Series: Billionaire Boys Club

Guest Review: Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding by Jessica Clare

Posted December 2, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding by Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #6.5
Also in this series: Beauty and the Billionaire, Once Upon a Billionaire, The Wrong Billionaire's Bed, Romancing the Billionaire, One Night With A Billionaire, His Royal Princess
Publisher: Intermix
Publication Date: November 15th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

In this all-new novella in the New York Times bestselling series, Hunter and Gretchen are finally tying the knot—but their wedding may not be the easy fairy tale they’ve dreamed of...

Someone's out to ruin Gretchen's happy-ever-after on the eve before the big day. Can she trust Hunter, the man she's given her heart to? And can she rely on her sister Daphne (the least reliable person of all!) to help her salvage things? Or is this marriage going to go down in flames before Gretchen and Hunter ever get to the altar?

Gretchen is getting married soon – on Christmas Eve no less – and she’s stressed!  She’s fired umpteen caterers for one reason or another, she keeps gaining weight instead of losing it because she keeps sampling her own baked goods and then when she visits her fiancé at his office she starts to think he’s being blackmailed!  Could nothing go right in her life?

Daphne is Gretchen’s famous singer sister and is six months out of rehab.  She’s doing really well with her life coach, Wesley.  He’s incredible and she’s madly in love with him but he keeps her at arms length and keeps telling her she’s just a job to him.  She’s upset and really missing her sisters as it’s the holidays.  She knows she screwed up royally and they deserted her but she’s willing to give it another try and hopes they’re willing as well.  She heads to Gretchen’s house and is surprisingly welcomed with open arms.  Her twin, Audrey, isn’t so welcoming but she’s been hurt so much by Daphne it’s understandable.

Both Gretchen and Daphne are looking for support in their time of need and that might come from each other but it may also come from the men they love.

This was a cute story.  We’ve been hearing about Gretchen and Hunter’s wedding for so long in so many books that we just knew that it was going to be the event of the century.  Opening this book and realizing that she’s a mess and so is the wedding was kind of a breath of fresh air.  Even fiancé’s of billionaires can fall apart and have things go wrong.  In this case it made Gretchen and Hunter that much more “normal” to me.

With Daphne we saw a woman who was trying to get her life back after screwing up so badly that her family gave up on her.  Daphne had had told them many times that she was going to do better but she always slid back into drugs and alcohol. I loved that she wanted to do better for her family and for Wesley, but mostly she wanted to do better for herself. She knows she can’t slide back to her old ways and Wesley was helping her.  I almost wish that Wesley hadn’t been her shadow for the last six months, however. Yes, he’d helped her so much but I also know that addicts tend to latch on to things (obviously) so it made me think that if Wesley hadn’t been the one keeping her on the straight and narrow for so long would she have fallen in love with him?  I know that’s my cynicism shining through but I admit that thought crossed my mind when she made it clear she was in love with him. I tried to push those thoughts aside and focus on the relationship.  We didn’t see any of them falling in love so it was hard for me to get into their romance but I was still happy that it all ended well for them.

While this was a pretty short novella but it was still worth reading.  Hopefully Clare’s next revisit these characters in future books.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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Guest Review: His Royal Princess by Jessica Clare

Posted April 19, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: His Royal Princess by  Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
His Royal Princess by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #3.5
Also in this series: Beauty and the Billionaire, Once Upon a Billionaire, The Wrong Billionaire's Bed, Romancing the Billionaire, One Night With A Billionaire, Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding
Publisher: Intermix
Publication Date: April 19th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Their romance led to a royal wedding in Once Upon a Billionaire. Now see how it all began for Princess Alexandra of Bellissime and American actor Luke Houston in this novella from New York Times bestselling author Jessica Clare.

As heir to the throne of Bellissime, Princess Alexandra is supposed to be cool and calm...not crushing on a movie star. When she hears that Luke Houston is filming a scene for his next movie in her tiny country, however, she can’t resist sneaking onto set to get a glimpse of the Hollywood hunk.

When Alex is almost caught on set by the press, she ducks into the first available hiding place—only to find herself in Luke’s private trailer, and getting much more than just a glimpse of him. It’s an up close and personal encounter that sets her heart aflutter, and sets her mind on some very unladylike plans to get to know him better...

 

Alex is the heir apparent to the Crown of Bellissime but she’s also a woman who has a crush on an actor. She’s seen all of Luke Houston’s movies and when they start shooting a movie in Bellissime and he’s the star, Alex is anxious to meet him.  She heads to the warehouse their working out of and when she gets the chance to meet Luke he ends up mistaking her for a hooker.  (Not that she’s dressed like one but he assumed that the recently single director would send one to him.)  When the cast and director are invited to the palace for dinner Luke isn’t thrilled but when he sees Alex he just laughs – realizing what a blunder he made. Luke is intrigued by Alex and they soon start dating – even though privacy is an issue because of who they are.  And love soon follows but other people and their places in life might keep them apart.

This was a very cute and very sweet novella.  I really liked Alex and Luke both separately and together.  They were well written characters and for as short as the novella was I thought that Jessica Clare brought a lot of information into it.  Though we didn’t get as much info about Luke (he came from a trailer park in Texas) we got a lot about Alex.  She had been raised to be a princess – third in line for the throne.  After her father passed away her mother decided to abdicate that made Alex next in line for the throne, which was fine with her.  But taking care of her princess duties and being sheltered she hadn’t ever been kissed until Luke.  She was a pretty buttoned up girl overall and wasn’t sure about how to do some things – like get a guy to notice her.  She ended up just telling Luke that she was there so he could ask her out.  Luke did, of course, but being the proper princess she was Alex had no idea what to wear.   She ended up asking her mother (who was decidedly not straight-laced) what to wear.  Her mother suggested jeans and Alex’s reply was…

“Mother, I don’t own any jeans.” The palace thought they were improper attire for a princess.  Far too casual!

Her mother’s eyes twinkled.  “It’s a good thing that I have a few pairs and we’re the same size.  Come on.  Let’s go to my suite.”

“You have jeans?” What was next, handcuffs and weed?  Good lord.

snort That made me laugh!  She was a far cry from Hollywood but Luke loved that about her and that made me like him even more.  He didn’t love her because she was a princess – he loved her in spite of the fact that she was a princess. Good man.

The story was a good one and a great addition to the series.  It was fun, funny and romantic and I loved almost everything about it.  I definitely recommend it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: One Night with a Billionaire by Jessica Clare

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

Guest Review: One Night with a Billionaire by Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
One Night With A Billionaire by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #6
Also in this series: Beauty and the Billionaire, Once Upon a Billionaire, The Wrong Billionaire's Bed, Romancing the Billionaire, His Royal Princess, Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Fans of Maya Banks, Melody Anne and J. Kenner - prepare to be dazzled by Jessica Clare's Billionaire Boys Club.The Billionaire Boys Club is a secret society of six incredibly wealthy men who have vowed success in business - at any cost. But success when it comes to love is a different matter...
Kylie may be a makeup artist to the stars, but she knows what it feels like to be overshadowed. Especially by her famous boss, the pop star Daphne. That's why she's stunned - and delighted - when one night at a party, she attracts the attention of a gorgeous stranger. But when Daphne decides she wants the handsome billionaire for herself, Cade Archer is suddenly off-limits for Kylie...

Cade has known Daphne for years, and always wondered if she might be the right woman for him - even though she never gave him the time of day. But one sizzling night with Kylie has changed everything. So why is she suddenly avoiding him? Fortunately Cade is determined to get what he wants, and he'll do anything to show Kylie she can get everything she wants too...

Tracy’s review of One Night with a Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club #6) by Jessica Clare

Cade Archer grew up in a trailer park along with Audrey and Daphne Petty. He always had a thing for Daphne and she was his first love. Over the years he held on to that attachment even when Daphne became a pop star and then a drug addict. He’s not sure why he held on so long but when he meets Daphne’s make up artist, Kylie, it really has him questioning himself. Is he really in love Daphne or are his feelings more the friendship type of love? The feelings he has for Kylie blow away anything he’s ever had for Daphne and he decides to pursue Kylie to see if what he feels is real.

Kylie is a woman who has been put the ringer during her life. Her parents died when she was ten and she was then housed with her grandmother who did nothing but berate and demean Kylie for her weight and what a “burden” she was. After living with that, and then having a boyfriend who pretty much treated her the same way, Kylie doesn’t have much self-confidence when it comes to men. When Cade starts paying attention to her, and then they have a drunken one night stand, Kylie takes it at face value. She’s a bit surprised when Cade keeps showing up and paying more and more attention to her. Kylie loves the attention but it poses a problem with her boss. Daphne is still under the influence of drugs she’s deluded herself into thinking that she and Cade are together. Cade does everything in his power to make her believe otherwise but it’s definitely an issue. When Kylie and Cade have another drunken night in Vegas and wake up married, Kylie is scared that Cade will eventually consider her a burden – which isn’t true at all. She’s not prepared for what happens when both Daphne and the record studio find out about Cade and Kylie.

This was another great book in the Billionaire Boys Club series. During the previous books I feared that Jessica Clare was going to try to clean Daphne up and have Cade end up with her. I’m so glad that she chose someone else for this gentle and generous man. He always seemed like the most kindhearted of the club and this book proved that was true. He truly didn’t want to hurt Daphne but he had to follow his heart and that was leading him to Kylie. I’m so happy he finally opened his eyes!

Kylie was a wonderful character.   I loved her sense of style and her consideration of others. Her stubbornness with the whole being a “burden” thing got a bit annoying but I could understand it. After living her entire life believing she was a burden to people she wouldn’t stop thinking that in a day or so. That kind of conditioning takes time to break.

Overall the story was a good one and I really enjoyed reading it and felt it was a very good end to the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This title is available from Berkley. 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


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Guest Review: Romancing the Billionaire by Jessica Clare

Posted November 24, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Romancing the Billionaire by Jessica ClareReviewer: Tracy
Romancing the Billionaire by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #5
Also in this series: Beauty and the Billionaire, Once Upon a Billionaire, The Wrong Billionaire's Bed, One Night With A Billionaire, His Royal Princess, Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: November 4th 2014
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three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The Billionaire Boys Club is a secret society. Six men of astonishing wealth. But there’s one thing money can’t buy. When it comes to love, success doesn’t come so easily…

Jonathan Lyons. Playboy, billionaire, and adventurer, he lives life on the edge. When he hears that his mentor, Dr. Phineas DeWitt, had a secret journal that leads to a legendary artifact, Jonathan takes action. It stirs his blood, but it comes with a heady challenge: DeWitt’s daughter Violet. She has what Jonathan needs. And she’s not giving it up it to the man who broke her heart.

Violet is Jonathan’s weakness—he’s still in love despite their volatile breakup a decade ago. But Violet’s memories have a sharper edge. She’s never forgiven him for abandoning her. Or so she thought. When Jonathan’s attentions turn seductive, she’s in danger of falling for him all over again. And she can’t help but wonder…does he really want her, or just what she's hiding?

 

Tracy’s review of Romancing the Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club #5) by Jessica Clare

When Jonathan and Violet were just 19 years old they met while on one of her father’s archeological digs. They became friends and fell in love. Violet soon became pregnant but didn’t actually come out and tell Jonathan that. She stated that she wanted to return to the states and start a family, immediately and expected Jonathan to know that that meant she was pregnant. Huh. Jonathan, being the 19 year old that he was, laughed it off as a silly idea. He was excited about Violet’s dad’s dig and didn’t understand why Violet would want to leave. She did just that, leaving Jonathan a note that told him about the baby and asked him to come to her. He never did.

Ten long years Violet has been harboring a hatred of Jonathan. Not only did he not care enough to understand that she was pregnant and that she needed him but then she lost the baby and was alone then too. She’s cut herself off from all emotion and goes about her job as a teacher with calm and cool. That is until her father dies and plans one of his infamous scavenger hunts for Violet and Jonathan.

Jonathan is so excited to be with Violet again. He’s never stopped loving her and has missed her for the 10 years they’ve been separated. He was told by Phineas, Violet’s father, that she got married right after she left the dig 10 years earlier so he’s damned excited when he finds out that she’s single. He thinks this is his chance to win her back. He doesn’t plan on Violet being so antagonistic because he had no idea about the baby – at all.

While Jonathan and Violet go on their scavenger hunt they get closer and soon fall into bed together but Violet ends up deciding that it will never work and leaves Jonathan, who is devastated at the loss.

This was a pretty simple story. It was a quick read and not too complicated. I can’t say that I loved Jonathan and Violet together all that much. Violet was so closed off and SO angry with Jonathan. IDK, I guess I would think that after 10 years she would be more apathetic than angry toward him. She obviously never got over what she thought of as his betrayal and I hated that even when they started getting closer that she held it over his head constantly. I just wanted her to grow up and get over it and give him a second chance.

Jonathan was a good guy but a little too fawning for my liking. I know he loved Violet and would do anything for her but he needed to be his own man as well and I just didn’t see that. I did appreciated that his love never wavered over the years but didn’t like the way he kowtowed to Violet constantly.

Overall it was a good story but wasn’t too spectacular of a romance imho. This is the first book of the series that I haven’t liked a lot so I’ll definitely keep reading the series to see what happens next.

Rating: 3 out of 5

 

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

three-stars


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Review: The Wrong Billionaire’s Bed by Jessica Clare

Posted July 2, 2014 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: The Wrong Billionaire’s Bed by Jessica ClareReviewer: Holly
The Wrong Billionaire's Bed by Jessica Clare
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #3
Also in this series: Beauty and the Billionaire, Once Upon a Billionaire, Romancing the Billionaire, One Night With A Billionaire, His Royal Princess, Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding
Publisher: Intermix, Penguin
Publication Date: October 15th 2013
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 312
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three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The Billionaire Boys Club is a secret society of six men who have vowed success—at any cost. Not all of them are old money, but all of them are incredibly wealthy. They’re just not always as successful when it comes to love…

Audrey Petty’s always been the responsible one. The good twin.  Successful, dependable, and trustworthy—that’s Audrey. She’d be the perfect girlfriend for her childhood crush, billionaire Cade Archer…except that she’s pretty sure she’s not even on his radar. But when fate (and her chaotic twin) come together, Audrey finds out that she’ll be spending the next month with Cade at his remote cabin retreat. It’s a dream come true…

Until she meets her worst nightmare.

Billionaire playboy Reese Durham is used to seducing women to get what he wants. But when stiff, too-proper Audrey bursts into the private mountain lodge and scares his companion out the door, it’s time for a little revenge. It’s clear that Audrey’s in love with his buddy, Cade…and it’s clear to Reese that blackmailing Audrey with this information can get her to agree to just about anything. Like furtive kisses in the dark, or a secret rendezvous in the woods. Audrey may think she knows what she wants, but Reese is determined to show her what she needs.

And as Reese discovers the volatile minx behind the buttoned-up exterior, he starts to think maybe she’s just what he needs, too.

Be sure to read all of the Billionaire Boys Club novels from InterMix. These boys play well with others.

Audrey has been worried about her strung-out twin for years. When Daphne again lands herself in hot water, Audrey decides it’s time to take matters into her own hands to ensure Daphne finally dries out. If helping her sister puts her in a rustic cabin with her long-time crush and childhood friend, Cade, well…that’s just a little bonus. Except it doesn’t quite work out that way. Cade’s friend Reese is using the cabin to entertain a lady friend when Audrey shows up. Though she’s able to run the woman off, Reese refuses to leave.

As days go on and Audrey tries to get Cade’s attention, she finds herself spending more time with Reese than anyone else. Cade takes on the role of caregiver for Daphne which leaves Reese and Audrey plenty of time to get to know one another. She doesn’t like him much, but they have undeniable chemistry.

When Reese realizes Audrey is crushing on his friend Cade, he decides to help her out. Not that she asked for his help, but it’s something to keep him occupied. Until he realizes he’s attracted to her for himself. Then he pulls out all the stops to show her Cade isn’t what she really wants.

On the surface, this is a cute read. Audrey and Reese have chemistry in spades. The sexual tension and witty banter were great.  Though they started with a large amount of animosity, it wasn’t long before things were steamy and they easily fell into a strange friendship. Reese is one of the few who saw beyond Audrey’s buttoned-up attitude and need for control to the woman beneath. He saw her fears, desires and true personality. He came to know her better than even her sisters.

The way Audrey constantly put Cade between them was frustrating. Halfway through the book she was still convinced she was fully in love with him, even though it was apparent Cade was in love with her sister. I would have liked to see her open up sooner. Still, their’s was a sweet romance with a fair amount of zing and some fun thrown in.

Had that been the only part of this novel, I would have walked away well-satisfied. Unfortunately the sub-plot featuring Daphne detracted greatly from the story. First, once they arrived Audrey did little to help her sister dry out. She said she’d be there for her, but she spent the majority of the time out and about with Reese or avoiding her sister in other ways.

Let me share something: Watching a drug-addict/alcoholic detox is not fun. It isn’t just mopping their brow and letting them sleep it off. It’s dirty, messy, and emotionally and physically draining. There’s vomit and headaches and all manor of other things. Plus, if someone is truly an addict, flushing their drugs and whisking them away to a remote cabin isn’t going to do them any favors. They need to slowly be taken off the stuff and the process is long and dirty.

Unfortunately, little of that was addressed in this book. The tone of the book was much too light for the subject matter. The topic was a dark one and should have been presented that way. Instead it was glossed over.

Though the romance was sweet, I struggled greatly with the plot.

3 out of 5

This book is available from InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

three-stars


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