The heat · The Hartwell Group, Book 3
How spicy is Run of Show?
Open door and explicit. 4 scenes across 18 chapters, the first at chapter 8. Happy ever after, and it says so here rather than making you find out on the last page. Adults 18+.
The measurements
- Door
- Open — nothing fades out
- Scenes
- 4
- First scene
- Chapter 8 of 18
- Heat level
- 4 of 5, declared in the book’s outline
- Ending
- Happy ever after
- Reader age
- 18+
- Length
- 30,226 words · 18 chapters
Where the scenes fall
- 1
Plaza stage, hungry
Ch. 8Giving in without Tyler's permission
- 2
Post-gala balcony, urgent
Ch. 11Night manager almost walks in
- 3
Her apartment, angry/hers
Ch. 17She initiates; I love you in a room she owns
- 4
Garage after Hartwell dinner
Ch. 18She still shakes; he gives the phone back
From the book's outline, in the author's own words.
What Run of Show will not do.
Open door, explicit (4 intimate scenes). Power dynamic: equals — no workplace hierarchy, just emotional complications. The sex is warm, then angry, then hers — a contrast to Books 1 and 2. She stays a little furious.
The tropes, as the outline names them.
- Brother's Best Friend's Ex — taboo-adjacent
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Forbidden Love — the friend code
- Family Expectations / The "Spare"
- Slow Burn with a Satisfying Payoff
The line it opens on.
I am being paid to run the Hartwell Gala. I am not being paid to want Blake Hartwell in a room I have timed to the minute.
Asked and answered
Questions about the heat in Run of Show.
Is Run of Show spicy?
Yes. Open door and explicit. 4 scenes across 18 chapters, the first at chapter 8. Happy ever after, and it says so here rather than making you find out on the last page. Adults 18+.
What heat level is Run of Show?
4 out of 5, which is the level the book's own outline declares. For this imprint that means open door, explicit, and frequent enough that the heat carries plot.
How many spicy scenes are in Run of Show?
4, and the book's outline says where each one falls, from chapter 8 to chapter 18.
Does Run of Show fade to black?
No. Every scene is on the page. This is an open-door book and the heat is part of the story, not an appendix to it.
How does Run of Show end?
Happy ever after. Nothing is a cliffhanger and nothing carries into the next book — it is a standalone couple.
How old do you have to be to read Run of Show?
18+. The whole of chapter one is free to read on this site if you want to judge the register for yourself first.
What will Run of Show not do?
Open door, explicit (4 intimate scenes). Power dynamic: equals — no workplace hierarchy, just emotional complications. The sex is warm, then angry, then hers — a contrast to Books 1 and 2. She stays a little furious.
Where can I read some of Run of Show before buying?
The whole of chapter one is on this site, 1,760 words, with no email address asked for.