Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Review - Hard Hats and Doormats by Laura Chapman




Hard Hats and Doormats
by Laura Chapman
Genre: Romance
Release Date: December 9, 2013






Lexi Burke has always been a stickler for following rules and procedures. As a human resources manager for a leading Gulf Coast chemical company, it’s her job to make sure everyone else falls in line, too. 

But after losing out on a big promotion–-because her boss sees her as too much of a yes-woman––Lexi adopts a new policy of following her heart instead of the fine print. And her heart knows what it wants: Jason Beaumont, a workplace crush who is off limits based on her previous protocol. 

While navigating a new romance and interoffice politics, Lexi must find the confidence to stand on her own or face a lifetime of following someone else’s orders. 

Who says nice girls have to finish last?









I just loved this story. Having worked in the corporate world, it was easy to identify with Lexi and the predicament she finds herself in – the one where she wakes up one day to find out all the hard work she has done has not gotten her the promotion she deserves, and, as a matter of fact, all that hard work has done for her is it has kept her chained to her office and limited her ability to live life.

When Lexi finally realizes that all of her rule-following and hard work come with a price she is no longer willing to pay, she commits to herself to start having fun and living…starting with figuring out a way to land her the man she has been crushing on since she started working for the company…Jason Beaumont.

Jason Beaumont has worked his way up the company, and has had his eye on Lexi since the first time he met her, but has held back since her role in HR and her rule-following has made her seem off-limits. When he can no longer help himself, he starts to spend more time with Lexi…and when a night mixed with too many margaritas for Lexi has him confessing his feeling, there is no turning back!
This was a fun read and I enjoyed watching Lexi’s take charge of her professional and personal life. It was refreshing watching someone as young as Lexi understand the value of hard work, but also recognize when she was being treated like a “doormat”. It was interesting watching her struggle with trying to find the balance between being a push-over at work and going the extra mile because it truly added value. On the relationship front, it was easy to believe she would just submit to Jason since she had been crushing on him for two years, so it was also wonderful to see her take a stand with him when issues came up in their relationship.

I loved the supporting characters in this book as well. From Jason’s uncle Bo and his mother, to Lexi’s two best friends, as well as all the work friends that are featured during many karaoke nights – which I loved – they all add additional depth and color to this story. And I really enjoyed the role technology and social media played in the story, from the tweets at the start of each chapter, to watching the love affair that Lexi had with her phone…yep, seriously, she loved her phone so much she even named it “Harriet” and had conversations with it – LOL!

All in all, this was a great read – not your traditional love story, but more of a coming of age story in the workplace that happens to include a romance!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for an honest review.








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