Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Spice: 🌶️🌶️

by Denise Williams

Cord and Pearl worked together eight years ago, and Cord was a goner from the start, but a myriad of factors kept them apart at the time, including her accepting a new job and moving from Chicago to California. Now back in Chicago, a scandal unexpectedly thrust Pearl into the limelight and a leadership position at her new job with a group that provides tech mentoring to young people. Simultaneously, Cord is asked to serve on the board of the company. Now, they will need to work together to save this fantastic company, but they both quickly discover that the feelings they thought were left behind years ago still burn just as strong.

On the surface, this is a straightforward second-chance workplace romance, but Williams brings in commentary about bias in the tech field dominated by cisgender men. As a black woman, Pearl encounters many more hurdles as she climbs the corporate ladder. Thankfully, Cord is self-aware, recognizing, and actively working to break down these biases. My favorite part of the book is Cord’s mentor/mentee relationship with Pearl’s sister’s high schooler, Ty, who is part of the LGBTQ community. Cord and Ty forge an important connection outside their individual relationships with Pearl.

It does brush up against some tropes of which I am not a fan but deftly manages them and takes them in unexpectedly smart and innovative directions. 

The dual narration of the audiobook is great. January LaVoy and Joe Arden were new to me as narrators but both were outstanding.