Review
SHORTLISTED FOR 32 BOOK AWARDS!
WINNER: Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, 2021
WINNER: Global Book Award, 2022
WINNER: Global eBook Award, 2022
WINNER: Los Angeles Book Festival, 2022
WINNER: Beach Book Festival, 2022
WINNER: National Excellence in Romance Fiction, Best First Book 2022
WINNER: NYC Big Book Award, 2022
WINNER: 16th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards, 2022
WINNER: Independent Author Network Awards, 2022
WINNER: Firebird Book Award, Romance 2023
WINNER: Firebird Book Award, Romantic Suspense 2023
WINNER: Book Excellence Award, 2023
FIRST PLACE: Royal Dragonfly, 2022
FIRST PLACE: The BookFest Award, 2023
GOLD AWARD: Literary Titan Book Award, 2022
"Reading this book is like watching a really great romance film, with substance. The author writes with such energy and heart, the story ends way too soon . . . If you read one romance novel this year, make it The Refusal by Eve M. Riley." - Readers Views, Book Awards
"Cosmopolitan meets homegrown in this flawlessly written slow-burn romance that takes place around the fast-paced world of technology . . . This finely crafted romance is anchored by its complex characters. Janus is surprisingly down to earth and harbours plenty of his own enduring insecurities. And Jo is just a delight. It's impossible not to love the adorable little redhead who more than holds her own in a male dominated field. Her spunk, humour and complete lack of arrogance add to her complexity and make Jo one of the most endearing women I've read in a long time . . . Tortuous in the waiting and deliciously steamy in due course, The Refusal is guaranteed to be your next bingeable romance." - Indies Today, Book Awards Semi-finalist
"Run, do not walk, to your nearest retailer/ computer and get this book. Yes, it's that good. I'm not sure what else to say other than "devoured," "book hang-over," "amazing," and "need more." Did you get it yet? What? Not into tech heroes? Don't usually do modern romance? Listen, great writing is great writing--trust me, you'll be swept away. Now block out your schedule because you'll consume this baby in one sitting." - Nicole Wells, Romance Author, The Five Elements Series
"I just fell head over feels in love with Janus and Jo. This is the best debut romance I've ever read." - My Bookish Affair, Romance Book Blog
"This book was a delight." - L.H. Adamkiewicz, Creator of The Stephen King Writing Challenge
"Wow, that was amazing, the drama and the tension and the complete whirlwind of the book totally swept me away. Very, very good read!" - Alyssa Bartlett, Book blogger
"I barely even know how to send an email (lol). BUT-I loved ALL of it: the slow burn, the characters, the way the relationships developed." - Bookish in Town, Book Blog
From the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Chapter 27
I place my phone carefully beside me on the kitchen bench and blow out a drawn-out breath. The offer of food was a stroke of genius. I press my hand to my chest. Swivels winds around my ankles, mewing, so I reach out and grab a sachet from the cupboard.
My parents are lovely, but they've been here for five days now, visiting me and my brother—a teacher in a deprived area upstate—and we are getting on each other's last nerve. I understand that they have my best interests at heart, but they've nagged me from the minute they got here about how hard I work, how that's the reason I don't have a girlfriend, and I probably don't have a girlfriend because what sensible woman would want to spend time with a man who leaves his apartment in such a state? My mom is a DIY supremo, and, despite bending over backward to force her to relax, she has fixed all the dodgy drawers and dripping taps as well as installing a new control on the shower. My dad has cooked me some of the best meals I've had since living here. He's been waxing lyrical about how it's the most relaxing thing he's ever learned to do, and how this year he set himself an objective to learn how to make Indian food. My freezer is piled high with tubs of brown and yellow sauces.
When are they going to accept that I'm thirty-one, and they don't need to look after me anymore? The relief that they're off out for a day of exploring New York without me buzzes through my system. For once in a long-ass time I'm at home and I have a free day. And now I'm going to hang out with Jo. But hell, I don't want them to get any hint of a woman coming over—I straighten up— they must be out of here before Jo arrives.
"So, what's your plan for today?" My dad says, peering over his glasses at me as he sits at the granite kitchen counter eating his croissant. This question or a version of it got asked every weekend morning during my childhood over the breakfast table. Old habits die hard. I'm not sure if my parents grasp that I'm running a huge tech company; they seem to think they still have to chivy me into having a productive day. But something about this well-worn routine is like a pair of comfortable old shoes that I've slipped on after finding them at the back of the closet.
"A friend's dropping by and we're going to code together," I say.
This is good. It won't trip their radar. Ever since I got into computers when I was younger, someone has always been coming over to code.
"Sounds like fun, honey," my mom says absently as she peers into the dishwasher. "Hmm, funny smell in here." She wrinkles her nose as she straightens, and I can already see her cogs whirring about how to take it apart. "How do you know this guy?"
My heart sinks with this question. Now I'm stuck. Do I correct her?
"It's someone I work with," I say, neatly avoiding the gender problem without giving too much information. I blow out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
But my dad is clearly way too smart for that and snaps his paper before placing it down on the bench. Damn.
"And does this someone have a name?"
"Jo." I want to do a little victory moonwalk that Jo's name could actually be male or female.
"Well, that'll be lovely," my mom says, like she ever had any idea what coding involved. She never checked on us. Honestly, we could have been watching porn when we were younger, and she would have been none the wiser.
I start clearing away the dishes and sorting the kitchen, and my dad shuts the paper and moves over to one of the large gray sofas in the open-plan space. My heart sinks. This is a surefire sign he's settling in to read. Swivels reads it like a pro, too, jumping onto his lap and getting comfortable. My skin itches, and I wipe the countertop down to distract myself.
"Aren't you meant to be heading out?" I say, looking at my wrist and—damn—over twenty minutes have passed. I have no idea how long it will take Jo to get here. Perhaps I should meet her at a coffee shop and keep her out of my apartment?
My dad inspects me again over his glasses. "You keen to get rid of us or something?"
I don't like how assessing his stare is. He always had some sixth sense about my nervous ticks. I try and force myself to relax.
"No, just wanted you to make the most of the day." I keep my tone light, glancing out of the wall of windows that face 21st Street, blithely wiping down the bench again so I don't have to meet his piercing stare. He's one of the few people who can still make me feel like I'm sixteen again, waiting for my girlfriend to come over. Although, to be fair, that never actually happened to me because I was an uber-geek and girls went for the sporty, jock types.
"We should stay and meet this friend of yours," my mom says firmly as she settles on the sofa next to my dad, and I kick myself. I should have known—they are always mad keen to check out anyone I know.
"Excellent idea," my dad says, disappearing behind the paper. "Make me another coffee there, would you, Janus?"
"I'm not sure—" I start, but my mom flaps her hand at me.
"Don't be silly, Janus. It would be rude if we headed out before meeting this friend of yours."
"Well, not so much a friend as a colleague."
"From your company?" My dad's voice drifts out from where he's still buried behind his newspaper.
I've taken my parents into the business numerous times in the past, and we went in yesterday because I wanted them to see the offices we've moved into since they were last here. They enjoyed meeting everyone, and my mom told me it was, "all very nice," but my dad didn't say much, spending the entire time nodding and agreeing with my mother. This is nothing new: My whole life they've treated my achievements like this. I'm not sure why, but I have realized that they have no clue about what it takes to run a business like this. My dad's an anthropology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lives in the past; my mom works in a nonprofit. Their idea of something big is a trip to New York to see their sons. When I mentioned in passing that the traveling was getting me down a bit, my mom lectured me on "staying home more" and told me she "didn't understand why people wanted to go to all these foreign places." When I explained we were setting up offices in the Far East, she asked me if we "needed to do that." My dad coughs, and I'm pulled out of my reverie: His paper is down, and his eyebrows are raised. I realize there's no way I'm dodging this.
"Someone who's doing work for us. A contractor," I say, getting my head around his earlier question, although something feels off about calling Jo a subcontractor. I am probably never going to hear the end of "that nice girl" if they meet her.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the noise of the buzzer. Oh, f*ck. She's here.
About the Author
Welcome to my author page!
I worked for many years in the tech scene writing screeds of notes, the results of which you'll find in the Techboys series. The first novel of this series is The Refusal.
I love helping people escape their daily lives for a short while with the help of a steamy romance, some fun, strong women and gorgeous fictional boyfriends!
I am a Scottish author based in Edinburgh, and when I'm not reading or writing, I love running and can often be found in local cafes or out enjoying the beautiful wilderness of Scotland.
It's a joy when people reach out to me, so please feel free to contact me via my website evemriley.com or my Instagram page instagram.com/evemriley
Thanks so much for taking the time to visit!
