The Favor

The epitome of communication in marriage, even if it’s a pretend one.

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1. THE FAVOR by Suzanne Wright

SYNOPSIS

Vienna Stratton knew she only had herself to blame. You didn’t let yourself become indebted to a man like Dane Davenport, no matter how badly you needed his help. As his personal assistant, she was very aware that the globally successful CEO was ruthless and unforgiving.

Of course, if she’d known he’d request that she be his wife for twelve months, she’d have hesitated in accepting his help. Because what she’d learned from Dane was that the devil wasn’t ugly and terrorizing. He was seductive and captivating. He hummed with whispers of temptation – the temptation to sin and surrender, to let him brand and possess you. He awakened every need and fantasy you had.

He could even make you love him.

BOOK REVIEW

After The Favor, I can proudly conclude that I’ve become hopelessly obsessed with Suzanne Wright and her writing. The Phoenix Pack series was the very first work of the author that I read, and I still cannot believe how versatile she is. Despite the fact that The Favor was so spicy and fun, it was also very emotional, tastefully covering an issue of mental health associated with the abuse at an early age. The author did an amazing job by bringing much attention and awareness to the problem and giving a well-researched in my personal opinion insight.

“For as long as you wear these rings, you’re mine; no other man has the right to touch you. I’d never fucking allow it.”

Vienna Stratton was such a well-balanced main character. She was level-headed and determined to do her best in order not to let her past weigh her down. Despite her quite traumatizing upbringing, Vienna still managed to make something admirable out of herself through constant hard work. I absolutely loved her flirtatious nature on the verge of snarkiness, as well as her very light and optimistic attitude towards life in general. Vienna was a lovely young woman, genuine and loyal. No wonder the main hero was obsessed with her.

“Vienna, I’m a man who gets what he wants. Always. No exceptions. I never stop or back down until I have it.”

Dane Davenport was the very definition of an alpha male without too much of so common ‘assholeness’. It was refreshing to see how he was cold not because he was a jerk but because he was just honest, as well as self-aware (Dane wanted to succeed in every single aspect of his picture-perfect life and thus, behaved in accordance with his strengths and blind spots). The guy was used to getting what he wanted. He was overly possessive and jealous beyond belief. His dry humour was so wholesome and adorable. And his honest love for Vienna was an absolute highlight of the entire book.

“You just gonna stare at it all night? Because it’s not going to come by itself.”

The chemistry between Vienna and Dane was on fire. The sex scene and the dirty talk were so damn good. I was such a fan!

“Because when you looked beyond the surface of a bully, you saw them for what they were—a goddamn twisted coward who needed to slap down others just to feel good, and that was plain pathetic.”

I would also like to compliment Suzanne Wright’s use of secondary characters. They were so carefully crafted and well-developed and thus, made a valuable contribution to the book.

Another shoutout should go to open communication between the main characters. There were no silent treatments or temper tantrums with no questions asked. The entire relationship between Vienna and Dane was just one beautiful display of maturity and trust.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend The Favor. There was not much in terms of character or relationship development. It was more like a story of getting to know each other all while carefully revealing the feelings that were already there. The book reminded me of The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata but on Viagra. I was hooked from the very beginning and couldn’t stop until the very end.