Book Review: Weekends Required by Sydney Landon

Title: Weekends Required
Series: Danvers, Book 1
Author: Sydney Landon
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy from publisher via NetGalley
Published: September 2012 by NAL

Claire Walters has worked for Jason Danvers as his assistant at Danvers International for three years, and he has never thought of her as a woman until the day she jumps out of a cake at his friend's bachelor party.

Claire is forced to work a second job at a party planning company to support her ailing mother. She is horrified when Jason not only finds out, but has a front-row seat to the action. With Danvers in the process of merging with another company, Claire is forced to travel with Jason as well as work weekends. Suddenly all the fantasies she has entertained for years about her boss seem to be coming true. Her outspoken best friend Suzy thinks that just getting laid will solve everything. The problem is, Claire sees much more in Jason than just sex.

Jason is determined to know how the beautiful, sexy woman in the cake could also be his Plain Jane assistant who tries her best to blend into the background from 8-5 every day. Now not only does Jason see her as a woman, he fully intends to give her the fairy-tale ending that she deserves!

Why I Read this Book: The compromising situation between the boss and his assistant had me. I love awkward situations like this, especially when they bring a couple together.

What I Liked: Claire is very independent and self-reliant; I like that in a character. But when it comes to Jason, Claire has rational fears about him controlling her life. Her father was a very controlling man and Claire witnessed first hand the emotional and psychological effects it had on her mother. So Claire was not going to let that happen to herself. I didn’t care for the mother’s storyline at first but as the story progressed, specifically towards the ends, the mom grew on me. I also liked Louise’s character. She’s her mother caretaker and acts as a pseudo mother to Claire.

At first, it seemed like Jason was the perfect guy; he didn’t appear to have any flaws and I found that to be boring. But once Jason overstepped Claire’s boundaries, things got interesting. He tried to do a nice thing but became a little too controlling when it came to Claire’s.

The ending felt a little rushed and too easily resolved but I got the closure I needed in the epilogue. I am happy with how things turned out for Claire, Jason, and Claire’s mom.

What I Didn’t Like: The first time Claire and Jason were intimate, the reader doesn’t know they used protection until after the deed is done and he discards the condom. Then there was a time when protection was not used, nor was it talked about, and that’s a pet peeve of mine.

I don’t understand what purpose Billy’s character served in this story other than being one of the things Jason ‘fixes’ for Claire. Billy is Claire’s neighbor who stalks her when she comes and goes, trying to get a date with her. He was creepy and annoying and I don’t feel his place in the story was warranted.

Overall Impression: Weekends Required started out fun, got a little serious in the middle, but ended on a sweet note.

Brianna’s Rating: