seriously romantic: claiming the enemy by lauren hawkeye

the title for claiming the enemy is a bit misleading, since i'm not sure that doctors piper dawson and alexander "ace" lennox can be described as enemies. she's a resident at hampton bay hospital and he is her attending physician, her boss. after a childhood spent bouncing around foster homes, piper can't help being a people pleaser. she likes to be liked. she actually kind of needs it, craves it, because that's what a childhood filled with rejection does to you. and ace has put up walls around himself to avoid getting involved with anyone since his wife died, and doesn't appreciate piper's attempts to break down those walls even if all she is doing is fostering a friendly work environment.

it's too bad that the short length of the novel doesn't really delve more into piper's psyche. ace notes her sapphire-streaked hair and tattoos, and he also notices that at times she doesn't feel comfortable in her own skin, but instead of developing this further the author focuses on the chemistry between the two leads.

ace's own trauma of losing his first wife to a drunk driver is only slightly more developed than piper's past. it would have been nice to know whether or not ace's dominant side had always been in play or it had been something that grew out of his need for control after his wife's death. on the flipside, ace's dominant nature led to some pretty steamy scenes. once piper and ace give into their passion, it's pretty much impossible for them to keep their clothes on around each other.

there is some token complication about the relationship being forbidden due to hospital policies, but that is wrapped up tidily and somewhat hilariously in a scene where their supervisor is like "um, who didn't know you two were hot for each other?" if you are looking for a short, steamy read with a happy ending, you needn't look further.

**claiming the enemy will publish on september 12, 2016. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (brazen) in exchange for my honest review.