Ask Me Nicely, by Dania Voss, is a page-turner of heat, adorableness, and intrigue; where many novels in the genre flounder, Voss has a strong plot and rounded characters.
Blurb: He needs to ditch the attitude he has about her. She needs to get over her inconvenient attraction to him.
Successful Chicago real estate developer Spencer D’Angelo will do anything for his family. Well, almost anything. When it comes to his younger sister's best friend, curvy blonde bombshell Harper Mitchell, all bets are off. Spencer is inexplicably drawn to Harper, but he’s never trusted her. Things just don’t add up. Harper’s trouble with a capital T, even if the rest of his family doesn’t see it, and adores her.
A California native, Harper unexpectedly finds herself jobless and homeless after the Feds raid the real estate firm she’s been working for. When her bestie’s brother, Spencer, the sexy, arrogant Italian who’s starred in way too many of her late night fantasies, begrudgingly offers her a place to stay in Chicago, she jumps at the chance to escape the chaos and darkness that have overtaken her life.
Harper and Spencer have traded insults and barbs from a distance for years, but now they can’t avoid each other. As their scorching chemistry ignites, Spencer becomes protective of her and Harper discovers there’s more to Spencer than his polished, business persona.
How can they continue on as the rivals they’ve always been?
What will happen when Harper’s secrets finally catch up with her?
I follow this author on Twitter and saw a preorder for an interesting-sounding ebook for $0.99. I ordered it, excited to read when it came out but forgot about the perk I was signing up for: possible gifts. You can see from the pic above, I won the grand prize and now have the paperback as well and much more.
If I'm glad for the paperback, you know I enjoyed the ebook. But I always like to start with the cons. I wanted more in one part. It has a comfortable pace but the climax and action-packed part felt quick and rushed. Also, some things felt almost out of nowhere (some readers don't like that), but I found I liked the surprises and there was some pleasant unpredictability. However, it is a small section of the book, and the ending (it has multiple endings--setting up future romances) was decadently sweet and now these future books are on my radar.
Onto the pros. Characters had depth. I love a dual point-of-view because it lends even more. So when Spencer is a jerk, we know why, which dismantles any cliché stock characters you see in some mass-market cookie-cutter romances. The blond bombshell is not at all the stereotype you'd see in mainstream media, even though Spencer seems to think she's trouble. She has a harrowing past, is anxious about being safe, and is not out to get any man's attention. The beauty of effective dual POVs is the sweet irony of seeing what they think about each other which contrasts with who they truly are. Utterly human.
The book is steamy, but thankfully lacks the goofy euphemisms and purple prose some authors resort to. Safe sex is mentioned, and I like that is a trend in many contemporary romances. Even though it is a romance, the plot is strong. Voss does not mention too much in the blurb, so I won't add spoilers. Just know that there is as much of a plot of what is going on in Harper's life as there is a budding relationship that is so stinking cute.
Overall, Ask Me Nicely, by Dania Voss, is a quick, steamy read with well-developed characters, a strong plot, and just the right amount of adorableness.