Reviewer: Judith One Night With a Billionaire by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Series: Perfect Man #1
Publisher: Intermix
Publication Date: May 21st 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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Melanie, Astrid, and Valerie may be best friends, but they have very different ideas of what kind of man is more fun—one with a pocket full of cash or a guy with spurs on his boots?
Growing up on a ranch, Melanie Shaw always assumed she’d end up with a strong, protective cowboy someday. Before she settles down, though, she decides to take a romantic adventure in Paris, a city she longs to explore.
But on the first day of her getaway, Melanie winds up in trouble and is rescued by an unlikely stranger—the handsomest Texan she’s ever seen. He may not be a cowboy, but what girl can resist a billionaire who wants to take her on a whirlwind tour of the City of Lights? And when the romance between them heats up, Melanie realizes that she may have found her perfect man where she least expected…
Some of us who have traveled abroad will be able to empathize with the heroine of this novella, a woman who has almost everything she owns stolen the very first day she is in Paris. Actually, it all happened within hours of her arrival. Now Melanie Shaw is stranded and wondering how she can even manage to get to the American Consulate, much find a way to get her credit cards, her funds, and even get back to her shabby hotel. Enter the “knight in shining armor” as the gentleman who chases the thief and who eventually rescues her from a not-very-nice section of Paris. And so begins the short but engaging tale of a very ordinary rancher’s daughter who manages to end up spending her vacation in the over-the-top mansion of a billionaire.
What saved this story for me — imagining a rescue by a billionaire is the stuff of fiction, pure and simple — was the very real disaster that puts this ordinary tourist in a very dangerous and difficult situation from the get go. It happens far more frequently than most of us think. But who of us hasn’t fantasized about the wealthy rescuer, the fabulous accommodations and meeting someone who is right out of a fairy tale? What is also so endearing about Melanie is her refusal to allow the riches of her rescuer to change her in any way, for she has her character guidelines and she lives by them 24/7. So this guy has money. So what? She is going to pay her way and thus keep control of her life. I found her to be lots of fun, even when she was being naive.
Ms Thompson has give us lots of very readable stories and this is the beginning of a series that will feature three women, all of whom are very different but all are linked together in this “family” of sorts. Their loyalty to one another is without question. And the reader gets a sense that each is a support to the other no matter the circumstance and certainly no matter if their is money involved. While I am not a big fan of novellas, I still found this one a very fun read and am glad I found it on NetGalley. I think Ms Thompson’s fans will be pleased, and anyone who is a true fan of contemporary romance fiction will also find it an entertaining piece.
I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.
This book is available from InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.