Review: Everything You Need To Know by Helenkay Dimon

Everything You Need To Know by Helenkay Dimon

Publisher: Cosmo Red Hot Reads (from Harlequin)

Publication Date: October 15, 2013

Rating: 4 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***

Summary (from Goodreads):

Welcome to Need to Know—Because a Woman Can’t Be Too Informed

Dating in D.C. is like navigating an apocalyptic wasteland populated by men in expensive suits with zero mating potential. Need to Know provides all the information a savvy single woman like you needs to avoid dating disasters.

By night, Jordan McAdam is the proprietor of a popular website that rates D.C.’s hottest bachelors—everything from how quick they are email you back to their skills in the sack. She’s been burned once too often to accept any man at face value. By day, her job as an office temp puts her in the perfect position to do a little fact checking on her rich and powerful subjects. When her latest assignment brings her face to face with the sexy but mysterious Forest Redder, Jordan decides to do a little “hands on” research of her own. To Jordan, he seems like the perfect man – but she knows there is no such thing. Moreover, there’s a big problem: Forest knows Jordan’s the woman behind the scandalous site—and Jordan knows he knows. Will he expose her secret—or find his own posted on Need to Know?

What I Liked:

Well, it's been quite some time since I picked up a romance read! My last review posted on my site - of Spinning Gold by Vivi Andrews - was written months ago, as I read the book months ago. I've been reading a lot of Young Adult novels recently - and quite a few of them have been sequels, which is nice. But it was refreshing to pick a romance read, for a change! I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed them. 

This book is a novella, so it wasn't a full-length story between Jordan and Forest, but it was a great story nonetheless. Jordan with her Need To Know business, and Forest with his millionaire self - lovely combination. The "CEO" and "secretary" angle is a little overused in romance novels, but I don't read too many contemporary romance stories - and certainly not recently - so I was okay with that.

The plot was pretty straightforward. We have the almost immediate chemistry between Jordan and Forest - upon sight, it seemed - and then we have Forest's business with Ryan Peterson, a former employer of Jordan (technically, he wasn't her employer, but whatever). Jordan is thrown into the mix because she owns Need To Know, a site where women post things about men that they have previously dated, or ask questions about men they want to date. Jordan put Ryan Peterson on the site, even though they didn't date.

This is a big deal, because Forest recently backed out of a business deal with Ryan, right around the same time that Jordan stopped working as a temp for Ryan, and also, when she put information about him on Need To Know. I think we all know where this is heading - Jordan gets hired to work for Forest, Forest has no idea she runs Need To Know... exactly.

This story is really cute, in my opinion. I loved watching Forest and Jordan fall (stumble?) in love. The chemistry between them is fiery hot, but sweet, at the same time. Jordan is so bold, but not in an aggressive way. Forest is definitely bold as well, but in an alpha male, manly, controlling way. Despite him being controlling, I really like how Dimon brings him across to readers. He's a genuinely good man, and of course, very yummy. But seriously - he's a good guy. Almost too good.

The ending is as we expect most romance novels - it wraps up nicely, and perfectly, especially for the two protagonists. I'm not complaining - I expect this from romance novels. And I like the ending of this book. This book was worth the read!

What I Did Not Like:

There wasn't anything that really stuck out to me, that I didn't like. This story is condensed to a novella, so it is very short. A lot needs to happen in a novella, to build the world, the plot, the characters, and so on. I kind of wanted more from this story - more of a build-up of intensity between Forest and Jordan. I'm not saying that their relationship was rushed - it really wasn't - but as a reader, I would have loved to see/read more interactions between Jordan and Forest.

Also, at times, Forest seemed a little *too* perfect. And the whole thing with him being a black sheep? Meh. It didn't really make me believe that he was a "bad boy" - the stereotypical alpha male with a tragic past. But that's okay. I liked him anyway.

Would I Recommend It:

If you're looking for a quick romance read, then I definitely would. It's really short, but a lot happens, and nothing felt rushed or instant. Fans of adult contemporary romance novels may enjoy this book - I know that I did! But then, I don't read too many adult contemporary romance novels though. But I still enjoyed this one!

Rating:

4 stars. I think it's my adult-reads drought that I've recently experienced, but I really enjoyed this book! I'm happy I had the chance to read it, and that took that chance.

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