A Heart to Trust by A.L. Brooks is an enemies-to-lovers workplace romance with a slow, yet satisfying burn.
Jenny Quinn is stellar at her job as a TV production assistant. Unfortunately, she’s not the best when it comes to change. So, it’s not great news for Jenny when the company she works for is acquired. For an added kick in the teeth, there are only three PA positions, but four people are up for the jobs, including Jenny. They have to work together on a major charity auction project before learning which person will get the chop.
One of Jenny’s coworkers is bubbly and fun, one of them a little strange with a heart of gold, and then there’s Olivia. She’s gorgeous, British, icy, and has a gigantic stick up her backside. But every so often, Olivia softens a little, making her all the more attractive to Jenny. If only Olivia weren’t married…
After a workplace betrayal and the crash and burn with her last girlfriend, Olivia moved from Britain to New York so she could help out a friend by fake marrying him. Broderick is asexual and aromantic, which is something his mother and the elite racing world would never understand. Olivia’s never minded their arrangement until her attraction to Jenny refuses to stay quiet. Can she trust Jenny enough to let down her walls? Or will Olivia stick with her safe life, even as it starts to chafe?
The Characters
Anyone who’s read The Long Shot will remember Jenny as Adrienne’s talented PA. Now she gets her own romance and it’s lovely! Her backstory is much more complex than I’d expected and I appreciated seeing how that informs the way she builds attachments with people, whether they’re friends or romantic partners.
No matter how sweet and brilliant Jenny might be, however, Olivia stole the show for me. She presents as an ice queen at first, but it makes sense once you understand that she doesn’t trust anyone except her husband, mother, and best friend (again, she was burned VERY badly at work and in her relationship), and she’s loyal to Broderick and doesn’t want to hurt his sponsorship chances by calling off their arrangement. These aspects of her character drive Olivia’s growth and I loved seeing her warm up to Jenny. It was just so delicious and satisfying.
There are quite a few side characters, between Jenny’s friends (who are her found family), Olivia’s husband and his family, and Jenny and Olivia’s coworkers. I found it easy to keep track of everyone, and each character had a clear role.
The Writing Style
I wasn’t sure about this book at first because it felt a little too close to real life for me, what with the office politics and the cliquiness that separates Olivia from the rest of the team. That said, I’m glad I stuck with it. The romance’s burn is incredibly slow with little angst, so the team dynamic does a great job of driving the story’s tension.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I loved a bunch of things about this book, so in no particular order:
- Remember how I said Jenny has a found family? They are lovely and supportive, and not afraid to give her a kick in the ass when she needs it.
- One of Jenny’s friends say something about Olivia being straight and I was thrilled to see her point out that Olivia might be bisexual or pansexual. As a bi woman, that was so heartening to see.
- Adrienne mentors Jenny and, in one scene, offers her really insightful advice about what Jenny should do with her career. This was a beautiful surprise that gave me all the warm fuzzies, since it’s so important for older women to mentor younger women in the workplace.
- Ace/aro representation! I would have liked to see Broderick come to a place where he’s out to everyone about it, but I still appreciated seeing a character who is ace and aro and hope to see more of it in lesfic.
Cons And Heads Up
I’m going to have to get a bit spoilery, but this is a heads up for anyone from a deeply religious background. If you’d rather not be spoiled, skip to the next section.
Still with me?
The reason Jenny has a found family is that her Evangelical parents kicked her out when she came out to them in college. This is one of those “your mileage may vary” plot points. I come from an Evangelical background and can see how it might be a little triggering for someone who is still healing from religious trauma to read about what her parents did, but it didn’t bother me. I found it validating to see how great her life is now and that she gets to decide what happiness looks like.
The Conclusion
A Heart to Trust is my first lesfic read of the year, so I’d say 2021 is off to a good start! Olivia and Jenny are a fabulous couple, their character journeys are satisfying, and the romance is totally believable. If you like enemies-to-lovers or workplace romances (or better yet, both!), you’ll have a great time with this story.
TLDR (too long didn’t read)
Excellent enemies-to-lovers workplace romance with the strong character growth, found family, and a slow burn.
Excerpt from A Heart to Trust by A.L. Brooks
“Good morning.” The words were spoken quietly and in a clipped British accent.
Jenny looked around.
Olivia placed her large purse on her desk. She was dressed in a beautifully cut pantsuit in an olive-green color that made her eyes glow.
“Morning,” Jenny replied breezily.
This Olivia woman made her nervous. She was so…rigid. And holy crap, she dressed up smart for work. Way smarter than Jenny, who cast a quick look down at her own jeans and sleeveless red-and-black checkered shirt with a small frown. Did C&V expect their staff, even lowly production assistants, to dress up? Or was this just an Olivia thing? Jenny looked once more at Chrissy. She wore dark-blue pants with a white blouse made of something super silky and soft. Yeah, so also a lot smarter than me. Hm.
“Hi, Olivia!” Chrissy said.
Olivia nodded in her direction, her narrow gaze pinned on Jenny’s desk possessions. “Don’t you think that’s a little much? Especially given how little working space you already have.”
Her snooty tone made Jenny’s hackles rise. “Well, I’m sorry I don’t have the luxury of working on a football field like you do. I’m making the best of what I’ve got and I’ll be fine, thanks.”
Olivia glared at her, then turned her back to delve into her purse for her laptop.
Chrissy caught Jenny’s eye and mouthed the word “sorry” while giving her a sympathetic look.
Jenny looked to the ceiling for a moment. Sure, Olivia could have been a little nicer, but Jenny shouldn’t have snapped at her. They were supposed to work together, after all. Be part of a team. Yeah, of course, they were all competing for jobs, but that didn’t mean they had to be bitchy about it, did it? “Look, Olivia, I’m sorry I reacted like that.”
Olivia glanced up from her laptop then back again. “Fine.”
What the—?
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Bits and Bobs
- ISBN number: 9783963244537
- Publisher: Ylva Publishing
- A.L. Brooks Online
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