When you’re hearing voices in a lift, it cannot be real, right?

Synopsis

FLOORED is a charming romantic comedy guaranteed to give you a lift.

Hannah and Drew work in the same office.

Hannah and Drew use the same elevator.

Hannah and Drew aren’t looking for love.

They haven’t even met.

Yet something is happening…

Amiable TV production accountant Drew has turned his back on love after the death of his fiancée, an incident which cemented his longstanding elevatophobia. When Drew moves towns and jobs for a fresh start, he hears a voice in the office lift telling him to “be careful”.

Is it his fevered imagination, the ghost of his fiancée, or someone playing a cruel prank? Quickly, he becomes desperate, foolish… and unexpectedly smitten.

Sweet and sassy Hannah wouldn’t mind finding love, but keeps choosing the wrong boyfriends. Her innate social anxiety, deepened by bad experiences with a preying boss, is a huge barrier to dating anyone new.

Yet, to expose her boss’ antics, she needs to be lucky as well as smart. However, talking to a sweet but hapless co-worker isn’t the answer… is it? After all, she could never imagine meeting him in person.

When Drew discovers the adorable girl behind the voice, a relationship blossoms alongside a shared determination to bring justice to their workplace, risking everything.

Will their daring plan succeed or will it jeopardize the happiness they’ve found with each other?

This wonderful, laugh-out-loud, will-they-won’t-they romcom is perfect for those who loved Beth O’Leary’s “The Flatshare”, Laura Jane Williams’ “Our Stop”, or Sally Thorne’s “The Hating Game”.

Praise for Floored:

“This book of yours is fantastic! It’s so well written, witty, funny, and the story kept me wanting to know more every single minute. I absolutely love the dynamics of Drew and Hannah’s relationship… and all the other character dynamics too. It’s such a well thought-out plot and I love how everything falls into place at the end.” – Editor

“I’ve just finished reading Floored and absolutely loved it. I loved the relationship between Drew and Hannah as they both overcame their (realistic) problems. The comedy throughout was fantastic, I don’t think there was a second that I didn’t have a smile on my face when reading. It’s a great romance, with lots of extra strands to it to keep the reader entertained and excited.”- Reader

My review

Drew in a TV production accountant who does not do dating. Because after losing his fiancée, there cannot be anyone after her. He is not only scared (or scarred…) by love, but he is also resolute to never step into a lift, even if that means to take the steps to the floor to do his job. Yet when one day he has no other choice to take the lift, after excruciating terrors, he gets the shock of his life, as he hears a voice in that same lift telling him to be careful…
Is someone pranking him? Is Drew losing his mind? Or is it the voice of his fiancée he hears?
But it’s not a standalone incident, as Drew realizes that there is in fact a voice in the lift. A voice that belongs to Hannah, who is determined to expose her boss’ inappropriate behaviour. And that is why she has come up with a smart plan. Yet she didn’t expect to like talking to her co – worker through the lift…
But no matter how much she enjoys ‘their time together’, her history of wrong boyfriends and her anxiety will make sure that Hannah will never find the courage to meet in real life. Or could she?

When I started reading this book, I could partially understand Drew’s reservations towards lifts. I am not a real fan of it either, but when there are more than two floors to go to, I take the lift, otherwise, steps it is!
But wouldn’t it be terrifying if suddenly you hear a voice? If that isn’t something fitting for a horror movie or book, I don’t know what else would be! 😊

What I liked about this book, was how two people, with their own serious amount of issues, find each other and like each other without even having seen each other. Their liking is purely based on the sound of their voices and the conversations they have. And it has nothing to do with the way they look.
And that was so beautiful to see, how they connect in perhaps a weird way, but a way that is just so fitting for the both of them.

Yet I have to admit, it was a bit weird seeing Drew getting closer to ‘Elle’. It was at a point even a bit cringeworthy, seeing  an adult man seeing like that, while he knows that it isn’t the lift itself talking, yet he seems to lose all common sense…
Luckily that common sense returns and we see Drew acting all normal again.

My heart broke a little bit getting to know both Drew and Hannah better.
Drew is still afraid of dating, after losing his fiancée in an accident. For him, she was endgame and while I understood that nothing could ever compare to her, it was sad to see how just Drew stopped living at all…
He is being teased by his colleague/friend about his no – longer – existing love life, but it was sweet to see how that same teasing friend is there for him when seriousness is required.

And then Hannah… she is so sarcastic, every time she opened her mouth, I wanted to know what would come out now!
Her attitude was so in contrast with her anxiety… because I know for sure that if Hannah were a real person, she would be my best friend! 😊

Hannah and Drew are very different kind of people. Yet it’s their differences that make it that they are perfect for each other.
It’s also them being “different” from others that they understand each better than anyone else ever could.
Of course as they both have to find the courage to let go of their fears and doubts, it is not a head – over – heels – in – love romance. But seeing how slowly the high walls are broken down, was so sweet. We see tons of patience in this book, a lot of understanding and yes also a few mistakes being made. But all that is just natural!

This was a lovely story to read, showing us that each and every one of us has struggles in life, perhaps not as big as the both main characters do. But it takes the right person to find to take that daring step into the deep to let love do what it does best…