In the world of venture capitalism either you're a shark or you get eaten by ones. Jen Spencer knows it, but will she be able to multitask while struggling with serious personal problems with grandmother's health issues, and her company demanding her time and devotion?
Everyone in the business knows who's Kadrienne Davenport. Jen is also familiar with that name, but when she meets Kade incognito, sparks fly and she is immensely attracted to that woman. But, what happens when that woman turns out to be precisely THE Kadrienne Davenport, and moreover, your new boss, who's stickler for the rules and practicality?
Is it possible for Jen to keep her emotions in cheek, after Kade said loud and clear that she doesn't do relationships? In spite of that, Jen finds herself falling deeper and deeper for Kade... is there a hope or is it a lost cause?
This is a very nice book, for those who want some romance with angst. There are plenty unresolved issues and huge load of guilt Kade is dealing with, and that follows throughout the book. It keeps the plot interesting and delays the happy ending. 3.5 stars

I just couldn’t connect to this book... the writing was well done, the characters were interesting but I just didn’t really connect to it....In my opinion there were many unnecessary business details which made it a bit dry at times. The beginning was good but as soon as they got back it kind of lost it for me.

Kade and Jen are both successful women in a male dominated business, Jen more at the beginning of her career as a CEO of a start-up and Kade on the peak of her career as a venture capitalist. They meet first semi-anonymous and spend an unusual day together, flirting and having fun. When they meet again in a work related context, they both fail in containing the mutual attraction.
What makes this book different (in a good way) from similar stories is the way they navigate their blooming relationship. They go about the admission of attraction and the handling of the conflicts in a very adult and refreshing manner. This is especially due to Jen’s warm and nurturing character, but both work hard on changing their approach to work and life to let the other in. Additionally, I really liked the evenly spread power balance and mutual respect between them.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This author is new to me but I'll be looking for more of her work because I really liked this one. It's a romance with two interesting likeable leads and some well done minor characters. It kept me interested from start to finish, I only would've liked a bit less talk about business.

It's Not a Date by Heather Blackmore is a love story set in the fast-paced world of venture capitalism. There is no doubt the Blackmore has a business background. Her wealth of knowledge sets up a romance that crosses into professional boundaries. 

Kade Davenport is a young entrepreneur that has had a lot of success at a very early age. Into her thirties, she has sold multiple companies for a wealth beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. For all of Kade’s success, she is a loner who for the most part is closed off to the rest of the world. She’s known for her business acumen and rigid ways but few people know anything else about Kade Davenport. 

Kade meets Jennifer Spencer in the Maui airport. Jennifer is the CEO of a small start-up company that pairs caregivers for hire with families that have elderly loved ones. These two hit it off immediately and decide to spend one perfect day together in paradise. Funny thing is one year later, Kade finds herself on the board of Jenn’s company and these two have to find a way to work together and fight their attraction.

Overall, I thought this book had a great premise and the story was interesting and fun.

I was swept up in the read from the first page. Two strong and capable women who know how to get the job done. Kadrienne Davenport, what a well written business woman. Jennifer Spencer, what a well written and likeable person and entrepreneur. Thought the interaction and chemistry between them was so charming and real. Romance at it's finest.

I really enjoyed this read! I loved the interactions between Kade and Jen where you could feel the chemistry between the two. You can't help but love Jen and how level headed she was when the two argued or when Kade pushed her away. I also enjoyed Kade as a character as the stoic but caring businesswomen, she was so hard on herself. The two balanced each other really well and I loved following their story.

Not much more to say about the book, I loved the sweet romance and recommend the read.

Wow! I love this book! I am so truly impressed! Everything about this book just. Kade is a wonderfully complex character with a lot of baggage and Jen is like a breath of fresh air. I feel the business talk was just enough to keep the reader apprised of their dealings. Kade’s character development is amazing and her self reflection at the end was cathartic. I thought going in that she would be super whiny and self loathing but her struggles were handled well. I am so thrilled I was granted permission to read this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone that’s up for a romance with some fantastic character development. Thank you Heather for another great book,

Hm. It was okay?

I don't really have any thoughts on this. It certainly wasn't painful to read, there's nothing wrong with the writing, but I didn't connect with it at all.

Some of the business details were probably not necessary, but I doubt that would have made me connect with the characters any more. And a romance when you just don't care about the characters doesn't work for me.

The first half of this book nearly bored me to death, too much work talk, in fact I wanted to give up but I’m glad I didn’t because it did pick up a bit, became less work oriented, there was still a lot of work talk but not as boring as the first half, more drama, more interesting, Jen I liked but Kade was a complete dick she was too woe is me for my liking, really got on my tits, she was on constant repeat, the sex was very good indeed but I can't recall noticing any chemistry, I liked the secondary characters a bit more though. Overall this book was just ok with a happy ending as expected!
2.5 stars

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2281960938?type=review#rating_151424488

It's Not a Date is about Kade Davenport, a tech entrepreneur and investor who is a stickler for punctuality and doesn't let herself get close to anyone, and Jen Spencer, CEO of Creative Care, which aims to pair people who need to hire care for elderly or sick relatives with private-care workers. When one of Creative Care's board members falls ill, Kade is called in to substitute, and Kade and Jen find out they have very different management styles even while sparks fly.

Throughout the read, I was hovering between 4 and 5 stars, but by the end, I was completely charmed by this story. Honestly, I didn't understand some of the stuff about investments and venture capitalists, but it never took away from my enjoyment of the story. I could still very much understand where each woman was coming from and the stakes each was facing.

A lot of Jen's concerns about being a female CEO in the tech industry are real-life issues women face. Her colleague was pushed out of her CEO role for becoming pregnant. Jen thinks that Kade, who basically has no private life, has set an example for successful businesswomen that essentially advises women to value their job over their family. And Jen worries that having to leave work unexpectedly to care for her grandmother, who has dementia, will hurt her prospects in the field.

On Kade's end, she has some very real trauma from her youth that she's never gotten over. Because of this, she's never been in a relationship and only has one real friend. Jen, through her kindness, helps her grow as a person.

This is what I loved most about this book and what ultimately won me over--how Jen and Kade are written. There's always going to be miscommunication and angst in a romance, but it's very subtly done here. Their differences arise from them being completely different people, but I always understood both points of view. There were multiple points where their differences could've been used to amp up the angst. Instead, Blackmore often has the character or characters in the wrong take time to cool off and understand on their own why they were wrong. It's very refreshing.

I also want to say that the ending scene was one of the most satisfying romance ending scenes that I've read. It tied things together in a lovely way.

There were a few things that didn't quite work for me, however. I see from a lot of people's reviews that they loved the beginning set in Maui. While I enjoyed it, I found myself questioning the authorial choice to devote an entire 12% to it. I think it could've been pared down, but I realize I didn't enjoy it as much as some others because I don't care too much for instant attraction. I like when characters have a bit of a struggle getting there.

I also thought the points of view were a little imbalanced, especially toward the beginning. We spent a lot of time with Kade first then lots with Jen before it evened out. Perhaps I would've found the beginning 12% more interesting if there had been more of a balance. Along these same lines, sometimes it took a paragraph or two to figure out whose point of view we were in. These types of things definitely aren't deal-breakers for me, but they could be improved upon in the next book.

I'd definitely recommend this to romance readers, especially those who enjoy f/f romance, and I'll be looking forward to more stories from Blackmore.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

The opening chapters are fantastic. A chance meeting of two women, some travel mishaps and a free day in Maui before a conference. Jen and Kade’s attraction for each other is palpable and the chemistry sizzling. The dialogue is witty and engaging. The beginning was so tantalising that it’s probably one of the best starts to a novel that I’ve read in a long time.

And a lucky thing too, that it was such a good start, because it was the glimpse of Kade in the first three chapters that kept me from growling at the book in frustration. As it turns out, even though one of my favourite character types is the all-business, aloof, ice-queen, there is a very fine line before she tips over into something I don’t like: the rigid, OCD, self-pitying martyr. Jen, on the other hand, is the antithesis and her likeability kept me going.

There are so many topics that are touched on in the development of Kade and Jen’s relationship like toxic parents, care for the elderly and women in the workplace and it made for interesting reading over and above the romance. I would have like much more engagement with Holly because she seemed like a really interesting character but she was more on the periphery. In the end it was both a heart-wrenching and wonderful read.

Kade Davenport is an entrepreneur and innovator. Now working in venture capital, she is a demanding executive who raises funds for innovative new businesses. A workaholic who is rigid about timetables and punctuality, she refuses to be open to relationships, certain that she can only cause pain to anyone she loves.

Jennifer Spencer is the CEO of a start-up building an app for connecting carers with people needing care at home. It’s a great idea, but getting the funds to keep her young business afloat is tricky. She really needs venture capital. It sounds like a boon for her business when Kade takes up a position on the board to guide Jen though the dangerous waters surrounding a new business, but how will they cope with their growing attraction to one another?

Blackmore has worked in the heady world of finance, and it shows. She has managed to write scenes about the management of a business in the world of start-ups without flooding it with too much information. She also makes salient points about power, which is apparent in the dynamic, without it overwhelming the romance. This takes some clever writing, and I presume, some clever editing.

Kade is almost completely shut down from any emotional connection, and yet craves the freedom that Jen offers. Jen is impressed by the depth of Kade’s skills in the business arena, and loves to see how far she can push Kade’s need for control. It is an interesting dynamic, and one that could have been very one-sided had Jen not been such a strong character. I really liked Jen’s playfulness too, which really lightened the tone of the book, and contributed to the verbal sparring between characters.

There was a good sense of background and how that impacted on the two main protagonists, informing their behaviour within the scenes. The two bit players, one for each of the main characters, were fun and their roles could have been expanded in a longer book.

I really liked this book and look forward to reading others by Blackmore.

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I have to admit that at first I had misread the burb about this book. Thinking it was about a relationship between a man and a women. Well within the first chapter I realized that this was in fact about relationship between two woman. Never read anything like this before and thought since I requested it I would give it an honest try. To my surprise I found the writing and story beautiful written. I love the style of writing the author depicted, with great flow and interesting charachters. She did a wonderful job with the chemistry between the two main characters and I really enjoyed their journey of their relationship. I would recommend this book and author to others.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Let me start off by saying I loved the beginning of this book. The chemistry between Kade and Jen was fantastic from the get go; I adored their flirting and their banter.
I also loved when they saw each other again. "It's not a date." was such a great beginning to them seeing each other again and I loved the premise of Kade being worn down by how wonderful Jen is.
I felt like shortly after their 'not a date' date however, their chemistry sort of fizzled. The love scenes also weren't as powerful as I wished they had been and the lack of description or time spent on them lowered the impact of the fact our heroines were together.
This was a really nice read, their was a lot of growth for Kade and Jen was consistently a wonderful, nice woman but I felt like their chemistry faltered in the second 2/3 of the book and it was a struggle to keep reading after a while.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested a few ARCs from NetGalley this round, three from authors I had not read before, the first I only got three chapters into before abandoning it, so my hopes for this were not particularly high. Thankfully I was happily surprised.

I had assumed given the description that this would be one of those ‘couple who’ve never met before have a hot sexy romp and then have to spend the rest of the book overcoming it because one of them works for the other’ books. And while there is some basis of that here, it’s not at all in the way I anticipated, but I don’t want to say why for fear of spoiling it.

What I will say is that I loved both MCs, Kade was refreshing, because rather than the ice cold bitch/corporate shark I was expecting, she is instead a wounded but very sweet woman who doesn’t understand (or can’t comprehend) her own worth. Jen is written a bit like a paragon of virtue, and only seems to show any real flaw at the end, which is mostly just to drive the bit of drama required and still isn’t all that bad, all things considered.

Holly is really the only other character that’s fleshed out at all, and she is also near perfect, but I did love her relationship with Kade (and her ability to anticipate Kade’s needs was amusing). Jen’s grandmother and Kade’s father also play roles, and I identified with the struggles of both characters in relation to their family dramas, and thought the way those storylines were handled was realistic.

There’s not terribly much drama here and the romance and friendship between Kade and Jen is sweet and honestly charming in places. I loved that I believed that these two women honestly cared for each other and supported each other, even when the other didn’t always know it was happening.

I give this 4.5 stars, I haven’t given it 5 only because I thought Jen and Holly were a bit too perfect, and that there was a rather glaring conflict of interest and no real reason why Kade couldn’t mentor Jen without being on the board, so the fact that they went ahead anyway seemed a bit unrealistic, but I liked them together so much I didn’t really care. The ending wrapped everything in a nice big bow, which was also a little too overly HEA for me, but it’s a minor quibble.

Overall though, I’m happy to have found a new author and will certainly be going back and trying Heather’s earlier books.

Another winner from Heather Blackmore. She's quickly becoming my favourite author simply because she imparts some honest to goodness insight into the world of financing, and raising capital. This one was no different. We have a heroine who is an empathise and and genuinely caring person and we have the other heroine who is also a caring person but keeps distance and looks at everything from a impartial viewpoint. Obviously they cannot ignore each other and so begins a game of tug and war on whether to go on a date or not 🙂