Managed (VIP, #2)

by Kristen Callihan

It started off as a battle of wits. Me: the ordinary girl with a big mouth against Him: the sexy bastard with a big...ego.

I thought I’d hit the jackpot when I was upgraded to first class on my flight to London.

That is until HE sat next to me. Gabriel Scott: handsome as sin, cold as ice. Nothing and no one gets to him. Ever. He’s a legend in his own right, the manager of the biggest rock band in the world, and an arrogant ass who looks down his nose at me.

I thought I’d give him hell for one, long flight. I didn’t expect to like him. I didn’t expect to want him. But the biggest surprise? He wants me too. Only in a way I didn’t see coming.

If I accept his proposal, I leave myself open to falling for the one man I can’t manage. But I’m tempted to say yes. Because the real man beneath those perfect suits and that cool façade just might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I just might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.

Let the battle begin…

• ISBN10: 0990715736
• ISBN13: 9780990715733
• Publish Date: 14 November 2016 (first published 13 November 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Nla Digital LLC
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

I adored Gabriel and Sophie together, so why haven't I finished the story, you ask...

I adored the romance between Gabriel Scott and Sophie Darling in Managed. They are such polar opposites. Gabriel (or Scotty as his friends call him) is very stoic even with his friends in the band, Kill John. Sophie is bubbly and funny, the type of person everyone wants to talk to, and it is her unreserved nature which burrows past Gabriel's defenses and wins his heart. So why didn't you finish. We'll get to that.

Obviously, we met Gabriel in Book 1 of the series. He is the manager of Kill John, the most popular rock band in the world. At the start of the story, Gabriel is taking a transatlantic flight from New York to London to meet up with the boys for their Europe tour. He is upset since he purchased two seats in first class and finds Sophie sitting in the other seat. Scotty is a bad flier and he doesn't want anyone to witness his terror on the flight. Of course, Sophie being Sophie starts off giving Gabriel a hard time for being annoyed by her sitting next to him until she realizes that he is so stressed and she begins needling him as a distraction. So begins the basis of a seven hour friendship with Sophie helping Gabriel through his stress of flying. Sophie dubbing Gabriel "Sunshine" and he was calling her "Chatty Girl."

We come to find out that Sophie is going to London for a job interview but she hasn't been told who with. Of course it turns out to be with Gabriel's company to photo document the tour and manage the social media for the band which is still suffering from negative publicity from Jax's suicide attempt last year.

Since landing in London, Gabriel is suffering from insomnia. He realizes that the only time he has any real, restful sleep is when he was sleeping next to Sophie in the plane. So Gabriel asks Sophie to share his bus for the tour and to sleep (just sleep) with him so he can get some rest. Sophie, being a nice person and highly attracted to Gabriel, agrees to stay with Gabriel on his bus for the remainder of the trip. Of course, the guys presume they are together together because they see the way Gabriel looks at Sophie and they are very happy for their friend.

I really loved listening to how fun Sophie is and how she becomes so important to Gabriel, who keeps even his friends and arms length. Sophie is the only one who dares to call him Gabriel and the only one to see that Gabriel's stoicism is just a thin façade so he doesn't get too friendly with anyone.  Gabriel starts calling her Darling but is it a endearment or just reference to her last name which he allows her to think. It seems to have more meaning each time he says it.  This was just such a wonderful, blossoming romance and when they finally admit that they both have fantasies about the other, these two burn up the pages. So why haven't you finished...

well, you know how some books have that moment where one character does something so stupid, you just have to close the book and walk away so you don't throw your phone or ereader against the wall. Yeah. That's what happened here. There is only about an hour left in my audiobook and suddenly Sophie makes a decision which will absolutely bite her in the butt. Sophie is keeping information to herself, which Gabriel and the band need to know about, and if she doesn't change her mind, it will, of course, look like a betrayal. After listening for 9 hours, building up this wonderful romance and experiencing far Gabriel has come opening up to Sophie and letting her into his life, I just didn't have the heart to listen to his little heart breaking wide open if he thinks Sophie betrayed them all. (I am certain that cracking noise would be part of the soundtrack.) You know how I love my wounded heroes. Well, I also have a special soft spot for the stoic ones who lost their Moms young and don't want to be hurt like that again. Seeing him open up to Sophie, bear his soul to her and then have him lose faith will just break me. I just need to step away from all those feelings before I can watch this train wreck happen. :(

I decided to move on to my next audiobook and come back to finish this one up. Who knows, maybe Sophie gets it right in the next three minutes and doesn't destroy Gabriel's fragile trust. We'll have to wait and see. I will update this review once I actually finish.

As far as romance, I was loving this story up until that dreaded "conflict." Why does everyone feel that every book needs one because sometimes it really sucks all the good out of the book. In this case, it screwed up my sweet romance mojo and I just couldn't bear to witness it.

One thing I found very interesting about this audiobook, and a little confusing, was that someone chose two different narrators for this story vs Book 1.  That is unusual.  On one hand, I would say, great idea since we have different characters, it is obviously a good idea to give them their own voices.  The problem is that we already have a female narrative giving voices to the characters, and a male narrator giving voices to whoever shows up in their chapter, but after listening to Book 1, some of the secondary characters had a more distinct accent where they didn't really have one in Book 1.   Now Gabriel and all the members of Kill John all met at an expensive private school (Gabriel went there on scholarship since his family didn't have money) so I guess they all should have British accents but jumping narrators in the middle of a series screws up the voices in my head. At least the ones that had to do with this series.

We will revisit this review again soon.

EBookObsessed.com

[Sam@WLABB]

Scottie, aka Gabriel Scott, is the stoic manager of Kill John. He never met a person he couldn't manage until he met Sophie Darling. As if it had been pulled from his nightmares, he is forced to share a space with this chatty woman on a flight to London. However, what he thought would be the worst flight of his life ends up being the best flight of his life.

Sophie reminds me of some sort of sweet treat: tempting but ultimately bad for one's health.

I just loved these two together. Sophie was able to bring out the best parts of Gabriel. She helped him work out some past issues and grow. She was able to chip away at the ice around his heart, and find the beauty that was trapped inside. I had some many emotions when it came to this relationship. They were adorable and super hot together. The banter was so witty and fun. I just could listen to them volley all day. But what I loved most, was that mushy, sweet side of Gabriel that he reserved for Sophie and Sophie alone. *Swoon*

You're my life, chatty girl. It has no joy without you in it.

This book started and ended sort of like a good rom-com, and there was lots of that same element throughout.

Overall: A sweet and sexy rockstar romance with a rom-com feel, bound to make you laugh, smile, and swoon.

[Cocktails and Books]

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

I adored this book. Kristen Callihan once again took a somewhat broken hero and turned his world completely upside. This time, it's Kill John's manager, Gabriel Scott (Scottie to the band). The very British and very uptight man who meets his match in first class.

Gabriel is uptight. He's controlling. He's standoffish. Things that would probably turn most people off....especially if he's the hero of a book. But the minute he meets chatty girl Sophie Darling you know he's met his match. These two verbally spar with one another and at times it's downright hysterical. Sophie throws him off his game, makes him feel alive and out of control. The walls Gabriel has built around himself start to shift with Sophie, making him take a hard look at who he is.

I don't think I can say enough about Sophie. She was funny, witty, sarcastic and we discover very loyal...especially to Gabriel. She's a free spirit who finds herself attracted to a man with a set of rules that must be followed. I loved that she didn't play by Gabriel's rules. Instead she showed him what life was like if you let go of a little bit of that control.

MANAGED was a book that dares you to put it down. Between the witty banter, the sexual chemistry and the draw of these characters I foudn it difficult to put my kindle down to work. These are characters that stick with you. Make you fall in love with them. And hope that the end of the book really isn't as close as your kindle says.

This series is one to pick up and MANAGED will have you falling in love with one hot ass controlling British manager.

[stacey_is_sassy]

…I think I started Managed with rose coloured glasses on.

***4.5 Stars***

After reading Managed, I’m trying to imagine how I would react if David Gandy sat beside me on a flight to London. OH MY LORDY!! Besides major heart failure (and possibly some drooling), I can honestly say that I would probably pretend to be asleep through the whole flight. See, even though I think Mr Gandy is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, I know there is NO WAY IN HELL I’d have the courage to talk to him. What if…I was 20 years younger (OMG…when did I get old???), single and Mr Gandy was scared of flying and needed to hold my hand? Hmmm…

You may or may not know this but I think Mr Gandy is a beautiful man. Hubby knows and shakes his head at me but he also knows that it’s just an admiration for his good looks. Mr Gandy is my free crush. Hubby has one too. He’ll probably kill me for telling you all, but he had a huge crush on Alyssa Milano when she was in Who’s The Boss? I think it’s pretty safe to say that neither of us will be running off with our free crush…so it’s all good.

Gabriel aka Scottie, was described in Idol, the first book in this series, as looking like David Gandy. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED IN MY LIFE (slight exaggeration). I love it when I can picture a character in my mind. I’ll admit, I think I enjoyed Managed even more because of it. It wasn’t just that he looked like David Gandy (BIG BONUS), it was that I could see him. I was able to imagine the faces he would pull and hear his British accent. It was easy to fall in love with his character and it felt more intimate… real… emotional because I felt like I knew him. Poor David Gandy (the real one). The next time the poor bugger gets on the plane women will be offering to cuddle him if the plane gets bumpy.

Sophie Darling is heading overseas for a job interview and can’t believe her luck when she’s been moved to first class. Nothing could be better than travelling first class…until she sees who is sitting next to her. Hubba Hubba…he is the most beautiful specimen she has EVER SEEN. It’s a shame he’s such a jerk. Sophie, being a wee bit of a smart mouth decides to have a bit of fun at his expense. What follows is a very intense snark battle that both of them thoroughly enjoy. Then…they hit turbulence.

Gabriel Scott does not fly well. He reserves two seats in first class to avoid anyone seeing him vulnerable. Imagine his delight (HORROR) when his spare seat is occupied by a loud mouthed bombshell with curves to die for and big red lips. Putting up his ice fortress doesn’t seem to deter her and lucky for him too because she manages to distract him from a panic attack more than once. If he can just get through this flight…he’ll never have to face this sexy woman again.

HA HA HA!! Guess who Sophie’s meeting in London? You guessed it, Gabriel’s business partner.

I would almost call the romance between Gabriel and Sophie a slow burn. There is an attraction from the very beginning but neither of them is comfortable with starting a relationship. The more time they spend with each other, the more they become addicted to being in each others company. Once they do become intimate it is HOT!!

I really enjoyed Managed from start to finish. I loved Sophie and Gabriel’s characters. Neither of them is as they seem. Sophie comes across as extremely confident but deep down she finds herself lacking. There was a time in her life where she didn’t like herself at all. She’s better now, but it doesn’t take much for her vulnerability to show through. Gabriel comes across as very unemotional. The more we get to know him and the more time he spends in Sophie’s company, we see that he has made work his life to avoid heartbreak. It was beautiful to see them grow and connect.

I loved catching up with the gang. Jax seems better, Killian and Libby seem happy together and Rye and Whip are still causing mischief. I’m thinking that I want Brenna’s story next. I have this feeling that she has some unfinished business with the goofy one.

I thoroughly enjoyed Managed and definitely recommend it.