ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Riley’s previous books very much and was looking forward to this one, it was good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the three matchmaker books.

I enjoyed both leads, though I preferred Savannah, Olivia was a bit hit and miss in that she seemed to change personality towards the end, going from ‘I have roots and want to settle down’ to ‘I’m commitment phobic’ was annoying. I did enjoy the secondary characters, both Olivia’s sister and Savannah’s brother were fun additions and Reagan was also a great side character, especially since I thought the ‘jealousy’ trope was going to pop up and was relieved when it didn’t.

For the most part this is an enjoyable, somewhat slow burn romance. I say ‘somewhat’ because even though the leads spend a lot of time together and get to know each other there are weird PDA scenes that pop up that I just couldn’t get behind (see under the cut for more details). I liked that the leads did get to know each other, and their chemistry was great but the ending was a bit too filled with miscommunication or lack of communication issues that could have easily been avoided. Riley is a good author though, and this is filled with witty dialogue and interesting characters and is worth a read. 3 stars.

Spoiler

My main gripe with this book was the ridiculousness of the PDA scenes. First they have phone sex when they’ve barely begun flirting and then just keep working together like it didn’t happen, then not once, but twice, they make out (and not just kissing, full on groping) in public places. I actually went back in both scenes to make sure they were still in public. No way would two astute business women be that stupid.

I’m a big fan of Riley’s Perfect Match series. Riley does a fantastic job of writing connections between her characters. I enjoy her dialogue and the interactions she writes allows her readers to really buy into her relationships. Her characters are likeable and her secondary characters always fit perfectly. If you enjoyed her Perfect Match series you will enjoy this one as well. Riley could easily become one of favorite go to authors. Hope she keeps em coming.

This one just wasn't for me--both from a story standpoint and a technical one. I just didn't connect with any of the characters. One of the things I appreciate about contemporaries is that the heroines usually have great friendships with other women, but here, Olivia's kind of terrible to Reagan, who's supposedly her best friend. That's where she lost me. Savannah was pretty two-dimensional, too. I think part of the problem was that their jobs were so glossed over that what could've been an opportunity to show them connecting professionally just felt empty.

Mostly, this felt like a first draft. There was a lot of info-dumping toward the beginning and a lot of telling throughout. The technique of telling can be used to great effect, but here, I just felt like we were going through the story motions. We couldn't get from point A to point B without a lot of summary in between. At one point, Savannah mentions that Olivia "gave her a tour of some of her favorite NYC haunts before the week began," but . . . we never saw it. Scenes like that would've been great opportunities to deepen the connection between Olivia and Savannah. A lot of the dialogue could've been polished, too.

One small detail that irked me a bit:

Savannah's whole reason for being closed-off was that her ex-girlfriend "had struggled with depression after the loss of her mother and started an affair with someone she'd met in a bereavement group." I felt like this kind of made light of depression, especially since Savannah never examines if she could possibly bear any of the blame. I just thought it was a bad reason and would've liked a more nuanced explanation.

I like to read romance because they're generally fun, quick reads. I started reading this before Sparks Like Ours, was kind of slogging through it, and ended up finishing Sparks Like Ours first. Room Service probably didn't benefit from being read adjacent to a Melissa Brayden book. Overall, this wasn't for me, and that's okay.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books, and Fiona Riley for the e-copy.

Room Service by Fiona Riley is a really good romance about what lengths one is willing to go for love. If you are a fan of her Miss Match books, then you will really like Room Service.

Olivia and Savannah are thrown together when Savannah’s firm contracts out a series of projects to the design company that Olivia works for. They dance around their attraction for each other until they simply can’t deny that attraction or the friendship that is developing along the way. This book is a traditional romance in that it follows the formula: two main characters fall in love; an outside force causes a misunderstanding which breaks them up; and then everything is resolved for a happy ending. What sets this apart from most romances is the chemistry between Olivia and Savannah. It is blistering to say the least.

Riley creates two main characters that are ideal for each other and she doesn’t just tell us they are. She shows us their unique personalities, their vulnerabilities and their quirks. They each have subtle idiosyncrasies that make them completely relatable. The slow burn that builds between them is hotter than anything else I have read by this author, which kept me glued to the book.

The story is told in the third person and it moves between Olivia and Savannah’s points’ of view. I never felt like there was head hopping going on because Riley deftly moves between the two so seamlessly. The dialogue is witty while still remaining natural.

My only criticism of the book was that the final resolution felt a little rushed to me, but this is something that I realize might just be my reaction to the book and not something other readers might have a problem with.

I would definitely recommend this book. If you are new to this author it’s a great place to start or if you are familiar with her books, you won’t be disappointed.

I was given an ARC of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review.

This is an early work by Ms. Riley just published now after the three books of her 'Perfect match' series. This is an office romance between interior designer, Olivia Dawson, and Savannah Quinn, her client corporate liaison. As they travel around the country to tackle different projects, their mutual attraction grows making it impossible to ignore. Will their corporate association get in the way of their budding relationship?

'Room service' is a slow-burn romance written from the point of view of both main characters. Ms. Riley excels at building their chemistry that slowly grows to sizzling hot. Both characters are a bit too perfect but their relationship works fine. My only concern is that their public displays of affection seem too over the top to be realistic. Despite that, the intimate scenes are well written, specially the phone sex passage which, in my opinion, is one of the best ever written in lesfic. Some of the secondary characters are a bit blurry specially at the beginning but it doesn't interfere with the enjoyment of the main story.

Overall, a sweet office romance read. 4 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle. Oh my giddy aunt but there’s a lot of sexy-times in this story. Don’t worry, it’s none of the boring kind because if there’s one thing Fiona Riley can deliver it’s scorching scenes. The only thing that made me go hmmm where the times that Savannah and Olivia forget themselves and went at it like rabid weasels in public places. I can understand running the risk of getting caught increases the kink for the peeps involved but I would not like to get an eye-full of oral sex while I’m taking a ride on the ferris wheel (or having a drink at the piano bar…. or taking my kids (if I had any) for a spin on the carousel).

Other than the generous dollop of slap and tickle there is still a plot to enjoy. The ladies meet on the work floor, there is mutual attraction with lots of slow burn flirting and heated foreplay, things need to be on the down-low because of work ethics, plenty of internal struggle about commitment issues and bad experiences with partners in the past and of course the dreaded 80% mark drama-rama (oy gevalt!) where both parties involved take a stupid pill. That’s a star deduction right there.

Room Service is not as polished as Riley’s later work (I hear this was something she wrote before the Miss Match series) but still a very enjoyable experience.

f/f explicit

Themes: work work work, I’m still not quite sure I understand what it is these people are building exactly, something with plants and projections and water features, but whatever it is they do they are good at it, but after work there is play… plenty of play.

4 stars

* This copy was provided by NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. in exchange for an honest review.

Despite my Kobo eating this book multiple times, and despite having to chase my reading across three different platforms to make it happen, my journey with Olivia and Savannah is finally at a close and I am so glad I took the journey.

Now, if you've read my reviews of Fiona Riley before, you know I adore her. The Matchmaking series (start with Miss Match) is awesome. Narratively, what we've got here is a series of redesign projects where Savannah's company has hired Olivia's company, and it's Olivia's opportunity to show off her chops. It involves a lot of travel and time away from home in multiple sites, and means they'll be spending a lot of time together (and in hotels). The attraction they feel initially strikes them both as ill timed. But as time passes...

As always, Riley brings her magic.

First, she handles family in a queer way, every time, that feels fresh and so much more representative of my real life than what I so often end up reading. Olivia, especially, in this case. She's got co-workers (many of whom are queer, including queer men) who are like family to her in her smaller business, and a sister, and some of the lines blur between friend and family and co-worker (including an ex she works with and some interesting dynamics at play there). Savannah has a nearly non-family, with only a half-brother and his girlfriend to really centre her, and—again—both of these felt like something lived and breathed to me, and really went toward their character.

Second, the sparks were off the charts here, and the slow-build/slow-burn was a really nice pacing. While the women work together, each from their own respective positions in their two companies, there's the push-pull dynamic of "mixing work wth pleasure is often a terrible idea" balanced with "yeah, but lady, my toes curl just looking at you" and every inch the tension notches is enticing along the way, and makes the payoff feel all the more special.

Third—and this one was truly appreciated—the issues the two face are born of their characters more than outside forces, though there is one wrinkle tossed in definitely came from outside, but the structure around it (not to mention the corporate legalities) made it a double-edged sword for one of the characters, which really, really worked. At no point did this feel like "If they just talked to each other, this would be cleared out," an issue that pops up in romance and often leaves me frustrated. Instead, there's a clever mix of personality, legality, and just plain fear of vulnerability between them.

Onward to Media Darling, Riley's next book...

I’m just going to start out this review by letting you know there’s carousel sex in this book, and if that doesn’t sell you on it, I don’t know what will.

“Do they usually call you after hours?”
“More often than I’d like, unfortunately.”
Olivia nodded and frowned at the sad tone in Savannah’s response. She lifted her head and looked at her while she gestured playfully between them. “You know, taking a little work home with you sometimes isn’t so bad.”
Savannah smiled and pressed her lips to Olivia’s. “This kinda work after hours is never a bother, trust me.”

I’m not sure if it’s just a super popular category in f/f romance, or if I just tend to gravitate toward it, but I’ve been reading a ton of lesbian workplace romances lately. Olivia and her team are renowned for their eco-focused workplace designs – think zen areas with waterfalls and special lighting that bring nature into your average cookie cutter cubicle farm. They’re already on the rise, but a trial contract with a big firm to remodel three sites could really increase their profile. It’s already looking to be a bit of a challenge, with lots of travel, tight deadlines, and unexpected site issues, but the last thing Olivia is expecting is the deep attraction she feels for Savannah, the client liaison. But they’ve got to spend the next few months working closely with each other, and both realize that a fling-gone-bad could cause all sorts of issues. As their relationship deepens, will they give love a chance, or does their relationship have an expiration date at the end of the project?

What really stood out to me in the book was the chemistry and heat level. Oh my goodness, do these two have some serious chemistry, and there were some super steamy scenes, including the aforementioned carousel sex. There were a few that didn’t work so much – that piano scene, among other seriously public displays of affection that seemed out of character for both women – but for the most part, woohoo, I was fanning myself. Leading up to all this sex, though, was a delicious slow burn, full of lots of absolutely adorable flirting. The steaminess isn’t at the expense of their relationship, either, and the end of the book left me with the happy feeling that they were a couple whose HEA I believed in.

“Olivia pressed her index finger to her lip in thought, then replied, “Um, there may be a daydream about the drafting table that seems to continually occur…”
Savannah quirked an eyebrow at her. That was it. She would never look at a drafting table the same way again. And considering they would be around a lot of drafting tables the next few months, that would make things very difficult. Savannah frowned as that thought went from a very naughty place to one of a painful realization: they were going to have to continue to work together, for months.”

But before they get to that ending, of course, there’s all the obstacles they have to overcome. Number one, of course, is their professionalism. Neither want to either show favoritism or impede the progress of the project, so they initially try to ignore the heat between them. I thought the major conflict at the end of the book was realistic, if predictable, and I enjoyed Savannah’s solution to it. The secondary characters were excellent. I loved Olivia’s team, and Olivia’s and Savannah’s interactions with their families (Olivia’s sister and niece, and Savannah’s brother and his girlfriend) were highlights of the book for me. Though Reagan’s fratgirl attitude annoyed the heck of me, I still appreciated what she added to the story, along with Olivia’s boss.

Overall, this was a steamy, fun read, and very much recommended. I’ll definitely be looking up more of Ms. Riley’s books!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.