The Something Series- Box Set (Books 1-3) by Aubrey Bondurant – Review by Angela Hayes

The Something Series – Box Set Books 1-3: by Aubrey Bondurant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Something Series Box Set contains the first three books in the brilliant “Something Series by Aubrey Bondurant. I adore this series soooo much and can’t recommend these books highly enough. They are superbly written and are so easy to connect with the characters, who draw you in and have you investing in them and their stories within the first few chapters. This box set is a great way to introduce yourself to Ms. Bondurant’s work- and represents great value for money too…. Three books for the price of one #bargain!
The Box Set contains:

Tell Me Something
Tell me Something is the first book in the Something series, and it’s a superb contemporary/ Office romance.
Haylee Holloway has a heart full of grief, having lost both her parents in the space of five years, has left her not wanting to form attachments to anyone as she fears that they would eventually leave. Happiness is a fleeting thing and she won’t subject herself to that kind of pain, again.
The incredibly smart twenty-two year old is saving up to attend law school in the Fall, and in the meantime, to help make ends meet she has taken on a job as an assistant at an advertising company.
While on a shoot for a very important client, there is an issue with one of the models, so Haylee steps in so the whole shoot isn’t jeopardised. And if she didn’t feel awkward enough, the sexy owner of the company decides to show up. She can’t seem to take her eyes off him.
Josh Singer owns Gamble Advertising. He is broody, intense and smoulderingly hot. He is impressed by her loyalty, dedication, willingness to pitch in and can-do attitude; not to mention her natural beauty. He is quite taken with her.
Josh makes her an offer she can’t refuse- become his assistant and move to New York City. It really is an offer she can’t refuse. Knowing that there is an expiration date to their arrangement, due to Haylee leaving for Law School in the fall- they come to a mutually beneficial agreement.
But Haylee has issues that affect her ability to fully embrace a relationship and Josh has trust and commitment difficulties. Things he has yet to tell Haylee. Can they put aside their insecurities and embrace what they could have together, or will they let fear dictate their future?
I am really impressed with Ms. Bondurant’s vivid, emotive and descriptive writing style. This book is a real page turner; I didn’t want to put it down until I had finished the story and knew what had become of Josh and Haylee. The engrossing nature of the story is entirely due to the authors writing talents.
It was heartbreaking and emotional in places, but it also had funny moments; and times I had my heart in my mouth. Then there is the angst, it was so real, I felt it.
The author touched on a few sensitive topics, but did so considerately and respectfully.
I did get a little frustrated with Josh and Haylee at times. But mostly, I was cheering them on from the sidelines- hoping that they would find a future in each other’s arms.

Ask Me Something
Ask Me Something is the second book in the Something series. It is a contemporary, erotic, office romance- with a bit of a friends-to-lovers element to it.- When I said erotic earlier- I really do mean sizzling, nibbling your bottom lip, forget the outside world, drooling on your kindle, kind of erotic!
Sasha Brooks is the Vice President of the New York branch of Gamble Advertising. She loves her career and has worked incredibly hard to get where she is today. Sasha can come across as cold and unapproachable, does a great R.B.F and has a reputation as a fierce business woman. Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. There are things she has hidden, secret she’s kept from the world, her colleagues and even her family.
Brian Carpenter is the East Coast Regional Vice President for Gamble Advertising and Sasha’s boss. He is very easy going, charming and considerate. Working with Sasha isn’t always easy, but he wouldn’t expect it to be anything less- plus she is really good at her job. They have eight years of friendship behind them- a history of friendly and flirtatious comradery. They also have incredible chemistry. But being work colleagues, it is far less complicated and easier to just remain friends. Right?
When one of them seems to be seeing someone else, will it be enough to get them to admit how they feel? Or is it too late? What happens when ALL the secrets are revealed?
This book had me burning up the pages, soaking up every word- time seemed to stand still while I lost myself for a few hours in this captivating story.
It is quite funny and there were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments- some of the banter and antics were just hilarious.
The characters were wonderful; really well written and fully developed- with their own, individual traits. They grew from their experiences throughout the story and learned from their mistakes. They were realistically written, there was no sugar coating them- they were written with ‘warts and all’. That made the story that much more believable and allowed me to really connect to the characters and the story.
This book is told from Sasha’s POV right the way through till the epilogue, which is from Brian’s POV.
It’s a highly engrossing and very entertaining read!

Bet Me Something
“Being able to stand on your own two feet, sometimes requires getting knocked off them completely”…….
Bet Me Something is the third book in the Something series. I really have fallen in love with this series; Ms. Bondurant keeps setting the bar higher with each consecutive book and nails it every time. This book is the best of the bunch so far, and that’s really saying something considering how much I have loved them all. I began reading and was immediately captivated by the story- reading it in one sitting, because I couldn’t put it down. It is a contemporary, erotic, romantic comedy.
McKenzie Lane (Kenzie) thought she had her life mapped out, at least for the foreseeable future. Having just graduated from college, she’s really excited to begin work the following week. Kenzie was the one applicant chosen from thousands for this internship and considers it a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. But instead, her controlling mother has other ideas and is bulldozing all Kenzie’s dreams. She has spent the past four years attending college in LA to get away from her mother, but also to be close to the guy she has been crushing on since the day she laid eyes on him, sixteen years earlier.
Colby Singer owns a successful movie production company in LA, he is very sexy and charming- popular with the ladies, he has a reputation as a ‘Player’. He and Kenzie have been friends for years, he’s always liked her- but because of their nine year age difference and the fact that she is his best friend’s sister, he has her relegated to the ‘friend zone’.
After Kenzie’s mother dropped the ‘bomb’, Colby was determined to get Kenzie’s mind off the stressful situation by taking her away for some fun. What he hoped would be a simple weekend of fun with a friend, was a lot more difficult than he had realised. Especially when Kenzie decides that this may be the only opportunity she will get, to determine if he could ever see her as more than just “his best friend’s baby sister”. It’s at this point where the story got really interesting- but no spoilers from me, you really should read it and discover all the captivating details for yourself…. You won’t be disappointed. read it to find out what happens………
Ms. Bondurant has a wonderful way with words, she doesn’t just write, she paints a picture with her words. She lovingly crafts her plot and the characters, giving intricately detailed descriptions in her scene setting and witty dialogue. There is a lot of humour in the way she writes and the story did have many hilarious moments. There were a couple of points through the story where I reached for the tissue box. There were some really touching and heart-warming moments in this delightful book.
All the characters are really well developed, well written, likeable and entirely enchanting. I loved that they learned, grew and ‘matured’ as the story unfolded. At the beginning Kenzie was being walked all over by her mother, but by the end she was really standing up for herself. I loved her sarcastic sense of humour and her sassy attitude. Colby is just adorable- I found him so swoony; he’s fun, charming and sinfully sexy with his trademark PDG (panty dropping grin). They really steamed up the pages with their sexy antics.
“…losing a bet to you has always turned out to be the very best thing to happen to me”….
Another wonderful addition to a seriously great series!

So, do yourself a favour and grab yourself a copy to read, you are sure to love them just as much as I have!

Thank-you Ms. Bondurant!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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