Review: Sexy and captivating!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 14, 2013
***3.5 stars****This is my first read from the Manhattanites series, and it took me by surprise.  There's definitely a strong Sex in the City vibe going on here, which isn't really my thing, but fans of the show will love it.  Unscrupulous combines business with pleasure for a look into the fast-paced lives of Taddy Brill, who overcame emotional scars and obstacles to get to the top, and Warner Truman, the man who has it all except the one woman who can shake up his world.Taddy was a feisty little thing, and her internal musings about her sex life were as funny as they were spicy. She ruled the roost in her world of business, but her influence didn't spill over into her luck with men.  Just when she and her friends had decided to change their priorities in life thanks to their frustrations in the dating department, the delectable man who once caught her eye (but left her disappointed) showed up, determined to prove himself worthy of Ms. Taddy Brill.  I liked that Warner was the one floundering and desperate to find the enigmatic Taddy, it was nice to have a strong and independent female lead who kept her man on his toes. Warner was tender with a side of WOW, confident both in the boardroom and the bedroom!  He and Taddy were without a doubt smoking hot together, and the way they both pushed each other's buttons made for some memorable moments between them.Thanks to Taddy's rather painful past and Warner's heartbreaking loss, the reader gets a deeper emotional connection between them as they work through some of their issues. She has walls built up to protect herself from further rejection in life, and Warner has his work cut out for him to get her to break through them. I felt like the problems were too big to be as rushed as they were here, but I was glad to have the history there so the characters weren't too one-dimensional.  I found myself struggling with the flow of the story at times, but the quick changes in direction actually seemed to jive with the whole business world/city life tone to the plot.  Overall, this may not have been something I usually gravitate towards, but I can see the appeal and I ended up enjoying the story even though it wrapped up with a lot of unanswered questions.Quotes:Tabitha caught on quick to toughen up to what life threw her way.  When her parents never came to visit her at boarding school, she didn't get upset.  No, she knew she wasn't wanted.  She'd gone through her entire childhood and never heard "I love you." ~ p. 10"Do you know what else comes to mind when I think about you and the color red?" Kiki's eyes filled with tears.She pulled the rental up at the drop-off spot, threw the transmission into park, and pressed on the break. "No, what?""Your passion for life, the confidence you have within you to move forward, and the love you give to others and deserve, but never expect in return." ~p. 109"Stop talking." She egged him on for fewer words and more action, wanting to see how far she could push him.  Taddy was curious whether a porn star hid under his CEO billionaire, third richest man in the world, Warner Truman gentleman's wrapper. ~ p. 120