Book Review — Egomaniac by Vi Keeland

“You’re the red in my black and white world.”

I can’t stop smiling!!! This amazingly addictive book was SEXY, FUN and FULL OF FEELS!! Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. With its cocky, jaded, dirty-talking attorney hero and sassy, fiery heroine who argued, bantered, and slowly fell in love, and a surprisingly emotional twist to the story, it was a perfect romantic reading escape. I LOVED IT! If you’re looking for a great new book to escape into, I highly recommend this one!!

Now, I could give you my explanation of what the story is about, but to be honest, I love the blurb so much that I’m going to let it speak for itself…

The night I met Drew Jagger, he’d just broken into my new Park Avenue office.
I dialed 9-1-1 before proceeding to attack him with my fancy new Krav Maga skills.
He quickly restrained me, then chuckled, finding my attempted assault amusing.

Of course, my intruder had to be arrogant.
Only, turned out, he wasn’t an intruder at all.

Drew was the rightful occupant of my new office. He’d been on vacation while his posh space was renovated.
Which was how a scammer got away with leasing me office space that wasn’t really available for rent.
I was swindled out of ten grand.

The next day, after hours at the police station, Drew took pity on me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. In exchange for answering his phones while his secretary was out, he’d let me stay until I found a new place.
I probably should have acted grateful and kept my mouth shut when I overheard the advice he was spewing to his clients. But I couldn’t help giving him a piece of my mind.
I never expected my body to react every time we argued. Especially when that was all we seemed to be able to do.

The two of us were complete opposites. Drew was a bitter, angry, gorgeous-as-all-hell, destroyer of relationships. And my job was to help people save their marriages.
The only thing the two of us had in common was the space we were sharing.
And an attraction that was getting harder to deny by the day.

So there you had these two opposites working together in the most unlikely of situations — a marriage counselor and divorce lawyer sharing office space while fighting an intense and growing attraction to each other. Let me tell you, it made for some pretty awesome banter!

She pushed one and proceeded to report the crime of entering one’s own office. “I’d like to report a robbery.”
“Robbery?” I arched an eyebrow and looked around. A lone folding chair and crappy metal folding chair were the only furniture in the entire space. “What exactly am I stealing? Your winning personality?”
She amended her complaint to the police. “A breaking and entering. I’d like to report a breaking and entering at 575 Park Avenue.” She paused and listening. “No, I don’t think he’s armed. But he’s big. Really big. At least six feet. Maybe bigger.”
I smirked. “And strong. DOn’t forget to tell them I’m strong, too. Want me to flex for you?”

This is one of those stories that are just so gosh darn fun to read that you don’t even notice the pages flying by…

“Do you usually order lunch? I’m afraid to go out and miss the delivery.”
“Sometimes. What are you in the mood for?”
I shrugged. “I don’t care. I’m not picky.”
“How about Indian food? Curry House is a few blocks away and delivers quick.”
I scrunched up my nose.
“You don’t like Indian food?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. How about Chinese?”
“Too much MSG.”
“Sushi?”
“I’m allergic to fish.”
“Mexican?”
“Too heavy for lunch.”

“You do understand what the phrase ‘I’m not picky’ means, right?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Of course. You’re just picking weird stuff.”
“What would you like to eat, Emerie?”
“Pizza?”
He nodded. “Pizza it is. See? I’M not picky.”

It’s told from both his and her POVs, largely in the present, with a few flashbacks that show us a very key part of Drew’s past — and the more you read, the more you understand how much this part of his past shaped him into the man he’d become. And the more you see the real sweetness he’d hiding behind all the cockiness.

“You have three seconds to get out of my office. Otherwise you’re giving me permission to do whatever I want with you.”
I swallowed. My voice broke as I held his gaze. “I Came in here to yell at you.”
“I like it when you’re angry.” He paused. “One.”
“You like it when I’m angry?”
“I find it turns me on. Two.”
“You won’t do anything at three if I tell you to stop.”
He inched even closer. “Of course not. You trust me. But you won’t tell me to stop.” He paused. “Last chance.”
I stood frozen as he counted off his last number. “Three.”
Before I could object, his mouth crashed down on mine…

I don’t want to specifically blurt out what the twist it, but I want to give you a hint as to what to look forward to — trying to show you in what way this book is different than others — so I’ll just say that there’s something to do with kids and adoption. AND IT IS SO HEART-MELTING!!!!!!!!! Seriously guys, I was fighting tears in the epilogue because of how incredible beautiful and meaningful it was. Gah, I loved it!!!

“Being a parent is a choice, not a right… Anyone can become a father, but it takes a real dad to love and raise a child as his own.”

Basically, just READ THIS BOOK!! It’s a fantastic light-hearted romance that was HOT HOT HOT but balanced with just enough feels to make me care deeply for these characters and to make my HEART RACE!!! It’s fun. It’s sexy. There’s wicked banter, seriously steamy chemistry, and surprisingly strong feels! If you like dirty talkers, you’ll looooove Drew, and if you like strong heroines who aren’t afraid to step up to egotistical heroes with boatloads of sass, you’ll love Emerie! And, if you’re looking for a fantastic romance to lose yourself in, THIS IS IT!!

RATING: 4.5 stars. Standalone Adult Contemporary Romance.

• Buy EGOMANIAC (Kindle)
• Buy EGOMANIAC (Paperback)