By a Thread: A Grumpy Boss Romantic Comedy

Lucy Score always writes amazing books! This book is long, but it was so worth it!Ally works many jobs; she has to pay bills and keep her father (who has dementia/Alzheimer’s) at a facility with top of the line care. She’s been swindled and had some unfortunate things happen. One day, she’s at a pizza place and Dom walks in to meet his mother. As he strides in, they see each other and a sizzle sparks. But, because he has a haughty attitude, she talks back to him. I was giggling at their banter! He treats her badly and she gets back at him by arranging his pepperonis in two letters: F and U. He gets her fired, and she runs out upset. Dom’s mom, Delassandra, notices this and gets her a job (along with someone else) at their Magazine- Label, a very well-known, respected business.Dom and Ally are like oil and vinegar, but the attraction between them is combustible. They can’t help but be sarcastic and a$$h@!€$ towards each other, not to mention that the sexual chemistry is nuclear. As time progresses, it’s evident that they gravitate towards each other more than they want to admit. He maneuvers situations so that she ends up working with him. Although their connection is visceral and raw in the most delicious way, they both have walls around their feelings/heart and little by little, the walls start cracking. They each have trust issues- not that they’re the type of people to be unfaithful; it’s more about letting people in and sharing the problems that they’re going through.Ally has a lot of pride, which is why she has so many jobs. Her BFF owns part of a strip club, yet she won’t ask her for money. She prefers to kill herself, have thousands of jobs and live in an ice box of a house before asking for help. Dom likes taking care of people, so he finds sneaky ways of helping Ally. He’s not as cold as he makes himself out to be. As time progresses, so does their closeness.I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are so many plot elements, so much description, which I appreciated, that I didn’t feel the length of the book- in fact, I was sad to see it end. Yes, there’s intimacy between them, but the buildup is so scrumptious that when it finally happens (over 50% into the book) it was satisfying (and hot as f 🔥🔥🔥). Both Ally and Dom have issues they need to work through in order to get to their HEA. I appreciated the groveling that happened... this book made me laugh, cry, swoon, and sweat. It was perfect!

This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed the e-book so much that I bought the paperback. The story was well written, minimal typos/grammatical errors, and I loved Dom and Ally. (It has been a long time since I have read a book where I liked the male and female leads equally.)The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because the author tries a little too hard at times to be witty/funny. In this story, it was the incessant use of quirky nicknames for characters. Every single side character was given a ridiculous name like, ‘Lady McFrowny’, ‘Bus Stop Buddy’, ‘Jumpy McJumperson’, etc. It was too much, but the rest of the book was good.

This is a tale of loathing at first sight. When Dominick walks into a restaurant with his mother for lunch and meets Ally, the pair are arguing with one another in a matter of seconds. His arrogance and her strong will combust into an encounter that leaves Ally suddenly unemployed. Finding Ally licking her wounds at the bus stop, Dominick’s mother takes pity upon her and offers her a job. The only catch? The man who just got her fired will now be her new boss.I read this because of a recommendation on BookTok, and honestly was not expecting very much from it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a five star read for me. I am a sucker for witty banter between characters, and this book had that in spades. The chemistry between the FMC and MMC was palpable, and their slow burn, tension filled relationship was both angsty and heartwarming.One of the things that I loved the most about this book was the diverse collection of accompanying characters within it. Each of them brought their own earnestness to the action, and it really added to the feeling of found family that you get while reading what happens to them.If you like slow-burn, grumpy sunshine, or workplace romances, then you should definitely read this book. It was fun, spicy, and filled with love.