Then You Happened - Book Review

By Sandi Lynn

Synopsis

When Sierra’s father died, he left her in charge of the family business. At the age of twenty-eight, Sierra Adams became CEO of Adams Advertising & Design, one of the top ten advertising agencies in the world. Her work was her life. She lived and breathed it every day, leaving little time for play. Having once been in a relationship that completely destroyed her, Sierra vowed to use men for one thing only: SEX. No strings, no problems, and most importantly, no heartache.

Cameron Cole is an ordinary guy that makes a living as a carpenter. He’s a simple man who’s happy with life the way it is. He does a job he loves, has a great group of friends, and a close knit family.

When Sierra hires Cameron to remodel her Hollywood Hills home, their happy little worlds are turned upside down. She likes the rich things in life and he likes the simple things. While there’s no denying the strong attraction between them, they form a hilarious friendship where sex is the only thing Sierra wants. Cameron can’t help but want more and makes it his mission to bring Sierra into his simple world and show her that there’s more to life than just all work and money.

Take Cameron and Sierra’s journey in this romantic comedy as they discover that when life hands you limes, you have no choice but to break out the tequila.

Review

THEN YOU HAPPENED is the story of Sierra Adams (CEO of Adams Advertising & Design) and Cameron Cole (carpenter for his father’s business).

Sierra has had a few bad experiences with previous boyfriends and no longer does relationships. She has several corporate men (suits) she has sex with, men who are happy to give her what she wants: no strings; no commitments; and no problems. Having grown up wealthy, Sierra only wants the finer things in life and never does anything by half.

Cam is her total opposite. He loves the simple things in life, his family, his hometown and is not afraid of relationships. He first sees Sierra from across the room at a Starbucks he’s renovating and knows she’s out of his league, but wants her anyway.

Coming to a decision made on the fly, Sierra decides to hire Cam to renovate her newly acquired mansion. When she learns that Cam is being forced out of his apartment, she offers him her guesthouse for the duration of the renovations. After a few days of flirting, she decides to step outside her box of suits and plans to make Cam one of her friends with benefits. Of course, it wouldn’t be a romance if the alpha male didn’t try to break down the woman’s walls and convince her he’s worthy of more than just sex. He’s not just a piece of meat you know.

Well, in classic romance fashion, Sierra starts to have feelings for Cam and that’s when things go downhill. She starts putting her walls back up and Cam won’t tolerate it and walks away. She finally comes to her senses and it’s a race to get to Cam before it’s too late.

What I liked most about this book was the secondary characters and how they all interacted with each other. Sierra’s maid (Rosa), assistant (Kirsty) and driver (James) are all very funny and not afraid to speak their mind to their boss. I think that’s why Sierra likes and respects them so much. Despite coming from a different background, Cam fits right in.

What I didn’t like about the book was the forceful feel I got between Sierra and her suits during sex. It seemed a little rough and crude and didn’t seem to please her at all. If you’re only going to use men for sex, at least have sex with men who turn you on, right? She was always imagining someone else just to get her juices flowing and they way the suits spoke to her was a little lame. But maybe that was the author’s intent.

I think the worst part of the book was Sierra herself. Don’t get me wrong, I found many of her scenes funny, she could certainly bust some balls and I was glad she got her HEA. But I also found her spoilt, snobby and rude. Her constant complaining when being forced to step out of her comfort zone and her alcoholic tendencies were off-putting. I also couldn’t really picture her as a CEO. While she did spend some nights working very late at the office, I somehow don’t imagine a CEO being able to pop out for some girl time at the drop of a hat.

I’ve heard there’ll be a follow up to this book to continue the story but I can’t find anything on the author’s website. I would be interested in reading this book if it does exist.