**CURRENTLY READING**

*Audacity*
by Elodie Hart
My gift to you: a billionaire workplace romance so hot you won’t need to light the fireplace to keep you warm.

This holiday season, I’m checking off all your wishlist items: billionaire, power dynamics, opportunities to get caught, high spice. And because you’ve been naughty this year, I’m throwing in a hint of taboo.

Audacity is the first book in Elodie Hart’s Seraph series, a spin-off of the Alchemy series which features the hottest sex club I’ve had the pleasure of reading about. If Audacity hits the spot for you, I guarantee you’ll circle back to the Alchemy series and enjoy every second of it.

Get your copy of Audacity (Amazon) and read with us!

What Victoria Loved

VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5

Athena is a force to be reckoned with. Her character seriously made me reconsider my career path and life choices… I mean what an absolute goddess in the boardroom. And her closet… sigh. Those who say you can’t have it all have never met Athena. So I think that makes Rafe the luckiest man on earth.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the religious aspects of this book. But I liked the theological discourse between Athena and Gabe— the intellectual dissection of organized religion as well as the emotional / spiritual draw, but also Gabe’s relationship and struggle with spirituality.

Ultimately, this was one of the best billionaire romances I’ve come across in a while. And if I wasn’t so scarred by my own relationship with religion, I might have given it more stars. But as it is, I think it was an intriguing taboo that pleasantly surprised me.

Save our Alchemy playlist to set the mood for reading… or seduction (Spotify).

What the Book Club Loved

FIREWORKS & STEAM: 5/5
We weren’t ready for the spice, but we enjoyed the various scenarios Athena and Gabe found themselves in. The audition (pose recreation), birthday scene, and prima nocta role play stood out to us.
WRITING STYLE: 3.25/5
Overall, we liked the concept of Seraph and how they explained the purpose of the role, but the plot itself didn’t do it for us. We craved more drama, a more complex conflict, and more context. While it was well-written, the subject matter falls flat because we’re missing the why behind character decisions and behaviors. We also appreciated how well Elodie handled skating around a difficult topic like religion and wrapping it around the happy ending
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 3/5
We were in unanimous agreement that Athena may have been slightly too perfect — a confident intellectual, who just happens to be drop dead gorgeous and kind-hearted. There was nothing further to develop. Similarly, Gabe was well-adjusted and stayed true to the values he preached as a priest (aside from his devotion to breaking his vow of celibacy), so they didn’t need big character arcs. We would have loved to have dived deeper into their backstories to better understand their motivations and the experiences that defined their individual decisions to join (and leave) the church and Seraph.
THE LOVE STORY: 3/5
Despite how unrelatable their financial status and professions were to the group, their relationship felt attainable and realistic. They may not have had an epic love story, but they were well-matched. Where she had the upper hand in the bedroom (and perhaps the boardroom), Gabe’s passion and morality balanced their relationship. We also wish they had a conversation about their relationship status and the whole payment in exchange of services thing sooner…

“THIS BOOK. SWEET JESUS. MY GOD… I can’t get anything done because I just have to pause and sit in shock.”

- CASSANDRA

If You Loved Audacity, You’ll Love These

SHE’S A GODDESS:Neon Gods (Dark Olympus #1) by Katee Robert (Amazon)
If Greek mythology was this naughty, I would’ve been way more intrigued by my high school syllabus. This Hades and Persephone romance was my entry into retellings and led me down the romantasy rabbit hole. I’m not ashamed to admit I absolutely devoured this series. If you’re one to judge a book by its cover (and I admit, I overlooked this book for YEARS because I was very confused by the cover and the title), you’ll be in for a surprise because the cover art gives absolutely nothing away. Although, I’ll say the throne was a fantastic choice for a cover photo.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 3/5
HE’S STILL A PRIEST: Priest by Sierra Simone (Amazon)
I knew this would be hot, but it was basically hell’s inferno. I had to stop reading a couple times to cool off. Oh, and as a warning: the dirtiest scenes are written in second-person. Heed my warning or don’t. Read in private (or in church, if that’s your thing).
VICTORIA’S RATING: 3/5
DEFILING THE WORKPLACE: Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren (Amazon)
Beautiful Bastard is the reason I fell in love with alpha-hole heroes and billionaire romances. The queens of romance have written a cheeky MBA-candidate FMC who has interned as an assistant to Bennett, who has returned from France to take on his rightful place at his family’s company… what happens next is pure fire. Probably don’t read in public.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
HE’S A BILLIONAIRE: The Takeover (Miles High Club #2) by TL Swan (Amazon)
This is one of my favorites of all-time! It’s at the top of my palette cleanser list. The way this relationship comes together is so sweet — especially when the kids get involved. There’s hi-jinx that’ll make you laugh out loud, there are spicy scenes that’ll make you squeal, and there are heartfelt moments that’ll make you shed a few tears.
VICTORIA’S RATING: 5/5
SHE’S A SEX WORKER: Carnage (The Lords #5) by Shantel Tessier (Amazon)
This book wrecked me. What an emotional rollercoaster. I could not put this down… except when I had to take mental/ emotional breaks, then I’d just pace around my house while recapping the latest series of events out loud because it was a WILD ride. TL;DR: Dark, gripping, thrilling, sexy! If you’re intrigued, I recommend you start from Book 1, The Ritual (Amazon)
VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
BY THE AUTHOR:
- Unfurl (Alchemy #1) by Elodie Hart (Amazon)
  Start here if you’re interested in reading the Alchemy series. It doesn’t need to be read in order, but it helps sets the stage for the later books. If you’re hesitating because of the religious aspects of the storyline, do not let that deter you. I promise it’s worth it!
  VICTORIA’S RATING: 4/5
- Unveil (Alchemy #3) by Elodie Hart (Amazon)
  Athena makes a little cameo in this book — it has the scene referenced in Audacity, and oh man, it is STEAMY. Unfortunately, this might be my least favorite book in the series, but that’s just because it’s the least steamy of the other books… which is probably saying something. But if you like to close the loop and your curiosity has been piqued to read the whole scene in Anton’s office featuring Athena, well… here you go.
  VICTORIA’S RATING: 3.5/5