Cloud Ten covers gender identity, finding your dream job and dream man.
From the blurb:
Frankie Carter lives and breathes PA work.
Becoming indispensable to a top exec is all he’s ever wanted, even if he is repeatedly overlooked in favour of other less well-qualified applicants.
The problem? 94% of executive PAs are women.
But resourcefulness comes with the territory. As does a pinstriped skirt, killer heels, and enough chutzpah to blag the interviews… conveniently passing as a woman instead of a gay man. Egged on by his friends, Frankie lands himself his dream job working for Lysander St. Cloud, a senior exec on the board of the family firm.
On the outside, his boss has it all. Or does he? Before long, Frankie discovers Lysander’s looks, money, and status mask a shyness and humiliating past he’d like to forget.
Lysander is straight, and he believes Frankie is a woman. A close bond develops between them. A bond increasingly in danger of slipping from professional into something else.
Frankie needs to come clean before he hurts not only Lysander but himself. Will he choose his career, his friendship, or his heart? Or is he brave enough to fight for them all?
Sheena's Review:
41/2 stars. Where's that half a star when you need it 😡.
I wasn't really sure how this would all work when I started it, but I wasn't all that worried, I've read quite a few Fearne Hill books by now that I was sure it would all work, and it did. Frankie is such an engaging character, and he has a point about discrimination, it doesn't just happen to women. It's a rather extreme way to make his point, however 😆. I was a little concerned it would be a little campy and over the top but it was all done brilliantly.
I liked Lysander too, and the slow way we found out more about him, the layers unpeeling slowly to reveal a shy man who cares a lot and is dealing with a learning difficulty. I loved how quickly Frankie realised though, and supported him unfailingly in his meetings and day to day work life, even when they were on the outs.
I also loved how it was Frankie that got to reveal on his own terms, so often in this kind of book where one has a secret, it's forced out by circumstance and it was so refreshing that it didn't happen that way. It's not a full 5 stars because it seemed to me that just as Lysander and Frankie were slowly developing things, it all rushed forward and the book suddenly ended. It all felt a bit rushed at the end for me.
I loved Frankie discovering himself - in his own words (almost) - steak that wants to be lobster sometimes.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Heather's Review:
This book is the tale of two halves - the half where Frankie masquerades as a woman and blends into the expectations of the world around him and the half where he's stopped masquerading and in many ways stopped blending... and the same goes for Lysander in a lot of ways... the half of the book where he hides himself and the half where he steps out and really becomes a different person...
I truly enjoyed reading the book, it's a slow burn to high steam, lots of interesting introspections from the mc's on who they are and what they want, particularly Frankie's exploration of his femme side, and also the very real biases in the construction industry... a few niggles for me were some of the ways the switch flipped and particularly the speed at which the ending arrived...
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Cloud Ten is available to buy as an ebook or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.
About Cloud Ten
Frankie Carter lives and breathes PA work. Becoming indispensable to a top exec is all he’s ever wanted, even if he is repeatedly overlooked in favour of other less well-qualified applicants.
The problem? 94% of executive PAs are women.
But resourcefulness comes with the territory. As does a pinstriped skirt, killer heels, and enough chutzpah to blag the interviews… conveniently passing as a woman instead of a gay man. Egged on by his friends, Frankie lands himself his dream job working for Lysander St. Cloud, a senior exec on the board of the family firm.
On the outside, his boss has it all. Or does he? Before long, Frankie discovers Lysander’s looks, money, and status mask a shyness and humiliating past he’d like to forget.
Lysander is straight, and he believes Frankie is a woman. A close bond develops between them. A bond increasingly in danger of slipping from professional into something else.
Frankie needs to set the record straight before he hurts not only Lysander but himself. Will he choose his career, his friendship, or his heart? Or is he brave enough to fight for them all?
About Fearne Hill
Fearne Hill lives deep in the southern British countryside with varying numbers of hens, a few tortoises and a beautiful cocker spaniel.
When she is not overseeing her small menagerie, she enjoys writing contemporary romantic fiction. And when she is not doing either of those things, she is working as an anaesthesiologist. Pronouns – she/her
Author Links:
https://www.facebook.com/fearne.hill.50/
Facebook Group: Fearne Hill’s House
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fearnehill_author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FearneHill
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