Review: Room Service

Book Review: Room Service, by Jill Shalvis, 3 stars


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Farm-girl-turned-TV-producer Em Harris is in way over her head. Trying to bag chef Jacob Hill for her new culinary show is one thing. Staying at the sex-themed hotel Hush, where his restaurant is located, is quite another. Her goal there is to convince Jacob, known for looking and cooking like a dream, to sign a contract. But after a few days of being enveloped in Hush's sensual atmosphere, the only thing on Em's mind is discovering if Jacob tastes as delicious as he appears….


Genre: contemporary romance

Publishing date: October 2013 (for the current Kindle edition; the original book in from 2006)

Mature content: yes

Review: My experience with early books from authors I currently read and love isn't really great, and Room Service is no exception. The story had a lot of potential but it fell flat in too may ways. 

Jacob is a fairly likable character, though I would have preferred him to be less convinced he's God's gift to women. And I also would've liked to see him actually work, because he does little of that in the book.

Em is thoroughly inconsistent. I have no idea why she's branded as a country girl right at the beginning, because it doesn't seem all that relevant throughout the book. She doesn't need to be a country girl to be friendly and honest, so I don't see the importance of that detail. On the other hand, she acts like she's on a vacation with her best friends, with spa days and bar nights, and not working on the last chance to save her job and her career. 

And as much as I liked Eric and Liza as secondary characters, I couldn't understand why they were included as Em's assistants because they don't do any work either - they're just either fighting, goading each other or trying to save their failed marriage.  


 

So...everyone in the book acts in a totally unprofessional way and when you discount that from the plot you're just left with a lot of sex scenes and sex talk, and a happily ever after.

I'm rating it with three stars because I still think the story had potential and the plot had some originality. And because I really liked Jacob. This is a read-if-you-love-Jill-Shalvis-and-have-lots-of-time-on-your-hands. Otherwise, there are better alternatives out there. 


Happy readings,



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