I was given a copy of Elizabeth Lynx’s Rules of Payne in exchange for an honest review.

Morgana Drake has some problems in her life.

She has a boss she hates. Truth be told everyone at her company hates him, he’s a jerk. A jerk that Morgana can’t seem to get off her mind. However, she wants to get into her company’s Executive Development Program, but there is one thing standing in her way. You guessed it, her boss. Henrik Payne.

Payne is very serious about his job. He has worked hard for over ten years to become VP of Sales and Marketing and make Mimir the third largest online retailer. He has rules he follows to make sure the company and his life run smoothly. So, why does he keep breaking all his rules when it comes to Morgana?

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REVIEW

Grab a bottle of holy water because Rules of Payne is steamy.

Here’s the deal, I didn’t think it was all that bad. I’ve read some smutty novels that are just pure awful with virtually no substance, but I think Elizabeth Lynx did a good job at balancing both the story and the sex. It’s not over the top shagging every second which is a relief.

Morgana was an entertaining character and refreshing change from the sort of main females that we see in these types (I really don’t want to use the word erotica) of books. She’s quick witted and often hilarious. If the whole book had been from Morgana’s perspective then I probably would’ve enjoyed it more because she really is an entertaining narrator which I think women could somewhat relate to.

However, this book did the exact thing that annoys me which is use different POVs. It just instantly puts me off a novel, however I powered through purely because I enjoyed the banter between Morgana and Henrik Payne who actually is a giant pain in Morgana’s life for many reasons other than the obvious fact that he’s attractive and Morgana wants him more than she wants cake (which is a lot).

Yes, it ticks a lot of the cliche boxes. Hot boss screwing his equally hot secretary? Rich dude damaged by his romantic past and no longer can love? I assure you that I rolled my eyes with each cliche, but the humour definitely did save this book from being a cliche overloaded disaster.

Rules of Payne ends with a cliffhanger and I was warned of prior to reading, so I can’t say I was surprised. I don’t know whether I will be picking up the sequel in Elizabeth Lynx’s Cake Love series, but it’s certainly being considered.

In a nutshell, it’s a fun, flirty and quick book that you could probably devour in a few hours with a bottle of wine and cake for company. It’s not a serious ‘Fifty Shades of Grey‘ type read by any means, it’s lighthearted and humorous.

If you’re going to read the smut genre for the first time, then I’d wholly recommend Rules of Payne.

RATING
★★★