Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: BOSS 
AUTHOR: Ashley John
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 334 pages
BLURB:
After years of travelling the world using his trust fund, college-dropout Joshua Silverton returns to London to discover two shocking truths: his estranged and wealthy father has been dead for over a year and he left his fortune to a total stranger. Joshua soon meets the man who stole his inheritance and even though he expects to hate Ezra Steele, he can’t ignore the strange attraction he suddenly feels towards him.
Bill Silverton saved Ezra Steele from his troubled past when he signed Silverton Tower over to him on his deathbed. Ezra now has the house, the business, the cars, the money and a different man in his bed every night. It’s a life he wants to cling to, so when Bill’s gorgeous son unexpectedly turns up and demands he hand everything back, his life is turned upside down in more ways than one.
A need to finally prove himself to his dead father forces Joshua to challenge Ezra but will he be able to ignore the attraction in order to be ruthless? Ezra tries to keep his enemies close by getting Joshua into his bed but as history catches up with him, he is forced to face himself. They are both running from their past, so in a battle between head and heart, Joshua and Ezra must choose what is more important – money or each other.
REVIEW:
Ashley John is a new author and I have been wanting to try one of his books. I saw this one pop up and it seemed like a good one so I gave it a try! I can see the potential in this author, but I had issues with this book.
Joshua Silverton returns to London after spending seven years traveling. He returns only for his cousin Violet’s wedding, bringing a friend with him, hoping to sneak in and sneak out without any family drama. Unfortunately he finds out his rich father has died over year ago, leaving nothing to him. He spends an evening drinking and has a very strange night with a man, doing nothing sexual but there is some tension, some teasing between Joshua and the mysterious and very rich Ezra. Joshua is not gay, but he is drawn to Ezra. Joshua finds out his father left nothing to him, not his company, his home, or any of him money. Joshua sneaks in to his fathers office and discovers…. Ezra, the man he almost had sex with, who is now the boss at the company Joshua should own.
Joshua and Ezra then start a very strange relationship, enemies to friends, eventually lovers, back to enemies… Ezra is an asshole most of the time. He’s come from the poor side of town, got lucky, worked his way to the top of the corporate ladder, spent time with the dying, lonely boss, and was rewarded with a massive amount of money, a business, and a house. He has some drama in his past, which all comes out over the book.
So this book really had potential, but I just couldn’t get in to it. Joshua and Ezra meeting in the bar, then again at Silverton Tower was so predictable. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read that. There were several times like that instance that I was pulled out of the story. Joshua is given a letter from his father that he never reads, I didn’t understand why. Violet the cousin that hasn’t seen Joshua in seven years, drags him around to wedding stuff she should be doing with her mother. On her wedding day she’s alone at home getting dressed. That made NO sense to me! Big rich church wedding, brides maids are mentioned, yet she’s dressing by herself? No girlfriends and no mother? Nope. Wouldn’t happen. Then again with the coincidences, there is a connection between the groom and Ezra’s past that I also didn’t buy. I had a hard time with the relationship between Joshua and Ezra. I was not sure even by the end of the book that they liked each other, much less fell in love. It was all a little weird for me. I didn’t understand the point of Joshua’s friend, he’s just been drug in to this mess but doesn’t actually contribute anything to he story. He’s there, then not, then there, Joshua leaves him several times to find his way home. and he was really icky towards Violet, yet Joshua did nothing. Way too much time was spent on Violet and her wedding. I could go on, but I won’t, I’ll just say I had issues with the plot…
That being said, I liked the actual writing just fine. The author can write, the words flowed, the dialogue worked, the sex scenes were well done. I got a good feeling of the locations, the scenes were described well, as were the characters. I could image what they smelled like even, both good and bad. I liked the basic concept of the story, and I liked the tension between Ezra and Joshua. I liked the differences between them, Joshua is from a rich family but has been traveling and living a more bohemian lifestyle. Ezra is from a poor family, now living rich. There was a nice juxtaposition with that. I liked the corporate tension as well, Ezra fighting for his job, the board trying to get him out and get Joshua in. That all worked for me. I liked the ending. I guess I have mixed feelings! I liked the writing but didn’t like the plot, which sounds odd, but it’s true. I think Ashley John will be a great writer in the future, and I would read more from him.
I would tentatively recommend this book, it really wasn’t a bad book at all. If you like the corporate world, or a bit of family drama, I’d give it a try. Just know going in to it that the plot is a little shaky at times. But the writing is good!
RATING:
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