In the Tycoon's Bed

by Kathryn Ross

Nicole's relationship with her handsome boss is not just a nine-to-five affair. She and Luke Santana work hard and play hard--but by his rules: no complications, just perfect passion.

But rules are made to be broken. Realizing her feelings will never be reciprocated, Nicole leaves her job and ends their liaison.

However, what will Luke do when he uncovers Nicole's secret--one requiring more commitment than just some after-hours loving....

Genres: Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Romance, Contemporary Romance

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Kathryn Ross is a professional beauty therapist, but writing is her first love. At thirteen she was editor of her school magazine and wrote a play for a competition, and won. Ten years later she was accepted by Mills & Boon, who were the only publishers she ever approached with her work. Kathryn lives in Lancashire, is married and has inherited two delightful stepsons. She has written over twenty novels now and is still as much in love with writing as ever and never plans to stop.

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an example of someone taking cliche, overused, old tropes (office romance where one party is a charming commitment-phobe who loves their no-strings relationship and the other is starting to catch feelings but thinks she must gracefully bow out since he will never love her) and executing them so perfectly that the story becomes highly enjoyable. I was really really pleasantly surprised by how invested I became and how much I felt for BOTH of the protagonists. Well-written (no flowery, purple prose), good pace (there are no info dumps or navel gazing), the characters are well-drawn (just enough to make us understand their personality, no need for a dramatic misery-porn sob story), and most of all, the resolution was totally believable. Great job by Kathryn Ross!

[Jacqueline J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read. A little bit different in that their entire arrangement began as both of them just wanting a no strings affair. Not my favorite sort of hero as it took him way too long to discover he was in love with her. I usually prefer my heroes to be head over heels even if he is hiding it from her. In this case he was hiding it from himself. This book mostly hinged on lack of communication although I'm not real sure I blame the heroine totally for keeping mum. It's not like they were a regular sort of boyfriend/girlfriend where it would seem normal to have that "where is this going?" conversation. They had spelled out the relationship rules early and considering she was sleeping with the boss who has a wild womanizing reputation, keeping her mouth shut seems realistic. Other than that the book was well written and moved along well and had no down spots.

[MissKitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just okay.

The couple are work colleagues who are also in an intimate relationship, although they mutually agree its a no strings attachment. I did appreciate that they liked and respected each other, this was not a mistress trope (🙄so thankful BTW)

But the Hero has mother abandonment issues and the heroine was let down by her ex Husband so their lighthearted romance is not so smooth sailing. At one point I thought there was going to be some OW angst… but no, that didnt even go anywhere, same as a bit of fake finace trope.

So, in the end, the angst was lightweight and the couple figured themselves out nicely in the end.

Solid 3 stars ⭐️ 👍🏻

[Tia · Rating 2 out of 5]

After Nicole's ex-husband cheated on her and knocked up his floozy girlfriend, Nicole filed for divorce and began working with Luke in Miami, instead of London. When they both met each other, it was lust at first sight. As their affair begins to progress Nicole realizes she's in love with Luke and for fear of getting hurt again because Luke is an emotional desert, she breaks it off with him. When Nicole breaks it off with Luke, he is devastated and doesn't understand why, until he faces reality and realizes he's in love with her. Then Luke finds out the most devastating thing yet, Nicole is pregnant and he's the father.

The book was just okay for me, I guess I found a lot of the background/past issues for the book were too much for me to overcome. A lot of the past issues seemed neglected and I found on that basis alone that the story for me was very weak.

[Tmstprc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, she’s breaking it off because she’d fallen in love when it’s a non-relationship relationship. She should have just said so and filled the book with less repetitive crap.

[Natalija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although predictable, "Taken by the Tycoon" is a wonderful story of two people realizing that they need more than no strings attached relationship.

Luke and Nicole come off as intelligent and sophisticated characters, who, despite the obvious match, prefer "no strings" affair till the moment when Nicole understands that she wants more. Luke Santana is a typical, self-confident alpha male, but I was pleased to see that he actually respected & cared for Nicole. In no occasion he insulted or offended her & that's what made me root for him when Nicole rejected his attempts at reconciliation.

Give this one a chance, you won't be sorry!

[Leona · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay read, but I had trouble feeling anything for the hero and heroine. Something was missing. Can't quite put my finger on what it was.

I did fine the heroine to be rather silly. She refused to tell the hero why she was breaking things off...She could have simply stated that she wanted more out of a relationship. That after her marriage she needed time to recover, but she had healed and moved on.

Since that seemed to be the drama...she felt so shallow and I lost interest in the book.
I would pass on this one.

[Debby]

The h was just weird. The h is 31 years old and she had been married to another man for 5 years. So old enough and experienced enough.

Yet when she breaks off the sex-relationship with her boss, she refuses to tell him the reason why. That’s so childish.

And when she finds out, she is pregnant, she wants to quir her job and she wants to move to another place without telling the H that she is pregnant.

The poor H has done nothing wrong. They agreed that they would only have sex and not a relationship. So she can’t blame him for that.

What makes me dislike the h, is that she thought she couldn’t get pregnant (without ever consulting a doctor about it) and when the H asks her to get the morning after pill because a condoom was torn, she does not tell him that she never went to get that pill. I’m sorry, but that’s not a decision you can make on your own. She should have told him that she wouldn’t get the morning after pill. She is 31, not a 20 year old.

This book was too modern for my taste. It was too realistic.

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a whole lot of romance to be had. I know the heroine was pretty damaged from her last relationship but she was pretty unfair to the hero a lot. He never got the whole picture from her. Just her telling him stuff, that to him, seemed totally outta left field. Pregnancy happens way too late in the story. Skip.

[MSreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writers writing style and the ending was definitely unusual but it was easy to feel the main characters emotion through the entire story. It wasn’t a favorite of mine but it was an easy spring read.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

this had its good moments ....but he only wanted casual sex ....so not romantic enough really

[Peter Dorathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** D book is amazing

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was written in 2006 which will not work today. It would be a sexual harassment suit

[More Books Than Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a favorite trope but well done.

[Floqueta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it is a tipical development for a work of this author, I liked it. Usual in this writer is (like in many HP): the heroine is a career woman (in the business world), independent, has a no-strings affair with the H, then there is an unexpected pregnancy and they must face the “problem” together/apart?.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was engrossing. I liked that is wasn't the usual love story and that the heroine was self assured and trying to do the right things for the right reasons. They both came across as decent people trying to come to terms with their love for each other. It all made sense and their motivations were always clear.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty okay. I liked that the heroine tried to set boundaries and end things when she realized the relationship wasn't working for her. Of course I wish the hero had actually respected that a little bit more, but HP.

[Calysta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough to ignore the parts that were bothersome.