Rock Hard (Rock Kiss Book 2)

Despite being an avid reader, there are very few romance authors I'm willing to purchase on an 'OH GOD THEY HAVE ANOTHER BOOK TAKE MY MONEY' basis. That being said, when it comes to a Nalini Singh book it could be my last five dollars and I'd still fork it over to Kindle so I could read her latest masterpiece. Then when I got enough money I'd probably buy it from the bookstore because I'm weird like that and prefer the real deal over electronic mind numbing ebooks.So, when I got the notice in my inbox that I was going to be able to read Nalini's latest novel in the Rock Kiss Series, Rock Hard, I reacted like a five year old whose mother finally gave them cookies.Before I delve into my rant on why this book was f-ing amazing, here is the back cover blurb:Wealthy businessman Gabriel Bishop rules the boardroom with the same determination and ruthlessness that made him a rock star on the rugby field. He knows what he wants, and he’ll go after it no-holds-barred.And what he wants is Charlotte Baird.Charlotte knows she’s a mouse. Emotionally scarred and painfully shy, she just wants to do her job and remain as invisible as possible. But the new CEO—a brilliant, broad-shouldered T-Rex of a man who growls and storms through the office, leaving carnage in his wake—clearly has other plans. Plans that may be equal parts business and bedroom.If Charlotte intends to survive this battle of wits and hearts, the mouse will have to learn to wrangle the T-Rex. Game on.Where do I even begin? I adored this book. More so even than the first two, which were both magnificent! The Rock Kiss Series begins with Rock Addiction, which is Molly and Fox's story and is much more a carnal read than the following stories in the series. Not that it being carnal lessened the writing or the fun in reading it, but it was definitely a departure from Singh's previous two series, The Psychangeling Series and Guild Hunter Series.In Rock Addiction, we're introduced to Charlotte, the heroine in Rock Hard, through her best friend Molly. I begin here because the setup for both Charlotte and Gabe begins in book one. This is how amazing Nalini is, two books prior to Charlotte's and already she has laid the groundwork for both characters. The level of planning that requires, as often times I think most secondary characters aren't meant to get their own story and then demand it of the author, is more than this half panster/half planner - planster? - can say for herself.Still, getting to see the spunk in shy, wounded Charlie-mouse from book one and then His Carnivorousness through her eyes had me drooling in anticipation for their story. From the first book it was obvious that their story would have the heartbreaking love and intimacy that all of Nalini Singh's books have, but also the feistiness and conflict that I have come to expect and love of her books. Despite Charlie and His Carnivorousness referring to Charlie as a 'mouse' she never once acts mouse-ish. Yes, she is horribly broken, scarred and psychologically damaged, but behind the fear and the anxiety is a woman stronger than most. I guess what I'm really getting at is that she had a backbone. And I have found that with all of Ms. Singh's characters. Not one doesn't have the constitution - unless they're the weasely villain - to be strong and heroic in their own right.The wonderful thing about Charlie is that she is both strong and weak. Words that have so many meanings nowadays using them to describe a character is plain wrong, but hard not to do. After the serious abuse that Charlie went through with her previous boyfriend Richard it's no surprise that she has both physical and emotional scars. Yet, behind the anxiety and fear is a girl with more spunk than most. She's willing to stand up to a terrifying, carnivorous t-rex of a man who can be quite surly on a regular basis. Though Charlie thinks herself broken, she is far from it. Cracked, maybe, but broken - no. In fact, she's done what many wouldn't after such horrible torture. She picked herself back up. Yes, she has a few security blankets and hang-ups, but what woman wouldn't. What Rock Hard does is show that even those hang-ups can be overcome. That despite the darkness we are never truly lost and if we accept help from those who love us then beating our demons is always an option. Charlie is the quintessential well rounded character. She has issues, she has likes and dislikes and still has a personality that leaves the reader sitting in their chair peeing themselves because some of her one-liners are so good.Then there is Gabriel Bishop. Oh boy. This man is hot with a capital HOT. Gruff and yet sweet, how can any woman resist his charm and not to mention he has a brain. In fact, his brain is probably his best asset as it helps him win over Charlie. Any woman can go for looks, but if you want to keep him around there better be a brain in that hard head of his and with Gabriel it's working overtime. In fact, it becomes an issue in their relationship for the simple reason that Gabriel is afraid to stop working. He's afraid that he'll become like his father and so he puts that powerful brain of his to work until it becomes a health risk. What's great is, Charlotte by the time this piece of his personality needs to be addressed, has come around and can now fight with him over it. Not once despite Mr. T-Rex's overbearing demeanor, does Charlie ever let him push her around. From the moment she gets her new job, Charlotte and T-Rex are on equal ground.What I loved most about these characters and this story was that it read real to me. Not once did I sit there and say 'psht this would never happen' and while it may never, because as Charlie says when do guys like Gabriel go for girls like her, but because of the depth of character I believed it. Charlie and Gabriel became real. They floated off the page and nagged me to keep reading, even while at work, so I could finish their story. Because they were real, even Richard the weasel was real, I could handle whatever rocky moments they went through and I knew they could too.Nalini always hits it out of the park with her books and it's no mystery as to why. With her beautiful crafted prose, rounded and real characters and a definite heart to her books, they're all superb and bound to be hits. I can't wait to see what she comes out with next!

First off, let me say that getting this book made me let out a little squeal of joy. I really enjoy Nalini Singh's stories, and so I look forward to any books that are coming out. Now on to the actual review.I read this story twice. First I read it as soon as I received the novel. Then I reread the rest of the novels in the series and then read Rock Hard again. Both times I enjoyed the story, and I can also say that I don't think you need to read the other stories in the series to appreciate this story. There is a small amount of overlap between Rock Hard and Rock Addiction, but the novel stands alone just fine. Either way, I found the novel a light fun read that I will have no problem reading again in the future. At this point you might be asking why I gave this novel less then a 5, if I enjoyed it so much. Well, I suppose the issue is I have very high standard before I will rate a novel as a 5, and this just wasn't quite there. Very close, but not quite a 5.This next bit contains light spoilersThe main characters were portrayed very consistently throughout the story, there was growth and development but their base personalities stayed the same. That was nothing less than I expected from one of Nalini's stories, it is a depth that makes it worth reading the stories more than once. What dropped the star was the secondary characters. There were some secondary characters that have very little page time, but who don't live up to their hype. Don't get me wrong, I understand why technically the character did not behave as expected. However, to have all the buildup for an appearance that lasted less then a page was very disappointing, by that point in the story I wanted a little action.I do hope you get a chance to read the story. I had preordered the story (though I lucked out and got a copy early with an agreement to review the novel), and I do not regret the purchase at all. Not only did I enjoy reading the story, but I will be recommending my mother read it too.

I’ve been on an office romance kick lately!! This one definitely did not disappoint!! I don’t even know where to begin. I love how low angst this is? Apart from Charlotte dealing with her past abuse there really isn’t any drama surrounding the relationship.If I were to describe what a man should be it’s Gabriel Bishop. He’s one of the best, if not the best, book boyfriend I’ve ever come across. There’s no nonsense involved. He immediately fired the previous PA and asked Charlotte to take over the job when he saw how smart and how capable she was. He finds her mind and her wits so sexy and everything just went on from there. This book was slow burn. He had so much patience in pursuing Charlotte 😭 He was carrying that diamond bracelet for months!!!Gabriel and Charlotte were such an old married couple from the very beginning!! The banter between them was so entertaining. It also showed a lot of Charlotte’s growth and healing. She holds her ground against Gabriel and gives as good as she gets. Idk I just really love these two so much 😭 It might be silly to say but I love how mature they both are. It’s just that I’ve read a lot of romance books with juvenile misunderstandings and there were none of that here at all.I’m going to put down one of my favorite quotes from this book so if you’ve read this part beware it’s a spoiler!!“You’re asking me to marry you?”“No. You are marrying me.”The most romantic non romantic proposal 😂😭 Even his proposal was no nonsense. No one does it like Gabriel Bishop!!!

I loved that book already at the first read. Still love it after reading it a second time. Though I now think, that the backflashs are not that authentic than I thought. I think it may be more severe after experiencing what Charlotte had. But am not a Psychologist neither am I a victim so it's just a guess from me.Never the less, it's still a brilliant and wonderful story.

I am re-reading all the books wroten by Nalini Singh I have and this one really is one of my favorite! The characters are just perfect, between fun and touching, strong and complicated... Please read it and each time you will laugh and cry, believe you are not the first and certainly not the last reader falling for this story.

I really loved reading this book and i really am looking forward to reading the next book in this series and i found it to be sexy, erotic, sensual, romantic, a bit kinky, intense, warm, serious, great storyline, compassionate, funny, filled with drama, adventure, danger and i loved the characters in the book.

This is my first read from this author, it's one of those books which I bought (paid quite a bit more than other books from the same genre) instantly after reading the preview chapters and then just read through in one sitting...I liked the writing/story/characters...it has humour and also showcased a terrible ordeal that the heroine went through and won/survived...I'm definitely going to read more in this series...and when I start on the paranormal genre I'm sure to read this author's work...+18 only...