Without Apology (Without, #1)

by Aubrey Bondurant

[stacey_is_sassy]

***IT'S ALIVE!!!***

Forgetting to find happiness…

I kind of think that Aubrey Bondurant wrote this story for me. First of all, Simon looks like DAVID GANDY!! Thanks for that image, Aubrey, it made it very easy to picture Simon, fall in love with Simon, want to be with Simon. But, alas, I’m not in the market for a Simon, so it’s up to me to approve and Aubrey to create, someone worthy of Simon. Well, Peyton isn’t me, but she’ll do.

Without Apology was bloody good. I felt comfortable in this story from start to finish. The characters were refreshingly normal, well, kind of normal in a workaholic kind of way. Both Simon and Peyton are hard working, high achievers who gain a lot of satisfaction from the work they do.

Brexy (British, Sexy) Simon is HOT on the outside, smoking in the bedroom but when it comes to work, he’s the Iceman. Work and his personal life are very separate, and until Peyton, he never planned to change his ways. Peyton, while an extremely hard worker, is dedicated to her sister, brother-in-law, nieces and her dog. She tries to give them all the time they deserve but sometimes there’s just not enough hours in the day. I don’t think Peyton had any plans to change things until Simon came along. Sure, Peyton planned to get married and have her own family one day, work wouldn’t be everything. I guess she was just lucky Simon wanted champagne that day or she may have still been plodding along waiting for one day to happen.

What I loved about Without Apology was that Simon and Peyton proved me right. Love is way more important than work. Sure, work should give you satisfaction but if heading to the gym is your idea of the perfect “down time”, then something is definitely missing in your life. IN MY OPINION!! I know there are some crazy people out there who LOVE being fit and healthy but I would hope that they had more than work and exercise in their life. Well, Simon proved that work wasn’t everything after he met Peyton. Then, Peyton proved that pigeonholing someone because of their career focus doesn’t mean they’re not worth taking a risk on.

Without Apology was funny, sweet and very sexy. Their first meeting and after their first date, neither had any idea that their lives were about to be changed. I loved seeing the relationship bloom between Simon and Peyton. Work and their relationship had to be kept completely on different planes. Both thought they would be in for a short time but a good time. No emotions, just good company and great chemistry. Unfortunately, Simon and Peyton never planned on good company becoming *the bestest in the whole world* company, and great chemistry turning into *you’re out of my sight and I miss you* chemistry.

Doesn’t that sound AWESOME!!

Without Apology is exactly what I want my romance reads to be all about. A storyline that captured my attention, characters that grew and accepted change, sexy times that made me blush and squirm, and a relationship that wasn’t just in the bedroom/boardroom/bar. Love is never easy…well, company and chemistry can be easy, but compromising, communicating and sacrificing only really happens when the love is real and worth fighting for. I appreciated that Aubrey Bondurant showed that love is easier when you choose the person that becomes more important than work.

If you have never read Aubrey Bondurant, I think that Without Apology is the perfect place to start. I loved Simon and Peyton and I can’t wait for more in this series. I'm excited to see if Emma, Simon’s beautiful “like a sister”, assistant, finds her perfect tattooed, pierced biker.

Stacey is Sassy, received a complimentary copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.