5

Review | Rock Hard by Nalini Singh

Monday, March 09, 2015


“I want to do all sorts of things to you, Ms. Baird, just not in public.”

Gabriel Bishop was a former professional rugby player, but after suffering an Achilles tendon injury, he was forced to retire. With his MBA, he decided to venture in business. Everyone thought he was fooling around but after proving that he had skills, he was now a widely known businessman who had a knack of saving a company in a brink of shutting down. He was recently hired as the CEO of Saxon & Archer, another company that was in its bankruptcy.

There he met Charlotte Baird. She was shy and an introvert. But hidden beneath her shapeless suits and prim glasses was an intelligence and competence that Gabriel needed to help him rise the company from its state. He then hired her as his personal assistant, despite her initial protests and timidity. Gabriel was determined to make the woman he saw only in glimpses come out.

A few months later, Charlotte’s shyness around Gabriel disappeared. He decided to pursue her. But with Charlotte’s past trying to hinder them from moving forward, will there be a happy ending for Charlie-mouse and the T-rex.

See Rock Hard (Rock Kiss #2) by Nalini Singh in:


ARC received via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review but it didn’t affect my opinion about this book.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. And I'm not saying it just because I love Nalini Singh and I adore her Psy-Changeling series. I really love this book. 

The progress of the story was just right, it wasn't too fast or too slow; the plot wasn't your typical 'boss falls in love with secretary' type of story; the characters had depth. Basically everything in this story is perfect. 

But what I loved most were the characters.

Gabriel Bishop was really magnificent. Dreamy sigh. You know, before I read this story, if you asked me who my favorite book boyfriend was, I would probably give you at least five names because I couldn't decide who to say. Not because I love them all but because none of them had the perfect combination for me. Some were way too possessive, too territorial, too controlling, too intense. But now, I could say it right away, it's Gabriel Bishop and here are some of the reasons why:

• He knows when to apply the macho Neanderthal attitude.
Holding her against him without trapping her in a way that might make her panic, Gabriel tried to temper his rage. Charlotte didn’t need him to be a macho stud right now.
Why is this a big deal for me? Men like Gabriel were very protective of the people they love which might sometimes drive them to be impulsive. When he found out what happened to Charlie, I expected him to be like, "What's the name of that bastard? I'm gonna kill him blahblahblah" but he wasn't. He knew what Charlie needed. Instead of putting himself first, he prioritized Charlie's comfort over his anger ang frustration.

• Gabriel works. I read a lot of stories where heroes held high positions in a company. They could leave work right away or have a lot of free time or something. (I thought that happened when they retired.) They always made it seem that their work was easy when the really it wasn't. Gabriel worked more than twelve hours a day, seven days a week. How he managed that was beyond me.

• He was an athlete then a businessman. As if it wasn't enough that he was athletic, he had to be smart too. You couldn't ask for more.

With Charlotte Baird, I had to give it to her. She was also amazing. I've always admired women who managed to move on after their abuse.

• Charlie proved that you didn't need to be assertive in order to be strong. Despite what happened to her in the past, she didn’t allow that to pull her down, instead she strived to become a better person. 

• Even if Charlie was timid, she kept Gabriel on his toes with their banter.
“When did you get so bossy, Ms. Baird?”
“Self-defense against a certain T-Rex.”
• She threw a cupcake at his head. Oh, and did I mention that she also threw an industrial-sized stapler at him too?

I'm pretty sure my review didn't give the book justice on how good it is. *sigh* Up to this moment, it still brings a smile on my face whenever I read from how they started, how Gabriel was really patient with Charlotte, how they were finally together. I know this kind of story is common nowadays but the delivery of this story is perfect for me.

You Might Also Like

0 comments