Series: Billionaires and Bridesmaids

Guest Review: Billionaire on the Loose by Jessica Clare

Posted September 29, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Billionaire on the Loose by Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
Billionaire on the Loose by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaires and Bridesmaids #5
Also in this series: The Billionaire and the Virgin, The Taming of the Billionaire, The Billionaire Takes a Bride, The Billionaire's Favorite Mistake
Publisher: Intermix
Publication Date: September 20th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Taylor is a genius when it comes to computers, but understanding the opposite sex is beyond her. Because she always fumbles her flirtations, she needs help in finding her Prince Charming. So when her friend, Gretchen, sets her up as a tour guide for a new guy in town, she says yes despite her misgivings.

She just doesn’t expect Mr. Charming to actually be royalty...

A faction in his country wants him to be king, but Loch has no intention of taking the crown. To keep from being named as the next successor, he hatches a scheme to marry a totally unacceptable American woman. Quirky Taylor seems like the perfect person for the job, until Loch realizes he likes more about her than her ability to keep him off the throne.

When Loch’s secret schemes come out, his chance of happiness with Taylor are blown—unless he can find a way to get the nerdy object of his affection to believe she’s truly the queen of his heart...

Taylor is a klutz.  She is a wiz kid when it comes to computers but out in real life she doesn’t do so well.  She spends most of her time playing an online game and working her tech support job from home.  When her friend Gretchen asks her to come out of her hole to show someone around she has no idea what she’s in for.

Loch is something like 5th in line to the throne of Bellissime.  Now that his cousin Alex has married an American (His Royal Princess) there are some factions in Bellissime that want to get Loch onto the throne instead of Alex.  He doesn’t want to be on the throne any more than the current queen wants him on the throne.  They decide to send Loch to America – supposedly for vacation – to get him out of the Bellissime public eye.  Once things have calmed down he can go home – but they’re thinking it will be a year or two.  Loch agrees but he’s certainly not happy about being away from his friends and homeland for that long.

Loch arrives in America and is bored silly.  He misses his drinking in the pub with his friends after a rousing polo match and he has nothing to do.  When he meets Taylor he’s surprised at how attracted to her he is as she’s not his type – and is a total klutz.  They spend the day together and have a great time – ending up in Taylor’s bed.  Loch really likes this girl but all of his attempts to get back together with her are thwarted by Taylor’s schedule.  He’s incredibly bored and just wants to go home to Bellissime.

Taylor really likes Loch as well but besides her game and work there’s another reason she’s not answering his calls.  She’s being emotionally blackmailed by a guy who plays her online game with her.  She keeps telling him she’s only his friend but he is needy and is pretty much cyber-stalking her.  He texts her constantly and threatens suicide when she doesn’t play or respond. She finally spends some time with Loch and finds herself falling in love with him. When Loch devises a plan to get back to Bellissime by marrying Taylor – a totally unsuitable American which will keep people from wanting him on the throne – he doesn’t bother telling Taylor what he’s doing.  She agrees and thinks he as in love with her as she is with him.  When she finds out the truth, however, Loch has a few lessons that he’ll learn whether he want to or not.

Billionaire on the Loose is a completely apt title for this book.  Loch is a wild card and has no idea of how real people live.  He’s wealthy and has servants to do things for him – he plays polo and drinks and generally has a good time.  There are people to do things for him so why do them himself?  When he gets to America to say he was adrift would be an understatement.  The guy wakes Taylor up after what’s supposed to be a one-night stand with her and asks her to make him breakfast.  In fact, I don’t think he actually asked – just said something to the effect of I want you to make me breakfast.  WTF?  Lol (FYI she didn’t) Luckily for Taylor (and the rest of us) he soon started doing things for himself.  I loved him most at the end of the book, however, as he finally figured his shit out and it changed his life.

Taylor was a good person.  She was just a computer nerd who had a degree that she really wasn’t using to its full advantage.  She loved playing her online game but when Sigmund started blackmailing her emotionally she felt she couldn’t quit.  Having Loch in her life really made her see a different side of herself and one she really liked.  Of course she was thoroughly hurt when she found out about Loch’s plan to marry her because she was unsuitable but in the end it worked out for her.  I loved her strength in the face of adversity.  I loved her quirkiness, her Dr. Who scarf that she wore even in warm weather, her Hello Kitty backpack that she carried instead of a purse – I just thought she was great.

Overall this was an adorable romance that made me smile – and it probably will do the same for you.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: The Billionaire’s Favorite Mistake by Jessica Clare

Posted June 22, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: The Billionaire’s Favorite Mistake by Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
The Billionaire's Favorite Mistake by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaires and Bridesmaids #4
Also in this series: The Billionaire and the Virgin, The Taming of the Billionaire, The Billionaire Takes a Bride, Billionaire on the Loose
Publisher: Intermix
Publication Date: June 21st 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Greer has always been there for Asher, but she wishes she could break through her shyness and show how much she truly loves him. But after a steamy, mindless fling at Hunter and Gretchen’s engagement party, Greer finds herself tossed aside and forced to admit that you can’t love someone who doesn’t acknowledge you exist.

It’s a shame he got her pregnant.

After his fiancée betrayed him and tanked his business in one fell swoop, Asher has spent his time trying to rebuild his wealth and forget the past. But he doesn’t understand why Greer blew him off after their night together—until he catches a glimpse of her belly.

Now Asher is willing to do whatever it takes to convince Greer she belongs with him. And he’s very skilled at the art of persuasion.

Greer has been in love with Asher for many years.  She wants him to finally notice her as a woman rather than just a friend.  She completely works herself over and then heads to a costume party at their friends’ house.  By the time Greer arrives Asher is three sheets to the wind but she ends up going along with his suggestions anyway and then ends up sleeping with him in the middle of the garden on a bench.  And it’s the worst sex ever.  She’s a virgin and even she knows it’s the worst sex ever.  She’s pissed at Asher beyond belief and ends up blocking his number when he keeps trying to get in touch with her to apologize.  When she finds out she’s pregnant she’s even more pissed but determined to be the most wonderful mother ever.

Greer’s father is kind of like a fictional Hugh Hefner.  He runs a girly magazine, lives in a humongous house and has three girlfriends – triplets no less.  Stijn, Greer’s dad, was never attentive and really didn’t want Greer at all or even to have her around, but when her mother died he took Greer in just to make himself look like a compassionate guy.  Yeah, right.  Despite all of this Greer still finds that she wants to make him proud of her.  She heads to Vegas at his request to plan a party for him as he will be getting an award.

The party goes off without a hitch but Greer is shocked when she sees Asher there.  He’s actually a stockholder in her father’s company and that’s why he’s attending.  He guesses about Greer’s pregnancy but she informs him he’ll have nothing to do with the baby.  Asher knows he’ll have to win Greer back so he forms a plan that involves them kissing and more as well as Greer planning a wedding for her father to one of the triplets but even they don’t know who the lucky bride will be.

There were many things to like about this book.  I loved Asher’s determination to get Greer back after he screwed up their friendship and I was happy that he wanted her back as more than a friend and he finally realized his love for her.  He wasn’t truly a bad guy, he’d just had some hard knocks and had turned to alcohol to solve his problems.  We all know that never works in real life and it didn’t work in this book either.

Greer was a good woman who had had a pretty emotionless upbringing.  Her mother loved her to pieces but had turned to porn and drugs after she was turned out by Stijn and eventually OD’d when Greer was eight years old.  I can understand her having no faith in men being good fathers because of her upbringing.  This, however, did not apply to Asher and it took her way longer to see it than it should have.

My biggest issue with this book was Greer’s, imho, overblown and ridiculous anger toward Asher after their night at the party.  Yes, it was awful, HE WAS DRUNK.  She knew he was drunk and still went along with everything he tried and suggested and didn’t try to stop him or even suggest a condom.  I could understand her anger at first but to hold on to it for so long was too much.  She knew Asher and yes she had her feelings hurt but it seemed to me that she should have known him well enough to realize that that wasn’t him she slept with – it was the alcohol.  IDK, her attitude just irked me throughout the book.  I was happy when she finally forgave him and saw through his “kissing lessons” scheme – it just took way too long.

Overall it was a cute story and I enjoyed it.  Secondary characters (Stijn and his triplets as well as Gretchen) played a big role in this story and that made it all work well.  A good addition to the series.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: The Billionaire Takes a Bride by Jessica Clare

Posted November 18, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: The Billionaire Takes a Bride by Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
The Billionaire Takes a BrideSeries: Billionaires and Bridesmaids #3
Also in this series: The Billionaire and the Virgin, The Taming of the Billionaire, The Billionaire's Favorite Mistake, Billionaire on the Loose

Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Billionaire Sebastian Cabral loves his family, he just doesn’t love their reality TV show, The Cabral Empire. So when his ex-girlfriend tries to rekindle their relationship on camera, Sebastian decides that drastic measures are in order.

By day, Chelsea Hall is a happy-go-lucky, rough and tumble roller derby skater. By night, she’s still living in fear of her past. Most of all, she just doesn’t want to be alone. And she really, really doesn’t want to date.

So when their mutual friends’ upcoming wedding turns Chelsea and Sebastian into fast friends, they realize they can solve both of their problems with one life-changing lie: a quick trip down the aisle.

But with one kiss, Chelsea and Sebastian suddenly realize that their pretend relationship is more real than either of them expected…

Sebastian Cabral loves his family but really wants nothing too much to do with them at the moment. For the past couple of years his family has been the focus of a reality tv series and he’s staying as far out of that as possible. He realizes he needs to do something more than just stay away when he finds out that an old flame is back on the show and the producers plan on getting them back together – which is a big NO on his part.

Chelsea is a woman who makes soaps for a living but also is a roller derby girl. She loves roller derby but is shy to tell people about it because most men seem to think that means she’s a stripper. A few years ago Chelsea was roofied then raped and she’s had some serious issues since then. Roller derby makes her feel touch and she loves that feeling over the meek and mild one she feels when she’s off her skates.

Chelsea and Sebastian meet at a dinner party that their friends Gretchen and Hunter are having for their wedding party and they realize that everyone is hooking up. They decide that if they act like they’re hooked up than everyone else will leave them alone. It works too!

The lives of the two change when Chelsea’s roommate gets a job in Austin and moves out then Sebastian’s mother and his ex, Lisa, make their move and Sebastian gets the idea that if he marries Chelsea she’ll be safe and he will be able to get Lisa and his mom off his back. She agrees but what starts as a total marriage of convenience quickly turns to much, much more.

This was a wonderful marriage of convenience love story. I loved both Chelsea and Sebastian and together they were a pretty fun-loving couple. Yes, Chelsea had her hang-ups about several different things and quite frankly needed some serious therapy but I thought that the way she and Sebastian worked them out between them worked for them and it made the story good.

The Cabral family – all but the dad – were pieces of work. My heavens if I had a family like that I might actually move as far away in the world as I could get and cut off all communications. Geez they were intense! But despite their utter craziness Sebastian loved them and I was actually happy to see he didn’t run the other way as it proved his strong feelings for them and what a good man he was.

I do wish that we could have gotten to know Sebastian a little better.  We got to see him with his family a time or two and then with his art which was a huge part of him but other than that I really knew nothing about him.

Overall I found this to be a sweet love story and I loved the roller derby aspect of it as it added a great dimension to the story.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: The Taming of the Billionaire by Jessica Clare

Posted July 24, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: The Taming of the Billionaire by Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
The Taming of the Billionaire by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaires and Bridesmaids #2
Also in this series: The Billionaire and the Virgin, The Billionaire Takes a Bride, The Billionaire's Favorite Mistake, Billionaire on the Loose
Publisher: Intermix
Publication Date: July 1, 2015
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Edie’s an overbearing cat behaviorist who’s not big on people. Magnus is a newly-rich game developer who likes to be in control. When the two of them meet at Gretchen and Hunter’s masquerade engagement party, the loathing is mutual. Unfortunately for them—and everyone else—they’re in the wedding party together and must deal with each other for the next few months.

But when Magnus’s younger brother falls for Edie’s sister, he begs for his brother’s help in concocting a plan to win her over. If Magnus can keep the prickly Edie occupied, his brother will have time to woo Edie’s sister. Of course, Magnus isn’t interested in the slightest, but Edie is…intriguing. And stubborn. And smart. And sexy. And they might have more in common than they thought.

Before long, it becomes a challenge between the two of them to see who will be tamed first. But how’s Edie going to react when she finds out that Magnus is using her? And how’s Magnus going to handle the fact that he’s fallen for a cat lady?

Tracy’s review of The Taming of the Billionaire (Billionaires and Bridesmaids #2) by Jessica Clare

Edie is a snarky cat behaviorist who is in her friend Gretchen’s wedding. She arrives at Gretchen’s home with her sister, Bianca, who Gretchen doesn’t like but Edie needed her to drive her as she has a bum leg.   During the dinner Edie meets Magnus and isn’t impressed with him at all. Bianca, however, meets Magnus’s brother, Levi and he’s smitten from minute one.

Levi and Magnus are billionaires from selling their computer games. They are in the middle of developing a new game but Levi, who is a romantic refuses to work until he spends more time with Bianca. Unfortunately Bianca won’t leave her sister. Levi talks Magnus into adopting a cat and calling Edie to come and help him with it so that Levi and Bianca can spend time together. What starts as a ruse soon turns into much more and soon Magnus is in love with Edie. Unfortunately once she finds out about the lie she’s not willing to let Magnus off the hook.

Jessica Clare has once again given us a lovely and entertaining story. I really liked Edie in this story even though she was a bit surly. She had been hurt in the past so wasn’t really thinking romantic thoughts about Magnus until Bianca leads her in that direction. Once Edie starts thinking about him she thinks she might like him more than she originally thought. I have to say that I was cringing a bit at this point as the reader I knew that he wasn’t having romantic thoughts about Edie at all. Oh, he wanted to kiss her because he liked her mouth but he was totally focused on developing his game.

I liked this book for a couple of different reasons. One of them was the fact that Edie and Magnus, despite their differences, really helped each other grow. Edie helped Magnus see his own capabilities as a game developer and Magnus helped Edie see that she didn’t need Bianca to survive. They just were perfect for each other. The other was the groveling that Magnus did in order to get Edie back after his lie is revealed. He really went above and beyond to get her back and I loved how he accomplished that.

Overall the story was sweet and romantic and I enjoyed reading it.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

This title is available from InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

three-half-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: The Billionaire and the Virgin by Jessica Clare

Posted February 18, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: The Billionaire and the Virgin by Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
The Billionaire and the Virgin by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaires and Bridesmaids #1
Also in this series: The Taming of the Billionaire, The Billionaire Takes a Bride, The Billionaire's Favorite Mistake, Billionaire on the Loose
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: February 17th 2015
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Waitress Marjorie Ivarsson is the picture of naiveté. Raised by her grandmother, she’d rather go to bingo than go dancing. But when she’s asked to be a bridesmaid in her friend Bronte’s destination wedding, she finds herself venturing into new and exciting territory. The wedding is set on the billionaire groom’s private island and Marjorie is fascinated by all the new people she’s meeting. Most fascinating of all is the man she saves from almost drowning in the blue waters of the island lagoon. She might even have a bit of a crush on him. Unfortunately, she’s not the only girl who finds him so intriguing. Hot shot television producer Robert Cannon has a reputation for womanizing, drinking, and partying to excess. They couldn’t be more wrong for each other...so why are they constantly drawn together like magnets?

Tracy’s review of The Billionaire and the Virgin (Billionaires and Bridesmaids #1) by Jessica Clare

Robert Cannon isn’t necessarily a nice man. He runs a network that he started from nothing and its work, work, work with him all the time. The network is known for their T & A reputation and Rob’s fine with that as it makes him lots and lots of money. He’s actually on the island to try and get a partnership going with another billionaire, Logan Hawkings, but it appears that not only does Logan not want to do business with the network, he thinks Rob’s a sleezeball and wants him off the island ASAP. That doesn’t work for Rob so he stays. He’s working one day while floating in the ocean and a series of small events occur that has him almost drowning in a small amount of water. He is saved by a woman that to him looks like an angel. From that moment on he’s almost completely fixated on finding the woman. When he can’t find her he decides to leave and ends up running into Marjorie, his guardian angel. He asks Marjorie out and tries to be the person he thinks she wants – kind, courteous – just an all around good man. Needless to say that doesn’t work well for him.

Marjorie is on Seaturtle Cay Island for her friend Bronte’s wedding to Logan Hawkings. She feels a bit out of her element as she’s used to small towns, diners and hanging with the geriatric crowd but she’s excited and happy for Bronte. When she meets Rob she’s shocked that he wants anything to do with her. She’s 6’1” and loves high heels which of course make her taller. She has serious self-esteem issues because of her height and her past experiences with boys/men but Rob is 6 foot but doesn’t seem to find an issue with the fact that Marjorie is taller than him. In fact he encourages her to wear heels as he loves the way that they make her legs look.

The pair spend time together on the island but they don’t talk about what will happen after they leave. Rob lives in California and Marjorie has accepted a job with Bronte and will be moving to New York. Rob knows that once Marjorie finds out exactly who he is she won’t want anything to do with him but he’s head over heels for the woman and wants to spend as much time as he can with her. Unfortunately hiding the truth doesn’t last for long and when Marjorie finds out neither one of them are happy.

This was such a sweet and relatively uncomplicated story. Marjorie and Rob meet and it’s instant attraction. Soon they’re spending every minute they can together and they were adorable together – an unlikely pair but adorable. I loved see them falling in love and Rob building up Marjorie’s self-esteem. He truly loved her height and everything about her and he wasn’t afraid to say it.

Their first date was such a disaster I wasn’t sure they could recover from it. When each came clean (Rob was kind of an ass and cussed like a sailor, and Marjorie didn’t dress like a hoochie mama and get drunk all the time) their time together was incredibly refreshing. No, I didn’t care for the fact that Rob was keeping secrets from Marjorie but I knew why he did it. Marjorie was so kind and good that Rob knew she wouldn’t react well to the truth about his network.

You can guess what happened with Rob and Marjorie when the truth came out but I have to say that as groveling went Rob really pulled out all the stops. He knew exactly what to do to win Marjorie’s favor and he wasn’t afraid to go for it in a BIG way. I loved that he wanted to be a better person for Marjorie and that she was the one who made him see the light about his life.

Overall it was a good book and it looks like it will be a great spin-off series of Clare’s Billionaire Boys Club.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This title is available from InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , ,