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Hard for My Boss
Benjamin Gage is not only powerful, filthy rich, and totally arrogant... he's about to become my boss.I am totally SCREWED.Working at Gage Communications as a summer intern is supposed to be an opportunity of a lifetime.But will I be able to handle it? Or will I succumb to the tension?The tension is in my pants, by the way.Between a heavy workload and a notoriously controlling boss, my summer is about to get a lot hotter and harder than I ever bargained for.Especially after learning on my very first day that the anonymous date-from-hell I just hadwas none other than the hunky and demanding Mr. Gage himself - my new boss.Things can't possibly get worse, right?This is a hot and hilarious stand-alone male/male romantic comedy with an HEA and no cheating.Read all of Daryl Banner's stand-alone male/male romances!Bromosexual (A top 100 Amazon bestseller!)Getting Lucky My Bad Ex-Boyfriend When I See You Again Lover's Flood Raising Hell Jerk Visit "Spruce, Texas" in this charming southern romance Sundae Born Again Sinner HeteroflexibleWrangledRebel At Spruce HighSummer SweatHopeful Romantic(more to come...)Spend a weekend with new friends in this steamy Texas Beach Town Too Deep Crusher Far From Paradise (more to come...)Are you a fan of series set in the city? Try the "Boys & Toys"!Caysen's Catch Wade's Workout Dean's Dare Garret's Game ConnorBrettDanteZak
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 3, 2017
929 people are currently reading
662 people want to read
About the author
Daryl Banner
97 books2,000 followersDaryl Banner is a USA Today Bestselling author, composer, and performer. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Houston Honors College with a degree in Theatre and Psychology. He is happily married to his piano. Theory suggests this is why he writes romance.
During Daryl Banner's time in college, he wrote, composed, and produced a musical under Tony Award-winning musical and Theatre producer Stuart Ostrow, as well as two original plays produced under the mentorship of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, who also mentored Daryl through the writing of his very first novel. In addition to new adult and M/M romance, Daryl also writes post-apocalyptic fantasy as well as dystopian.
Join his mailing list here to be the first to hear about his new releases! He awards an Amazon gift card every newsletter:
https://www.darylbanner.com/subscribe...
Follow him on Amazon:
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Fun facts about Daryl Banner:
- He is an obsessive self-taught pianist.
- He is a huge video game enthusiast.
- He left his day job of 10 years to tour with a 2-woman-1-man original musical.
- He's been remixing video game music for over 20 years. One of his remixes is featured in the major motion picture "The Spy Who Dumped Me". Check out his work here: http://www.youtube.com/DarylBanner
- He composes original soundtracks that accompany his books and series, including The Beautiful Dead and OUTLIER. He is also the award-winning composer of the audio drama Janus Descending, as well as several films, games, podcasts, and other media. You can enjoy his music here: http://darylbanner.bandcamp.com
During Daryl Banner's time in college, he wrote, composed, and produced a musical under Tony Award-winning musical and Theatre producer Stuart Ostrow, as well as two original plays produced under the mentorship of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson, who also mentored Daryl through the writing of his very first novel. In addition to new adult and M/M romance, Daryl also writes post-apocalyptic fantasy as well as dystopian.
Join his mailing list here to be the first to hear about his new releases! He awards an Amazon gift card every newsletter:
https://www.darylbanner.com/subscribe...
Follow him on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/author/darylba...
Like him on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DarylBannerW...
Connect with fellow readers in Daryl's Doorway:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Daryl...
Fun facts about Daryl Banner:
- He is an obsessive self-taught pianist.
- He is a huge video game enthusiast.
- He left his day job of 10 years to tour with a 2-woman-1-man original musical.
- He's been remixing video game music for over 20 years. One of his remixes is featured in the major motion picture "The Spy Who Dumped Me". Check out his work here: http://www.youtube.com/DarylBanner
- He composes original soundtracks that accompany his books and series, including The Beautiful Dead and OUTLIER. He is also the award-winning composer of the audio drama Janus Descending, as well as several films, games, podcasts, and other media. You can enjoy his music here: http://darylbanner.bandcamp.com
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January 11, 2020
Hard For My Boss is a stand alone M/M romance by Daryl Banner. This is my very first book by Daryl and I am completely in love. This is one of my very favorite tropes, besides being M/M, insta. I wouldn’t call this insta-love but more like insta-lust. I loved both of these characters with all my heart and I am so excited to tell you about them.
Trevor Woodard is three weeks from turning twenty one years old. It’s the summer before his last year of college. Trevor has spent all of his high school years and college years working diligently to do his best, to get straight A’s, to make his parents proud. As a result, he’s a bit socially awkward, perhaps nerdy. And I have to add, a bit accident prone. This summer he and his best friend, Elijah, have scored the opportunity of a life time, a summer internship at Gage Communications.
Benjamin Gage is thirty-three years old and is owner and CEO of Gage Communications. It’s a company that helps celebrity trouble makers hide all their missteps from the public. Helps to fix their public image. Ben lives alone with his Jack Russell Terrier, Lancelot. He hooks up with men but has never been in a serious relationship, has never felt attracted enough to anyone to take it beyond one night.
Trevor’s friend Elijah has convinced him to go out to a bar, something he has never done. He’s sitting alone when he sees him across the room, the most beautiful man he has ever seen. Their eyes meet and hold. He can feel the connection all the way across the room. He had no idea who this man was. But he would soon be finding out.
“This scorching man has succeeded in doing precisely what my fantasy version of him promised, he commands me with just a few words, owning me with his charm, and making me forget the bumbling fool that I am.”
Ben hasn’t been able to get the young man he met in the bar out of his mind. Then on Monday morning, there he is among the summer interns. Ben is the boss, Trevor is the intern. There is no way this can go anywhere. It’s not acceptable. But seeing him in the office, watching him, its like a slow punishment he has never experienced before.
“Trevor has consumed my mind in every way. What is it about him? What does he have that all the other hot young men don’t?
I loved these two. I loved seeing the man that Trevor brought out of Ben. I admit that in the beginning, he wasn’t very impressive with the chip on his shoulder. I was so proud of Trevor for calling him out for it. I also loved watching Trevor’s confidence grow through Ben. Their connection was so strong. It baffled Ben. He’s never felt anything like this before.
“Will we ever “just” kiss, or is every kiss that Trevor and I share going to cause our hearts to pump and turn our breaths jagged?”
There is tons of humor in this. Poor Trevor and his clumsiness! But more than that, there is so much heart. I swooned, I sighed, I smiled, I got all the butterflies. This book was EXACTLY what I needed right now and I am so happy my friend recommended it to me. I am most definitely reading much, much more by this author. I already have my next book by him chosen. You’ll just have to wait and see which one it is.
For more about this book and so many more, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...
Trevor Woodard is three weeks from turning twenty one years old. It’s the summer before his last year of college. Trevor has spent all of his high school years and college years working diligently to do his best, to get straight A’s, to make his parents proud. As a result, he’s a bit socially awkward, perhaps nerdy. And I have to add, a bit accident prone. This summer he and his best friend, Elijah, have scored the opportunity of a life time, a summer internship at Gage Communications.
Benjamin Gage is thirty-three years old and is owner and CEO of Gage Communications. It’s a company that helps celebrity trouble makers hide all their missteps from the public. Helps to fix their public image. Ben lives alone with his Jack Russell Terrier, Lancelot. He hooks up with men but has never been in a serious relationship, has never felt attracted enough to anyone to take it beyond one night.
Trevor’s friend Elijah has convinced him to go out to a bar, something he has never done. He’s sitting alone when he sees him across the room, the most beautiful man he has ever seen. Their eyes meet and hold. He can feel the connection all the way across the room. He had no idea who this man was. But he would soon be finding out.
“This scorching man has succeeded in doing precisely what my fantasy version of him promised, he commands me with just a few words, owning me with his charm, and making me forget the bumbling fool that I am.”
Ben hasn’t been able to get the young man he met in the bar out of his mind. Then on Monday morning, there he is among the summer interns. Ben is the boss, Trevor is the intern. There is no way this can go anywhere. It’s not acceptable. But seeing him in the office, watching him, its like a slow punishment he has never experienced before.
“Trevor has consumed my mind in every way. What is it about him? What does he have that all the other hot young men don’t?
I loved these two. I loved seeing the man that Trevor brought out of Ben. I admit that in the beginning, he wasn’t very impressive with the chip on his shoulder. I was so proud of Trevor for calling him out for it. I also loved watching Trevor’s confidence grow through Ben. Their connection was so strong. It baffled Ben. He’s never felt anything like this before.
“Will we ever “just” kiss, or is every kiss that Trevor and I share going to cause our hearts to pump and turn our breaths jagged?”
There is tons of humor in this. Poor Trevor and his clumsiness! But more than that, there is so much heart. I swooned, I sighed, I smiled, I got all the butterflies. This book was EXACTLY what I needed right now and I am so happy my friend recommended it to me. I am most definitely reading much, much more by this author. I already have my next book by him chosen. You’ll just have to wait and see which one it is.
For more about this book and so many more, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...
August 18, 2017
~2.5~
While I loved the dynamic between the MCs, the way they were outed as a couple was ridiculous. I was embarrassed just reading about it, and I'm not easily embarrassed.
There was a lot of lusting and talking about sex, but not nearly as much steam as you'd imagine.
Rounded up for the romantic ending.
While I loved the dynamic between the MCs, the way they were outed as a couple was ridiculous. I was embarrassed just reading about it, and I'm not easily embarrassed.
There was a lot of lusting and talking about sex, but not nearly as much steam as you'd imagine.
Rounded up for the romantic ending.
January 2, 2020
DNF @ 37%. Boring.
Actually skipped around and finished it. Maintain rating.
Actually skipped around and finished it. Maintain rating.
March 28, 2018
3.5 stars
Really stinking cheesy, but some hot boss action, a sexy man on the cover, and lots of laughs made it worthwhile. :)
and hey, can you beat a story that talks about "ding-dongs" and "tooters"????
Really stinking cheesy, but some hot boss action, a sexy man on the cover, and lots of laughs made it worthwhile. :)
and hey, can you beat a story that talks about "ding-dongs" and "tooters"????
August 16, 2017
I...uh...well...I didn't like this all that much.
The only reason I'm giving this two stars instead of one, honestly, is because I liked the beginning, and I liked Ben and Trevor's connection in the beginning. Basically the first 20 percent or so, I was fairly happy about, even with the so-so writing, all things considered.
But I just...couldn't even give this three stars because it was so ridiculous to me.
This was like a combination of contradictions for me. Because like...it took forever for these two to have full on sex - a little before the 50% mark, but it was still all about sex basically all of the time. These two would just look at each other sometimes and get a hard on. Which usually, I like when the MC's are hot for each other basically all the time. But these two were like....EVERY second of every day almost and I even found myself rolling my eyes when they it was a serious moment but either one was like "but still, I couldn't help but notice his wonderful ass and get a hard on" pls.
Trevor was also pretty immature but mature at the same time - which usually works, but didn't quite with Trevor - and Ben was pretty much immature for his 33 years almost all the time.
All of the characters, despite Trevor's and Ben's cuteness or sexiness together at times, were fairly one-dimensional. The writing was so-so throughout - but actually got worse, I thought. The dialogue was pretty "meh" at times and bad at other times.
Around the 48% mark I just started skimming a lot of this. I was feeling bored by that point - not only because it took FOREVER for them to get to full on penetrative sex, but even when it gets to that scene, the build up took FOREVER and I had this annoyed feeling of "ugh, just get ON with it already, PLEASE" like...they just kept saying sweet nothings or caressing each other - which is usually fine, but for this book it went on for like pages and pages of it before anything happened and I was just done, honestly. Also Trevor being like "i'm sooo ready" and then when they start he gets nervous and usually that would be fine, but then that just delayed them having sex even more and idk, I was just like "DO IT ALREADY" with these two, when usually i'm not. Maybe it was because these two were ALL about sex with each other for so long, and yet they didn't do much for the longest time as well.
We also, I felt, didn't get a tone of "getting to know you" scenes with them. I believe they get engaged at the end - but it all of the sudden skips ahead four years like...okay. Not expecting that. And again, it would have been fine...if done the right way, which it wasn't. The ending didn't feel like an ending, which is why when it was all of the sudden the epilogue I was like "huh?" - but I skimmed that whole chapter because I was just bored.
And here are a few gems of the writing and dialogue throughout that I found particularly hilarious/bad:
"Feel free to avert your eyes if this sort of mushiness makes your eyes roll so hard, you have to chase them across the room." The book would have asides like this, like Ben or Trevor were talking to us, the audience, which I didn't really like.
“Do what? Did I tap your boy button?”
HAHAHA WTF?? BOY BUTTON??? I've NEVER seen that used before to describe the prostate *snort*
And then a sentence later:
Yes, he hit it again in the middle of my sentence. Yes, I get that. We don't need it pointed out to us. I think we're smart enough that we don't have to have it outright told to us that he hit his prostrate again.
It’s like a dance that’s so natural, I didn’t need lessons. What does that even mean??? Like??? He's talking about him and Ben fucking, btw.
"his eyes stabbing me fiercely" This is just plain awkward. "stabbing me fiercely" with his eyes??? *snort*
Also, this story ends at 60% and then the last 40% is two novellas from another series of the authors. Seriously??? Thank god this was only a dollar.
I'm just...kinda like...why? with this book.
Also how unrealistic is it that basically ALL the interns would be hot model-like young guys? And one girl, Ashlee who Trevor's BFF crushes on.
Also, his best friend, Elliot or whatever, was way too pushy for me. I get that they tell each other everything, but I felt like he didn't really give Trevor a lot of space.
Also, how Ben and Trevor are found out by the office? PLEASE. I just...can't. Ben accidentally pushing the buttons to open the blinds while Trevor has his face buried in his ass? SURE. Totally plausible!
I mean, I like the two secret lovers being discovered as much as the next person, but not like that. It was way too contrived.
Also, the drama in this felt way too manufactured. None of it felt like it came natural, more like the author had to manipulate the characters and situations to create the drama, instead of it just happening naturally.
I was just...done with this book by 48% and then suffered through the last 12 percent (and was wondering how I would get through the next 50% of the book because it was just dragging at the point for me, kept going on and on and I'm like...how can this story keep going until 100%??? turns out it only went t0 60% *sigh*)
I don't recommend this book, honestly, I don't think its worth the torture, at all. The beginning is nice for the most part, yes, but the rest of it isn't worth that - because even the beginning is pretty "meh" honestly.
Don't put yourselves through this book because it isn't worth it to try. I mean...if you really want to??? Go ahead. But in my opinion, I'm saying don't read this.
The only reason I'm giving this two stars instead of one, honestly, is because I liked the beginning, and I liked Ben and Trevor's connection in the beginning. Basically the first 20 percent or so, I was fairly happy about, even with the so-so writing, all things considered.
But I just...couldn't even give this three stars because it was so ridiculous to me.
This was like a combination of contradictions for me. Because like...it took forever for these two to have full on sex - a little before the 50% mark, but it was still all about sex basically all of the time. These two would just look at each other sometimes and get a hard on. Which usually, I like when the MC's are hot for each other basically all the time. But these two were like....EVERY second of every day almost and I even found myself rolling my eyes when they it was a serious moment but either one was like "but still, I couldn't help but notice his wonderful ass and get a hard on" pls.
Trevor was also pretty immature but mature at the same time - which usually works, but didn't quite with Trevor - and Ben was pretty much immature for his 33 years almost all the time.
All of the characters, despite Trevor's and Ben's cuteness or sexiness together at times, were fairly one-dimensional. The writing was so-so throughout - but actually got worse, I thought. The dialogue was pretty "meh" at times and bad at other times.
Around the 48% mark I just started skimming a lot of this. I was feeling bored by that point - not only because it took FOREVER for them to get to full on penetrative sex, but even when it gets to that scene, the build up took FOREVER and I had this annoyed feeling of "ugh, just get ON with it already, PLEASE" like...they just kept saying sweet nothings or caressing each other - which is usually fine, but for this book it went on for like pages and pages of it before anything happened and I was just done, honestly. Also Trevor being like "i'm sooo ready" and then when they start he gets nervous and usually that would be fine, but then that just delayed them having sex even more and idk, I was just like "DO IT ALREADY" with these two, when usually i'm not. Maybe it was because these two were ALL about sex with each other for so long, and yet they didn't do much for the longest time as well.
We also, I felt, didn't get a tone of "getting to know you" scenes with them. I believe they get engaged at the end - but it all of the sudden skips ahead four years like...okay. Not expecting that. And again, it would have been fine...if done the right way, which it wasn't. The ending didn't feel like an ending, which is why when it was all of the sudden the epilogue I was like "huh?" - but I skimmed that whole chapter because I was just bored.
And here are a few gems of the writing and dialogue throughout that I found particularly hilarious/bad:
"Feel free to avert your eyes if this sort of mushiness makes your eyes roll so hard, you have to chase them across the room." The book would have asides like this, like Ben or Trevor were talking to us, the audience, which I didn't really like.
“Do what? Did I tap your boy button?”
HAHAHA WTF?? BOY BUTTON??? I've NEVER seen that used before to describe the prostate *snort*
And then a sentence later:
Yes, he hit it again in the middle of my sentence. Yes, I get that. We don't need it pointed out to us. I think we're smart enough that we don't have to have it outright told to us that he hit his prostrate again.
It’s like a dance that’s so natural, I didn’t need lessons. What does that even mean??? Like??? He's talking about him and Ben fucking, btw.
"his eyes stabbing me fiercely" This is just plain awkward. "stabbing me fiercely" with his eyes??? *snort*
Also, this story ends at 60% and then the last 40% is two novellas from another series of the authors. Seriously??? Thank god this was only a dollar.
I'm just...kinda like...why? with this book.
Also how unrealistic is it that basically ALL the interns would be hot model-like young guys? And one girl, Ashlee who Trevor's BFF crushes on.
Also, his best friend, Elliot or whatever, was way too pushy for me. I get that they tell each other everything, but I felt like he didn't really give Trevor a lot of space.
Also, how Ben and Trevor are found out by the office? PLEASE. I just...can't. Ben accidentally pushing the buttons to open the blinds while Trevor has his face buried in his ass? SURE. Totally plausible!
I mean, I like the two secret lovers being discovered as much as the next person, but not like that. It was way too contrived.
Also, the drama in this felt way too manufactured. None of it felt like it came natural, more like the author had to manipulate the characters and situations to create the drama, instead of it just happening naturally.
I was just...done with this book by 48% and then suffered through the last 12 percent (and was wondering how I would get through the next 50% of the book because it was just dragging at the point for me, kept going on and on and I'm like...how can this story keep going until 100%??? turns out it only went t0 60% *sigh*)
I don't recommend this book, honestly, I don't think its worth the torture, at all. The beginning is nice for the most part, yes, but the rest of it isn't worth that - because even the beginning is pretty "meh" honestly.
Don't put yourselves through this book because it isn't worth it to try. I mean...if you really want to??? Go ahead. But in my opinion, I'm saying don't read this.
May 31, 2018
Yes, this story is OTT with exaggerated romantic tropes galore, but...
It is also fluffy, sexy, cute, and has the sweetest HEA and epilogue. I am giving 4 stars just for my love for the adorable Lance, the dog.
Sweet escapism at its best!
It is also fluffy, sexy, cute, and has the sweetest HEA and epilogue. I am giving 4 stars just for my love for the adorable Lance, the dog.
Sweet escapism at its best!
September 23, 2017
3.5 stars – While I’ve seen his books around for a while in my year and a half of reading queer romance, Hard for My Boss is my first exposure to the writing of Daryl Banner. Overall, it was a sexy, fun, and often amusing read with writing that grabbed my attention and kept me turning pages hoping for something great. However, with the characters too frequently crossing the line into the realm of being walking stereotypes and the big dramatic moment of the story striking me as embarrassingly weak, I can’t help but classify this story as feeling more like a flippantly thoughtless porno script than a well-developed novel plot. And for as much steamy teasing the author does to build sexual tension—it’s quite literally in almost every scene—when the rubber hits the road (or the rubbered dick taps the ass… sorry, couldn’t resist), the parts of the book that should have read like a hot porno flick were, as a whole, disappointingly unsatisfying.
Okay, so it wasn’t as bad as all that, and the ending really was a beautifully heartfelt helping of sweetness. That being said, I think the book really would have been better if it hadn’t felt so superficial as a whole.
Yes, I'm a blogger, but this is my honest review of a book that I did pay for myself.
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Okay, so it wasn’t as bad as all that, and the ending really was a beautifully heartfelt helping of sweetness. That being said, I think the book really would have been better if it hadn’t felt so superficial as a whole.
Yes, I'm a blogger, but this is my honest review of a book that I did pay for myself.
Follow Me: Reviews by Tammy & Kim | Facebook | Twitter
October 27, 2017
too many embarrassing situations to even make sense - 2 stars
While I actually liked both MCs I could not take all the embarrassing things that occur. Many because of their sheer stupidity. Stupidity that was out of character really. And having inconsistent characters is one of my biggest pet peeves.
While I actually liked both MCs I could not take all the embarrassing things that occur. Many because of their sheer stupidity. Stupidity that was out of character really. And having inconsistent characters is one of my biggest pet peeves.
April 10, 2021
I really didn’t like this book and I couldn’t believe it. I love Daryl Banner’s books. I always feel terrible when an author I like writes something I don’t care for.
I didn’t like the main characters. I found Trevor to be especially annoying. I only kept reading because it was Daryl Banner and I hoped it would get better. I did like the way they handled the scandal, but by then I was reading just to get to the end.
I didn’t like the main characters. I found Trevor to be especially annoying. I only kept reading because it was Daryl Banner and I hoped it would get better. I did like the way they handled the scandal, but by then I was reading just to get to the end.
March 23, 2018
This book gets four thumbs up! It's fun, sexy and hot, hot, hot. Daryl's best writing to day. If you haven't read Daryl, start here. Really, really good.
February 13, 2019
Hard for my Boss
By Daryl Banner
Published by the author, 2017
Four stars
Billed as a “steamy m/m rom-com,” “Hard for my Boss” fulfills its mission. In the context of m/m fiction’s fairly low literary bar, this book, and its author, are as good or possibly better than most. In my never-ending search for good gay male writers of gay fiction, I am always curious about younger authors. In the world of m/m, writers are also by necessity entrepreneurs. Banner is in this category, and I confess he leaves me puzzled. His very flashy website reveals nothing at all about him, except for a nice picture, upon which I based all of my understanding of who he is. (Grindr pics, anyone?) Yeah, maybe I’m naïve.
“Hard for my Boss” centers on two archetypes from both romance lit and popular film: the tough-guy, super-cool hottie who is all chiseled features and perfectly shaped muscles; and the slender, virginal, innocent twink. Both are types I like, and Banner imbues them with enough individuality and dimension so that they captured both my interest and my emotional investment.
Trevor Woodard has worked tirelessly to be a perfect student and a perfect son. With his straight best friend Elijah (a nice detail, and I loved Elijah) they land internships for the hottest, um, corporate place that seems to manage celebrity images. I guess it’s a PR firm. Really, it’s not the kind of place that really exists, except in pop culture fantasy. But, cool. Trevor and Elijah are there, and at almost-twenty-one, they’re eager youngsters ready to use an internship to build that great career.
Thing is, Elijah drags Trevor out to a mixed bar the Friday before their internships start, and when Elijah wanders off, Trevor is lured into the magnetic beam of this amazing, older, muscled stud-muffin. Guess what? Turns out it’s their boss, which Trevor doesn’t learn until Monday, after all sorts of embarrassing things have occurred.
Classic m/m, classic rom-com. But Banner intends these books to be raunchy, and even though the ultimate consummation takes quite a long while (Trevor’s innocence is really important, and I
totally bought into that), the author makes it very steamy. Both Trevor and Ben are surprised by the intensity of their feelings: Trevor because he’s been so good at suppressing all pleasure in order to succeed, and Ben because he’s buried all his emotions in favor of pure physical enjoyment.
What ensues is, in fact, pretty funny. Banner gives both Ben and Trevor interesting voices, and we alternate between their perspectives, thus seeing each character through the eyes of the other. Banner actually takes us through the evolution of their attraction into real emotion, surrounded by the office hijinks that made films like “Working Girl” so relatable to me when I was an aging twink in the 1980s. By the end of the book, I was rooting for the boys, but was also conscious that there were other interesting stories that had been left in the dust. No mind, that’s romance fiction. Banner builds the weirdly unbelievable world of Benjamin Gage quite believably, as long as your standard of logic is Liev Schreiber as Ray Donovan.
Is Banner aiming at the typical female audience for m/m romance? There’s a kind of bad-boy edge to his storytelling that seems more like a man’s voice – but maybe I can’t tell any more. There must be a growing gay male readership for m/m fiction, but I don’t know enough about them to ponder how Banner might be targeting them versus any other part of his audience. All I know for sure is that straight men don’t read this stuff, which leaves only the rest of us.
One final note: Banner needs to learn the proper use of “I” and “me” as pronouns. It is hard to believe that either Trevor or Ben are as smart as they are supposed to be when they can’t even use grammatical English. I suspect this is because, in Daryl Banner’s generation, such details no longer matter. Well, I could be Banner’s father (at least) and I buy a lot of e-books. These details matter to me. There is a five-star book in “Hard for my Boss.” The author needs to care enough to bring it out.
By Daryl Banner
Published by the author, 2017
Four stars
Billed as a “steamy m/m rom-com,” “Hard for my Boss” fulfills its mission. In the context of m/m fiction’s fairly low literary bar, this book, and its author, are as good or possibly better than most. In my never-ending search for good gay male writers of gay fiction, I am always curious about younger authors. In the world of m/m, writers are also by necessity entrepreneurs. Banner is in this category, and I confess he leaves me puzzled. His very flashy website reveals nothing at all about him, except for a nice picture, upon which I based all of my understanding of who he is. (Grindr pics, anyone?) Yeah, maybe I’m naïve.
“Hard for my Boss” centers on two archetypes from both romance lit and popular film: the tough-guy, super-cool hottie who is all chiseled features and perfectly shaped muscles; and the slender, virginal, innocent twink. Both are types I like, and Banner imbues them with enough individuality and dimension so that they captured both my interest and my emotional investment.
Trevor Woodard has worked tirelessly to be a perfect student and a perfect son. With his straight best friend Elijah (a nice detail, and I loved Elijah) they land internships for the hottest, um, corporate place that seems to manage celebrity images. I guess it’s a PR firm. Really, it’s not the kind of place that really exists, except in pop culture fantasy. But, cool. Trevor and Elijah are there, and at almost-twenty-one, they’re eager youngsters ready to use an internship to build that great career.
Thing is, Elijah drags Trevor out to a mixed bar the Friday before their internships start, and when Elijah wanders off, Trevor is lured into the magnetic beam of this amazing, older, muscled stud-muffin. Guess what? Turns out it’s their boss, which Trevor doesn’t learn until Monday, after all sorts of embarrassing things have occurred.
Classic m/m, classic rom-com. But Banner intends these books to be raunchy, and even though the ultimate consummation takes quite a long while (Trevor’s innocence is really important, and I
totally bought into that), the author makes it very steamy. Both Trevor and Ben are surprised by the intensity of their feelings: Trevor because he’s been so good at suppressing all pleasure in order to succeed, and Ben because he’s buried all his emotions in favor of pure physical enjoyment.
What ensues is, in fact, pretty funny. Banner gives both Ben and Trevor interesting voices, and we alternate between their perspectives, thus seeing each character through the eyes of the other. Banner actually takes us through the evolution of their attraction into real emotion, surrounded by the office hijinks that made films like “Working Girl” so relatable to me when I was an aging twink in the 1980s. By the end of the book, I was rooting for the boys, but was also conscious that there were other interesting stories that had been left in the dust. No mind, that’s romance fiction. Banner builds the weirdly unbelievable world of Benjamin Gage quite believably, as long as your standard of logic is Liev Schreiber as Ray Donovan.
Is Banner aiming at the typical female audience for m/m romance? There’s a kind of bad-boy edge to his storytelling that seems more like a man’s voice – but maybe I can’t tell any more. There must be a growing gay male readership for m/m fiction, but I don’t know enough about them to ponder how Banner might be targeting them versus any other part of his audience. All I know for sure is that straight men don’t read this stuff, which leaves only the rest of us.
One final note: Banner needs to learn the proper use of “I” and “me” as pronouns. It is hard to believe that either Trevor or Ben are as smart as they are supposed to be when they can’t even use grammatical English. I suspect this is because, in Daryl Banner’s generation, such details no longer matter. Well, I could be Banner’s father (at least) and I buy a lot of e-books. These details matter to me. There is a five-star book in “Hard for my Boss.” The author needs to care enough to bring it out.
August 15, 2017
Lots of humour make this delightful romance a hit
I like Daryl Banner's style of writing, he has a wry sense of humour which helps to colour the edge of what he writes and stops it becoming too sweet.
This May to December romance has lots of highlights alongside a really gentle love affair as Trevor the intern falls for his boss.
It's relatively low angst, the sexual tensions built up beautifully and it has a resolution which leads into a wonderful epilogue. Both Trevor and Ben are believable characters and there's a good setting and world building to fit them in.
I like Daryl Banner's style of writing, he has a wry sense of humour which helps to colour the edge of what he writes and stops it becoming too sweet.
This May to December romance has lots of highlights alongside a really gentle love affair as Trevor the intern falls for his boss.
It's relatively low angst, the sexual tensions built up beautifully and it has a resolution which leads into a wonderful epilogue. Both Trevor and Ben are believable characters and there's a good setting and world building to fit them in.
June 25, 2019
I needed something really, truly funny. I mean I read alot of romcom. Disclaimer: I'm a rather punny person so my funny bone is tough to tickle, and I read with an internal dialogue of "heh heh that was funny". But there is this scene in the book, I literally had to set down my kindle three times before I could pick it back up. I'd re-read the line and start howling out loud again. My Hubs decided I lost it. And never so happy to have lost it because to have me busting out laughing is a feat.
Ben and Trevor: Wow - what can I say about them as characters. Mr Banner gives us everything you expect in the cocky CEO seduces the young intern storyline. But really the heart of the story is Ben and Trevor learning each other as Ben and Trevor. There are hiccups and hilarity abounds in the story because this relationship is doomed to not go smoothly. I'd expect that from the blurb. However, the author gives us time to immerse in the characters when it's just them . As a reader able to form that attachment we crave as readers wanting to get lost in the story.
I devoured the story in a day. That alone should tell you something. Daryl Banner has set the bar for funny now.
If you've not read Mr Banner's work before and a fan of the romcom, this story is a great start. My version also contains a few novellas that you can wet your appetite a bit further. If you are a fan of his work, once again he delivers the best in entertaining romance. 5 out of 5 stars
Ben and Trevor: Wow - what can I say about them as characters. Mr Banner gives us everything you expect in the cocky CEO seduces the young intern storyline. But really the heart of the story is Ben and Trevor learning each other as Ben and Trevor. There are hiccups and hilarity abounds in the story because this relationship is doomed to not go smoothly. I'd expect that from the blurb. However, the author gives us time to immerse in the characters when it's just them . As a reader able to form that attachment we crave as readers wanting to get lost in the story.
I devoured the story in a day. That alone should tell you something. Daryl Banner has set the bar for funny now.
If you've not read Mr Banner's work before and a fan of the romcom, this story is a great start. My version also contains a few novellas that you can wet your appetite a bit further. If you are a fan of his work, once again he delivers the best in entertaining romance. 5 out of 5 stars
dnf
February 18, 2019Made it up to 35% but now I can't take it anymore. The sample was nice enough for me to buy it but then it got worse from page to page. It took me forever to get to 35% and I have to say, the MCs are stupid and boring and I don't care what happens to them at all.
September 15, 2017
This was a great read.
I thought this was going to be a single POV, but WOW... The Dual POV was amazing..The main characters are Trevor ( Intern ) and Benjamin Gage ( The Boss ).
Both the characters were very well written. I loved both of them. The story was funny, cute and so so so embarrassing to continue reading in some cases. I had to literally shut off my kindle - I was so freaking scared to read ahead.. But, it was a pretty great read.
Just to mention, the kindle book ends at about 58-60%. The end is followed by 2 full length novellas. I kinda got surprised to see the book end in the middle. But it was already a pretty long story. So I am HAPPY...!!! Pick it up.
I Recommend... HIGHLY..
I thought this was going to be a single POV, but WOW... The Dual POV was amazing..The main characters are Trevor ( Intern ) and Benjamin Gage ( The Boss ).
Both the characters were very well written. I loved both of them. The story was funny, cute and so so so embarrassing to continue reading in some cases. I had to literally shut off my kindle - I was so freaking scared to read ahead.. But, it was a pretty great read.
Just to mention, the kindle book ends at about 58-60%. The end is followed by 2 full length novellas. I kinda got surprised to see the book end in the middle. But it was already a pretty long story. So I am HAPPY...!!! Pick it up.
I Recommend... HIGHLY..
September 14, 2018
DNF.
I'm at 29% and this fact alone made me so sad I stopped reading. I feel like I've been reading this book for ages, and going nowhere, clearly. Trevor might as well be a giant walking penis because it seems like the only functioning organ in his body. Everyone is in a perpetual state of horniness. It's in the title, so really, I have only myself to blame for this one. The author tries to make it work that Ben feels this deeper connection with Trevor, when literally all that's happened when they're together is Trevor tripping and dropping something, or spotting a boner, or looking at Ben all thirsty-like. If that's your cup of tea, have at it. It's a no for me
I'm at 29% and this fact alone made me so sad I stopped reading. I feel like I've been reading this book for ages, and going nowhere, clearly. Trevor might as well be a giant walking penis because it seems like the only functioning organ in his body. Everyone is in a perpetual state of horniness. It's in the title, so really, I have only myself to blame for this one. The author tries to make it work that Ben feels this deeper connection with Trevor, when literally all that's happened when they're together is Trevor tripping and dropping something, or spotting a boner, or looking at Ben all thirsty-like. If that's your cup of tea, have at it. It's a no for me
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April 8, 2021
First half; 5 stars. Fun and hot with lots of charisma! The opening sequence outstanding, with heaps of chemistery between the main characters.
Second half; 2.5 stars. Bummer. For me, too many details about towards the end.
Second half; 2.5 stars. Bummer. For me, too many details about towards the end.
August 11, 2017
The thing that I love about Daryl Banner's characters is that they're a little tropey, but they stop short of being a shallow stereotype or caricature.
To be honest, I'm about done with rich alpha male millionaires who are basically perfect at everything, have everything under control, and benevolently bestow their affections upon some poor, grateful, desperately naive loser. But that isn't Ben. I like the fact that we see Benjamin Gage's public persona, but also see Ben, a lonely guy who loves his doggo. A guy who likes to be in control, but when faced with some of the situations in the book, he's not all 'I've got this.' and handles everything perfectly. He fucks things up. He loses control. He's like 'oh shit, what do I do?' on multiple occasions. He's one of the best examples of looking great on the surface, but paddling furiously away underneath that I've seen in writing.
I am also annoyed by the millionaire who has a heart of gold and is always ethical and is the most morally upstanding .... blaaaaaah. Sorry, people. You don't acquire millions of dollars before the age of 40 by being a tree-hugging philanthropist. You're either off-the-charts smart enough to do something that no one else can do and then savvy enough not to get your work stolen from you and have someone else profit from it, or you've done some shady shit. I like that we went with shady shit for once.
And I've absolutely had it with 'nerdy, awkward' characters who just happen to be good a literally everything, super smooth when needed, liked by everyone except villains, conveniently amazing looking, oh yeah and they have a six-pack because "they work out a couple times a week". Fuck off with that shit. It made me incredibly happy that Trevor regularly embarrasses the fuck out of himself, trips over shit, has a bestie that is good at socializing but sort of sucks at it himself, genuinely enjoys menial tasks, research and preparation, and spends an inordinate amount of time worrying about the color of his ties.
So although this is yet another millionaire vs pleb, boss vs employee office romance, it's not nearly as meh as that sounds, and I think that majority of that is because the characters aren't 2d cutouts of 'a rich dude' and 'a nerd'. I mean... that and the chemistry between them is melt-your-face-off scorching, lord have mercy. And the description. Man. I'm really more of an 'arms' person, but by the end of this, I was pretty well sold on Ben's ass being maybe the greatest thing since air conditioning. I'm not sure how Daryl managed to make Trevor's narration of Ben's ass both ridiculous and sexy. You would really think it would have to be one or the other, and yet... here we are. Let's just say it's probably going to be a while before I can walk past the deli counter without thinking about this book and getting a little turned on.
Bottom line: hot, sexy, a little dirty, a little ridiculous, and a lot of fun.
To be honest, I'm about done with rich alpha male millionaires who are basically perfect at everything, have everything under control, and benevolently bestow their affections upon some poor, grateful, desperately naive loser. But that isn't Ben. I like the fact that we see Benjamin Gage's public persona, but also see Ben, a lonely guy who loves his doggo. A guy who likes to be in control, but when faced with some of the situations in the book, he's not all 'I've got this.' and handles everything perfectly. He fucks things up. He loses control. He's like 'oh shit, what do I do?' on multiple occasions. He's one of the best examples of looking great on the surface, but paddling furiously away underneath that I've seen in writing.
I am also annoyed by the millionaire who has a heart of gold and is always ethical and is the most morally upstanding .... blaaaaaah. Sorry, people. You don't acquire millions of dollars before the age of 40 by being a tree-hugging philanthropist. You're either off-the-charts smart enough to do something that no one else can do and then savvy enough not to get your work stolen from you and have someone else profit from it, or you've done some shady shit. I like that we went with shady shit for once.
And I've absolutely had it with 'nerdy, awkward' characters who just happen to be good a literally everything, super smooth when needed, liked by everyone except villains, conveniently amazing looking, oh yeah and they have a six-pack because "they work out a couple times a week". Fuck off with that shit. It made me incredibly happy that Trevor regularly embarrasses the fuck out of himself, trips over shit, has a bestie that is good at socializing but sort of sucks at it himself, genuinely enjoys menial tasks, research and preparation, and spends an inordinate amount of time worrying about the color of his ties.
So although this is yet another millionaire vs pleb, boss vs employee office romance, it's not nearly as meh as that sounds, and I think that majority of that is because the characters aren't 2d cutouts of 'a rich dude' and 'a nerd'. I mean... that and the chemistry between them is melt-your-face-off scorching, lord have mercy. And the description. Man. I'm really more of an 'arms' person, but by the end of this, I was pretty well sold on Ben's ass being maybe the greatest thing since air conditioning. I'm not sure how Daryl managed to make Trevor's narration of Ben's ass both ridiculous and sexy. You would really think it would have to be one or the other, and yet... here we are. Let's just say it's probably going to be a while before I can walk past the deli counter without thinking about this book and getting a little turned on.
Bottom line: hot, sexy, a little dirty, a little ridiculous, and a lot of fun.
August 19, 2017
3-3.5 Cheesy... but in a cute way... Stars~~
The words boy and kid are tossed around far too many times. I get it already, Trevor is 20 going on 21 while Ben is 33 years old. Still, they are sweet together. HEA? I would have rated it higher, it's a steamy office romance, which I love, but everything with Brady was frustrating. Leading me to my nitpicking, rant-mode ways once more.
Brady is a lame and petty antagonist. Seriously. Just, why?
Daryl Banner's style is easy to read, and the banter flows naturally. Skipping the bitchy ranting in the spoilers, I will gladly read from this author again.
The words boy and kid are tossed around far too many times. I get it already, Trevor is 20 going on 21 while Ben is 33 years old. Still, they are sweet together. HEA? I would have rated it higher, it's a steamy office romance, which I love, but everything with Brady was frustrating. Leading me to my nitpicking, rant-mode ways once more.
Brady is a lame and petty antagonist. Seriously. Just, why?
Daryl Banner's style is easy to read, and the banter flows naturally. Skipping the bitchy ranting in the spoilers, I will gladly read from this author again.
August 6, 2017
4 Intern Stars
I had several jobs during college. None of them had the perks that Trevor's college internship had.
Trevor is a shy, quiet guy who is just along for the ride. He doesn't drink or date. He's that guy that just goes out with his friends occasionally but usually stays home to study. He's cute but not outgoing. He wants to be noticed for his hard work and smarts. He is excited to land and internship with Gage Communications. This is his chance to land a great job out of college. He just has to work harder and be smarter than the other interns. Not a problem for him.
The problem is Benjamin Gage, the beautiful owner of Gage Communications. Benjamin is the guy that everyone notices. He is smart, cunning and ambitious. He demands his employees work hard and are discrete. The clients they deal with demand it.
Hard for My Boss is funny and snarky. I loved the banter between Trevor and Gage. Trevor is equally timid and bold. Gage is both cocky and sweet. That combination creates combustible chemistry, misunderstandings and pure romance.
I had several jobs during college. None of them had the perks that Trevor's college internship had.
Trevor is a shy, quiet guy who is just along for the ride. He doesn't drink or date. He's that guy that just goes out with his friends occasionally but usually stays home to study. He's cute but not outgoing. He wants to be noticed for his hard work and smarts. He is excited to land and internship with Gage Communications. This is his chance to land a great job out of college. He just has to work harder and be smarter than the other interns. Not a problem for him.
The problem is Benjamin Gage, the beautiful owner of Gage Communications. Benjamin is the guy that everyone notices. He is smart, cunning and ambitious. He demands his employees work hard and are discrete. The clients they deal with demand it.
Hard for My Boss is funny and snarky. I loved the banter between Trevor and Gage. Trevor is equally timid and bold. Gage is both cocky and sweet. That combination creates combustible chemistry, misunderstandings and pure romance.
August 4, 2017
O-M-G that was AMAZING! Round of applause for Daryl. Hard For My Boss is a page turner. I couldn't put this book down, it was so worth getting wrapped up in it. The details are fantastic. It was like a movie playing in my head, I could visualize the whole thing. Good thing I wasn't drinking anything while reading because those moments when I laughed I would I have spit my drink out. Trevor and Benjamin have a great chemistry and it's off the charts. Hard For My Boss is a MUST read.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC for this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC for this book.
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August 25, 2017I'm throwing in the towel at 21%. I just can't. I will admit that it's funny and I laughed out loud several times, but it doesn't make up for the absolutely endless internal monologue of "OMG his butt in those snug pants makes me so hard" blah blah blah. Every single scene is just Trevor and Ben talking about how hot the other is and how hard they are in their pants and how they have to cross their legs to hide their damn boner. It was so incredibly repetitive that at only 21% I'm DNF'ing. They haven't even gotten to know anything about each other at this point besides Ben=boss, Trevor=intern. I keep waiting for them to have a serious conversation that isn't interspersed with repetitive "he's so hot/meaty/I want him/must conceal my boner."
Also, Trevor's BFF Elijah is really annoying.
Also, if everybody at Ben's workplace (where Ben is the boss/CEO/founder/whatever) is afraid of Ben, afraid of speaking in front of him, constantly second-guessing themselves...that tells me that Ben does not create a good working environment. Seriously why the hell haven't his employees all quit???? That is NOT a healthy working environment. Ben is cold and frankly, kind of an ass. I would've quit a long time ago and burned bridges on the way out.
Also the constant use of the word meaty to describe someone's body, thighs, dick, other random body parts...just, no. That word immediately conjures images of a medium-rare steak on a plate. Not sexy.
Trevor was cute, but annoying. And all the damn stammering annoyed me.
I did not like Ben. At all. Okay, not true. I liked him in his very first scene where he has dinner with his super cute dog at the dinner table. After that he was an arrogant jerk with no redeeming qualities. In fact his dog, Lancelot, was probably the best part of the story.
The writing itself is so-so. There were POV issues that needed to be dealt with prior to publication, like Ben saying "My eyes go diamond hard" (or something to that effect). Um, how can somebody know what emotion their own eyes reflect to someone else? There was a ton of this and it made me crazy.
I'm done. Good thing it was only $1.25.
Also, Trevor's BFF Elijah is really annoying.
Also, if everybody at Ben's workplace (where Ben is the boss/CEO/founder/whatever) is afraid of Ben, afraid of speaking in front of him, constantly second-guessing themselves...that tells me that Ben does not create a good working environment. Seriously why the hell haven't his employees all quit???? That is NOT a healthy working environment. Ben is cold and frankly, kind of an ass. I would've quit a long time ago and burned bridges on the way out.
Also the constant use of the word meaty to describe someone's body, thighs, dick, other random body parts...just, no. That word immediately conjures images of a medium-rare steak on a plate. Not sexy.
Trevor was cute, but annoying. And all the damn stammering annoyed me.
I did not like Ben. At all. Okay, not true. I liked him in his very first scene where he has dinner with his super cute dog at the dinner table. After that he was an arrogant jerk with no redeeming qualities. In fact his dog, Lancelot, was probably the best part of the story.
The writing itself is so-so. There were POV issues that needed to be dealt with prior to publication, like Ben saying "My eyes go diamond hard" (or something to that effect). Um, how can somebody know what emotion their own eyes reflect to someone else? There was a ton of this and it made me crazy.
I'm done. Good thing it was only $1.25.
January 19, 2020
DNF'd a little over halfway through when I realized it wasn't getting better. Read the other low reviews if you want to know why. Boring, TSTL choices and situations, soooo many spontaneous boners even though they still hadn't even had sex by the time I stopped (which is normally fine, but in a book that talks about boners and hotness and fucking so much, there was very little of that actually in it. It was weird.)
All we really get to know about the characters is how they feel about each other. And Elijah with the questions. GET OFF HIS JOCK!
Anyway, I've liked some of this author's other books, but this one was just bad.
All we really get to know about the characters is how they feel about each other. And Elijah with the questions. GET OFF HIS JOCK!
Anyway, I've liked some of this author's other books, but this one was just bad.
August 21, 2017
God how many times does one guy have to squeeze his legs together to prevent a hard-on? Find a new phrase, please.
Dialogue was cheesy AF.
Skimmed a lot of the internal monologue. Only reason I'm giving it a 2 and not a 1 is because I finished it, and I wanted to see how it ended.
Dialogue was cheesy AF.
Skimmed a lot of the internal monologue. Only reason I'm giving it a 2 and not a 1 is because I finished it, and I wanted to see how it ended.
August 18, 2017
This was one of those stories that did not need to be prolonged.
August 24, 2017
Um. Nope. Not my thing. Insta-love. Standard boss/intern trope. Terrible dialogue and nothing original here.
October 30, 2017
I dropped it exactly at 70%...
I still don't understand their attraction to each other...besides asses, dicks and blowjobs, they don't seem to have anything in common.
I still don't understand their attraction to each other...besides asses, dicks and blowjobs, they don't seem to have anything in common.
November 8, 2017
Horrifyingly embarrassing at a lot of parts, too much secondhand embarrassment to really be enjoyable.
August 11, 2017
5 big fats stars
Congratulations Daryl, this is one of the most engaging books I've read in a while. I absolutely loved it, I got so excited/stressed in one scene I had to jump up and do something else for about 5 mins. (Yes the office scene). It was so endearing, and I adored all of the main characters. Their relationship is funny, and Trevor's snarky comments were great. I don't have one negative, or maybe just a small one, and that would be Bens obsession with Lance.. but it certainly didn't detract from my feelings about the book. Thank you, I loved it.
Congratulations Daryl, this is one of the most engaging books I've read in a while. I absolutely loved it, I got so excited/stressed in one scene I had to jump up and do something else for about 5 mins. (Yes the office scene). It was so endearing, and I adored all of the main characters. Their relationship is funny, and Trevor's snarky comments were great. I don't have one negative, or maybe just a small one, and that would be Bens obsession with Lance.. but it certainly didn't detract from my feelings about the book. Thank you, I loved it.
August 14, 2017
This is a cute boss/intern romance with very good writing. There are several amusing turns of phrase that were a joy to read. It features amusing banter between the two leads, a believable romance and some nice tension. On the down side I felt it is too long and I skimmed some descriptions, hence the three star review.
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