Silk & Serif

My decision to purchase was based on Manwhore on the the reviews I read on a few blogs and the cover (cover judging: guilty). I honestly couldn't remember what series Katy had written, but I was convinced I'd read a title by her before with negative results. Goodreads informs me I haven't actually read anything of hers. Fortunately, I read the novel regardless of the fact that I had misguided negative feelings for Katy Evans and loved Manwhore.

"Ruthless, they say. A complete manwhore, they say. And so ambitious he’d put Midas to shame. Oh yeah. They say Saint won’t rest until he owns the world."

Rachel is a journalist who loves her job. The magazine she works for is floundering and her boss comes up with the story that could save their dwindling numbers. Rachel is tasked with getting close to ultra rich, unobtainable playboy Malcolm Saint and learn what makes him tick. She's up for the job, but along the way she begins to question if Malcolm is everything the tabloids make him seem or is he more?

Malcolm Saint has done many things. He's player, manwhore and party boy but he's also a shrewd business man with deep secrets. The secrets no one else knows because Malcolm keeps everyone at an arms length. Its when he meets Rachel that he begins to want more than just nameless flings and inappropriate antics..he wants more from Rachel and he doesn't take no for an answer.

"I'd say people respond to me on four levels and four levels only; they want to pray to me, be me, do me or kill me."

Manwhore is an upscale Fifty Shades of Grey without the BDSM. The rich playboy who falls for one of the commoners is a tale that has been recycled over and over in many different incarnations. Manwhore is another one of these stories. Its How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days, but in book form. Considering my love for this movie its no surprise Manwhore was a hit.

The slow build up of the relationship between Malcolm and Rachel was fantastic. Often in romance the trend towards instalove has become the norm, but Katy develops a long, satisfying courtship between the characters that pretty much made this book. Malcolm decides he wants Rachel, but Rachel doesn't want to be another notch in his belt. The fact that Rachel has a moral struggle with her assignment from the beginning is also refreshing: no gold diggers here!

The point of reading romance is to connect with the characters and become invested in their relationship, not just the erotica masquerading as romance that seems abundant. Katy Evan appears to be a master of developing real characters who you first learn to love before you love them as a couple. Manwhore is a slow burn that leaves a reader satisfied and yearning for more on Rachel and Malcolm's story. I cannot wait for the Manwhore +1 release date of July 7th 2015!

This book will appeal to readers of romance specifically the bad boy with too much money falling for a regular girl variety, lovers of contemporary romance, readers who like their romance with fantastic support characters and novels with characters who under go great personal development.