Dominick (The Dick) Calvetti told me once again to ignore all messages women leave for him.

He’s a cruel bastard with a gorgeous face and rock hard abs. I imagine he has those. He’s 6’3” and works out every morning. He has to be built under those suits, right? I know that the nickname I gave him is based on his attitude, but I sometimes wonder if it “fits” in other ways if you know what I mean. Even if it does, I still loathe him. He’s the worst boss on both sides of the Mississippi.

I attached a picture of the lingerie I bought for my date tonight. I snapped a selfie in the mirror this morning since you were still asleep.

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Subject: Re: The Dick

Miss Voss,

Thank you for your email.

I hardly think 34 is considered old, and for the record, I’m 6’4”.

Details matter. Sending emails to the intended recipient matters more, especially when you include a sensitive image exposing so much of your body.

Also, cancel your date, as you will now be working late tonight.

And report to my office. Immediately.

Signed,

THE DICK

​Spice Level: 3/6

Story Score: 7/10

Rating: 4.25/5

Hello, my name is Kayla, and I have a reading challenge problem. *cringe* I’m pretty sure I added like 13 challenges to my spreadsheet last night. Most of them are yearly challenges or like one book a month. With so few days left in February, one of the prompts was a book with a pink cover. Enter: XOXO by Deborah Bladon. This book was also recommended by a friend because she knows I’m a sucker for overly sweet stories. I read this as a standalone and had zero issues doing so.

So after I read ‘Ranger’ a few days ago, all my feelings were exposed. You know, sometimes a book just hits you differently, and that one did me. The way he went about loving his lady just broke me open, the same way the movie I mentioned in that post did. Then I read this one and somehow, it took those raw feelings and just like, slathered them in aloe. This book just felt good. This book was a Hallmark movie with sexual tension and some spice.

Trope challenge wise, this book is my ‘Workplace Romance’. Arietta is Dominick’s personal assistant and he has a case of “how have I never noticed her before”. It’s a very simple plot. The storyline is easy to follow, low angst, low drama, and pretty much easy on every other front.

Let’s get to the characters: I adored Arietta. I felt like she was authentic, relatable, compassionate and genuinely a wonderful person. She also was confident and smart. So few times does an author allow the kind heroine to also be entirely comfortable with herself in her head and in her skin. She reminded me a lot of Emilia Clarke in Me Before You. She wore wacky outfits and was presented as someone that let their inner light shine for everyone they met. I find there to be something incredibly powerful about a woman who lives on her own terms by taking control of her life and yet doesn’t let the harshness of the world dampen her ability to be vulnerable and empathetic. I would date Arietta.

Dominick was your classic workaholic, too busy creating his professional life to give any effort to his personal one. Sexy, ambitious, and cold. I feel like that is a common theme, however, the author makes it a point to show that he isn’t that way towards his family which means that Arietta doesn’t CHANGE him. Dominick loves his family from the very beginning. His dad is his idol, his sister visits regularly, he sees his grandmother often. He isn’t cold to the people he loves, he just wasn’t interested in expanding that small circle. He’s a smart man though, as I said, because once he starts noticing his feelings changing towards Arietta, he doesn’t FIGHT them the way most male main characters do. He tries to challenge it a couple times, but he doesn’t continuously battle himself.

The friend that recommended this to me told me that it was a good book for her mental health, and honestly, I don’t know that there’s a better way to describe it. The book has a lot of development. You meet the characters and you see them grow. It’s written in a way that does allow you to experience their world. I would consider this a slow burn so your feelings get more invested than they tend to do with super spicy books. You fall for Arietta with Dominick. And as I said before, it’s very low angst/drama. Dominick says he won’t hurt you and he means it; there’s just something that I love so much about a man that treasures the woman he wants to be with. He’ll do whatever he needs to to get where he wants.

I think my biggest complaint was that I wanted more spice when I finally got to it. I felt like the build up was really good and when I got there, I was happy for them, but I was left wanting more. Lol. She was sated, but I wasn’t.

-SPOILERS-

There isn’t much to spoil. How do you spoil a Hallmark movie? You already know the plot, you just want to watch it anyway because it feels so damn good.

Book #4 in the Calvettis of New York series

​290 Pages

Trope Challenge: Workplace Romance

“Marry this woman, Dom. I don’t know how the fuck she did it, but she made you see that the best parts of life are beyond the job.” That hits me hard. I turn to walk away, realizing that he’s right. There is life beyond the job, and for the first time in my life, I can picture it.

- XOXO by Deborah Bladon

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