Prince Roman (King of Code, #1.5) by CD Reiss Series: King of Code #1.5
Published by Evil Eye Concepts on November 7th 2017
Pages: 120
Amazon
From NY Times Bestselling author, CD Reiss, love comes in the most ordinary and most forbidden places.
Rules for my new job:
1) Do not have sex with a man in the office (again).
2) Do not break Rule #1I’m playing it cool, clean, and professional…until I meet Roman Bianchi. He’s not an insecure nerd or an ego-hole like the other kings of Silicon Valley. He’s charming and handsome. He’s fun, funny, and smart.
He’s also in the office across the hall.
Two broken rules waiting to happen.
I can’t lose this job over some guy.
But Roman’s not just some guy. Under that suit and cocky smile, he’s a prince.**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
I am a big fan of CD Reiss’s writing, and although I may not have loved Prince Roman as much as some of her other work, I still found this novella to be quite enjoyable—a solid 3.5 stars for me.
Raven is a programmer/hacker/gamer geek whose accepts a position as VP of Human Resources at a successful company. While she’s perfectly competent, a job in HR seems to be a less than exciting fit for her as far as I’m concerned. However, her main goal in life is to have job security, and she is determined to follow the company’s strict non-fraternization policy. Raven is smart and dedicated, with a secret side of sexy—totally likeable.
Roman is suave and a perfect gentleman, even though he has a little naughtiness mixed in with his romancing. He’s the outside legal counsel hired to find loopholes in the company’s new system implementation. I don’t know if this system has something to do with equality in the company’s employment policy or something computer-related. That part kind of went over my head.
I do know I loved Raven and Roman together—both inside and outside of the bedroom. I enjoyed the progression of their romance and particularly appreciated their professionalism despite their obvious attraction. It’s nice to have an office romance where, for a change, the couple can exercise a little self-control and not continually jump each other’s bones in the supply closet, the break room, a conference room, or an office.
Here’s the main thing that stumped me, though, and perhaps I’m just clueless. If Roman is an external consultant who doesn’t technically work for Raven’s company, would a relationship between the two really be considered fraternization? Surely a lawyer could argue that it’s not, but that would eliminate the basis of the story.
All the same, I’m amazed that this novella gives the reader so much bang for their buck. It’s a mature and entertaining romance with highly appealing characters. Prince Roman is a standalone that continues Raven’s story from King of Code. I haven’t read the previous book, but I definitely will because I’d love to learn more about Raven.
Recommended for fans of:
Office romancing
Gaming geeks
Novellas
**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.**
Excerpt from Prince Roman
But the best part was watching her move between the pieces, thinking. Her eyes went from square to square, checking corners and seeing options. Playing the big chess set in the park was like opening up her mind and watching the gears turn.
“Have you ever done any climbing?” I asked, moving my bishop three spaces.
“Like what?” Her hair swung as she traced a line from the bishop I’d moved to the queen I was making a plan to capture. “Like mountains?”
“Yeah. Or rocks.”
“I’ve climbed trees. But not recently.” She moved her queen one space. “Check.”
“What?”
She pointed. My bishop had been protecting my king. When I’d moved it, she’d been ready.
A small girl with chocolate skin and a heart-printed down jacket stood on the edge of the board with her arms crossed, tapping her light-up sneaker. She looked to be about seven.
“Are you guys done yet?”
As if woken from a spell, I noticed the park had filled up. Kids yelped and squealed. The swings squeaked. The sun burned bright but not hot.
Raven had her hands on her hips. I thought she was going to yell at the kid for interrupting. I didn’t want her to. I hadn’t told the entire truth about my ex. She’d wanted to settle down, but she didn’t like kids. Nothing was less attractive than someone who wasn’t nice to children.
“He’s in trouble.” She pointed to me. “He’s in check, and as you can see”—she held her hand out to the board—“he’s dead meat in five moves. If you get him out of it, we’ll leave.”
“Five moves?” the girl said. “He’s got you in four!” She jumped onto the board and put her arms around a rook.
“Wait a minute!” Another little voice called from behind me. A boy this time. About the same age as my new partner. “If you move that he can’t castle, and she’s got him on en-eff-three.”
The girl put the rook down and stood next to the boy, looking the board over. I stood next to Raven and said softly, “Is this age appropriate?”
“This is what happens in a city full of geniuses.”
“En-eff-three,” the girl said. “En-see-six.”
“What are they even talking about?” I asked.
“I have no idea.” She leaned against me, and I put my arm around her.
About CD Reiss
CD Reiss is a New York Times bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up she’s at the well hauling buckets.
Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere but it did give her a big enough ego to write novels.
She’s frequently referred to as the Shakespeare of Smut which is flattering but hasn’t ever gotten her out of chopping that cord of wood.
If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.
Thank you so much! ~Jessica, InkSlinger PR
My pleasure. 🙂