Review: Great Reading
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 12, 2014
7 Minutes in Heaven is Rhian Cahill’s first book in the Are You Game? Series, and is closely related to the Party Games series she wrote with Lexxie Couper. This is a world I enjoy visiting, and it was great to see old friends from that series, and meet new friends to add to the group.Starting a new business is never easy, and when you are as determined to succeed as Cassandra Moreland, the business takes all of your time and focus. Building a client list and making her party planning business the best is Cassie’s only focus, at least until she literally runs into Lucas Wilhelm at her first big event.As head of McDermott Security, it is Lucas’ job to make sure nothing goes wrong at Cassie’s event; he didn’t count on his instant attraction to the stubborn and determined beauty. And though Cassie feels the attraction too, she needs to maintain control and focus, and Lucas is the biggest distraction she can imagine. When Lucas challenges Cassie to two days of sharing time, each taking one day to be totally in control of everything, Cassie accepts, believing she can handle that and then walk away. Lucas is determined to show Cassie that she can have her control and Lucas too, on both their terms. Can Lucas convince Cassie that she has time to be a success and still have room for more? How far will Lucas go to show Cassie he is willing to accept and respect her choices, as long as she does the same for him? Will Cassie see that all work and no play makes Cassie a miserable soul?I like the way Ms Cahill creates the playground of sensual pleasure in her stories, and the interaction between her characters, both old and new, is perfect for this world. There are little quirks in each of Ms. Cahill’s characters, making them more human and likable.Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Moreland is a strong and determined woman. Issues in her past have convinced her that she can only be successful if she focuses one hundred percent of her attention to one thing at a time, and she is certain that getting her party planning business up and successful leaves her no time for relationships. When she meets Lucas and is instantly drawn to him, she fears he may be too big of a distraction, but when he issues his challenge, she is too tempted to turn it down and walk away from him. I like that Cassie is able to see that she may be able to have both in her life: business and pleasure can be compatible at times. And I enjoyed watching as she learned that, with the right person, success can be even more than she ever expected.Lucas Wilhelm is temptation in a big and sexy package. When he discovers that he enjoys Cassie’s company, and is even turned on by her sassy attitude, he mounts a campaign to prove to her that she can have both her business and him without hurting either goal. I loved the lengths Lucas was willing to go to spend time with Cassie, and still manage to conduct his day-to-day business, showing her how it could work for her as well.There are some really fun moments in this one, especially the scene involving six-year-old girls and beads. And of course, Ms. Cahill provides plenty of hot and steamy sex in new and unique places for these two. The secondary characters are well developed, and many are folks that have been in and out in the Party Games series, and it was fun to see them again in this contest of background figures. I liked that this story takes place concurrent to the Party Games books, and all the action spills over a bit, yet this is still a standalone story, no need to have read the others. I recommend this to warm up a cold night, and keep something cold on hand just in case.Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews