Review: 'I'm Your Man' by Joanne Rawson (2014)

Ruth Jones loves her boyfriend Justin. He is handsome, has a killer body, and the sex is awesome. He does have one major fault though. He travels so much with work that she only gets to see him once or twice a week, and that is his reasoning for always wanting to . . . stay in. At first she’s happy that he only wants to be with her, but over time, his habit of jibbing out at the last minute for every family occasion, work function, or any bloody occasion that involves socialising, really does her head in. All she wants, for goodness sake, is for people to get to know her boyfriend. Okay, so she wants them to see she has a hunk of a boyfriend, but is that so wrong?
When Ruth wakes up in a hotel room one morning suffering from a major hangover, she tries to piece the events of the previous night together. Feeling let down by yet another no-show by Justin at a work function, she headed to the bar and ordered a drink. The last thing she remembers is sitting next to an average-looking guy with a nice accent and large hands, and wondering just what those hands could do given half the chance. When the bathroom door opens and Mr. Average walks out, she realises that at the ripe old age of thirty-three, Ruth Jones has experienced her first one-night stand.
A one-night stand that is about to send her world into utter turmoil.
In October 2014, Joanne Rawson’s novella ‘I’m Your Man’ was released by Australian publisher Bottom Drawer Publications. I wasn’t familiar with the author before I was contacted by Bottom Drawer Publications about possibly reviewing ‘I’m Your Man’ for my blog. I looked up some information on the Internet and noticed that during the past two years, Joanne Rawson has released quite a number of romance stories and I have to say I was quite curious to check out one of her works myself! I love having a few novellas ready to pick up whenever I have some extra time for a quick read while I’m on the train or have some spare time, so I looked forward to reading ‘I’m Your Man’!
Thirty-something Ruth Jones has a job she loves, great friends, and a guy she's crazy about. However, while Ruth really likes Justin, it becomes clear to her he isn't quite willing to commit to their relationship in the same way she is. None of her family members have ever met him, and whenever they are invited to a social event he finds an excuse to be somewhere else. One evening after a few drinks too many, Ruth ends up in bed with a complete stranger, which is something she never expected she would do. It is her first one-night-stand, and while the initial plan is to walk away with her head held high and never mention it to anyone, most particularly Justin, things don’t quite work out the way Ruth has planned. Especially since her one-night-stand, New Yorker Danny, has quite something else in mind…
‘I’m Your Man’ turned out to be just what I hope for in a novella; a thoroughly entertaining and quick read. The storyline was a lot of fun, the characters were great, and the story was quite quick-paced resulting in me finishing it in one sitting. I easily warmed to Ruth and I think numerous female readers will be able to relate to her and the situation she finds herself in: being crazy about a guy who isn’t willing to commit. There’s also a fun cast of supporting characters, such as Ruth’s friends and her one-night-stand, Danny. 
I personally enjoyed Joanne Rawson’s writing style; it was fast-paced, comfortable and funny in the right places. Enough details were given, especially for a novella where there usually is simply not enough space to really go into character’s backgrounds in lots of detail. I would definitely love to read more about these characters, so wouldn’t mind if the author decided to turn this into a full-length novel or write a sequel! Overall, ‘I’m your Man’ is a fun, entertaining and quick-paced contemporary romance read which I really enjoyed, and I look forward to reading more of Joanne Rawson’s work in the future!

Rating:8/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.