Maliciously Obedient (Obedient #1) by Julia Kent
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Office Romance
Synopsis:
Damn it.
The only kid of six to choose to run off to Boston and leave behind her idyllic family in Maine, Lydia's determined to prove herself in the big city, but she has to keep Matt at arm's length. After a steamy elevator encounter that leaves her missing her panties – and most of her resolve – she decides that maybe it's time to let him get inside her.
In more ways than one.
But when Matt suddenly closes off she's upset and confused. When he also acts like he owns the place, she decides that malicious obedience – following his every command to the letter – will prove how much the department needs her creativity after he insists he knows best.
What Lydia doesn't know is that “Matt” is really Michael Bournham, the CEO of the company, part of an undercover reality television stunt. Keeping his hands off Lydia's luscious curves was becoming an exercise in restraint, but what was harder? Keeping his heart from her.
For Michael, Lydia's malicious obedience ignited a night of unbridled passion in the office that made him forget everything – including the rolling cameras – until it was too late. When unscrupulous producers make their lovemaking viral, Michael pulls out all the stops and calls in every favor as Lydia...maliciously obeys.
Review:
Maliciously Obedient started with a memorable occurrence that got me hooked. It was almost nearly impossible for me to put the book down and to even notice the chapter headings going by. The story of a soon-to-be billionaire going "undercover" as a middle manager in his own company for a reality show, just about sparked my interest even more. That show idea was brilliant! But odd enough, it was hard for me to imagine a happy ending for our protagonists.
The characters of the book were actually really well constructed. It wasn't a book that was quickly written for the sake of easy money. It was written with a lot of work and thought put in. Lydia is a hardworking admin who is trying so hard to go up the ladder but is always shut down by her egotistical, sexist boss, Dave. Mike/Matt was first an eccentric man who only thought of making money and becoming a billionaire by neglecting his employee's working environment, bonus', etc. But slowly you can actually read how he realizes the situation he put his employees in and how he forced them to hate him, the CEO. He begins to grow a conscience, thanks to Lydia.
I really liked how the romance wasn't too rushed. There were business talk and dialogue added in and that included in a lot of depth and a little bit more realism to the entire book. However, it seemed like it dragged on way too much on purpose. Like the author was just adding in fillers so she can end with the cliffhanger she already wrote ages ago. I wasn't too happy with the cliffhanger though!
Then there is the title. I spent almost the entire book wondering what has the story got to with the title. I had to stop and think about it when I was mid way through with the book, and it wasn't clicking. That is because the author didn't put in the 'Maliciously Obedient' bit until near the end. Go figure!
Overall, I loved the plot, I adored the characters and how the romance was sprinkled about. Though I wasn't too happy with how dragged out the book was, I still really enjoyed the book and it was definitely unputdownable.
3.5 out of 5 date trees
