Rachel, Out of Office by Christina Hovland – a Review

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple

Description:
Single mom Rachel Gibson seriously needs a break. Between an absent ex-husband, rowdy twin boys, and running her own work-from-home business, her candle isn’t just burning at both ends, it’s a full-blown puddle of wax. She’s the go-to girl for other entrepreneurs, handling all the tasks they dread. Social media posts? She’s got it. Website updates? She’s on it. Light bookkeeping? She loves it.

Thank goodness Rachel’s about to get a reprieve, as her former in-laws plan to whisk her boys away for a summer of fun at the family lake house. But when her ex backs out at the last minute, she finds herself in a pickle. Even though she’s drowning in to-dos, she’s horrible at saying no—especially when it comes to providing some stability for her kids.

Once Rachel arrives at the lake house, she struggles to keep up with work and balance the demands of family, all the while fending off pesky new feelings for her ex-brother-in-law. Which makes her wonder…is falling for her ex-husband’s brother just one more messy complication added to the dumpster fire of her life? Or is anything possible when she’s out of office…?

Review:

Rachel, Out of Office by Christina Hovland is a standalone novel.  Falling for her ex-brother-in-law is not what Rachel was expecting when she agreed to take her boys on a holiday that her ex husband was suppose to be taking them on….. 

I get the impression Rachel is a people pleaser, she’ll tie herself into knots, unable to say no, and can’t say she needs help!!  Just reading about this woman had me exhausted, most of us can multitask, Rachel goes past the multitasking and has a category all her own. 

The fact people took advantage of her was no surprise, from her lazy ex husband to the people she helps online. It did get a little silly at some point. But you can’t fault her love for her sons, she’s there when they need her. And when Gavin let’s their boys down, Rachel has to take them on the family holiday……

The thing I liked about this book was the lack of angst and issues between Travis and Rachel, granted she didn’t have time to stress (one busy woman) but with the chemistry between the main characters being a little steamy it made a nice change. Travis offered light entertainment in the form of flirting and soft kisses, their banter did have me chuckling, and their kisses set the pages alight. 

I loved the family, from Rachel’s best friend, to the mother-in-law. The twins were just funny as only kids can be, even Gavin sort of grew on me by the end.

He is in his nephews life a fair amount, and he does love to wind Rachel up, he’s sort of fancied her, but never did anything about it whilst she was married to his brother. But spending time with her and the boys has Travis wanting more!! 

But can Travis convince Rachel that there is more to life than FaceTime with customers? Can he get her to delegate a few chores? And can she really see past Travis being her ex-brother-in-law? Because Travis sees her more than a multitasking mum and ex-sister-in-law. So much more. 

It’s easily read in an afternoon, so grab a comfy spot and take it easy for an hour. 

Reviewed by Julie

Copy provided by Publisher