REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Nervous: The New Dungeon
SERIES: Dungeon #6
AUTHOR: S.M. Johnson
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 219 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 1, 2017
BLURB:
Avery Phoenix
His employees call him The Dragon behind his back.
His sister calls him a secret keeper.
His personal assistant says he’s lucky she didn’t quit the first month, like all the others assistants.
His brother-in-law tells him to keep his kinky sex games at home.
And Julian Sparks? He’s too nervous to say anything at all.
It starts when shy, nervous remote reader Julian Sparks gets called to the home office of Phoenix and Phoenix, a long-standing New York literary agency. Julian recognized a manuscript that was a diamond in the rough, and Avery wants to thank him in person. But to Julian, ‘in person’ meetings are more terrifying than anything else, and it gets even worse when Avery notices Julian’s nails are bitten to the quick.
Julian can’t believe this is his life, or that Avery Phoenix, who makes everyone else nervous, actually makes him feel calmer than he’s ever felt before.
It ends when – well, does it ever have to end?
Julian’s falling for Avery in a big way, but Avery has some pretty big secrets, maybe big enough to send Julian scurrying for home.
REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this series, especially back in the Roman days, but I think when he left, he took something with him, and the books just don’t have the same oomph. They still center around the Dungeon which has been revamped since Roman’s departure. It isn’t as big a factor in this story, but still plays a part.
Julian is a bit of a mess when we meet him. He has always been a nervous wreck and his anxiety has pretty much ruled his life. He doesn’t do well around other people and has managed to find his way by first working in a library and then remotely as a book screener for a publishing company. He reads the many manuscript submissions to bring the potential prospects to the publisher. After finding a particularly successful one, he is brought to the main office for a personal meeting with his boss.
Avery is one of the heads of Phoenix and Phoenix, the publisher where Julian works. His first meeting with Julian sets the tone for the rest of the story. He immediately sees Julian’s anxiety issues and pulls him in having him work side by side in his office where he quickly institutes some rules. Rather than find this odd, Julian realizes that Avery is helping him and decides to just go with it.
While I was really skeptical of the storyline to begin with, the first part of the book was pretty interesting and I really wanted to see where things would go with these two. I did not even remotely see the twist coming, and once over my surprise, had some difficulty with envisioning the characters as they were, and the dynamic/vibe definitely changed (not good or bad, just different). However, it was still extremely interesting and turned out to be perfect for them as a couple, with each giving and getting exactly what they needed.
When they actually visited the Dungeon, I was curious as to how Avery knew Thomas, Dare and Zach. It was great to see them again and doing so well, and the same was true for Doc and Tristan, but I would have liked to have read a little about how Avery got involved with the club.
All in all, I still enjoy this series. I’ve been a fan from the beginning and will continue to read anything else that may come in the future.
RATING: 