Out of Office
A Spicy Vacation Romance
-
-
4.5 • 6 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
A.H. Cunningham dazzles in this sensual vacation romance exploring what happens when you step out of the office, take a chance on yourself—and discover your deepest desires.
Genevieve Raymond was born an overachiever. After opening a hot new hotel chain location in Panama, she’s on track for a major promotion. But first, she desperately needs a break, even if her overbearing mother doesn’t approve. For two glorious weeks, Gen’s giving herself permission to explore the beautiful beaches of Colón—and the stimulating attraction she shares with her sexy-as-hell driver, Adrián Nicolas.
After a family tragedy, Adrián's recently shifted his own focus to prioritizing the life part of a healthy work-life balance. To workaholic Gen, Adrián’s laid-back devotion to his family’s hometown hostel couldn’t be more appealing. Their long-term goals might not align, but two weeks in paradise only calls for seductive physical chemistry, and Gen and Adrián have got that, without a doubt.
But when their intimate connection flourishes beyond sunsets and spice, Gen finds herself questioning whether the career path she’s been on is even where she wants to be. With continents between them, a real relationship doesn’t feel possible. Until fate reveals their futures might be more closely woven than they thought, leaving them wondering whether a two-week fling might have what it takes to last forever.
Out of Office is a spicy, fast-paced romance you can read in one sitting.
Customer Reviews
Must-Read Romance of the Season
A. H. Cunningham has quickly become one of my favorite writers and with “Out of Office” she reminds me why. Cunningham has the ability to write them most diverse and eclectic characters with tremendous care and “Out of Office” features characters that fit the bill.
In “Out of Office” we meet overworked but determined Genevieve who's climbing the corporate ladder to realize her dreams...or her mother's dreams. In this quest for "success," Genevieve meets Adrian, a reformed workaholic, who manages to capture her heart and challenge her relationship with her career, her mother, and herself.
Cunningham writes the most tender and beautiful love story between Genevieve and Adrian that defies time, distance, and logic.
I found myself immediately falling in love with Adrian and his family. But more than that, I love the way he helped Genevieve identify her true desires from her whole life...isn't that what a relationship is supposed to be about? Thank you to A. H. Cunningham for always revealing to readers what they should aspire to have in every interpersonal journey with her writing.
I annotated quite a bit in “Out of Office,” but one of my favorite quotes, I have to share here: “Whatever lay between us, we navigated it better when our skins touched, and we chatted about any topic.”
*sigh* Just beautiful.
Add “Out of Office” to your TBR -- it's a must-read for the summer. Though I enjoyed it on my balcony every evening after work for about a week, I think it's best read on the beach.
Note: There is some mention of homophobia and biphobia in the book, however, the characters do not directly experience it in “Out of Office.”
Final Rating: 4.25/5 Stars
Spice: 3 out of 5
Content Warnings:
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
Review
I am rating this book a 3/5 and I believe I am being a tad bit generous with this rating. This was my first time reading a book by this author and I felt a little underwhelmed.
Let me start with what I appreciated about the book.
1. It’s a contemporary romance with little to no trauma. There was also no struggle love. In my experience, I haven’t read a lot of romance books by Black authors where there wasn’t a sign of trauma. The couple in the book displayed soft love which I found to be beautiful.
2. I enjoyed the Black history references. I also liked the intercultural Afro-Panamanian & Black relationship.
3. My favorite part of the book was the portrayal of a Black career woman! There were a few takeaways from self-care to setting healthy work / life boundaries that I appreciate and was able to take note of.
Besides that, the book just seemed too good to be true. I love for my books to have a climax and it almost seemed like every situation continuously worked out perfectly. The one build up that they did have (Adrian’s secret) was very underwhelming for me. There were also some sentences that made absolutely no sense to me and a few grammatical errors. That’s a turn off for me.
Something did come across my mind though. As a Black woman, I know that we aren’t used to seeing soft Black love being portrayed. There’s always some type of trauma or huge conflict that always gets in the way. We aren’t used to seeing love come so easy for us. So as I read and rated this book I wonder if my perspective was skewed. Who knows.
Other than that the book was simply okay. I had been in a bit of a rut so this book definitely a good mindless read for me.