Jennie Adams
Author of The Boss's Unconventional Assistant
About the Author
Series
Works by Jennie Adams
Australian Bachelors, Sassy Brides (The Wealthy Australian's Proposal / Inherited by the Billionaire) (2009) 6 copies
Australian Billionaires (The Wealthy Australian's Proposal / The Billionaire Claims His Wife / Inherited by the Billionaire) (2009) 2 copies
De baas van haar dromen 1 copy
Her Playboy Boss (Ultimate Surrender/ Boss's Convenient Bride/ His Secretary Mistress) (2009) — Contributor — 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Ryan, Jennifer Ann
- Other names
- Adams, Jennie
- Birthdate
- 1963
- Gender
- female
- Short biography
- 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. - Nationality
- Australia (birth)
- Birthplace
- Nueva Gales del Sur, Australia
- Places of residence
- New South Wales, Australia
- Associated Place (for map)
- New South Wales, Australia
Members
Reviews
I might have liked this book more if it hadn't been for the author's constant use of denial to, I guess, create romantic tension. "He was not the most handsome man she'd ever met in her life, and she was not attracted to him in the slightest." "He did not want her hands on him." I made those up (except the second one - you can find that one on the bottom of page 42), but that's basically how it went. It felt like the denials were popping up every other page, and the reasons the two of them show more kept focusing on for why they couldn't be together just weren't very good.
First, there's Rick's fear of becoming like his father. Just the fact that he worries about it indicates that he won't - I doubt it even occurs to his father that there is anything wrong with the way he treats his family members. In addition, Rick makes time to be with his family - he is currently not like his father, and there are no indications that he is becoming like him. As far as I can tell, the only evidence he has that he has any potential of becoming like his father is that he dumped some girl because, at the time, he feared commitment. I'm sorry, but people change, and he's had time to grow up. His excuse was paper thin.
Second, there's Marissa's desire never to date a career-minded corporate guy again. While I can understand her desire to avoid being used and tossed aside, she is so terribly bad at not going for Rick, "the corporate type," that it smacked of self-sabotage. Actually, it seemed to me that Marissa was guilty of some of the things she kept telling herself she didn't want in a guy - things like canceling things in her personal life so that she could put in extra time at work (even though she says she's not ambitious, that comes perilously close to living her job) and working until she nearly dropped (literally - low blood sugar!). She admired Rick's work ethic and his ability to handle the stresses of his job well. Marissa is Ms. Corporate, who just happens to be a secretary, and who happens to find the characteristics of successful corporate men sexy. I can't believe she never fell asleep during any of her dates with "ordinary" men.
So, their main reasons for not being together included Rick's fear that he couldn't commit to someone and be emotionally available, and Marissa's fear that she'd be used and abandoned by yet another corporate guy. Both of these excuses don't stand up very well. The main reason they couldn't be together that kept popping up in my head but that was never mentioned by either Rick or Marissa was that he is the boss and she is his secretary. I cannot believe this never came up. Marissa may only be Rick's temporary secretary, but she's still his secretary. Even if she weren't his secretary, she still works for him indirectly, because Rick's the Big Boss of the company that employs her. How did the two of them never see this as a problem? Do things work differently in Australia?
If I had to give this book a grade, I'd probably give it a C, maybe a C-. I didn't hate it, but there wasn't anything that really grabbed me. None of the minor characters stood out, the occasional humorous moments were only ok, and the reasons Rick and Marissa couldn't be together just felt stupid to me. One thing I can say for this book - I wanted a light, pleasant read, and I got one. Rick's problems with his father and Marissa's mother's sudden illness were the darkest this book got.
(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less
First, there's Rick's fear of becoming like his father. Just the fact that he worries about it indicates that he won't - I doubt it even occurs to his father that there is anything wrong with the way he treats his family members. In addition, Rick makes time to be with his family - he is currently not like his father, and there are no indications that he is becoming like him. As far as I can tell, the only evidence he has that he has any potential of becoming like his father is that he dumped some girl because, at the time, he feared commitment. I'm sorry, but people change, and he's had time to grow up. His excuse was paper thin.
Second, there's Marissa's desire never to date a career-minded corporate guy again. While I can understand her desire to avoid being used and tossed aside, she is so terribly bad at not going for Rick, "the corporate type," that it smacked of self-sabotage. Actually, it seemed to me that Marissa was guilty of some of the things she kept telling herself she didn't want in a guy - things like canceling things in her personal life so that she could put in extra time at work (even though she says she's not ambitious, that comes perilously close to living her job) and working until she nearly dropped (literally - low blood sugar!). She admired Rick's work ethic and his ability to handle the stresses of his job well. Marissa is Ms. Corporate, who just happens to be a secretary, and who happens to find the characteristics of successful corporate men sexy. I can't believe she never fell asleep during any of her dates with "ordinary" men.
So, their main reasons for not being together included Rick's fear that he couldn't commit to someone and be emotionally available, and Marissa's fear that she'd be used and abandoned by yet another corporate guy. Both of these excuses don't stand up very well. The main reason they couldn't be together that kept popping up in my head but that was never mentioned by either Rick or Marissa was that he is the boss and she is his secretary. I cannot believe this never came up. Marissa may only be Rick's temporary secretary, but she's still his secretary. Even if she weren't his secretary, she still works for him indirectly, because Rick's the Big Boss of the company that employs her. How did the two of them never see this as a problem? Do things work differently in Australia?
If I had to give this book a grade, I'd probably give it a C, maybe a C-. I didn't hate it, but there wasn't anything that really grabbed me. None of the minor characters stood out, the occasional humorous moments were only ok, and the reasons Rick and Marissa couldn't be together just felt stupid to me. One thing I can say for this book - I wanted a light, pleasant read, and I got one. Rick's problems with his father and Marissa's mother's sudden illness were the darkest this book got.
(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less
This is an Australian-set romance in the regular Harlequin Romance line. The main trope is older woman-younger man, with workplace romance and road trip as secondary tropes. Sadly, I found the heroine unbearable and I couldn't believe in the HEA. Jayne is 35, outwardly successful in her career, and attractive. She's working in the family company and trying to persuade her father, the boss, to promote her to partner, but he's fixed his eye on a young new male hire as his heir apparent show more (picture the ambitious shark played by James Spader in Baby Boom but with less charisma). The father is basically a selfish, sexist jerk whose first wife (Jayne's mother) walked out on him, leaving Jayne and her sister behind. Since then he's gone through several wives, with each being younger than the last. This upbringing has made Jayne pathologically insecure and distrustful of all relationships. She has no friends we can discern, either. She "socializes" with men to go to events, but these are all entirely chaste encounters so the men don't stick around.
The hero is Alex, who has his own sad backstory: he was abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage by his mother and he only learned her name and circumstances when he received a posthumously mailed letter from her. He joined forces with two other boys at the orphanage and made a found family, but he's also wary of attachment. So we have two damaged people.
Given that, it's a bit disconcerting that the story opens with Jayne and Alex having an introductory business meeting about a potential contract and half of the exposition and internal monologuing is about how hot they find each other. And in Jayne's case, how unattractive she must be, given her ancient age. My eyes, they could not stop rolling. There are all kinds of problems that can come with a 10-year age gap between a 25YO and a 35YO, but the obvious one of maturity is brushed aside quickly. No, it's because Jayne is a cougar and Alex can't possibly want her.
The two take a road trip related to the contract negotiations, Jayne accompanies Alex on his search for his origins (both of which involve going into indigenous communities), and Jayne battles her father. And they endlessly have the hots for each other but Jayne is always playing push-me-pullyu with Alex. It was exhausting and irritating. They're in a beautiful part of the world, they're working on an important deal, and the narrative is dominated by their whining.
The writing style doesn't help, because it's mostly tell and very little show. The road trip and work stuff is perfunctorily dealt with, and even in the thick of action the reader keeps getting their feelings about each other and their emotional situations. It just goes on and on.
I was relieved to get to the end, but all I could think was "oh Alex, honey, if she's insecure now, wait until she's 45 and you're 35. or 55/45. You're going to have YEARS of reassuring her before you're old and gray enough, assuming you both live that long." show less
The hero is Alex, who has his own sad backstory: he was abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage by his mother and he only learned her name and circumstances when he received a posthumously mailed letter from her. He joined forces with two other boys at the orphanage and made a found family, but he's also wary of attachment. So we have two damaged people.
Given that, it's a bit disconcerting that the story opens with Jayne and Alex having an introductory business meeting about a potential contract and half of the exposition and internal monologuing is about how hot they find each other. And in Jayne's case, how unattractive she must be, given her ancient age. My eyes, they could not stop rolling. There are all kinds of problems that can come with a 10-year age gap between a 25YO and a 35YO, but the obvious one of maturity is brushed aside quickly. No, it's because Jayne is a cougar and Alex can't possibly want her.
The two take a road trip related to the contract negotiations, Jayne accompanies Alex on his search for his origins (both of which involve going into indigenous communities), and Jayne battles her father. And they endlessly have the hots for each other but Jayne is always playing push-me-pullyu with Alex. It was exhausting and irritating. They're in a beautiful part of the world, they're working on an important deal, and the narrative is dominated by their whining.
The writing style doesn't help, because it's mostly tell and very little show. The road trip and work stuff is perfunctorily dealt with, and even in the thick of action the reader keeps getting their feelings about each other and their emotional situations. It just goes on and on.
I was relieved to get to the end, but all I could think was "oh Alex, honey, if she's insecure now, wait until she's 45 and you're 35. or 55/45. You're going to have YEARS of reassuring her before you're old and gray enough, assuming you both live that long." show less
This book would have gotten 3/4 stars if the grammar and writing style had been different.But because of the way it was written it was almost too tedious to read.... but the characters made up for it, but it was a struggle to the end.. Bad editing and it was like the writer couldn't decide if it was in the 1st/3rd person or differentiate between a thought and spoken word...
This book would have gotten 3/4 stars if the grammar and writing style had been different.But because of the way it was written it was almost too tedious to read.... but the characters made up for it, but it was a struggle to the end.. Bad editing and it was like the writer couldn't decide if it was in the 1st/3rd person or differentiate between a thought and spoken word...
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Statistics
- Works
- 28
- Also by
- 7
- Members
- 293
- Popularity
- #79,899
- Rating
- 3.3
- Reviews
- 9
- ISBNs
- 144
- Languages
- 4
- Favorited
- 1