By a Thread: A Grumpy Boss Romantic Comedy

This is a tale of loathing at first sight. When Dominick walks into a restaurant with his mother for lunch and meets Ally, the pair are arguing with one another in a matter of seconds. His arrogance and her strong will combust into an encounter that leaves Ally suddenly unemployed. Finding Ally licking her wounds at the bus stop, Dominick’s mother takes pity upon her and offers her a job. The only catch? The man who just got her fired will now be her new boss.I read this because of a recommendation on BookTok, and honestly was not expecting very much from it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a five star read for me. I am a sucker for witty banter between characters, and this book had that in spades. The chemistry between the FMC and MMC was palpable, and their slow burn, tension filled relationship was both angsty and heartwarming.One of the things that I loved the most about this book was the diverse collection of accompanying characters within it. Each of them brought their own earnestness to the action, and it really added to the feeling of found family that you get while reading what happens to them.If you like slow-burn, grumpy sunshine, or workplace romances, then you should definitely read this book. It was fun, spicy, and filled with love.

Liked the characters, liked the story. You could feel the tension of being on a shoot, how fast paced it was, office politics. By a Thread was funny, touching, romantic and rip-roarin'.

You know how I found this book? A screen shot of a one-star review posted in a book rec Facebook group.The reader who shared the SS said the review made her giggle (reviewer's name was blocked out from what I remember) and instantly one-click. Evidently, the reviewer thought this book would've been a perfect 5-star had it not been for the copious amounts of explicit smut. 🤭👀 👀 👀 👀To each their own and all that, but I meannnn...did someone say COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF EXPLICIT SMUT?I ran and one-clicked, too. 🤣 **shrugs**Unfortunately for me, the book then sat on my Kindle for several weeks while I raced through one of my own deadlines. BUT I finally got to it, and sweet baby Jesus—or cheeses as Ally would say—I must now read everything Lucy Score has ever written. When I tell you I was blown away—I was blown tf away. The writing style is absolutely immaculate. It flows and it's just so easy to read and follow. Miss Score is hella talented and I cannot wait to devour her backlist! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Okay, okay, I'm done rambling and singing my praises. 😅 Onto the story!"I knew many things in that moment. I didn't like her. I didn't want to like her. I had no intention of treating her as anything but an annoyance. Yet non of that quelled my desire to be near her."We all have a favorite trope, right? Mine will always and forever be enemies to lovers. The angst, the tension, the "I hate your guts but I wanna get IN your guts" is IT for me. I adore it. 😍 By a Thread was a perfect contemporary rom-comish version of it. I don't know if Lucy intended to make this a rom-com, but I lost count of how many times I literally cackled out loud. The beginning with the pepperonis had me on the floor. The banter between Ally and Dom was just 💋🤌🏻 Their chemistry—even during the hating phase—was 🔥 And when they finally got together? Oh, honey...I was swooooooning."Was grumpy and rude suddenly the new hot? My v*gina seemed to think so."Ally is my kinda girl and the type of FMC I LIVE to read about in an E2L. She's not a doormat by any means, thank feck for that! She takes absolutely no shiz, isn't afraid/doesn't cower from Dominic, and...AND she's thick and curvy. 😩 YAS QUEEN. Plus, the last name Morales hints to the fact she's Latina and, helloooo, ya girl is Latina sooo... ✊🏻 #representationmattersOh, yeah, and she's a graphic designer (another thing I have in common with her, so more bonus points there.) I also loved the fact that, despite everything terrible going on her life, she chooses to the glass half full and believes things will get better. Not in a naive way, just in a refreshing optimistic way. She's literally sunshine and fire, and I just adored her from head to freaking toe.Now Dominic... Dominic-freaking-Russo... The man is one delicious alphahole, I'll tell you that. But there were several occasions where I found myself wanting to strangle him—and no, not in the good way. 😒 The man is fecked up. He's been let down by his father and used by women in the past. He's got baggage, ya know? But he literally hauls that baggage around everywhere and uses it as a shield, keeping people away at all costs. I get wanting to guard your heart and spare yourself disappointment, but at some point, you gotta man tf up and realize that baggage doesn't make you. Watching him unravel for Ally, though, was a beautiful sight 😏 and in the end, he proved himself—and proved he had a huge, generous heart—which is all we can ask for in the MMC."I was the beast to my mother's beauty. The monster to the heroine. When they looked at me, they saw my father."Some of my favorite background characters include Dom's mom (who had a very unique name), Gola, Linus, Ruth, and Missie. I liked Faith, too, but she wasn't around enough for me to really get to know her, which I did find a little odd since she's supposed to be Ally's best friend. In any case, I enjoyed something from each of these characters. They added that extra oomph to the plot with their presence and witty commentary.Overall, I fell head over heels for this book and these characters. I loved the fashion magazine part of the plot (had never read anything like that before) and the circumstances that led Ally to working there. As aforementioned the funny bits made me literally LOL, the angsty "I hate you" moments had me clapping excitedly in anticipation, the swoony moments were everything, and the smut...🥵 it was explicit but not erotica level, though there were quite a few scenes, so it was spicy enough for me. Now I will say, the last 20% had me stressed, and I do mean S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D. In the end, it all worked out obviously, but omg I was having a mini-panic attack. And the ending 😭💖 gahhh, I loved it so much! Charming and Maleficent forever! 💞"This moment of heaven was worth a lifetime of misery."If you're looking for a contemporary E2L with a rom-com feel, you need this book in your life! 🥰Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Spice: 🌶🌶🌶Drama: 🔥Dark/possibly triggering content: None

This book is not at all what I expected, but Mr. Grumpy McGrump certainly lives up to his reputation. With this wordsmith's books, I usually anticipate a light-hearted romantic comedy with a good-guy hero and a feisty heroine, and this book is light years beyond that.Dominic Russo (the aforementioned Mr. McGrump) is a wealthy, cold, heartless anti-hero; Ally Morales is a driven, big-hearted heroine with the weight of the world on her shoulders and barely two nickels to rub together, and their story is incredible!Ally has four different jobs, trying to make ends meet and take care of her father. Until a horrible patron decides to get her fired for standing up to him and putting him in his place. His mother/dining companion wastes no time in offering Ally a job at the Russo's fashion magazine empire, Label. (Wait, whose side is Dalessandra Russo on?!)Ally is the gal who, like the theme song of an old sitcom, turns the world on with her smile. She quickly develops friends at Label and an easy camaraderie with the other employees. She's loveable, loyal and fierce, and she gives as good as she gets. And Dominic? He's the one all the girls love to look at, but the one who strikes fear in the heart of every employee. But he's a bit of a mystery, the man with no heart who anonymously helps others in need.Dom and Ally remind me of a push-me-pull-you, two stubborn, independent minds with conflicting ideas and personalities, but basically joined at the hip. The push and pull, the snarky banter, the tension between them, are exquisite. Torturous. Divine. Utter perfection. They drive this book and made my heart race and squeeze with the starts and stops.The one thing they have in common is an inability to trust. There's also their incredible attraction which both resolve to do nothing about. This is the part where I grin maniacally and rub my hands together in glee. We all know they don’t stand a chance of sticking to their resolve, and their journey to forever just got a lot more interesting.This book is filled with laugh-out-loud hilarity, I’m-standing-way-to-close-to-the-bonfire steam, and heartstrings being manipulated to play the most delightful symphony. Dom’s past hurts, wrongs he's trying to right, and his vulnerability will make you want to hug him (between the times you want to shake him) and Ally's grit and determination while hanging on by a thread to barely get by will make you stand up and cheer for her.Ally and Dom's story is love-hate romance at its finest, and the story will enamor you from the first page. It's a story that‘s impossible to put down with characters who will own your heart. Get your copy of this book and fall in love with a cranky, heartless, generous, vulnerable hero and his amazing, admirable heroine. You absolutely don’t want to miss this enchanting, hilarious, heartfelt, extraordinary read!

Absolutely loved this story of Dom and Ally. Everything about it was fun to read. Their banter with how they met and how that meeting changed both of their lives. It was beyond funny in parts and in other parts made me emotional. Ally’s life and what kept her going really hit me in the heart.Her relationship with her father or at least her memories of who her father was I loved. I really felt it and it really hit me in understanding how Ally was feeling about losing her dad to Alzheimer’s. It really made me love and connect to her more. Dom, even though he seemed to portray this cold grumpy a$$hole, he really wasn’t at all. He was just a man who still was that boy trying to be better than his own father.The tension was hot and Dom a lot of times was simply adorable to me. How he admits that his want for her is breaking him. Her wanting him but fighting it. Their back and fourth and witnessing their relationship grow to love before they did I loved the most. The groveling was top tier in any romance book I’ve read. He messes up but he worked hard to win he back.Both of them are stubborn and Ally is a strong and fierce woman. I loved that she was 39 and he was 44 and how their age was played out. The pulled hamstring muscle and need to hydrate and everything made me love those moments even more than the steam. It felt real. I e if my fave reads of this year so far

If you're looking for a book that is funny, spicy and have great banter, please, read this.Ally and Dominic have so much chemistry. The grump MMC, who has a soft spot for the FMC.

Great read! I loved the story and the depth of the characters. This is my 4th read by this author and she doesn’t dissapoint.

es/ Entre mis mejores lecturas del año se encuentra By a Thread de Lucy Score. Ya había leído a la autora con things We Never Got Over, pero este lo disfruté mucho más 💗💗enemies to lovers💗romance de oficina💗grumpy/sunshine💗jefe/empleada💗Dominic y Ally me encantaron, tanto como personajes individuales como pareja. Dominic es un gruñón a toda regla, pero tiene sus momentos adorables y me encantó todos los detalles que tenía con Ally sin decírselo. Ally es una luchadora, no sé cuántos trabajos tiene al principio del libro la pobre, pero siempre se mantiene positiva.Las interacciones entre los dos eran oro puro y LA TENSIÓN!!! En un punto ya estaba yo sudando y gritándoles que se comieran la boca porque no podía más. El buen slow burn 😌En fin, lo mega recomiendo. No está en español, pero el inglés es asequible.

This was great!A perfect romance book with "The devil wears prada" vibes and a combination of grumpy x sunshine, boss romance and haters to loversDefinitely not my last Lucy Score book