Title: The Boy Who Has No Faith
Author: Victoria Quinn
Publisher/Year: Victoria Quinn 8/21/20
Length: 191 Pages
Series: Soulless #5
Overview
I just landed my dream job as an editor at the esteemed publisher, Astra Books, and my client is the infamous sci-fi writer Derek Hamilton.The greatest writer of our generation–in my opinion.But it’s not as wonderful as I thought it would be. I can’t get this guy to respond to my emails, texts, or phone calls. Whenever I get him on the phone, he’s a jerk that hangs up on me.He’s a pain in the you-know-where.Yes, he’s gorgeous…but he makes my life a living hell.When I corner him at his penthouse, I discover that he hasn’t submitted his manuscript because he’s too busy with his day job…as an aeronautical engineer. The guy owns his own company building rockets and other innovations. He’s also a professor of engineering at NYU.Of course he doesn’t have time to write his next book…with a schedule like that.But I have to get him to write this book otherwise I’m going to lose my job.Now I just have to figure out how to do that…
My Thoughts
We wrapped up the story of Deacon and Cleo and it was wonderful to see how their complicated story turned out. They got their happily ever after, which meant that we knew there was more on the docket for Derek, Deacon’s oldest son, and the boy who we grew to love in the first few books. We’re introduced now to Derek when he’s fresh out of college, and on the eve of his own wedding.
As you can imagine, knowing that life until now things weren’t smooth, this wedding couldn’t go off without a hitch. Derek is so in love with Tabitha that we think that the biggest complexities will come once they are married and trying to build a life together, yet we never get to see that happen because Derek overhears a conversation between Tabitha and his best friend Kevin, talking about an affair that they had together that lasted for at least a month. Derek’s heart is broken, and we have a great view at the downfall of the man that he could have been.
We’re now about 10 years into the future, where Derek has made a name for himself working at NASA on rockets, developing technology that betters several different industries. He’s a professor at NYU and he’s an accomplished author. The challenge though is that he’s put up all the walls that would allow someone close enough to care about, someone that would give him a reason to be the man that he could be.
Enter Emerson- exactly what Derek needs but won’t admit. Emerson has just landed a job as an editor at the publishing house that Derek’s signed to, and of course, when Derek has put all else as priority before the book that he was due to finish a year ago, she’s after him like you wouldn’t believe. She makes contact after contact with Derek in the hopes of getting somewhere and yet she fails. When she manages a small win, her life quickly changes.
Her success at making Derek see that he has to do ‘something’ catches Cleo’s eye, and we quickly see Emerson’s role change in this story. She goes from being an editor to being a personal assistant, doing for Derek what Cleo did for Deacon. Make this strong and authoritative, powerful, sexy man realize that he needs someone to care for him for more than his money. To make his life easier, and at the same time, we know from the success that Deacon and Cleo had, to have Derek and Emerson realize what they’re each missing in a partner.
Emerson slowly breaks through the walls that are up in Derek’s life – showing him that by allowing someone to help with a few tasks here and there, that he can find time to do the things that he loves. By allowing Emerson to help unclutter his life, he’s able to open up the side of his brain that’s creative, that’s more human and that’s the side that everyone loves.
Derek realizes that there’s something about Emerson that wakes him up – his creative side sure, but his passion and his need for something not quite so empty. There’s a challenge though because they are in a boss / employee situation, and neither has really opened the door for anything more between each other.
We watch Deacon and Cleo push Derek to be open to a future with someone that can love him and in return love her – and yet he’s still not open to that. His traumas from the past with his mom, failed marriage attempt and even challenges with his profession in the past have made for a man who’s not willing to ease up because he needs the control. We’re left at a point in this story where he says he’ll consider being more open, yet we know that’s not going to happen quite so easily. It’ll be interesting to see what Emerson has to do in order to get Derek to open up, yet we also know that she sees him for the persona that he puts out there and perhaps there’s really no opportunity anyway. So….i’m off to the next book because I can’t wait to see how this plays out. Enjoy!