Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: The Details in the Design
AUTHOR: Shannon M. Harris
PUBLISHER: Sapphire Books Publishing
LENGTH: 140 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2017
BLURB:
Every stitch tells a story.
Avery Michaels has longed to work in the fashion industry since she was six years old. Now at thirty-two she’s fed up with her job as a food critic and signs up with an employment agency that promises to find anyone their dream job.
She is thrilled when she gets an interview with the fashion house of her choice, Catherine Davenport Designs. There’s only one problem. For the past six years, Avery has had a massive crush on Catherine, one of the hottest fashion designers of the past two decades.
In the midst of a new job, nosey friends, Catherine’s meddling daughters, difficult co-workers, and a dachshund named Polly, Avery also has to contend with a new woman that enters Catherine’s life.
From the start, Avery knows winning Catherine’s heart will be no easy feat. When curve ball after curve ball is thrown her way, does she scrap her design or make it work.
REVIEW:
This story’s romance is undeniably swoon-worthy, but the surrounding set-up and plot expectations fell a little flat for me. This is a familiar romantic set-up (workplace romance with an employee/boss relationship), but it lacks the tension we come to expect with this dynamic. Avery, a newly-hired thirty-something social media liaison, and Catherine, her multi-millionaire boss whose designs are known all over the world, seem to occupy the same space at work, speaking casually and flirting like their power dynamics don’t exist. I wanted some more tension and some higher takes.
Harris’ strengths lie in the fluffiest parts of a good romance—the flirting, wooing, courting, and build-up to something bigger. It might lack tension, but it’s still super sweet. Avery’s flirting through anonymous gift-giving is achingly romantic, and the way Catherine’s twin daughters Lincoln and Abigail conspire with Avery to get the two together is adorable. Child characters can be tricky, but I really like the way Harris writes them. To me, they sound like real 14-year-olds—maybe a little snotty and know-it-all, but deep down, smart and observant. All of the side characters work well, including Avery’s best friends Mia and Brady and Catherine’s conniving assistant Camden.
Before the book begins, Harris states herself that this was inspired by a fashion movie, and she quotes Miranda Priestly’s famous “that’s all” from The Devil Wears Prada. It’s easy to see where the inspiration for this book came from. But Catherine just isn’t a convincing “big bad boss” character. She starts out demanding, cool, and poised, but her characterization is uneven. It seems like her employees can walk all over her and she’s a wishy-washy decision maker. I was never convinced she was the cool older woman Avery had to work hard to woo.
This wasn’t a huge hit for me, but it’s already apparent Harris has grown a lot as a writer with her later works. I’ve already read and reviewed Harris’ second contemporary romance, Add Romance and Mix, and I really enjoyed it. Her characters become more fleshed out, her dialogue gets better, and she tells a more convincing love story.
RATING: 
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