Today we continue The Boss Read Along at our Saturday Conversation… this will be a reoccurring chat (see schedule below). I hope you enjoy this read along!
***NEWSFLASH***
In case you haven’t heard… Due to popular demand, author Abigail Barnette is offering a new chapter of The Boss EVERY FRIDAY!! We will continue to have our discussion with Abigail (aka Jenny Trout) and Vampbard here every other week. Schedule is at the end of this post!
********************
The Boss is here! Twice per month, we will have author Abigail Barnette here on the blog to discuss the latest installment of her serial contemporary erotic romance, The Boss. Ms. Barnette is providing The Boss free to her readers, with new chapters WEEKLY. If you’re new to our Read-Along, go to our first post HERE and see what all the fuss is about!
This week, we’re sending you to read Chapter 9 HERE and Chapter 10 HERE, then come back to this post to discuss your thoughts on The Boss, and read what others have to say. No. Don’t scroll to see what they’re saying first. Cheater. Go. Read. It’s only about 40 pages total! We’ve included a handy SCHEDULE below so you’ll be ready for the next installment discussion. Just bookmark Abigail’s site, and then you can devour the next chapter the moment it goes LIVE!
We’re excited to have Abigail here, sharing her serial, The Boss, with us.
|
The Boss Read-Along
|
Let’s start our discussion of Chapters 9 and 10 with the subdrop. What did you think about the situation, and what did you think about how Neil handled it?
Next…how ’bout the bombshell: babealicious billionaire bisexual! What are your thoughts?
Next…how ’bout the bombshell: babealicious billionaire bisexual! What are your thoughts?
Discuss amongst yourselves! Abigail and VampBard will be around to kick in their 2 cents until Tuesday!
|
About the Author
|
The alter-ego of USA Today Bestselling Author Jenny Trout (Jennifer Armintrout), Abigail Barnette was born during a conversation with author Bronwyn Green, who encouraged Jenny to develop an elaborate fantasy persona– complete with nom de plume– under which to pen erotic romance. Abigail enjoys long naps in fairy-filled glades, running through corridors in tragically romantic haunted castles, and drinking goblet after goblet of spiced wine.
REVISED RELEASE SCHEDULE
|
Chapter #
|
Release Date
|
Read-Along Date
|
|
01/15/13
|
||
|
01/30/13
|
||
|
02/15/13
|
||
|
02/28/13
|
||
|
03/08/13
|
||
|
03/08/13
|
||
|
03/15/13
|
||
|
03/22/13
|
||
|
03/29/13
|
04/06/13
|
|
|
04/05/13
|
04/06/13
|
|
|
Chapter 11
|
04/12/13
|
04/20/13
|
|
Chapter 12
|
04/19/13
|
04/20/13
|
|
Chapter 13
|
04/26/13
|
05/04/13
|
|
Chapter 14
|
05/03/13
|
05/04/13
|
|
Chapter 15
|
05/10/13
|
05/18/13
|
|
Chapter 16
|
05/17/13
|
05/18/13
|
|
Chapter 17
|
05/24/13
|
06/01/13
|
|
Chapter 18
|
05/31/13
|
06/01/13
|
|
Chapter 19
|
06/07/13
|
06/15/13
|
|
Chapter 20
|
06/14/13
|
06/15/13
|
|
Chapter 21
|
06/21/13
|
06/29/13
|
|
Chapter 22
|
06/28/13
|
06/29/13
|
|
Chapter 23
|
07/05/13
|
07/13/13
|
I absolutely LOVED Chapters 9 & 10… I’m really glad I waited until yesterday and read them together. I’m loving Neil and Sophie.
As for the subdrop scene: I loved how Neil took full responsibility. I adore that he took care of Sophie – it shows that he’s in it for more than just sex. He earned big points in my eyes. I love watching their relationship evolve.
Now for Neil’s “big reveal,” it didn’t shock me at all (maybe b/c I read m/m?), and since it was brushed by so quickly… I’m thinking it’s not going to be a factor in the overall plot.
I am getting nervous about what will happen to them – between Jake, Rudy and Deja… *bites nails*
Have I mentioned how much I adore Neil lately?!?! If not, consider it mentioned. His management of the subdrop was … well … perfect, considering he dropped in the first place. I totally agree with Jen here.
I think that Neil’s bisexual escapades will come up again, although I don’t think it’s going to be a factor in the over-all plot, either. I also wasn’t bothered by it. I do think it provides a smidge more intrigue as to Neil’s past, however.
I have to admit, i got a little worried about the “big reveal” because I’ve had a few negative experiences in the past where I’ve written characters who are bisexual and readers have said, “There should have been a warning! It ruined the whole book!” Luckily, the people reading The Boss have been extremely supportive and cool from the very beginning, and I should never have doubted them!
I am absolutely thrilled with the ‘big reveal’ as far Neal’s sexual history. It’s not one note, it’s not heteronormative and it also helps show how complex sexuality can be — to say nothing of kink. I love that he was willing to submit to someone to find out what it’s like from the other end. Pity it didn’t work out.
Must resist urge to fic.
I’m just saying, if Neil were on the submissive side, it’d be super hot to invite a strap-on for a ride. ((Okay, okay, I watched Zack and Miri last night and Tracy Lords pegging Ricky Whatshisname… Idea planted and slept on, ooh. And I want to write a fan-fic where Neil goes to Oral Town on said strap-on.))
That said, Chapters 9 and 10 are HOT.
I liked that Sophie could diffuse Rudy when he confronted her. Not so much when it comes to Jake. And Deja suspecting something is up, oh my!
Eagerly anticipating Chapter 11.
If anyone ever writes fanfic like the two mentioned above, I will be expecting linkage like WHOA.
It was funny, I was so worried about the bisexuality reveal, and a tweep asked me, “What was the part you were worried about? The foreskin?” I love that bisexual heroes are less controversial than uncircumcised heroes. 😀
I don’t know why, since I hadn’t ever considered it as a possibility, but Neil’s big reveal didn’t seem so shocking to me. As a character he has been fleshed out to the point where I just assume he’s well-adjusted, honest, and confident…it worked. And, especially since he’s Jude Law in my head, I had a brief image of him and Robert Downey Jr together. And it was awesome.
I used the word ‘and’ a lot. Lo siento.
I picture Neil as Simon Baker. *swoon*
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but while otherwise Sophie is well-developed modern-woman type of character, when it comes the romance angle of the story (which is the most important one) she strikes more as a schoolgirl with a crush, playing grown-up. I know because I have seen my friends act this way, as I myself have. Yes, she’s getting to know herself and her sexuality better which is super cool, but she just seems… obsessed with Neil and over-all too emotional (and I don’t just mean the sub drop, which was an entirely different matter) – she is often unsure of herself and lets him guide her too much (I guess that’s the point of Daddy Dom/Little girl relationship, which is what the book is about, right? It just doesn’t strike me as particularly… great/strong/feminist – I understand the term ‘feminist’ to include a woman, who is familiar and aware of her sexuality, while Sophie is still in the ‘learning process’). Also (again, maybe it’s just me and I don’t know, because I’ve never experienced it) it seems a bit unrealistic that six years of sexual experience won’t even come CLOSE to one, one-night stand, when she was 18. Yeah, when you are 18 and you sleep with someone with experience of course everything they do, will seem like magic, but… I don’t know, maybe that’s the fantasy angle of the romance. 😀
Overall, I do enjoy the book – I like the playful way they talk to each other, I do find it incredibly hot, I love how nice and caring Neil is and it was great, revealing that Neal is bisexual (it’s more stigmatized for men). I felt almost personally offended at how the characters in 50 shades treat the term gay, like something offensive to someone straight and tokenism when there were gay characters. So yes, I like the book, even though I noticed some flaws – well, according to me they are, anyway.