De baas van haar dromen

MacKay Brothers #1

by Jennie Adams, Tasio Ferrand (Translator)

Fiona kan haar geluk niet op: ze heeft de baan én de baas van haar dromen. Brent MacKay is getalenteerd, zeer succesvol en... adembenemend knap. Dat laatste zal ze proberen te negeren, want ze moet zich uiteraard op haar werk concentreren. Algauw merkt ze dat Brent bepaalde, nogal heftige gevoelens bij haar oproept en dat zij hem ook niet onberoerd laat. Maar telkens als ze op het punt staan aan die gevoelens toe te geven, houdt hij afstand. Ze begrijpt er niets van, tot ze ontdekt dat hij iets voor haar verborgen heeft gehouden. Iets wat het hem onmogelijk maakt haar zijn liefde te geven...

Genres: Romance, Harlequin

158 pages, ebook

First published December 1, 2009

About the author

Jennifer Ann Ryan was born on 1963 in a small country town in New South Wales Australia. She has travelled in America, trekked Australia’s Kosciusko National Park, lived and worked on a wheat/sheep farm, played piano at marriage ceremonies, sung in a choral production, and worked in jobs ranging from Legal transcription typist, to motor mechanic’s office assistant. She currently makes her home in a small inland city in New South Wales, works 20 hours a week in an 'outside' job in the health care industry, and continues to write stories of hope and triumph for her readers around the globe.

As Jennie Adams began her writing career with the publication of her first two Mills & Boon romance stories in 2005. Her strong heroes and feisty, determined heroines have warmed the hearts of readers all over the world, with her books being translated into numerous foreign language editions. Although she fights the impulse, Jennie still tries to decipher each foreign edition when it arrives in the mail. Italian, anyone? An avid romance reader, particularly in the historical romance genre, Jennie is the self-confessed owner of an over-active imagination. When she isn't writing her own romance stories, or travelling back through time to enjoy the romances of Dukes and Duchesses, or Knights and their Ladies, Jennie keeps her imagination busy writing articles and short stories on anything from alpacas to gardening to visiting the zoo. Her articles and short stories have been published in magazines and periodicals in Australia and overseas. In her downtime Jennie tries to grow flowers, sends silly gifts to friends and family, is exploring new forms of musical entertainment, and endlessly studies the human condition wherever, in whatever form, and as often as she may do so.

Reviews

[Abby Alquicira · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fiona gets a job from Brent. They have feelings for each other Brent has autism which makes it hard for him to open up. He opens up and puts a ring on her finger.

More on this, Brent has autism. Which he has kept hidden from pretty much everyone. He has a successful business but he doesn’t let people in. I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels like the author is trying to use autism as an excuse for a closed-off man. There’s a difference between masking and having a “deep dark secret” that makes it hard to relate to people for the plot. It just felt weird. It didn’t feel organic.

Every other page in this book had “is it because of his autism?” Like we get it. He’s having a hard time, can you use ANY other way to portray that?

Quotes that I found off-putting:
“It had to be his autism speaking, the need for a tactile exploration to feed his thought processes the answers they sought” because he wanted to touch her butt

“‘It’s the autism playing out. Having that happened as much as it has lately in front of… other people makes me tense.’ Brent muttered the words” because Brent was going to kiss Fiona

“Your autism is barely noticeable. Even when it does play out, most people wouldn’t figure out the source.” Brent’s brother telling him no one can notice he’s autistic, as if autism is something to hide.

“You think you can accept my autism, but to you it is nothing more than a few random things that don’t seem so unusual… I have nothing to offer in a… normal relationship.” Brent to Fiona because she said she’d accept him as he is. Like what does that even mean. Autistic people are aliens. What’s a normal relationship? Neurotypical?

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this heartwarming story with believable, flawed and complex characters and its setting, in Sydney, Australia.
Both the hero and the heroine struggle with self-images of imperfection and overcome it. I just felt that the heroine, a strong and compassionate figure, gives up too easily on the hero, due to her insecurities.
I praise the author, Jennie Adams, for her choice of the wounded hero type, not very common, I think, at least in this kind of fiction. Very well done, even if in the end I felt that his specific problem should be more developed, showing more examples of its impact in daily life.

[Harlequin Books]

" A very enjoyable story about learning to love yourself, accept yourself and fighting for yourself. Fiona Donner is bright, talented, insightful, open and giving but there's a sadness about her too, especially when she talks about her family. Brent MacKay is a wonderful man, very talented, but also guarded and vulnerable." From a review posted by an eHarlequin.com member, to read more go here.

[Natalija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fast read. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that you could enjoy it if you like any of these things:

* Australia
* Curvy heroine
* Unusual hero with mild autism

Fiona & Brent... I instantly fell in love with these two, and the chemistry between them was amazing. The only tiny little thing that bothered me was constant repetition of Brent's thoughts. More like different formulations of the same thought. Other than that, I enjoyed this book a lot.

[Beth Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book. It had me intrigued enough to not put it down to the end. It's a keeper in my home library.

[~Megan~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Jennie Adams, you always manage to touch my heart!

I've read several books by this author, but this is far and away my favorite. I'm so glad I looked beyond the cheesy book titles to find this author's work.

Brent has a landscaping business, and has just hired Fiona to be his graphic designer. He has two brothers, his "family by choice". They grew up in an orphanage together and became brothers in the truest sense of the word, banding together to overcome their loneliness. Brent was thrown away by his father because he has a mild form of autism that causes him to have ticks and slightly obsessive behavior. He has a lot of issues connected with his condition, and he tries his best to hide it from the world. It is his closely guarded secret. When Fiona figures out, she doesn't think badly of him for it, she loves him more because of it, and he just doesn't know how to process that fact.

Fiona is a big girl, self-described as junoesque in the book, and has always been the outcast in her family. They don't accept anything about her and treat her very coldly. When she finds Brent, she senses a kindred spirit, I think, and falls in love with him.

The chemistry between the two was blazing from their very first interaction and it only got more intense as the book went along. They both tried to battle against the feelings, Brent because of his condition and past rejection, and Fiona because she'd been rejected so many times in the past by her family and even by men because of her size.

I really fell in love with Brent in this book, and as usual with Jennie Adams' stories, I adored the heroine.

Brent's brothers, Alex and Linc, were also really fantastic and I'm wondering if she has written or will write their stories. Linc was abused and then abandoned in the orphanage, and Alex was put in a shopping bag and abandoned. They all have their issues, but they love each other so completely.

I highly recommend this book!

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiona Donner is an artist and a graphic designer. She gets a job working for Brent MacKay who owns and runs a landscape design business.
She’s attracted to him immediately but rules herself out as she’s a big girl; tall and curvy and her family never let her forget it. They also don’t get art as a career.
Brent feels the same way but backs off as he’s autistic and he’s pretty much kept that hidden.
Can they work through their issues and be together?
***
It’s a quick read. It’s not a bad book but there’s a lot of dialogue that just goes nowhere.
I have three special needs kids, now all adults, and Brent has the oddest kind of autism. I know it’s a spectrum, but his certainly doesn’t seem debilitating, and it isn’t; he runs a whole business, he deals with strangers, he interacts socially, he even makes speeches that are witty not stilted and awkward. He’s got a couple of twitches and stimming habits and that’s about it.
I love found family tropes and here his ‘brothers’ all look like him which is odd because they are just from the same orphanage. But they have all adopted the same name. I don’t get why if his father threw him away, he would want to keep his name. I don’t get why his father threw him away.
[my elder sister changed her name from Gray to Black - but that’s a whole other story]
And the title? I know its a Mills and Boon… but honestly…
3 stars

[Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good book. Good characters and personalities, a good story line, little things that were scattered throughout were interesting, a steamy scene, plenty of emotions, tough and sweet spots, a little heavy on the self-doubt, some deep moments and a perfect ending. This is a cuddle and relax kinda book and good for just reading any old time. Not something I would go-to but I enjoyed reading it. I'd definitely like to read more on the brothers too though. See what mischief Alex would get into. ;) Enjoy

[Jordan Michaels · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so much more than just a romance novel. This book shows that adults with Autism can do things with their lives if they only find something that lets them focus that unusual energy and creative something or in other ways be productive. I found it inspirational to know that even with limits or differences we can all be productive people.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, original story!

[Usagi Tsukino · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,75 stars. I liked it, but not enough to give it 3 stars.

First read: October 2010.
Second read: 03 June 2014.

[Kalu Sakura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still don't get why autism is mystified, but I like he sees it in other light at the end. Also makes me wish to go see garden designs.