Reviewer: 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
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Series Rating:
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
This does sound like a fun read! Thanks for the review.