Cover Image: Partner Pursuit

Partner Pursuit

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Member Reviews

This was a fun, relatively light, romantic comedy read.

Audrey is a senior associate at a large New York law firm. She's a workaholic, constantly striving for her goal of making partner at the firm, with little time for a personal life as a result. When she unexpectedly meets Jake, a wonderful guy (who happens to be scarred from a lawyer father who was never around because of work), in the lead-up to the firm's partnership decision date, she's forced to take a hard look at her life and decide what's truly important to her.

Overall, I thought this was a very sweet book. Audrey and Jake were both likeable characters, and their connection made sense to me. I often avoid books where the male lead is of the "I hate workaholics/lawyers" variety, because to me they tend to subtly villainize professionally-focused female characters, but I thought Jake struck the right balance of being supportive while still having reasonable expectations for a relationship. I also enjoyed Audrey's relationships with her friends, Eve and Max, as well as her coworkers, Tim and Colette - it's always a plus to me when a book builds meaningful relationships aside from the core romantic pair. I particularly enjoyed the progression in Audrey's relationships with Tim and Colette.

On the plot side, I was not at all surprised to see that the author used to work as a lawyer. The legal scenes were far more realistic than I'm used to seeing in pop culture. As a female litigator who recently made partner, I almost found the legal scenes too frequent/realistic - it had me thinking of my own cases and work environment, which is what I usually try to escape when reading! - but I realize that's a particular sensitivity for me, and others may not have the same reaction. I completely related to Audrey's struggles with working as a woman in a male-dominated environment, managing professional pressures and politics, and figuring out how to find a balance with personal relationships - those aspects of the book really rang true to me, in a way I haven't often encountered in books of this nature.

The one downside for me, and why I gave this book a 3-star review, is that I found the writing to be a bit shallow. In my favourite books, I can really feel the passion, anger, sadness, excitement of the characters and scenes - but I just didn't get that from this book. It was well-written, but just didn't have the depth that I generally need to truly get drawn in to a book. I will say that I found myself getting more drawn in for the second half of the book, but overall, the writing style wasn't my favourite.

That said, it was still a light, enjoyable read. Would recommend!

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Partner Pursuit, the debut novel by Kathy Strobos, invites us into the world of Audrey, a partner-track lawyer in a corporate NYC firm. She’s determined to stay single as she enters her final stretch in the partner decision at the firm - until she meets Jake. Jake works in music marketing and has reservations about dating a corporate lawyer due to history in his family - his dad works at a similar firm and missed many holidays and vacations as a result.

Partner Pursuit captivated me from chapter one. I enjoyed the slow-build of Audrey and Jake’s romance, and learning more about the reality of life as a corporate lawyer. Audrey’s friendships were also strong and well-represented in the book; I particularly loved her relationship and conversations with best friend Eve. I love a book that focuses on more than the romance, and this one had it in spades. Overall, a truly enjoyable book - I’m excited to read more from the author in the future. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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#PartnerPursuit #NetGalley
Great read! Loved it from the beginning to the end. It is a sweet romantic story.
Audrey Williams is a workaholic lawyer who loves her job and is desperately working to become a partner in her New York law firm. She meets her new fun-loving, sweet neighbour Jake, who works as a music marketing executive in NYC. Both are attracted to each other. But Jake never date workaholic woman especially a lawyer like his father. So she determined to learn and make a balance between her career and love-life and to take chances with him.
I loved reading this book. The author also put an effort to show Audrey's professional life including the courtroom sessions which is quite informative. Loved it. I just this book who loves romantic comedies.

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This was such a cute read! I was drawn in by the description of this book, which sounded like an adorable, lighthearted romance and it did not disappoint.

Ambitious, workaholic lawyer is working towards making partner when she meets her fun-loving and handsome new neighbour Jake. Jake might just be The One, but a difficult relationship with his own workaholic lawyer father means he’ll never date someone who’s married to their job. Audrey is determined to have time for romance and her 24/7 work lifestyle but ultimately, which partnership will she choose?

File this one under closed-door, friends-to-lovers romance. There’s a lot of focus throughout the story on Audrey’s busy working life and lots of detail on law firm life, which made this great story about more than just the pursuit of love.

I don’t really watch legal dramas, so I found the insight and detail in Audrey’s working life very informative, though I was unfamiliar with some of the legal jargon and processes involved in Audrey’s work.

Alongside the romance, there are some solid female friendships and an examination of toxic workplace culture. I really liked the resolution to this story which did justice to the intelligent, amibitious and likeable, Audrey and her caring & charming love interest.

A great, lighthearted and entertaining read!

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.I throughly enjoyed this book. It was a slow burn which I tend to enjoy when I’m invested in the characters! It feels as though we are experiencing the lives of Audrey and Eve and that they are our friends.



I felt as though I lost a little bit of interest in the middle but was happy that I finished the book! I’d definitely recommend to friends who like romance.

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Audrey Willems is way overworked and facing a dilemma. She desperately wants to achieve partner status at her law firm, despite co-worker challenges. But when a sexy new neighbor moves in next door, it’s mighty tempting to pursue a romantic partnership. Audrey finds herself seesawing between giving her every waking moment to the firm, and squeezing in time to grow a slow, cautious flirtation with Jake. Readers who are interested in the inner workings of a corporate law firm will be intrigued by the comprehensive descriptions of Audrey’s office and cases as she tries to project the confidence and dedication-level to become a partner. But when it comes right down to it, is that really what’ll make her life zing?
Author Kathy Strobos provides an in-depth view of Audrey’s motivations and fears as we follow her journey. Her story of balancing work and personal life should resonate with many, along with the sweet romantic aspects.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC.

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Climbing the corporate ladder, Penelope faces a demanding boss and a scheming female counterpart. All along, she is falling in love with Jake. Time is the critical element for both work and the relationship with Jake: there is never enough time to go around.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Audrey is a workaholic, exactly what Jake usually avoids, but they end up together anyway. Will they have a real chance together or will Audrey's work ruin it for them?
A great read.

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This book was different to my usual read but I thought I’d give it a go and I’m glad that I did. It was good and enjoyable to read. Well done.

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A sweet, promising debut with a realistic protagonist who's easy to root for (although her love interest is a little bland). The book's main court case was very interesting to read, but also slow to get going and one of too many plot threads.

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Thank you Kathy Strobos and NetGalley for this advance reader copy. This review contains some spoilers.

This book about a workaholic lawyer up for partner with a meet cute with her hot new neighbor who has issues with workaholics based on his upbringing was fun and entertaining. As a lawyer, I appreciated some of the legal inside jargon (though not really similar to real practice, in fact Audrey may work a lot less than some lawyers)).
Overall, would really give it 3.5 stars. Though I appreciated the ending that Jake admitted that he was unfair to her, I still disliked him and wasn’t quite as excited when they got together at the end. I also would have appreciated some tying up of the Malaburn storyline.

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I found both storylines in this book really engaging. They were both well written and I loved the characters and the character development. I was supposed to be studying for an exam but ended up reading this novel all weekend as I could just not put it down!

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This one was really cute. I like the NYC setting and felt like I was there with the characters throughout.
I liked how this book is a career-driven romcom type of book. I like seeing Audrey as top of her law firm and loving her job.

Cute read!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

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I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I did enjoy reading this one. I found it very realistic in terms of how Jake and Audrey slowly got to know each other. There was no Insta love and it wasn’t overly predictable when they eventually started going out.
There was a big focus on Audrey’s job and the legal proceedings. It made me thankful I know nothing about living a lawyer's life.
Definitely a slow burn that doesn’t focus too much on the romance side of things.
3.5 stars

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The story
Audrey is a lawyer in a New York law firm, really close to finding out if she will be made a partner. She works insane hours into the nights and all weekend, and still isn’t guaranteed that she will be successful, but it’s too late to give up now. She lives on the Upper West Side in her own apartment, with her best friend Eve next door. One evening she meets a guy on the street outside and later realises that he is moving in next door. Jake works in marketing in the music industry, but his father is a partner in a law firm and he knows just how much of a sacrifice this position entails.

My thoughts
The writing in this book is so strong for a debut author. I loved the setting in New York, and the unusual activities that Jake invited Audrey to enjoy with him. I loved the detail of the law cases that Audrey was working on, and the office politics. It gives a depth of detail to this story that takes it beyond emotional hand wringing over a guy. I loved how Jake opened Audrey’s mind to the possibilities of having a better work-life balance. This was just such an awesome read! ❤️

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First of all thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book.

Next, I ABSOLUTELY loved this book!! I love that it’s set in NYC. I currently live in nyc and reading a book that’s set here, gives me an alternate life that I love. And Partner Pursuit did just that!

This book is a career-driven romcom type of book and I love that about. It’s cute, it’s funny, and romantic.

Partner Pursuit also emphasizes a powerful woman!! A woman is still a woman even if she’s partner at a top law firm! Good for her!!

What else can I say? I love the plot, the character development and the execution of the storyline. A must read for anyone who is rooting for the girl-boss to find love!!

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This one was only ok. I liked the characters enough but the writing and story bored me to be honest. After putting it down and picking it up a few times, I finally finished but I skimmed a lot. I wasn't into the job of our heroine and it was in the book...a lot. Too much inner monologue and not enough conversation going somewhere would be my biggest complaints.

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This book was a great read for me for several reasons. First. I loved Jake. I absolutely will be adding him to my book boyfriend list. Second, it actually had legal jargon and legal discussions, so her job as a lawyer wasn't just some cliche job to fit the story line that we don't hear/learn anything about! Makes Audrey feel like a truly intelligent, empowered, workaholic female character. Third, as someone who up until recently considered myself a workaholic, constantly trying to prove myself even though it wasn't really making me happy, I found Audrey to be extremely relatable, and I loved that. Also, the love story was cute and fun to read. Overall, I really enjoyed this read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Strawbundle publishing for providing this ebook in exchange for my honest review!

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This book has all the components of a feel good love story. I loved Audrey and her commitment to her career. I related to her instantly! Her and Jake had the best chemistry and I was rooting for them the whole time! Love a feel good, happy ending!

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A story about a young woman who is a lawyer and hopes to became a partner . She works long hours and the weekends . By chance she meets her new neighbor who is her exact opposite . She is trying to balance her work and her dating life . What is more important to be successfull lawyer or a happy person ?
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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