Usually, I don't have any trouble at all separating fiction from reality when I read traditional romance novels, but lately I've been having a hard time with that because of current events. Throughout the book, I kept thinking about Harvey Weinstein and anyone in high positions abusing their power. As a result I cannot consent to John as the hero.

John, a big shot of some financial company in Manhattan, was written almost like a character from a gothic novel. Was he the good guy or the bad guy? He was a very brooding and mysterious character. For the past year he's been "low-key" stalking Chris. She noticed and it creeped her out. John used a commercial job for his company as an excuse to get closer to Chris and propositioned her. When she refused, John doesn't give up and changed tactics to slowly woo her.

I also hated the way all the male business associates treated Chris. As a successful model, the poor thing had to put up with lots of unprofessionalism with the leers, disrespect, inappropriate touching, etc. It became a norm for her and she was used to handling it, but it says a lot about our patriarchal society and why we have so much real world problems with sexual harassment and assault.

Had I read this at another time, I might have enjoyed it a tiny bit more, but the way the author wrote it, John was a very creepy dude since the beginning. ( )