The Hooker and the Hermit by LH Cosway and Penny Reid

When you get a collaboration, you are often left to think about what inspired the project in the first place, well, I had that consideration when I first had this put before me but then, what the hell Penny Reid and LH Cosway – why was I worried- of course it was going to be immense!!

The combination of both writing styles and characterisation meant that this was a breath of fresh air.

So on to the story and characters, let’s start with Annie. I liked the fact that she was realistic, she had her foibles and her unique ways but I thought that made her character more believable. The fact she had issues dealing with the world and her place in it made my heart ache for her, she had issues with trust and self-esteem was something that many would be able to relate too and in that respect it opened her character up, and made me feel more than a touch of empathy for her. And while her journey through the book is not without error, it is her path and it helps her to become a woman that as a reader you can’t help but a little bit proud of.

So who else? Well up next is the adorable Ronan.

I defy you to not just swoon, he is simply a beautiful human being. He is so loveable, kind, gentle, and a little bit mischievous and with a touch of kinky mixed in, what is not to love!

This rugby god, is just everything you wouldn’t expect- with none of the egotistical characteristics that are normally associated with professional sportsmen, Ronan is such a gent but his temper is his weakness and one blow up means that he is up to his eyes in negative press and off the team – shit!

So next step, get the PR machine moving and get him back on the team and the woman to do just that happens to be none other than social media guru, Annie.

Annie is the person assigned to clean up his image by introducing him to the world of social media. To sway public opinion into his corner, and luckily, that's her specialty.

What neither of them expected was the fact that they would both feel a draw to each other. From the minute he laid eyes on her he was smitten and he took every opportunity he could to be there for her, despite her awkwardness and apathy. He showed her what the real world had to offer, a world that was happy to be absorbed in, discretely hiding behind her blog.

And as for Annie, she was completely thrown by the way Ronan made her feel, the way he brought out a side of her that she had suppressed for so long and introduced her to a world that she never though she could be part of, he made her feel things she never thought were for her and that made her willing to take a chance and put her heart on the line.

They were fabulous and when they eventually got their act together physically so to speak – well holy cow!! Their took their own sweet time getting there but boy was it worth it and their tryst in the car will live in my memory for a while to come.

You will be completely absorbed in the journey that these characters make and will be rooting for them all the way. It was a journey of discovery, one that showed that in order to come out of the shadows you have to take a step into the light. Ronan was Annie’s guide into the light and she could not have had a better man to hold her hand and her heart as she showed the world the woman that she really was and showed the man himself that he was the reason she could finally stand tall, with him by her side.