Boozy Bookgasms - One Hell of a Benefits Package

Episode Date: March 11, 2026

Promise Me Forever by Sadie Kincaid The cousins are back with one of our FAV authors! This office romance delivers longing so intense it should come with a workplace hazard sign. We’ve got sexual tension that escalates faster than a skipped HR meeting, and promises that are less pinky swear and more blood oath in designer shoes. So grab your beverage, silence your inner moral compass, and join us as we unpack love, loyalty, and the kind of romance that absolutely does not come with a 401k.   Signature Cocktail: Promise Forever Ingredients: 2 oz pomegranate vodka (or regular vodka with pomegranate juice) 1 oz cherry liqueur 1 oz simple syrup ½ oz lime juice Ice cubes Cherry or lime wheel, for garnish Instructions: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add vodka, cherry liqueur, simple syrup, and lime juice. Shake well until chilled. Strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a cherry or lime wheel.  

I love that you were drinking last night. It just makes me so happy. I don't know. I will unpack that in a minute. Buckle out literature fans. We're in for some boozy bookgasms today. Join three cousins creating a titillating headspace where steamy romance novels collide with strong cocktails. So sit back, sip slow, and enjoy the ride. Hello. Welcome back to booze. Boozy book gossoms. I'm Jen. I'm Lynn. And I'm Kim. Tonight. We are breaking down another novel by Queen Sadie Kincaid. I feel like it's a tradition at this point. Each season we read a Sadie

Kincaid novel and exchange cocktails. Love her. I have to. We'll be discussing the second book in the Manhattan Ruthless series, Promise Me Forever. But before we undress this James brother, Kim, Kim, what are we drinking tonight? Okay. So oddly enough, I was actually able to find a drink that is called Promise Forever. What? Yes. And it's so good because, you know, it's got my favorite ingredient. Vodka.

Vodka. Is it whipped vodka, though? Yeah. It's whatever you have on the shelf. Okay. So I've got some vodka. You've got some cherry liqueur, which I'm not a huge fan of. But because we're adding some pomegranate juice in there, it kind of gets rid of that

cough syrup-y flavor than you typically get with cherry lique. Got some simple syrup, some bitters, and a lemon twist. And it's super refreshing. Very light drink. soft pink, delicious. Can't go wrong with vodka. Vodka is like the best. And I love pomegranate juice.

All right. Well, thanks, Kim. Cheers. This series follows the James Brothers. If you haven't already, you should go back to season two where we did the first book in this series. It was called Broken,

and it was about Nathan, the oldest brother. Oh, good. And it was a very hot marriage of convenience trope. Yeah, it was hot. This one follows Drake James, and I guess we'll call it an office romance,

but it's so much more, really. Yeah. All of the books in this series open with a prologue with the brothers and their dad on their first New Year's Eve after their mom's death. The father, he is very brokenhearted. He's a shell of himself. He gathers the boys around and says, if he has one piece of advice, he can give it would be to never fall in love.

And this sticks with all of them as they enter into adulthood. They all look back on this moment with their dad and kind of fucks them up a little bit. You literally rewind to the last. book. At some point in the last book, you're all sitting in the same room. They're all drinking the whiskey. They're all talking. So it was like a jump back. It's a core memory. It is cool. I've read another one of the books in this series and you get it from each of their point of views. She does it really well. I like it. Because you don't feel like you're rereading. You're like, oh, he saw this very differently. Again, if Sadie Kincaid is listening and you could just send us a snapshot of your storyboard, I would love to see the lines happening. So cool. So we open the first. We open the first.

chapter with our female main character, Amelia Ryder, at her best friend's wedding. The brothers will eventually ask Drake if she's a bond girl because of her name. And Sadie had some fun with names in this book. We'll get to some of those. Amelia is the maid of honor and it's the end of the night and she's sitting in the bag, doodling roses on the back of her name tag. We find she's recently finalized a divorce after 15 years of marriage to a cheating douchebag and is feeling a little low. We all know this time of a way. where everybody's hammered and any singles that haven't paired off are kind of circling the dance floor. Like, vultures. Yeah. Amelia is suddenly joined by a man that she says is so damn hot she forgets about everything else in her life. He teases her for doodling flowers and calls her Miroza. This will stick through the whole book and it is like the cutest. Well, all of the brothers have like cutesy little nicknames for their spouses.

Sweet. I knew when he called her that. Game over. That was it. She was going to be the one. Mm-hmm. You show up to. A Sady book for some flirty, cheesy lines, and this one did not disappoint.

Our mysterious stranger is Drake James, and he has crashed the wedding. So we don't really get the details on how or why he crashed or his point of view. He just kind of shows up. Why he was in a tuxedo. Grab's a name tag. And I think this man's name was Charlie Cockburn Cummings. Yeah. He was supposed to meet his brother. He wasn't invited. He was just kind of circling, seize her through the doors, and just says, let's see what happens. Steels a name tag. They end up deciding they're going to let go of their inhibitions for the night and be other people. And Amelia says she's going to be Scarlet.

And obviously, Drake will be Charlie. So they dance, they drink champagne into the wee hours and have one of those evenings of deep conversations where you talk about nothing and everything and they really connect. They do talk about how Amelia went to Harvard and put her career on hold for her ex-husband. And now she's a temp. But she's excited to start a new job on Monday and we're going to sauce that nugly. Soss that nugget. What?

Sorry, it took me one minute. And I was like, wait, what are we saucing? I have never heard. Okay. Better than saying we'll circle back, you know, sauce that nug later. That's better? I think the thing about this scene, which is so pivotal to the kind of the rest of the book, is that Amelia, she's not very out there. And so she's able to be a totally different person as Scarlet.

And we will circle back on that later in the book, is that she kind of dons this whole bond girl persona with Scarlett as her name. And she can kind of not be herself and she feels like she won't have any backlash in the morning. Yeah. Yeah. So one off. She gets the night out where she doesn't have to think about all her worries and woes. And she's a different name, different persona. Different sexually.

She can just do everything she ever wanted to do. She thinks it's because she's Scarlet, but I think it's the Drake effect. He's bringing it out at her for sure. It's a little bit of both. And he makes her feel special and safe and comfortable, which is why she can let her hair down. Drake is undeniably turned on by her very attracted to her. But she's got a lot of, like we're saying, a lot of insecurities and about her looks and her self-worth. And it's probably because of her shitty marriage.

She says that Charlie was meant to meet Scarlett tonight. And she wishes she always had her confidence. And Amelia asked Drake what he would be looking for if they both agreed to abandon their real lives for the night. And Drake says what every single man wants to say in these moments, I'd be looking for something casual. Shocking. He's the kind of guy who goes all in, but only for one night. He will say now and a few times in the book that he could never promise someone forever until he can. Until he does.

Well, you know, his dad said, don't fall in love. And Scarlett slash Amelia says what every girl says in these situations but never really means, which is I could totally do casual. Let's do it. 100%. I don't need any a tie after one night. And as luck would have it, Drake is staying at the hotel next door in the penthouse. He's living there while someone builds his other mansion. They have a very steamy evening. Dear listeners, do yourself a favor and purchase this audible.

I have listened to it three times. Drake is just hot as fuck. Amelia stays the night and they cuddle, which is very out of character for Drake. He couldn't believe he did that. It freaks them out a little bit. Yeah, what am I doing? But I don't want to not do it. The next morning, Amelia is very self-conscious about having to do a walk of shame in her bridesmaid

dress. And we've like all been there at least once, right? In a bridesmaid dress? Yeah. Well, something. Jake orders breakfast to the room. Very pretty woman style. Like orders the whole menu.

It gives her last night's shirt to wear while she eats. Breakfast conversation, though, is a little awkward. Drake says he's going to work. And Amelia says, I'm not important enough to work on a Sunday. But I am starting a new job tomorrow. and he says, oh, with the asshole boss. So then she remembers like, oh, I kind of talked about my job, and I shouldn't have done that. But Drake is acting kind of frosty.

And so Amelia's like, I think I'm going to get going. He says, okay, but that's my favorite shirt you're wearing. And you need to take it off right now. We got a very similar scene in Dante, if you want to go back to season one. Love it. Anyway, Amelia's like, you can't wait five minutes. And he's like, nope. So she unbuttoned it and gives it to him and he throws it on the floor like it's

garbage and she's like, I thought it was your favorite shirt. Then he swipes everything off the table and bangs her right there. Perfect moment. On the table. So hot. Sounds amazing. Sadie didn't disappoint. But then he sends her home in a car with his driver like a horror, which made her not feel great. Feels like a horror, yeah. Yeah. So we're going to see quite a bit of Nathan in this book. That's Drake's business partner. He was the one that was in book one and also season two, if you would like to go back on listen. He and Melanie have a baby boy named Luke now. And Drake spends a lot of time with his brothers and the baby, and it's very sweet. So we also meet Amelia's friend Kimmy, who's kind of like a Samantha from Sex and the City.

She's got another friend, Emily, that shows up in the book a lot. She's the one that just got married. She goes to the first day of her new job, which is at the law firm of James and James. To the surprise of nobody, Amelia's new boss, is Drake. Tadda. What? Well, it's crazy because she interviewed with Nathan so that Nathan could find Drake and assistant. So Nathan's like, hey, I'm here.

And she's like, can't wait to start. And he's like, oh, oops. I maybe forgot to tell you that you're not working for me. I am also a James. Not the right one. You're actually working for my brother. The brother has been in Chicago and came back to be closer to his family. Everybody just knows that he's a hard ass and he's been up in Chicago and now he's back.

So hence the need for a new assistant. That's why he's living in the hotel. So he kind of keeps a poker face when he sees her. She does too. They both pretend like they've never met him. each other. They were like, oh, shit. Well, because they didn't know each other's. They were only going by first names and not their own names. Not the real one. They never traded their actual names the night before. She asks if she can step out for lunch and he says, can you take a seat for a minute? And he tells her he

wants to clear the air. He doesn't date his employees and he certainly doesn't fuck them senseless. And Amelia tells him, I think you'll find I'm in full control of my senses, Mr. James. She says, she also wants to keep this professional and that she really needs this job for the insurance. And he remembers, oh, yeah, she takes care of her mom. And so he tells her that will be all. And then at the end of her first day, he goes in and tells Nathan, I slept with Amelia. Nathan's like, already, Jesus Christ, Jake, it's perfect.

I love the brotherhood here where he's like, he gives him shit. Nathan's so supportive, but not without giving him shit. He's like, you're still my brother. I'll love you forever. But what the fuck are you doing, dude? What are you doing? This is an HR nightmare. Yeah. And Drake's like, I didn't do it today. So he kind of explains what happens. And he's very adamant that he doesn't want to fire her because Nathan suggests that. And he's like, no, no, no. Because when they were sharing and carrying on their one-night stand, she mentioned how much she needed the benefits for her mom because her mom has COPD. He tells Nathan he can keep it professional. This won't be an issue. I just wanted you to know. We're going to get a lot of sexually charged moments in the office. Amelia also has. the added stress of taking care of her mother, like we said, who's basically housebound due

to respiratory issues, which makes Amelia sad. That's a lot of stress for her. We also get a lot of James Brother interactions. Drake meets Elijah for drinks one night, and he's actually the oldest brother, and then Nathan, and then it's Drake. Elijah's book is the third book in this series. It's called Rebound. It is so good. I love it. Does he finally divorce his wife that he hates? I don't think he hates her, though. It's a second-chance romance. Yes. I wanted them to fall back in love. It's so good. It's so good. And it's very hot. I love the fact that we get a glimpse into her. In the book with Nathan, like everybody hates her.

Hates her. She and Jerich are actually quite close. So we actually do get a little bit of a glimpse behind the scenes of who she is. When you read their book, you love her. You love them both. It's just so good. It's so good. Oh. Anyway, this is a funny scene where he's having the drink with Elijah and he's complaining because his wife is making him do a charity function for retired clowns. This was really funny. And she actually has a scene with Drake, too, about the clown charity. Yeah.

It's hilarious. It's like a really funny side story. But Drake's getting continually frustrated. Amelia's a distraction and she's really doing everything she can to stay professional. But they just can't fight the magnetism. There's also some fun scenes where he thinks she's dressing for him on purpose because she keeps wearing things that can be untied. Taunting him. And he likes the rope play.

She's a Shibari. I think it is Shibari. So every time she wears something with a tie on it, just drives him nuts. She didn't detourmet me. She has no idea that he's into this, but it's clearly about him. He also has a rope in his office that he plays with. It's like a fidget spinner in his hands. It helps me focus.

Yeah, it's definitely a thing for him. Eventually, he just can't take it anymore, and he tells her he's going to move her to another lawyer, but he made sure it was this older gay man. Geeseer. And she'd get paid exactly what she's paid now, which she shouldn't get because she'd be, like, demoted. Yeah, so she's upset, but she totally understands. And Drake is trying so hard just to be professional, but he's being an asshole to her, barking at her and being condescending. He runs hot and cold.

Yeah. And so this potential client comes in named Stu Parker. He's there to have a consultation with Drake, but he sees how badly Drake is treating Amelia and refuses to work with the firm because of it. And Amelia says to Stu, oh, no, give him a chance. He's amazing. He didn't mean it. He's a good guy. Yeah, he's a good guy.

And Stu does give the firm another chance and tells Drake that it's because of Amelia and that she's stuck up for him. And then Drake just has this moment like self-awareness where he's like, oh, my God, I've been such an asshole. He's kind of an asshole most of the book, actually. Yeah. Yeah, he's hot and cold. He's very alpha type A. The next day we're at a company retreat and it's a bunch of team building exercises that most people are dreading. I think we've all been to one of those.

Before it all begins, Drake pulls Amelia into the closet to tell her he talks. to Stu. He knows he's been acting like a jerk. He's also being inappropriately flirtatious and calling her me Rosa and like checking her out. She's not having it. She's like, look, A-Hull, you have moved me to a new lawyer and have been nothing but a jerk for the last couple of weeks. So stop flirting with me and let's keep this professional. And you're like, yeah, go Amelia. The closet scene is very hot. Yeah. I don't think she means it. It's sexual tension. We be alone pulls him closer. Totally. He be alone, pulls him closer. Only because somebody knocked on the closet. Yeah, the HR lady was looking for him.

Yeah, the HR lady throughout this thing was so funny. Yeah, she was like the evil villain kind of. But anyway, she's wearing a ribbon in her hair and he unties it and her hair falls down and he's like, leave it down because the ribbon's driving him crazy. He just wants to untie it. And she's like, no, I can wear my hair how I want. Fuck you very much and just kind of leaves because the HR lady had knocked on the door. He had everybody go up and talk about themselves.

And when she went up there, it was. It was cute, flirty. It was very cute. You have to wonder what the rest of the audience was thinking type situation. She has to get up on stage and give a presentation about what her job is. She gives it to him. How many of us have had to get copy? Let's see how well they really know us.

And she starts like, what's my birthday? And he knows everything about her. They have a few moments at the retreat. She's secretly hoping they end up hooking up that night. Sure. Because they're at a hotel. And she gets all dolled up. ready for the happy hour. She runs down there. And she's kind of hiding behind a tree and she sees him

talking to Nathan. And Nathan's like, have a good date. And then he walks out the door and gets into a car and drives off. So then she's like devastated. But she proceeds to get hammered and sing karaoke with the HR lady sometimes on the night. He actually went out with a lesbian friend of his named Sapphire. She's like the super hot blonde, but she's in the closet. And she was in the other book that we read about Nathan. So she will go out with the James brothers every now and then just that they're like her beard. They got photographed together and Amelia saw it and was just crushed and she's like, okay, it's time for me to move on. I am going to say yes to this very nice man from accounting that keeps asking me on a date. So bad for that guy. And he really was punching above his weight,

you know. He was shooting his shot, you know, and he just really liked her. So she says, I'll go on a date with you, Jacob and he's like the best day of his life, right? He's so excited. And then that night, Nathan's at his dad's house with his brothers. And Nathan mentioned something about Amelia's date with Jacob because it's the gossip of the secretary pool. And he was on the call with his secretary. She mentioned it. Then he said, oh, gee, I heard your girls going out on a date. And Drake was like, excuse you? Like what? This was my favorite. Got to go. He's like, don't do anything macho and stupid. And Drake's like, I would, whatever. I would never. And then he goes, I got to go, I'm going to go out and hang out with dad. And then he's saying to himself, I'm about to do something

very macho and stupid. Stupid. He does it in the right way. It's not like he shows up to the table, thank God. He does it the right way. What? Okay. I mean the right way? I mean macho and stupid. It's a spectrum. This is a little bit stalker. You never underestimate the power of petty jealousy. because that really is what often will tip the man over. And a lot of money. Yeah. Yeah. So Amelia's on her date with Jacob and she's medium on him, right?

Like she's fake laughing and realizing he's just not as good as Drake. She's not attracted in any way. No. So she gets a text from Drake that says, I need you now. Work emergency. She's like, what the hell? Like I know I took care of everything before I left the office. This is weird.

So she tells Jacob, I need to make a quick call and she texts Drake. I need you now. This can't wait. Finish your date. Leave the restaurant. Amelia's like, how did you know I was on a date? And he's like, I know everything. Leave now.

She's really confused because he's been so clear he doesn't want a relationship. So surely this isn't because he's jealous. No. God forbid. Absolutely not. No jealousy. Professional. She goes back to the table and she's like, Jacob, I'm so sorry.

I just need to get a breath of fresh air. I'll be right back. She goes outside and Drake pulls her out onto a stairwell. And she's like, Drake? Like, what are you doing here? He's like, why are you ignoring my instructions? And she's like, I'm on a date. And he's like, I can fucking see that.

He's so annoyed. He's so mad. Yeah. And he says, if he touches you again, he'll be Jacob from the Chicago office. And she's like, he barely graced my finger. It was cute, though. It was so hot. That was hot.

Now, in real life, this would be concerning behavior. These are red flags. You're a psycho. Yeah. In my book. You're a psycho. I was fine with it. Yeah.

It didn't bother me at all. She says, oh, so you don't want me, but nobody else can have me either. And Drake, like, bangs his fist on the wall. And he says, you think I don't want you? God damn it, Amelia. I wish I didn't fucking want you. God damn, Amelia, I wish that I didn't fucking want you. Life would be so much easier if that were true.

But every second of every goddamn day, all I can think about is how badly I want to touch you. I want to kiss you and taste you and bend you over my desk and fuck you. And Amelia's like, sweet baby, Jesus. This is how Jenny is hearing this and reading it, which cracks me up so much. Totally. Totally. She's like, God damn it, Amelia. So funny. So anyway, he fingerbanks are out there on the stairwell.

Yeah, and gives her an orgasm and then makes her go back to her date and to tell him that she's leaving. But the door's locked, right? So the door's locked when they turn around. He bangs on the door twice. And someone opens it like, oh, here you go, Mr. James. Are you done finger-banging this woman? She's like, motherfucker. So once again, you feel like a whore.

She wants to leave at this point. Right. She's embarrassed now, too. She's embarrassed. She's just got finger-bang. She's having confused feelings about everything. And she can't finish this date with poor Jacob. Who's just sitting there patiently reading the dessert menu, just hoping.

Poor guy. Ordering her cheesecake or whatever. I can't believe he stayed. It had to have been half an hour. Good Lord. She's thinking to herself, I'm being rude and I'm like a little. Anyway, she leaves and Drake says you can go home with my driver, Constantine, and I'll take a cab. After, he finger bangs her in the stairwell. He's just sending her home. He just wanted to ruin her date.

So wrong. And she's pissed. She tells Constantine, I'm going to take a cab and tell your boss, he doesn't need to give me a ride home to make himself feel better about being a cold-hearted asshole. Good for her. I could take care of myself. And then she gets in the cab and drives off. And then Drake gets mad at the driver because he was supposed to take her home. Poor Constantine. He really did get put in the middle. How bad for that guy. And he was always on Amelia's side. Just make my day.

You have to let me take you. My life won't be worth living. And she's finally like, I don't give a shit. Yeah. Fuck you. And fuck you too. He looks at Drake and he's like, do you want me to take you home? She took a cab.

This is what she said about you and wasn't good. Like, should I take you home? And Drake's like, no, I don't want to go home. Suddenly he's at Amelia's apartment building. where he should have gone from the fucking beginning. Right. And he's really upset because she has bad security, but it kind of works in his favor. That was so funny.

Because he can walk right in. And he starts banging on her door like a psychopath. She says, go to hell. He's like, I need to talk to you, Amelia. And she goes, I'm not talking to you ass wipe. Ass wipe. And he's like, ass wipe? Ass wipe, really?

I'm offended, but only by the subpar caliber of your insults, Miss Ryder. So Drake says, I need to talk. And she said, you can talk to me from out there. And he says, okay, I want to fuck you. All the neighbors. And she has like teenage boys living across the hall. She's like, get in here. What's the matter with you?

He says, I need you. She's like, what about the work thing? And he's like, nobody needs to know. And then she says, but what about the fact that you don't do relationships? And I don't want anything casual as it turns out. Yeah. Weird. He's like, fuck.

And then finally, he's thinking to himself, those are just empty words I used to say before I met her. He says, we can keep it a secret or tell the whole fucking world, but just let me have you. And he's desperate at this point. And she doesn't want anyone to know because she doesn't want it to mess up her job. The decision to keep it a secret is her decision. He's like, I'll do whatever. I'm the boss. And anyway, Amelia says, you already have me, Drake.

They have mind-blowing sex, of course. A couple times. They spend the whole week. together in Brooklyn and go to all her favorite places. And Mario's exploding dough holes. That was so good. She's obsessed with this donut place and they have exploding donut balls. It's funny because during their sexual tension moments, she brings it up in the office

and it's just making him insane, like thinking about balls exploding in her mouth. She'd get it in front of the client. Stu Parker. The Stu Parker was like, oh, those are great. Oh, I love Mario's. Everybody knows about these. He's exploding donuts. They explode in your mouth.

She's making all these comments. And he's just like, er. So we get a lot of steamy chapters and relationship building. And I think Sadie does this really well. So we get some office sex and under the desk dictation. If you know what I mean. So life is good. Amelia's living her best life.

But then her mom goes into the hospital with the COPD. And Drake is incredibly supportive. But this is when we meet the ex-husband. and again with the names in this book. His name is Chad Poindexter. So he shows up to the hospital because he was listed as the emergency contact from when they were married and she hadn't changed that. He's very plastic like a kindal, bleached veneers and dyed hair and he's tan. She's like, what are you doing here?

Because he moved away. So he's quote unquote back in town. And we don't know why. Yeah. It feels sketchy. And the reason they had to call him is because. Drake had called her apartment super and bullied him into putting in extra security, threatened to sue him within an inch of his life. So like they're drilling and hammering and the service went down. And so that's why Chad ended up showing up. Drake gets there as fast as he can. He sees Chad. He thinks he's a jerkwad. I think those are his words. Turquod. And they have kind of like a dick measuring contest. And Drake wins, of course. But it plants the seed that, wow, he's got all this history with her. And he clearly still wants her. After they get Amelia's mom home, Drake says, have you ever heard of Shibari? Hey, have you ever heard of this thing? And he ends up tying her up and it helps her unwind. So she's into it too. She is. She says, like, I just don't want to think right now. And he's like, well, I have an option for you. She's into it. I love a man with a plan. And he falls in love even more because she likes his kink now. They have a little tiff after Drake acts like an asshole one day, which he does act like an asshole a lot of friends.

So the whole book. He just kind of is. And he has his own insecurities that, like, play on him to make him make stupid-ass decisions, which just drove me bananas. He does have those moments. He's not sure if he's good enough to love her. Right. Yeah. Anyway, they have this fight at the office.

She leaves, and he chases her down. Poor Constantine, so like driving through the rain to get to her. They end up making up, and then they say, I love you to each other. So now they've said the words out loud. They have hot makeup sex, of course. Then Drake introduces Amelia to his family as his girlfriend. But it was kind of funny. Because the dad was like, oh, you're not even going to take one night off of work.

You got to bring your secretary. You got to work tonight. He's like, no, she's my girlfriend. And then they're like, oh. Oh, got to. Welcome to the family. Yeah. We love you.

They did. They loved her. She immediately connects with Melanie and they become fast friend. This is going really well until Amelia gets a call from the hospital while she's at the office. and her mom passed away. That was very, very heartbreaking. Drake is there for her in all the right ways, but it's emotionally draining for him because of what he went through with his own mom, and he's having a lot of those memories. After all the services, Amelia's girlfriends take her to an overnight spa to help her relax, and then Chad Poindexter finds Drake at the bar in his hotel. Drake's exhausted. He's emotionally exhausted. This has been a lot on him, and Chad's been hanging out at all the funeral services, too.

And again, it's really clear he's got a lot of history with her and her family and her friends. Well, and he's bringing it up very strategically in front of Jake. Like, oh, remember when I was at your mom's house? He's going back through the memories. And he's doing it on purpose. He's trying to play on that, like, long-term emotion. And it's working because Drake's like, I'm not giving her what she needs. I'm not doing a good job of consoling her.

And Chad's there to saying all the right things seemingly. So Chad tells Drake that Amelia is his wife and he wants her back. And Drake's like, she's your ex-wife. and you gave her away, you cheated on her, and you're now engaged to do her mistress. Did I leave anything out? Chad's like, yeah, that mistress thing did it work out? And now I want a million back. I made a big mistake. Sometimes people make mistakes, Drake. He's like, fuck you too. He's like, I've been with her since I was 16. She wants a family and I'm the one that should be giving it to her. I'm ready now. Drake has this momentary lapse of judgment and thinks like maybe Chad's right. But dear listeners, if you thought this was a clue that we'd be getting a third act breakup, you'd be correct. Didn't like it. Here we go. What?

What? What? Make up. Amelia gets back from the spa. Drake tells her they need a break. And it's just the shittiest thing to do. It's heartbreaking. Yeah.

It was awful. She's feeling like, oh, I'm being so sad. I'm not giving him what he needs. And he's like, am I supporting her right? And you can see the emotion through this. But he broke up with her right after she got back to say, like, I love you and thank you so much. And he's like, well, maybe not. we should take some space.

Take some time. Yeah. Fuck you. She's got so much going on. The timing was just horrific. Horrific. She does handle it like a class act, though. And I think Sadie, when she writes her female main characters, most of the time, there was that one

book I didn't like, but most of the time, they are strong and they can handle these things. And they dust themselves off and try to move on. But she's sad. She's appropriately sad. But she does start looking for another job. She doesn't quit her job. yet, though. She called in sick. She doesn't quit, but she knows she's going to have to. Like, she can't stay there. It reminded me a lot of Lily from Perfect Fit.

Yeah. Season one, folks, that was actually our very first episode, our very first post on this show. Chad calls Amelia and says, I've got these pictures of your mom. I really think you'd like to have them. So he's using every trick in the book to be around her. And she says, sure, because she hasn't showered in three days. She's been wallowing self-pity. Of course, when Chad comes to pick her up, Drake's. walking up to the apartment with roses. And Amelia doesn't see him, but he sees Chad picking her up. Showing up. And then he just throws the roses in the garbage and walks off. And he feels like Chad one. He's like, I fucked up. And he's taking her on a date. He calls his brothers. He's like, it's time for an emergency brother session. And they all get together and get drunk and talk about

how he's so stupid. Which he was. So he's at work a few days later. And realizing, you know, life without a secretary isn't that easy. So he's got a temp in there. Who's awful. She's terrified of him. Yeah. Well, he's being a dick. He's being a dick, and she sucks at her job, and he's sad about Amelia. But anyway, Chad shows up there to see him, which annoys him even more.

And Chad tells Drake that he needs his help, and Drake's like, why would I help you? And he said, they've taken Amelia. And Drake, like, immediately puts his hand around Chad's neck and, like, pins him to the wall. And he's like, who took her? Chad can't answer because Drake's choking him. him. There. And then he tells Chad, sit the fuck down and tell me what happened.

Ultimately, Chad borrowed money from some Irish gangsters. And they're mad about it. So they took Amelia and now they want $500,000. But Chad's an investor, but he's not good at it. But like a shady. I think he's almost like a Ponzi schemer or like just shy. Like he's asking for this investment and he's like guaranteeing returns. It went south.

The returns didn't come. and the Irish people are pissed. The Irish gangsters are mad and they want their money. James and James, as lawyers, they represent the Irish mob. Mobsters. They're one of their biggest clients. So he says, why would they take Amelia? She's your ex-wife.

And he says, well, I kind of told them that we were reuniting. And Drake says, are you? So now Drake's like, are they back together? Like, I need this information. Chad says, no, I tried, but she denied me. And Drake's like, yes. Perfect. I'm going to go save her now.

He's like, I would have saved her anyway, but now I really want to save her. So Drake says she is a good judge of character. And, oh, Chad, she is your ex-wife. And when I get her back, she's my future wife. You understand? So he's putting his line in the sand. You don't have any more shots with her. You blew it.

When they kidnapped her, they say this is because of the man you're with. The man in your life. She thinks it's Drake. Yeah. So now we get a cameo from Shane Ryan. He was from the New York Ruthless series. He's so hot. I'm sorry, Jane, Ryan.

He's hot and the book is really hot. It's a reverse harem, sort of. It's all four brothers married to one wife. But it works. I don't know why. It works. It works. So Drake wants to make sure the kidnappers are just petty criminals and they'll give her back as long as he gives them money.

And Shane says, yeah, they aren't heavies. They just want the cash. So he says, I'm going to pay this dumbass what he wants. But then after that, I'm going to need your help because I got to take care of this guy for what he did to me. Shane's like on it, whatever you need. Just follow us. Yeah. Then Drake looks at Chad and says, you put Amelia in danger with your greed and punches him right in the face.

Good. He deserves it, Chad, point Dexter. Yeah, I didn't hate that part. So the rescue's really quick. They pay the guys and they find Amelia right where the guys said she would be. And she thanks Chad first. And Drake is super annoyed, but tempers his anger for once in his life and picks her up. Well, she jumps into his arm.

She's like, thanks, Chad. Drake's here and even though she thinks he's the one that got her into this mess. Drake straightens that out pretty quick. She says, I was so scared, Drake, but I knew you'd come for me. And will you stay with me? And he says, yeah, baby, I'm going to stay with you forever. Forever. But when they arrived, the reason she thinks Chad saved her is because he's like, we found you. I've got you. I took care of it. He plays it up like it was me that saved you, not this guy. But it didn't matter. It didn't work. Well, the best part was Drake goes to take her. home and they leave Chad and Hell's kitchen.

And he's like, how do I get back? And Drake's like, don't care. Nobody knows. I don't really fucking care. What happens to you? See you. Bye. I don't know if you'll make it. Honestly. So, of course, they make up and tell each other how much they love one another and have sex. And Amelia says, what happens now? And Drake says, my family misses you, so we're going to go see them. And then we're going to go in the office and tell the whole damn world we're together. Yeah. Drake also tells Amelia that she. She's moving in with him, which is good because she didn't want to go back to her place anyway after she got kidnapped there.

Drake and the Ryan brothers beat the shit out of the bad guys that couldn't. As they should. That was really great. Yeah. And Amelia and Melanie, Nathan's wife, are exchanging decorating ideas and making vacation plans together. Yeah, because finally Drake's penthouse apartment is ready after the whole book they've been in the hotel. Finally. Yeah.

Coming together. Coming together. Back at the office, Drake calls a meeting. Very Michael Scott style. So funny. He tells everyone, Amelia and I are now officially a couple. To clarify, we are romantic partners. We're boyfriend and girlfriend.

She's my babe. My boo. My old lady. What was that? The other one, if somebody yelled it out, love of my life. Love of my life. L-O-M-L. He's like, I don't know what that is.

And he says, yeah, she is. Everything. She tells Linda from HR if she is a problem with it, she can reference his new policy called, my name is on the door. She did ask for her. in writing, though. I'd like a hard copy of that policy. Yeah, she was kind of a smart ass back to him. So we get another New Year's Eve, which is a significant date in all the books in this series, Nathan's book two, and actually also Elijah's book. We always go back to New Year's Eve. And Drake proposes to Amelia and says, I know the night we met, I said nobody could promise forever. And I was wrong because that's what I'm promising you now. Forever. And she says yes. And his brothers hoist him in the air and carry him around. And Daddy Dalton, gives her a hug and says, thank you for making Drake smile like that because we never thought he would.

On to the best part, two epilocks. Two epilocks. Just write the book. I just don't understand. I'm going to say these epilogs were not necessary. They're never necessary. It was more sex. Continuation of.

The first one is sex while she's pregnant. And then the second one is just more sex while she's pregnant. But it was for Jake's point of view. So I don't know that we needed to, Sadie, but I love you. So you can do no wrong. I'm good. But the end, I loved this book. This was a five-star read.

Wow. Yes. When Sadie does it right for me, this is my favorite book to read. Like I said, the vampire series was kind of a miss for me. I like that one. This was like the Sadie books I show up for. I would love to hear your ratings. I'm going to start with Lindsay.

Oh. I really struggle. I love Sadie too and hit all the right themes, but it fell a little flat for me in a couple of places. And his insecurity at that end really drove me bananas. I know that there has to be the breakup. There has to be a reason, but it did not track for me on this book. So I actually was between a three and a half and a four, but I'm trending down. It really missed a couple of marks for me in a couple of places where I just, I just didn't fall in love. Maybe it was where I was in the moment, but yeah. It's Sadie Kincaid. It's Sadie Kincaid. I mean,

She's on my top authors across the board. I love everything she has done thus far. This one, I would have gone five stars, but like Lynn, I did not like the insecurities. You have this rich guy who's amazing and I guess he can't have all the things. However, I did still stick with like four and a half stars. I loved it. Yeah, I loved it. Like I said, do yourself a favor. Download this audible, his voice. So hot. So hot. I did listen to this three times, mainly because I was out. I was out. I was narrating the show today, but I probably would have anyway. I love chapter 26. This is when he interrupts the date. Oh, good. That was good. His alpha energy was just so sexy. Also, do yourself a favor and read rebound or listen to rebound. I might do that one. Yeah. Getting a glimpse into the wife in this book makes me want to read rebound. I feel like she would be like a great heroine. She has this whole, I don't know if coming of ages, right, because she's like 40, but she finds herself. And that journey is just Sadie wrote her so well. Awesome. Spice rating, I will give this one a four and a half.

It was hot. There was lots of it. It was Sadie, so it was written well. She's the Queen of Spice, and she knows what she's doing when it comes to that. What do you think, Lynn? I was like a four, four and a half on the sex. The sexual tension was really, really well done.

I loved the restaurant date scene. I loved all of the office scenes. You love an office romance. That's why I was surprised you didn't like this more. I really struggled with it. I don't know. There were some sad parts in here, too, which I think it built to the story, but kind of took away from the romance, too, a little bit. So, but yeah, the sex was good. Where it was there, it was there. I really liked it. Kimber? Again, it's Sadie Kincaid. I mean, I loved the banter. I'm always there for a good hot banter back and forth and that tension build. And I loved the romance part. There were so many things that kind of built up that attraction. So when they did have sex, it was. fireworks. So I gave it a four and a half. It was spicy. There were moments where I was like, oh, okay. That's, I mean, yeah, he knew what was going on in the bedroom. All right. Well, thank you, everyone for being here for our recap. I'm never sad to do a Sadie book. Never.

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