Book Review: Propositions by Tania Joyce

About the book:

No strings attached ... or so she thought.
Following years of sacrifice and struggle, Jessica Mason now co-owns a successful marketing
agency in Sydney. All Jessica wants to do is focus on growing her business and maintain the
lifestyle she's worked so hard to achieve. But everything changes when her agency wins a
major contract for the opening of the new Somers Hotel and she has to take on the account.
Nate Somers is a workaholic trying to please his retiring father. When he meets captivating,
go-getting Jessica, the prospect of a short-term love affair sounds like a proposition he'd be
crazy to decline.
But when Jessica spends a weekend away at her favorite vineyard retreat, she runs into Troy
Smith, the ex-boyfriend who left her broken and vulnerable years ago. Things don't go to
plan when the well-kept secrets from her past are revealed and Troy starts weaving his way
back into her life.
With her business at stake and hearts at risk, Jessica's future is destined to change. Who will
end up making Jessica a proposition she simply cannot refuse?


About the author:
Tania Joyce is an Australian author of Erotic, Contemporary and New Adult romance novels. Her
stories thread romance, drama and passion into beautiful locations ranging from the dazzling lights of
Sydney Harbour or the glitter of New York, to the rural countryside of the Hunter Valley or Darling
Downs.
She’s widely travelled, has a diverse background in the corporate world and has a love for shopping,
shoes and Shiraz. She’s rarely seen without glitter, sparkle and stilettos. Her quirk is she collects key
rings everywhere she goes and often has an intriguing tale about each one.

Picture credits:  www.BurtonPhotography.com.au

Tania draws on all her real-life experiences and combines them with her very vivid dreams to form the foundation of her novels. She likes to write about strong-minded, career-oriented heroes and heroines that go through drama-filled hell, have steamy encounters and risk everything as they endeavor to find their happy-ever-after.
She grew up loving books like Anne of Green Gables, reading the classics like Pride and Prejudice,
and getting lost in the world of fantasy, like The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan, before
finding her home in the romance genre.
Only unearthing the desire to write after having children, Tania now shuffles the hours in her day
between part-time work, full-time family life and never-finding-enough-time to write. One day she
hopes to find balance! She lives in Queensland with her husband and two boys. When she’s not
writing, she enjoys camping, hot yoga, and the company of friends and family – especially if it’s over a glass of wine!
Life motto: If in doubt – add more glitter! (Kylie Minogue, 2011)


My Review:

It’s just another client. Just another event. Clear the head. That’s it. Let’s go.
If only it was that easy. Welcome to the not-so-simple lives of our endearingly stubborn yet professionally ambitious, and emotionally damaged characters: Jessica and Nate. 

To have a female protagonist who is not a weak female, and one who accords just as much importance and priority to her work as her male counterparts, is such a refreshing change. For it is not often that books written in the erotica category cater to women readers while keeping their respect and professional life intact. 
It could have turned out to be just another Fifty Shades parody had it not been for Joyce's creative twist of characters and tale. Thankfully, the twists were convincing and imaginable. Both our hero and heroine share commonalities in the past: Nate is divorced, which happened because he apparently married a pest who was after his wealth, Jessica's past is even more complicated with a string of flings. So much so, that at a point, even she remarks, "I will have two kids with three fathers". She says it is insane, and oh, how right she is. 
I'll have o admit though, the book was very similar to FSOG trilogy when it comes to the crucial points. But, the narrative is fresh, which gives the book brownie points. It is a simple read and can be finished in a day, it so glues you too!
No mysteries, but there is a sense of tension which breaks at points which most suit the reader. 
The best part to look out for in the book are the business meeting. They are amusing, hilarious, professional, utmost business-like, and yet bring the edgy angle into the plot. 
The ending is the best part. The woman is not a timid human being who will give in to the man's will. She refuses to let go of her will and ambitions, after all it was this ambition and common passion towards their professions that brought the couple together!
And again, the narration is so good!

Even if you aren't a regular reader of this genre. this book might just strike as a recommendation. 


Links:

>