ANDRÉ - Jayce Ellis
Harlequin Carina Press
BUY
July 2020
Contemporary Romance
REVIEWER: Wayne Jordan | RATING: A
REVIEW: ANDRÉ is Book #2 in Jayce Ellis’s compelling High-Rise Series which began with JEREMIAH. This is the story of André Ellison and Marcus Thompson and is a compelling contemporary romance in every sense of the word. On the surface, it is a traditional romance with the boss-employee trope, but the story is far from traditional and is told in Jayce Ellis’s powerful voice. Ms. Ellis takes two vulnerable, sensitive men who feign bravado, puts them together and lets them fall in love. It is how they react to and deal with this unexpected situation that make this story so fascinating.
André, on one hand, is trying hard to make his financing firm a success. This means hard work and not much time for a social life. In fact, his friends are concerned that he works too much, but romance is the farthest thing from his mind. Marcus, on the other hand, is a confident young man with lots of talent who has his career and where he intends to go mapped out. When he is seconded, by his boss at the firm where he is an intern, to a ‘small’ company, he does not see this as advancement of his career but an obstacle in his path. He is determined to do what is necessary for the short period and get back on track.
The weekend, before Marcus starts his secondment, he meets André Ellison at a club. The chemistry between the two is intense. Despite the feeling that there could be more, they part way without sharing any contact information, their only memory, the passion-filled night. Where the story gets all complicated, and fun, happens when Marcus goes to his internship only to discover that his boss is the same André with whom he shared a night of unbridled passion. What happens next? You will have to read ANDRÉ to find out. All I can say is that it was fun watching the two fight this need for each other while trying to keep their relationship professional.
I love everything about this book; the setting, the vivid secondary characters and most of all the main characters’ unique voices. Written from each of the main character’s POV, I was taking into the thoughts, feeling and fears of each of them and by the end of the book, I felt as if I really knew them. Set in D.C. the story seems real, capturing the hustle and bustle of corporate life.
Like JEREMIAH, ANDRÉ is a very special book. It is a wonderful contemporary romance set in the corporate world. It not only deals with the fears and uncertainty of two very special characters, but their journey to happily-ever-after.
1st August 2020 | romcol@caribsurf.com
(A)