Sometimes I’ve read books that are a mishmash of parts, but Seduction and the CEO almost felt like two different books. The story got off to a solid start, but then just as I started to settle into the story, I hit the second half. From there, the cliches grew and the pacing faltered, leaving me with a rather mixed reading experience.

Business journalist Melissa Warner wants a promotion, but she hasn’t exactly been winning at the office politics game. When real estate tycoon Jared Ryder shuns the press and leaves Chicago for his Montana ranch, Melissa decides to pursue him in search of the perfect story. Unable to get onto Jared’s ranch, Melissa takes a job at stables owned by his younger sister.

It is here that Melissa hits paydirt. Jared comes to visit his sister and Melissa catches his eye, not least because she is very obviously not a seasoned stablehand. Though Jared calls out Melissa for her lack of knowledge, Melissa perseveres and Jared finds himself alternately attracted to and frustrated by her. Jared’s sister decides to play matchmaker as well, and that’s when things really start to heat up between the two.

First, the good parts – and there are quite a few. The main characters are appealing, even with their flaws. Melissa has a tendency to act before she thinks and Jared can be overbearing, but they have good sides to them as well. In addition, the business of the equestrian center and of Jared’s various entities gets plenty of play here. Romance remains the main focus, but the attention given to the backstory makes reading this book a richer experience. The story has a sense of place and purpose, and I really enjoyed my time in Montana.

With the sister’s matchmaking and their own interactions, the relationship between Jared and Melissa builds quite nicely. However, in the second half of the book, the author starts to throw in way too many romance cliches and they detract from the story. We started getting a pinch of “let’s pretend we’re dating” here, a whiff of super wholesome family of overprotective brothers there, and so on. It was a little too much.

In addition, the plotting in the last chapters of the book felt more awkward than what preceded it. Since Melissa came to Montana under false pretenses, we as readers know that this tension drives at least a portion of the plot and will have to come to a resolution. However, it could have been handled much more smoothly. Likewise, the ending could have involved a little less squeeing.

Even so, I have to say that I basically enjoyed Seduction and the CEO. While the last few chapters weren’t as strong as they could have been, they weren’t horrible either, and I still enjoyed reading this story overall.