The New Guy

What would you do if you met a hot man at a bar, took him home for a steamy one night stand without giving out any names or numbers and then the next day he walks into your office as your new employee? Well that’s exactly what happens to Sam. Stunned to find out her one night stand is her new app programmer Ryan Black, Sam makes it perfectly clear their one night stand is not going to turn into a reoccurrence. But as days turn into weeks Sam starts to realize Ryan isn’t the arrogant, unlikeable man she originally thought and Ryan can’t seem to get his beautiful redhead boss out of his mind. 

Will Sam and Ryan give in to their building feelings for each other? Well, nothing comes easy. Throw in office drama, threatening rivals, passed heartbreaks and two adults who can’t seem to stay away from each other but have issues expressing their fears and feelings, and everything is up in the air. 

NetGalley has given me some books I’ve never heard of before that I’ve taken a chance on and completely fallen in love with, The New Guy is one of them! This story warmed my heart and read like a movie. Told in the POV of Sam and Ryan, I truly became wrapped up in the storytelling of both characters. What a beautiful sweet surprise this was. 

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Kathryn Freeman for this ARC.

This book reads like the perfect rom-com movie, so if you are a fan of them - this book is for you! I loved the story and how Sam and Ryan interacted with each other. I felt the story was predictable but the writing kept me reading! Perfect lazy read on a Sunday!

The New Guy is a throughly enjoyable romantic read, from its wonderful opening where Sam CEO of a tech company meets a stranger in a bar, no name no phone numbers but they have a one night stand...sounds tacky, far from it, it was described perfectly.
The next day Sam meets her new employee Ryan who is joining the company to write the code for a new app that is essential to the company’s future, he also just happens to be the man from the night before. Both struggle with this history, particularly Ryan who is taciturn, prickly and says what he thinks out loud. Sam was left heartbroken after her previous partner was unfaithful to her and left her to start his own company so she has trust issues, but it soon becomes clear that these two are heavily attracted to each other.
With their relationship developing and a cast of brilliant characters, from work colleagues to family members you have yourself a page turning don’t want it to end story, in essence an absolutely cracking read.
I would have loved a little epilogue perhaps a year on to see how well the relationship was going, but that’s just me when a book finishes and I really want to carry on reading!
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly

"The New Guy" was an enjoyable read with likable characters and a nice twist on the office romance trope (in this version she is the boss). I mostly liked the Hero, but sometimes he was too insecure and some of the humor made me cringe a bit. I really liked the female character, her flaws and attributed seemed more well balance. All things considered, I enjoyed this book and would definitely read another book by this author.

Contemporary, relatable, not cheesy; Freeman's novel is the ideal read to end 2019. Full of both laugh out loud moments and heart wrenching moments, "The New Guy" has the most important factor: it's heart warming.

Seriously love this twist on an office romance. I was not expecting the two main characters to unfold how they did. Bravo! My favorite part was getting to know Ryan on a deeper level than most men get credit for in many contemporary romance novels. His inner thoughts, insecurities and turmoil was so refreshing and new to me. I also enjoyed Ryan and Logan's friendship. I appreciate how the author made it a normal friendship and not one laced with homophobia. The characters had great dimention and were really relatable. I could easily picture them as I was reading. I would and have recommended this book to others who are looking for a contemporary novel that provides equal perspective between both characters that leaves you with all the good feels

I enjoyed this book. Sam was a great female lead. A strong woman who is smart, capable, and also caring. I felt she had great dimension a character development. Ryan was also well-written and a multi faceted male lead. 

Their chemistry was off the charts, but they were also good for each other in other facets of life. This was a great romance with strong characters!

Ever had a one night stand where no names were exchanged, only to come into work the next day, to discover the new guy, the one you didn't interview despite being the boss, due to a family emergency, is in fact the one you slept with the night before?

Honestly having seen how Sam and  Ryan react in that exact situation, I'm very glad it hasn't happened to me! 

Written with Kathryn Freeman's usual amounts of sexual chemistry, banter, amusing dialogue and just generally people that feel realistic, it is another gem of a book from this fabulous author. 

I loved the setting of a an app company, was different and I found quite interesting, and I loved all the others that work alongside Sam and Ryan. 

Ryan is a straight talking guy even if it gets him into trouble, while Sam has been hurt by work place relations before and is understandably cautious.  

I throughout enjoyed seeing how this story developed and was rooting for Sam and Ryan the whole time. 

Another wonderfully entertaining story from an author that I love. 

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A fun and sparky romance for sure!  Ryan's direct honesty is the stuff of dreams; I love people and characters like him and really wish there were more like him in contemporary romance.

This was a pretty quick read for me; the story really keeps flowing and there's enough going on in the background of the romance with the app development that I really couldn't set it down because I wanted to know how everything worked out.  The last couple chapters had me giggling - Ryan's begrudging friendship with side character Lucas was a little literary gem.

Ryan was a great and complex character.  He had a terrible upbringing with a lot of responsibility and his relationship with his sister suffered but neither of them could dig deep enough between themselves to resolve the issues.  He's really tried to deal with his past and make a go at whatever version of normal life he could have.  I really rooted for Ryan throughout the whole book.

As much as we are rooting for Ryan and Sam, it was hard for me to get on board with Sam.  For most of the book she just seemed to make one misstep after the other in how to treat Ryan.  She really put him through the ringer because of her ex when Ryan didn't deserve any of that treatment.  Ryan was clearly the one who could be hurt the most in this relationship and yet he was the one attacked the most (by Sam and his new colleagues) and Sam led a lot of that.  It drove be bananas that he was the first to be blamed when he never ever did anything to draw suspicion from anyone.  And how was it not obvious to her that the office knew there was something between them but wanting to keep their relationship secret wasn't going to make Ryan feel like she was ashamed of him?  Especially when she knew his past and how inadequate he felt.

I LOVED Ryan's character, but I probably would have wanted Sam to turn around and stop projecting her issues onto him a bit faster to really love her.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Prepare yourself for a swoon worthy Brit Romance that will melt your heart.

Sam Huxton is having a bad day. She usually has her life together, but her beloved Grumps (grandfather) just passed and she needs a distraction.

She’s sitting in a pub drinking away her sorrows when she spots a ridiculously hot yet absurdly grumpy guy. He’s the brooding type, with a crooked nose, scruffy beard and bad-boy leather jacket.

Despite their very different personalities they just have chemistry, so they agree to a one night stand, with just one rule – no names, no numbers, just some much needed fun…

Until the same guy walks into Sam’s life the next day as her new employee. Yikes.
Very Grey’s Anatomy vibes, btw. So yeah, Sam is the owner of a tech company, a few years back she developed an app that helps people track which companies have their data online, and where they are being used.

The app was a success, but Sam started the business with her obnoxious ex. And once she found out he was cheating on her and broke up with him, he took the app idea and now is working on a better and stronger competitor version.

Desperately needing to launch a version 2 of the app to soothe investors, Sam needs the best programmer out there. And he was hired by Sam’s friend…. And he just happens to be Brooding Bar Guy.

Sam never mixes business with pleasure and makes it clear an office fling with Ryan is off-limits.  But after-hours…one thing can lead to another. Can Sam trust her heart and her business with the new guy?

I loved their story. Sunshine Sam and Brooding Ryan are as opposite as they come, and this book is a beautiful example of how opposites can attract. I honestly disliked Ryan very much in the beginning of the book, but when he starts opening up it is impossible not to fall heads over heels for him.

I wish perhaps that we would have gotten a little bit more about their relationship at the end, perhaps an epilogue. But I really enjoyed their story. Funny, smart and super sweet.