Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Standalone Light Romance with some spice.

Thank you Berkley and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this early. This post contains affiliate links.

I read another book by Rachel Lynn Solomon that I really enjoyed, but I had a few issues with it, so I was excited to give the author another try. As a non-practicing Jewish woman, I am intrigued by books that have Jewish characters, especially stories that don’t center around the religion. Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon was just that. Their religion was hardly even discussed, but it’s nice seeing my own kind in a story.

Chandler Cohen (heroine) is a ghostwriter. It’s not her dream career, but it pays the bills. One night she attends a book signing for a book she wrote for the “author” over email. The author had no idea who she was. While drowning her sorrow at the bar, she meets a very handsome man and spends the night with him. He seemed like the perfect guy until they had sex. And it was really bad, so she planned to never see him again.

Until…surprise! Her next job is ghostwriting his autobiography.

Finn Walsh was relatively obscure actor from a beloved werewolf TV show and now makes his living going to all the Comicon-type festivals around the country. He is vegan and has OCD so his story is a little more interesting than the average C-list actor. As they work together, Chandler finally tells Finn that she didn’t enjoy their night together at all, and he is truly surprised. Nobody ever told him he wasn’t good in bed before.

For a twist on the norm, Finn enlists Chandler to teach him how to be good in bed. I loved that Finn was still alpha, but he had no idea how to please a woman, not because he is selfish, but because he truly didn’t know what he was doing. Women were so wowed by the fact they were banging a hot actor that they never told him! Let me tell you, he was a quick learner, and it got pretty spicy. I loved Finn. He was nerdy and sweet and still very sexy.

“You’re just . . . so smart. So nice. And you wear socks when you shouldn’t and take me to sex shops and read books about people killing each other with poisoned pastries.”

Because Chandler was writing Finn’s story, we got to really get to know him, and I liked that he pushed to know her just as well. I really enjoyed reading a book where the tables are turned for a change, but the same issue plagued this story as the last one by this author. What started out really strong just fizzled out a bit at the end. Something also held me back from being 100% invested, but I have yet to put my finger on it.

I really liked Chandler. I loved that she was experienced in bed and there was no shaming. I loved that she had a lot of personal growth she still needed to go through. And I loved Finn and how eager he was to learn while still being sexy and manly.

“Because he is someone worthy of a memoir, and in my lowest moments, sometimes I feel like a blank page.”

Likes:

Books about books are my favorite!(see my list)
I love that this was real, not everyone is great in bed just because they are hot. It was great to see the heroine teach the hero for a change!
Both the hero and heroine were Jewish but that wasn’t really the focus of the story at all, they just happened to be Jewish.
The real-life representation. He is vegan and OCD (germ-based), she has anxiety and has had an abortion. All of these topics were handled with care.
A diverse cast of side characters.
Their relationship was so healthy!
I love how they encouraged each other to take some risks, both personally and professionally.
Scenes were spicy and there were plenty, but they didn’t overwhelm the story at all.

Dislikes:

Something was missing. I think I just never really felt the connection enough.
The ending seemed to fizzle out a bit.

The Down & Dirty:

I love books about books, and Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon added the unique aspect of the heroine teaching the hero how to perform better in the bedroom. It also featured Jewish characters who both suffered from some mental health issues that were handled very well. It was a fun and unique storyline with very real likable characters. While it didn’t stand out to me as the best of the best, Business or Pleasure was a solid 4 stars for me.