The worst thing a man can do is not be with the woman he loves.
She could have him sacked quicker than licking her lips. He could ruin her reputation with an email.
Jacinta was the CEO in waiting. Mace was the geek from IT. She had an office suite on the top floor. He worked in cubicle hell.
She had power, influence, her life mapped out. He had big dreams, and an appetite for risk.
They had one hot night written all over them, except the city conspired to turn that night into a weekend of unexpected passion and deep connection.
Will love be enough when Jacinta’s star falls and Mace’s dream takes flight, or will ambition, expectation and insecurity pull them apart?
The Review:
Mace is just an IT guy, while Jacinta is a powerful business woman. She's also his boss. But that doesn't stop them from having a one night stand that turns into so much more. When their fortunes flip, though, is it possible for them to keep their love alive?
Mace is a strong, silent, sexy hero, who couldn't be further from the IT Crowd geek if he tried. Yeah, this is one of those books where we get to enjoy geek love and the smexiness of a hero who has apparently done more to work out than play video games. He's also sweet - a devoted grandson to his elderly grandmother (who is such a great character and I wish we'd had more of her!) - and driven to succeed. He's just the IT guy now, but he has plans to be a tech great.
Jacinta is already there. She's a high powered business woman, so close to being CEO of a bank. This might make her seem unrelatable to some of us mere plebeians, but, with an author like Ainslie Paton, you can be sure you are going to get only very three dimensional, vulnerable and real characters. So Jacinta inevitably has history and damage and stuff to get over that I think makes her a really interesting heroine. Just a content warning for readers: some of that history includes some DV trauma, which isn't hinted at in the blurb, but it's dealt with really well.
From the outside, Mace and Jacinta seem an unlikely couple, but they are so adorable. We get lots of spice, but more importantly lots of confused, damaged, insecure love and understanding. I was well swept off my feet.
Insecure is longer than my preferred romance novel length, Ainslie Paton's novels almost always are, but I read them because her writing is too awesome for me to be put off by the fact that I can't read her stories in a single sitting. So I guess it's no surprise that my one criticism comes from the fact that I think the story could have been cut down in a couple of places, namely where the detail of the business side of Jacinta and Mace's stories develop. There are a few scenes where they are apart and we get business details that were a little slow for me, but this is such a small criticism, since every scene where they are together (which is the majority of the novel) is so delicious.
There's something about Ainslie Paton's writing that is very intense. That's the only word for it. I can only read her books occasionally when I'm ready for all the big feels. Because I know they are coming. But they are so worth it. The ugly crying is worth it too.
If you haven't read any of her books, give Insecure a go; if you have read her, I assume you already bought this one too.
Insecure by Ainslie Paton is a contemporary romance, released by Escape Publisher on March 1 2015.
Book Links: Amazon | Amazon AUS | Amazon UK | Goodreads | Publisher Site
More from Ainslie Paton on Love Reading Romance:
Hooked On A Feeling by Ainslie Paton - Book Review
Groovy, baby: Writing Nostalgia by Ainslie Paton - Guest Post
Unsuitable by Ainslie Paton - Book Preview
Inconsolable by Ainslie Paton - Book Excerpt
