Working It

By: Kendall Ryan

Narrated by: Shayna Thibodeaux, Jason Carpenter

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Straight-laced and well-mannered southerner Emmy Clarke is out of her depth in New York City's fashion world, but when she lands a job as an assistant at a modeling agency it seems like the perfect mix of business and pleasure. Working under the notoriously tyrannical Fiona Stone is a nightmare, but there's one distinct perk: ogling the ridiculously hot male models who parade through the office; particularly rising star Ben Shaw.

Ben is everything Emmy is not: exquisitely gorgeous, highly paid, and well traveled. He's also got more issues than Vogue. Emmy looks after Ben on photo shoots, but she refuses to become another one of his lusting groupies. Ben finds Emmy's refreshingly real attitude to be surprisingly attractive.

Against a backdrop of the most fashionable cities in the world, casual flirting turns into an illicit affair, but when Ben's twisted past is revealed, and the bitter Fiona catches wind of their relationship, their careers and hearts are threatened.

Here is a story of heart-stopping, toe-curling passion by the beloved bestselling author of Hard to Love, Resisting Her, and The Impact of You.

©2014 Kendall Ryan (P)2014 Simon & Schuster

Working It by Kendall Ryan

I love erotica romance & this book did not disappoint. I love the easy way Ben & Emmy formed their relationship. The story was good. The one thing I did not like was Ben sharing Emmy with his close friend. The narrators were very good. Overall I enjoyed the book & am looking forward to listening to book 2. If you love a good love story with plenty of hot sex, this is the book for you.

A new favorite series!

Where does Working It rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Jason Carpenter is currently one of my favorite male audiobook narrators, so I'd classify this audiobook as another new favorite that I will definitely reread via audiobook again someday.

What did you like best about this story?

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed some of the more explicit elements of Emmy & Ben glamorous romance. Author Kendall Ryan put her unique creative stamp on a common romance trope, and in the process managed to impress me with how well she balanced the plausible plot with lots of steam.

What does Shayna Thibodeaux and Jason Carpenter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I don't talk to any people from TN in person to know how authentic Shayna's interpretation was, but I loved her TN accent for Emmy, her British accent for Fiona, and the fact that Shayna had no trouble doing a believable male voice for Ben. Jason always does a fantastic job with humor and sexual angst, and he delivered here as I've come to expect from him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! But I have a habit of only listening to audiobooks while I'm doing other things that don't require a lot of concentration.

Any additional comments?

That p-word email scene was fantastic and all of the sexting exchanges were fun and sexy. I wanted to girl slap the perfectly made up British Fiona many times though, grr! And there was a certain sexual practice explored in Working It that blew me away with how well it was done. I'm normally not a fan of that particular practice, so kudos to Author Kendall Ryan for convincing me of its appeal even if it holds none for me in real life.

Better than reviews.

It was better than I thought it was going to be according to some of the reviews. The narrators usually make it or break it for me and I really liked these narrators. The story was a little frustrating but I'm still looking forward to the next book.

Models Drama

Would you consider the audio edition of Working It to be better than the print version?

It was a good companionship for the book, it made it hotter

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the sex! it was hot!

What does Shayna Thibodeaux and Jason Carpenter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

the sex scenes were hotter. Sadly, Ben's chapters were so short, I couldnt experience the magnificence of Jason, but Shayna did great.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Drama in Prada

Any additional comments?

I liked the book. It was interesting and despite I was annoyed at the beginning of it, I kept listening to it and ended up loving Ben.

Review Working It

Awesome Loving Beautiful Story By Kendall Rayan! Going’s Listening To On Audible Audio, I Recommend U Listening To The Completed Series For Ur Self, I’m On Book 2 I Think 3 Part Series For The Awesome Loving Beautiful Story By, Kendall Rayan!🤗🥰🤩😘😁🥳

Happy Listener

I found it to be intoxicating listening. It was very intriguing. great read loved it

Disappointing

I could barely finish this story. The main character, Emmy, was so needy and wanted too much from Ben just after a couple of weeks. I felt she acted more like a teenager. I just couldn't get into it. I did enjoy the dual narration.

Fair story

This audiobook version just didn't hit the right notes for me. The story moved pretty slow and I just couldn't get into the characters, though I usually love Kendall Ryan's books. The hero seemed so wishy-washy and I didn't care for the female narrator. All in all the book seemed to drag, and I don't know if the next book will be any better.

Hott!

This book gives us an interesting insight behind the scenes in the world of modeling. I instantly felt for the down-to-earth, somewhat-out-of-place heroine, Emerson, or Emmy. The chemistry between her and hott male model Ben is intense. I felt her insecurities, but then also how much Ben wanted her, and then how much he owned her body. It's fun to watch a man who doesn't do romance fall into the romantic. A very sexy read.

The narrators did a great job at voicing the characters.

Book One of Two

"Working It" is about your typical small-town-gal , Emmerson (Emmy) trying to make it in the biggest metropolis in the world: New York City. She is from Tennessee in the South and is feeling completely out of her element. After all, this is THE city to work in when it comes to the fashion world, and although Emmy admits that she is struggling in terms of getting along with her boss, Fiona, she is determined to succeed.

Needless to say, it is hardly boosting one's self-esteem working with models, and Emmy is constantly feeling self-conscious about herself: she is not 6 feet tall, she is short, with curves in all the right places. She is struggling, always doubting herself, especially when she is in the presence of the ever-perfect male model, Benjamin Shaw: he really is perfection when it comes to his physical traits:

"Seeing his photos on the computer was one thing. Seeing this delicious piece of man meat in person was quite another. My damn mouth was watering. He was tall and poised, with dark hair, broad shoulders, an angular jaw, and a pouty mouth built for kissing."

The main part of the book is set in Paris, the city of love. For some reason Emmy cannot fathom, Ben singles her out, strikes up conversations with her and, to be honest, rather quickly tries to get into her pants. They very quickly start with sexting (*smirk*) and soon after that they embark on a passionate affair that, eventually, turns to love from both sides. Emmy falls so much sooner for the charismatic Ben, but even though he will not admit it at first, he falls just as hard for her.

Now, it is completely on purpose that I am being so vague here - this is, after all, to be a review, not just another summary of the book.

I very much like Emmy: she is a sweet, Southern girl, has had a very healthy upbringing and although very insecure in the beginning, she finds her strength as the story unfolds. Not being a size 2 myself, I completely understand her self-esteem issues, though they became a bit too much at times even to my liking. I liked how she battles with herself when it concerns giving in to Ben's seductive ways - it seems natural to me.

"Asking me not to fall in love with Ben was like asking a meth dealer not to let you get addicted. Not possible."

Ben...oh, Ben....swoon! Well, like I stated above, he is the epitome of male perfection. But underneath all his physical attributes he hides himself from the world, not letting anyone see the real person. He makes no excuses for wanting Emmy, but he is, in fact, rather reluctant to seduce her when they first meet:

"If she knew the depravity lurking inside me, she'd flee for Tennessee without a backwards glance. I'd devour a girl like her. Own her. The thought was intoxicating."

I find Ben to be a very complex person - which is, I believe, Miss Ryan's intent. As a reader, it was not difficult to fall for this damaged hero, especially when reading about his VERY unconventional upbringing. Like Emmy, I loved how he could be so sweet and caring, but at the same time much the dirty talker in bed. Phew! Ben is the dark to Emmy's light and even though they, theoretically, should be all wrong for each other, this fact is actually what makes them perfect together. That is my opinion, anyway.

I like how the whole fashion scene seems to be well researched and how the author shares all the "secrets" about how the industry really works. There was no point in the story I did not find it to be believable, and that is very important to me when reading a book.

All in all, I loved getting to know Emmy and Ben, and I am so glad that Miss Ryan gave us Ben's POV throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading how Ben slowly falls in love with Emmy and especially when he realizes this has happened. It put a HUGE smile on my face!

"I'd never wanted a relationship before, but this hit me like a smack to the head. I wanted all that and more with Emmy. My sweet Southern Belle. The idea of calling myself her boyfriend put a stupid little grin on my face."

Like Kendall Ryan's previous books, there is plenty of sexy moments - and yes, extremely STEAMY scenes, ladies - lots of drama and angst in "Working It", and I truly believe you will not be disappointed if you are a fan of her other books.