The Billionaire Boss Next Door by Max Monroe

Romantic Comedy

Publication date: 05/15/2019
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: I dunno

I’m in a horrible book slump, y’all. I’ve really enjoyed this author’s books in the past, but this one fell flat for me to the point that I wasn’t able to finish. It was with a heavy heart that I had to DNF at 37%, even though the vast majority of the other reviews for this book are super glowy. Maybe I’m under caffeinated and grumpy because of it? I dunno. But I don’t feel good about this.

via GIPHY

Plot overview: Quirky, snarky Greer takes a job without realizing that her new boss is a) the guy she insulted the previous evening, and b) her new next door neighbor. Hilarity ensues. It’s a enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract romance.
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If the book was poorly written, I’d feel OK about DNFing it. But that’s not the case. The writing here is great. The dialogue is hilarious, the side characters are great, I adored Trent, the hero, and it hits on some of my all-time favorite romance tropes. Where the book totally lost me was Greer, the heroine. Here are some of the ways in which she chapped my ass:

1. She’s late all the time and not at all apologetic about it.  In fact, she seems sort of proud of it. That’s just rude.
2. She thinks Trent is a jerk because he questioned her about just sitting on a piece of exercise equipment he wanted to use while she scrolled aimlessly through her phone, not exercising. I’d be irritated too if I wanted to use a machine at the gym and some chick was just sitting there, in my way, staring at her phone. That didn’t make TRENT the jerk, Greer. YOU’RE the jerk.
3. Insulting the fancy hotel you’re staying in—free of charge, I might add—to a stranger the night before your interview with said hotel’s management is incredibly stupid and rude. (Is anyone else sensing a pattern with Greer?)
4. Greer’s extreme reluctance to apologize to Trent for her assholery (or even acknowledge her assholery) was incredibly aggravating. Grow up, Greer! You’re in debt up to your eyeballs and need the job. How about you try to NOT irk the crap out of your new boss?
5. Greer has the personality of a rabid badger. It’s no shock to me that her business is failing and even her best friend gets super irritated with her every time they talk.  

Then there was the fact that Greer and Trent’s good friends decided to keep secrets from the couple for no good, apparent reason, other than their own amusement. That kind of made them seem like jerkoffs, too, and up until that point, they’d seemed like good folks, so it didn’t ring true for me.

So, there it is. Yet another example of a book everyone but ME loved. I’m so, so alone...

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Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s not stigma-y at all. I just hated the heroine with the heat of a thousand suns.

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