The Negotiator kept me company with laughter and steam on my way to and from work. Fun, hot and feisty, it kept things light.
Story:
The Negotiator helped me laugh while commuting - which is not that frequent an occurrence really. I leave the house before it's light out, and arrive very early at work to prepare things. Getting prepared with Sawyer and Clover made everything lighter.
Because his mom was always setting him up with socialites, Sawyer and his brother came up with the idea to hire a buffer. One person to keep his mom - and the bridezillas to be - at arm's length. Only, Sawyer's brother made sure a fun woman was the most likely candidate. One who had worked in several different countries. And who didn't stay too long in the same job.
Sparks flew as soon as Sawyer and Clover met, and they got themselves into some unlikely situations by pretending fairly early on they were engaged. None of them thought they'd actually fall in love, but it proved inevitable - even when the odds were against them.
Characters:
Clover was such a fun character! When she was stressed, she cursed in foreign languages. And while she might not have a very strong formal education, she definitely had street smarts. And heart. Plus enough loyalty to make things interesting.
Sawyer had a plan for everything. Hot, rich, with a lot of responsibilities, falling in love was not part of the plan. But Clover was just so... irresistible.
Sawyer's mom made me so mad at first, however, when I got to know her better, I totally got where she came from.
Writing style :
Written in dual points of views, I got to share the inner thoughts of both Clover and Sawyer. The pace was perfect, not slow, but not too fast, either.
Feels :
I laughed out loud more than once. And sometimes, I had to be careful with the volume when I was at a red light, because once Sawyer and Clover let go - they really let go. The happiness, the anguish and the doubts they both made me feel just made the whole story more realistic - even with such a flimsy starting point as a personal buffer.
Narration:
It's the first book I've listened to that's narrated by Stephanie Rose, and she did a great job! She brought Sawyer and Clover to life. And she brought both feeling and poise to the story.