With “X” showing up exactly once, I am still unsure if that is why it is named so. The only confusing thing of this book is its title.

I also love all the detailed descriptions in non-sexual settings as well as sexual ones. Their dynamics during work and sex are very different, and it works wonderfully. I love the power balance between the mains. Immediate attraction between main characters seldom translates well on paper for me, but this time, I really feel Laurie and Diana’s tension and love. The plot flows perfectly and the sex scenes are off-the-charts hot. Nothing, and I mean nothing, in this book feels contrived. The unconventionality of Laurie pricked a hole in Diana’s armor, and we see both women make a lot of questionable but totally understandable decisions. Then we have Diana, the supposedly put-together superior who is struggling with her own sexuality at the age of forty-three. It shows what kind of person Laurie is, and though sometimes reckless, she is a very capable PA. “You’d be lucky to have me.” This single sentence issued from a twenty-five-year-old to a senior partner in a law firm is powerful, self-assured, and determined.

And Laurie is very direct, passionate, and speaks so genuinely my heart aches. Diana is a workaholic ice queen who shows no emotion to anyone, including her husband. Both of them are very intense characters and I absolutely love that. The story is told in both Laurie’s and Diana’s first person viewpoints.

But Diana is straight, married, and Laurie’s supervisor. Then jealousy burns in Diana when Laurie openly admires another older woman. There is something about the young woman that piques Diana’s interest. Part-time student Laurie Holcombe (25, lesbian) is not like previous PAs Diana Parker (43, half-Vietnamese), S.J.D.

I don’t normally do well with ice-queen, age-gap, office romance, but I wanted to try anyway. Sinclair definitely surprised me with The X Ingredient. Note that ableist language is also present in the book (crazy, insane, mad, blind).

Publisher: Ylva Publishing, October 1st 2019Ĭontent warnings: non-consensual kissings between the main characters, one instance of bi-erasure from a minor character, underlying misogyny from antagonists.

The x ingredient by roslyn sinclair pdf