Review: Hard Sell – Hudson Lin

Review: Hard Sell – Hudson LinHard Sell
by Hudson Lin
Series: Jade Harbour Capital #1
Publisher: Carina Adores
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
Genres: Romance
Pages: 384
Source: NetGalley

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

My rating: One StarOne Star


One night wasn’t enough.

Danny Yip walks into every boardroom with a plan. His plan for struggling tech company WesTec is to acquire it, shut it down, and squeeze the last remaining revenue out of it for his Jade Harbour Capital portfolio. But he didn’t expect his best friend's younger brother—the hottest one-night stand he ever had—to be there.

Tobin Lok has always thought the world of Danny. He’s funny, warm, attractive—and totally out of Tobin’s league. Now, pitted against Danny at work, Tobin might finally get a chance to prove he’s more than just Wei’s little brother.

It takes a lot to get under Danny’s skin, but Tobin is all grown up in a way Danny can’t ignore. Now, with a promising patent on the line and the stakes higher than ever, all he can think about is getting Tobin back into his bed—and into his life for good.

If only explaining their relationship to Wei could be so easy…

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Content warnings: View Spoiler »

I was immediately sold when I saw there were two Asian men on the cover, and even more interested when I saw this was a best friend’s sibling book. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but my reaction to the book was, well, complicated.

“Yes, we’re both working with WesTec, and potentially at cross-purposes, but that doesn’t make us enemies or competitors.”
No, Tobin agreed. But what did it make them? Family friends? Childhood friends? Acquaintances? Former lovers? Maybe future lovers?”

Tobin’s had a crush on his older brother Wei’s best friend Danny since they were kids. Seven years ago, they had a one night stand at Wei’s bachelor party, but haven’t talked since. So it’s a big surprise to run into each other while they’re both evaluation WesTec – Tobin to help them determine how to remain solvent, and Danny as a representative of Jade Harbour Capital, who want to buy the company out. They reconnect and can’t deny that there’s still an attraction between them, but is a fling worth ruining both of their relationships with Wei?

“What happened to that guy who thrived on hard work, always looking for the next challenge, eager to conquer every mountain before him? When had he faded into this shell of a man who wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep?”

Both men were complicated individuals. Danny has a serious chip on his shoulder about wealth. He was raised by a single mother who worked hard to provide everything she could, but he lucked out by being best friends with Wei Lok, whose family was rich and basically considered him another son. He’s done everything he can to repay them (or at least everything they’ll let him do, which isn’t much), and he enjoys the finer things in life. The rat race is never-ending, though, and Danny’s frankly burned out by his job, tired of the long hours and constant travel required. But besides work, what else does Danny have? In contrast with Danny, Tobin grew up with all the advantages, but he’s chosen to go it on his own, refusing his family’s help. He’s always been treated as the baby of the family, especially by Wei, and it seems the majority of his decisions are to reinforce that he’s an adult.

“It was probably the hottest sex they’d ever had. It was definitely the worst idea Tobin had had in a long time.”

Their relationship has several complications, both internal and external. First, of course, is the best friend’s sibling trope. Danny still thinks of himself as unworthy of the Lok’s status, that they would be upset if they knew he and Tobin were together. They both worry that their relationship will impact each of their relationships with Wei. There’s also Danny’s workaholism (even on “vacation,” he’s spending hours working) and the fact that they live on opposite sides of the country. Danny’s obsession with work – and how he downplays it – is almost infantilizing to Tobin, and it takes a lot of time working on their communication before they get their HEA.

“If he came between them, if their friendship ended because of him, even for as ridiculous a reason as Wei’s misplaced guilt, Tobin wasn’t sure he could live that down.”

Wei’s relationship with both Danny (who lives near him and frequently babysits his twins) and Tobin was, well, also complicated (I swear this is the last time I’ll use that word in this review). I was initially frustrated by his reaction to Danny and Tobin’s relationship, but liked the way he owned up to being in the wrong. What little we see of the Lok family in general seemed wonderful, and I would’ve honestly liked to see more of them on the page. It was nice, comforting found-family vibe, very much in contrast with Tobin and his roommate and Danny’s relationship with, uh, everyone.

“This week was supposed to be a fun getaway with his hot lover. And now suddenly, there’s a greedy ex-wife and possibly trafficked sex workers, and everyone seemed to be okay with it, except him.”

And now for the negative. There were a lot of content warnings I wasn’t expecting. At one point, both MCs find out that a private investigator took photos of someone they’re working with in flagrante delicto with someone who “could be very young-looking eighteen-year-olds.” While both separately realize they should report it to the police, they… don’t? Instead they (and the ex-wife) intend to use it as leverage to get him to sell the company. I’m honestly not sure what the point of including this was – the character involved was already plenty skeevy without that additional complication. There’s smaller things that really rubbed me wrong as well. Tobin makes several derogatory comments about his roommate’s girlfriend, calling her a dyke and a bleeding heart liberal for raising questions about how Danny earns his money (and capitalism in general). It was weird and gross and I have no idea why it was there, either.

Overall, while I enjoyed the book – I do love messy characters – the content greatly affected my enjoyment of it, and I’m not sure whether I’ll continue with the series.

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