This was a great book. I really like the power dynamics with boss/employee storylines. Add in longing crushes and kids and I'm a sucker. I will say I like a little more insta-love than this book offers. It's more of a slow burn but I also know that's not a popular opinion. It was nice having different scenes, obviously their work environment, but the conference setting sounded lovely. A change of pace like that is a welcome addition. The characters were a pleasure to read about. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So this was a smooth read :) I really like boss/employee relationships and I think this one delivered quite well on this front.

This book is your typical lesbian romance book. A co worker has a crush on her boss. The boss is clueless until something happens. Very cliche, but this is written well and the characters are very likeable. There is Zoe, she is the one with the crush. Reyna is the boss, who doesn't have a clue that Zoe is very taken with her.
If you love reading these types of books, then this book is for you. It was an easy read with a wonderful ending.
I would recommend.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so well written I finished it in one sitting. The author had an engaging tone of voice, the writing was flowing really well, the Australian setting was a nice change and the two leads were both very well developed and multi-faceted. It was great to see a woman of colour as one of the main characters. The plot was well paced but the attraction between the two leads seemed to come out of nowhere after they’d already known one another for quite some time - especially for Reyna. And when they did eventually get together it was hard to see how feelings could develop so quickly. Some more chemistry between them and some more build up would have made this a five-star book.

The newest from RL Burgess uses one of my favorite Lesfic tropes - falling for your boss. The book was a pleasant, fun, and satisfying read., the characters likable. It took me a little while to get into the story, but once I did, it was hard to put down. Reyna's been put in the position of not only running her company but raising her nephew who's lost his parents. She has no idea her employee Zoe is carrying a torch that can't be extinguished.

Cute love story and told very well by the author.

Being a new author for me (first time a read a book from Ms. Burgess), I was pleasantly surprised. This was a very slow burn romance, so be warned (the romance doesn't really get going until well pass the 1/2 way mark-if you can even call their first encounter a 'romance'. I did enjoy the build up to it, it gave us a chance to really understand the main characters and what their perspectives are.

It is based on two main characters, a boss and her employee, so right off you have a 'hands-off' type of relationship. Throw in an unexpected kid to raise, and a company to run and you have a lot of pulling on the boss. Again though, the author wrote the story and characters in a way you can understand the hesitancy, and the longing.

All in all in was a nice read, and I would look for this author again

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

To see my Amazon review, it is under CC-just enjoyable

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by this author, and I found it to be just ok, there’s nothing terribly wrong with it, but there’s nothing great about it either.

Here we have MC Reyna who runs a finance company and is raising her nephew after the death of her sister, (she’s also a POC, so points for that). The other MC is Zoe, who works for Reyna and has been crushing on her for a couple of years, she also has some family trauma type issues.

Reyna’s side of the story includes her nephew Holden and her friends (brief mentions of her parents, but they don’t really feature) and Zoe’s side includes a large group of meddling friends (one of whom also works for Reyna) and a brother who also barley features.

This is the very definition of a slow burn. For the first 50% of this story the leads don’t interact in any kind of romantic way (unless you count Zoe’s pining, which I didn’t), although they are mutually attracted. There’s also a lot of introspection by both characters about their lives and circumstances, and that got repetitive after awhile.

Around the 50% mark they head off to a conference together, and spend some personal time together, which involves a lot of ‘we shouldn’t’ (even though we know they will!), Zoe sort of seeing someone else and then the drama of the fallout from them acting on their feelings and Reyna pulling back. I was glad Zoe had enough backbone to not just sit there and pine some more after this, and that the end involved Reyna making things right, but seriously, at least 25% of the first part of the book could have been condensed to actually give us something of their actual relationship, the end was ridiculously rushed.

So, I’d give this 2.5 stars, but have rounded up. I doubt I’d be tempted to read it again.

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it.

Zoe is attracted to her boss Rayna Azoulay but she's never expecting anything to come from it. She's happy and challenged in her current position at work. But when she's selected to present at a finance conference in at a resort in Alice Springs, she finds herself in close quarters with her boss, and the attraction comes bubbling to the surface. Rayna is busy running her company, and there are new developments in her personal life which doesn't make dating a top priority, but she can't fight her attraction to Zoe. Can the two women find a balance that suits both their lives, or will they have to deny their attraction to each other?


I loved both main characters, Zoe in particular was super cool. I was totally invested in the program she was developing, and I have no interest in finance whatsoever. The attraction between Zoe and Reyna was fantastic, and I really liked how their relationship developed. The tension, the hot and cold towards each other, was well balanced without being frustrating. It's a fine line to walk, and I think it worked for me here. The secondary characters were well developed and gave our leading ladies a kick in the pants when they needed it most. The setting of the conference in Alice Spring sounded so gorgeous, I loved the exploring they did so that the readers far away could go on a little armchair trip. It was a very romantic setting too. I loved the way the author kept surprising us with various characters, that there was so much more than meets the eyes sometimes depending on the point of view. It was really neat.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always enjoy workplace romances, so I was excited to read this. It's a nice solid story with likeable main characters and a low angst level. It felt a little long to me, but it was an enjoyable way to spend a weekend.

This is a story that I truly enjoyed. Counting on Love by R.L. Burgess is a workplace romance that tells the story of Zoe Cavendish, a young financial advisor working at Azoulay House, an up-and-coming advisory firm, and its owner and CEO, Reyna Azoulay. Reyna loves her job as creator and owner of the firm, but she is overworked to the point of exhaustion, and now has to take on the role of parent to her eight year old nephew unexpectedly. She feels she doesn’t have time for anything or anyone else. Zoe has had a secret crush for Reyna since she came to work for her. She has been able to hide her feelings from Reyna so far, at least until they both end up together at a prestigious business conference in Alice Springs.

This is not only a workplace romance, but also a slow-burn romance. It is easy to see the attraction that Zoe has for Reyna. I had to read a good way into the book before I could see Reyna’s attraction to Zoe. Once I got there, though, the chemistry between the two was obvious.
Ms. Burgess has created a delightful story with likable characters, a gorgeous setting and a heartwarming romance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I think you will too.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections:
https://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

I'm giving this three and a half stars but rounding it up to four, because I thought it was a decent read. There's a bit of everything going on here, and I do believe Burgess was kind of checking off some boxes, but it was put together very well. Both leads are dealing with some stuff but are far enough away from it to not feel like that's what is driving their stories.

Reyna has become the parent to her nephew after her sister and brother in-law died in a car accident, but it feels like it's more her nephew's pain than her own. I liked that little twist to the story, because while Reyna is grieving for her sister, you can tell it is mostly in a healthy way. Holden, her nephew, still has a longer way to go, and that's hurting Reyna more. To mirror that, Zoe is still dealing with the loss of her mom, and may have been fixating on Reyna as a result. It's a nice touch that boosted the story for me.

What bothered me was that Reyna was almost irrationally hot and cold towards Zoe as they were still trying to figure each other out. There were parts where she was jealous over Zoe and another character seemingly hitting it off, even though Reyna hadn't really thought of Zoe in an romantic sense at all. For someone who is so good at communicating, she's terrible at it with Zoe. Then the ending was just so abrupt! I usually never say this, but I though another twenty or thirty pages would help out a lot.

Overall, this is an easy read, with just enough depth to it to keep me interested. I just wish some of the character stuff was cleaned up. That ending could be a little smoother too.
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Counting on Love by RL Burgess is a nice, office romance that really took me by surprise.

Zoe Cavendish is a star-employee at Azoulay House, a corporate finance advisory company. She likes her job, loves the new community program she’s developed and she might have a little crush on her boss, Reyna Azoulay. Reyna, CEO of Azoulay House, has a lot on her plate. She's single-handedly running a nationwide company. She’s recently lost her sister and is now her 8 years-old nephew's legal guardian. She definitely doesn't have time for romance in her life. Noticing Zoe’s good work and passion for the industry, Reyna invites her to FinCo, a week-long financial conference, where both Zoe and Reyna are to give a talk. Their time away from their respective life seem to put some things in perspective. During their time away, lines are blurred, opportunities are offered and Reyna might have to reconsider her life choices.

I honestly never thought I would enjoy a novel about corporate accounting. I suck at math, and budgeting is far from my idea of fun, but the two MCs are so passionate about their job, it made it interesting.

I appreciate that this wasn’t an insta-love romance. In fact, it’s quite a slowburn. It takes a while before anything happens between the two MCs. We get to know Zoe and Reyna as independent, well-developed characters with backstories and their own set of friends. They’re both likable and there’s nice chemistry between them. Burgess’ prose is quite smooth and engaging, and the story progresses at a nice, realistic pace.

I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for an office romance that isn’t actually set in an office :p

Based on my enjoyment of this novel, I will very likely read another book by this author.

Thanks to Bella Books for providing me with a free copy of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis of this book looked intriguing...employee has the hots for her boss, how bad can it be? This was a decent book. I found Zoe’s character to be very real and easily relatable. I loved that she and her group of friends participated in athletic competitions for fun. I’m very much into that so it was fun to read about characters participating in those kind of events. Reyna wasn’t as, dare I say, likable. She was her nephew’s savior and a killer CEO but he character didn’t have much depth. It was difficult to see why Zoe was so enamored by her until about halfway through their trip to FinCo. There was a huge build up between Zoe and Reyna but there wasn’t much in the way of them actually being together. I felt the end to be incredibly rushed and Zoe forgave Reyna way too quickly. Overall this was a nice easy beach read!!

For her sophomore literary contribution, RL Burgess delivered an engaging and well written story. I enjoyed the characters, their chemistry, the humor, and the heartbreak. The setting of the financial conference in Alice Springs was a special place for Zoe and Reyna to disconnect a bit and focus on something other than work. I would have liked a little more romance in the book, but that's my main suggestion.

I received an ARC from Bella Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Zoe is a great employee and has a big crush on the CEO, Reyna. Zoe's friends and psychiatrist think she is sabotaging herself from real connection by focusing on the unattainable.

Despite this book being very formulaic and not offering any particular new settings or situations, I still really enjoyed it.

I liked the main characters as well as the supporting ones. Zoe and Reyna both had backstories that impacted their thoughts and actions. I thought they were both likable and I was rooting for their happiness.

There was a nice depth to the story that made me feel invested in how things turned out. It made me cry. Like...a lip quivering cry. So it definitely hit at the heart during a few angsty moments.

There was a sex scene in this. It was very quick, appropriate, and not extremely explicit. Just the way I like them.

I recommend this to people who enjoy reading about romance, friendships, the corporate world, unexpected parenting, coping with loss, Alice Springs, and financial improvement.

Zoe is a rising star in a new financial company, whose CEO is not only young and very capable, but also very hot Reyna Azoulay. Zoe knows she shouldn't feel that way because nothing is coming from Reyna that should encourage her, but somehow, all the tries with other women fail because of her crush. Reyna is quite persistent to stay distant, because on top of her company, she has to find time for her nephew, that is now living with her, but the business trip is coming, and they are going together...
This was a very nice read. I loved Zoe's character a lot, I think she's well written and quite likable. The only thing I was bothered in this book is their chemistry. Somehow, there's nothing going on between those two up until 70% of the book or something... I almost gave up hoping, thinking "This will be one of the book where the author saves the last two pages to make them announce their love statements to each other and that will be it". It wasn't like that here, but I'm sure some kind of spark or a moment between them could've been put in before.

Counting on Love is a book you can count on to love to read. This book has great characters and storyline. It is well written and entertaining.

So this was a smooth read :) I really like boss/employee relationships and I think this one delivered quite well on this front.
Both MCs were very well developed and likable which is a big plus in my opinion especially that lately I’ve been exposed with very frustrating and non likable characters, so for a change, I really appreciated both MCs.
Even though I felt the chemistry between the MCs, I still would’ve liked to see a bit more dialogue between them. I also felt that it took so much time for the romance to kick in, but once it did I really enjoyed it!
I would definitely recommend this book, but I wouldn’t have very high expectations. As I said earlier, this is a smooth and light read that I would suggest you grab it if you’re on a vacation and chilling on the pool with a very nice cocktail :)
My rating is a 3.25.
“I received this ARC for an honest review.”

I haven’t read another book by this author, so I was pleasantly surprised by how well she writes. I’ll be putting her on my radar from now on after reading this one.

I would have given this story 5 stars if not for the ending. It had such nice pacing to the relationship and life events in both Zoe and Reyna’s world until I realized that I was 80% done with the book and we had barely been given romantic moments of them together. I knew then that the end would feel rushed, and/or we’d get cheated of seeing them together, and I was right…at least I think I’m right. It would have done nicely for another 30 pages at the end. I don’t want to say why, since that would be a spoiler, but I’ll just say that the last bit of them together should have been more than 3 pages. It seemed more like an outline.

I could also see this book having a sequel, although I have no idea if that’s planned. How Reyna deals with her work, Holden, and Zoe should be a book on its own. There is plenty of material still left to cover.

Other than the ending, it was a wonderful read. I especially enjoyed Mel and Jessica, and would love to have books with them in the lead as well (hint hint).

Counting on Love was a pleasant read. Zoe has a crush works as a Financial adviser for Azoulay House and has a huge crush on the CEO Reyna Azoulay. Because of this crush, she hasn't put herself out there to date despite her friends pushing her to date more. Reyna on the other hand is busy with work and taking care of her nephew after her sister and bro-in-law died in a car accident. She has put off dating because of her schedule and had sworn to never date anyone employed by her.

I do tend to like Boss/Employer romances. So I can say for the most part this fit the bill in that aspect. After reading this, I felt there was some sort of chemistry between the two MC's. In some cases it felt like Zoe was way more attracted to Reyna than the other way around. The two MCs really didn't have a ton of interaction which I feel is important in a romance. Despite that, the read was still easy and the writing was good. One thing I didn't really care for is that the ending seemed rushed and not sure if I felt that the decisions that Reyna made could be directly tied to wanting to be in a relationship with Zoe.

I rate this one 3.25 stars.