Until a man named “John” starts calling, and Zack finds himself interested in more than a paycheck. It’s not just that John has money, or that his rumbling baritone drives Zack wild. He’s everything Zack isn’t: educated, poised, and in total control of his life.
A twist of fate brings them face-to-face, and now that they’ve seen each other—and spent an unforgettable night together—they can’t go back to the way things were. A sex worker and a trust fund brat . . . It’s like Romeo and Juliet, but with less stabbing and slightly fewer dick jokes. Hopefully they can pull off a more successful ending.
Cinderfella Slash-fic pretty much sums this book up. I'm actually totally fine with fanfic/slash-fic. If taylorpotato hadn't abandoned my ship for Sciles I'd still have a largely inappropriate relationship with his fics. What makes a really good fic or book for me is layers be it a gripping subplot, great relationship development, feel good fluff that'll make your teeth hurt or angst. Unfortunately, Hotline was one note, and that note was sex. There's nothing for me to sink my teeth into and 350 pgs of nothing but nuclear sex... I got bored. I can easily imagine this being classified as a one-handed read, but aside from the sex it's not all that imaginative.
Zack is a phone sex operator who sucks at his job. He's only in it for the paycheck and it shows in his lackluster performances and his paychecks until he gets a call from John. John turns out to be a trust fund baby who's also GQ beautiful, single and available. They accidentally meet one night and that bell can't be unrung, so they start dating (mostly fucking).
Truth be told, I requested this because I saw a post of Rachel Haimowitz' that was essentially squealing. The word "stitches" was used and not in a medical sense. I like funny. I get funny. So it was a foregone conclusion that I'd be requesting this as soon as it hit NetGalley. However, this wasn't funny to me which leaves me with two possible explanations, (a) my sense of humor is deficient...
or (b) it's not funny. For the sake of argument, let's go with 'b'. I mean, there is a zinger every now and again mostly by Alexa, Zack's co-worker and snark monster extraordinaire, but comedic it is not.
The problems I have with it aside from it being monotonous and not funny are neither of these characters are well-defined and I need to know and see why they feel like they're right for each other when they're not fucking each other into the mattress or the couch or the backseat. Zack's characterization comes off inconsistent-he has some college but he doesn't know what proclivity means yet he uses vacillate often?
I also don't understand the point of introducing his parents because aside from a tempestuous dinner his sister is the only one who makes a reappearance. I think it was a half-hearted attempt at evil family/Cinderfella trope but it fell flat. In a nutshell, it could've been pared down.
Hotline is told through Zack who comes across very immature and dickish and his relationship with John has very little substance. John didn't do much for me either.
On a more positive note, I like this author's voice; it's a nice blend of fanfic lingo and freshness. I would read something else by her. It's also probably a 5 on the fluffometer with a feel good HFN ending. I like fluffy and I didn't hate this I just wish there had been more to it. Also, have I mentioned how hot the sex was?
Recommend to those who enjoy a one-handed read just break it up over several days. Because chafing or carpal tunnel.
An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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