Jared Stone just got himself in serious hot water. The CEO of Stone Enterprise, after a night out, penned a manifesto meant as a private joke between friends. However the following day, on what had seemed a perfect morning, Jared's misogynistic rant has popped up all over the internet and women the world over now hate him.

When Bailey St. James hears about it, she is livid. She has been working for Jared for 3 years, but now she understands why he has not promoted her to VP. She thought it was because of their conflicting personalities, but now it seems obvious it's only because he despises women, period. To think she had found him appealing when she first started working for him!

Jared's PR team hurries to do damage control; they suggest he promote Bailey to Marketing VP; Jared is the only one who thinks she isn't ready for the job, but he has no choice. Bailey goes to Jared's office to hand in her resignation letter, but to her astonishment, Jared tells her she's been promoted. Since the reason is evident, she demands that her salary be doubled and that she be made Marketing Chief Officer. Jared reluctantly complies as they have to get ready to fly to France for a presentation that could be Stone Enterprise's biggest deal ever.

I thought the premise for THE MAGNATE'S MANIFESTO sounded interesting, and I was curious how Ms. Hayward would handle the controversial issue; I'm happy to say the author succeeded, and with a lot of flair. THE MAGNATE'S MANIFESTO is not a story of revenge, but of business- driven people finding balance in their life. I was impressed with how well the author conveys the atmosphere of the corporate world, and how Jared and Bailey truly belong to that world; they are driven, and that is what makes them act the way they do, down to the mistakes they make.

The characters are much more complex than I ever would have imagined, given it's a romance: Bailey and Jared have a genuine love-hate relationship, which is not in the least contrived. Jared has his reasons for his cynical approach to women, and Bailey behaves like the professional that she is when faced with an explosive situation: we feel her rage and outrage, as well as her misgivings regarding her promotion, but we understand why she accepts the challenge: she comes from a very modest background and she aims to succeed, although not at any cost.

THE MAGNATE'S MANIFESTO is extremely well written, the dialogues realistic, and the relationship between Jared and Bailey is fascinating, and here is a rather unexpected turn of events that comes as a brutal shock for both Jared and Bailey that gives a very interesting spin to the narrative. I must admit I was a bit perplexed at Bailey's sexual history; given her age, looks and work environment, it seems a tad improbable. THE MAGNATE'S MANIFESTO is a very compelling read, and I'm looking forward to read more of Hayward's books in the future.