Book Review: The Care and Feeding Of an Alpha Male by Jessica Clare

A few personal notes: I’ve been taking zumba and yoga classes. It feels kind of insane, like I’m not the kind of person who should be taking either (even though I know that’s a fallacy). Either way, I’ve been kind of sore, but I’m definitely getting stronger. However, since my current focus is fitness, my writing time has taken a bit of a hit. I figure everything comes and goes in cycles, so I just need to ride this one out until the next one happens.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A high class woman in a small town falls for one of the guys from the wrong side of the tracks, despite the fact that they previously hated each other. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Better On Her Own
Beth Ann is trying to prove that she can live life on her own terms. She has her own business, she’s no longer with her cheating ex, and despite the fact that the whole population of Bluebonnet (who are honestly a bunch of a-holes) thinks she should get back with the ex, she refuses to lose her independence.

Cabin in the Woods
So when Colt comes to “rescue” her when she’s lost in the woods, her first reaction is to be pissed about it, which in turn, irritates Cole. In fact, because the two don’t like each other in general, it just makes him want to goad her more. This plan puts them together for a weekend under the pretense that the can’t get out of the woods due to the weather flooding the river. Which isn’t true, it’s just Colt’s way of teaching her a lesson…but you can guess what ends up happening.

Sex: The Gateway to Love
It doesn’t take long for the two of them to realize they don’t actually hate each other. Sure, they have a lot of sex, but they actually start an emotional relationship too. Beth Ann doesn’t care that Colt’s family is known as white trash, and Colt is the only one who seems to support Beth Ann’s need for independence. The story isn’t so much about them getting together, it’s about them dealing with the town’s reaction and overcoming their own issues to be together.

Lessons From Carrie Underwood
If you read my review for the first book in the Bluebonnet series, Beth Ann is the one who encouraged her friend to get revenge on the guy who hurt her. At the start of this book, I felt as if she might have been vicariously living through Miranda. Beth Ann, though assertive and independent, is way too nice when it came to her cheating scum of an ex who continues to stalk her and try to get her back. She doesn’t go back, but she shows him moments of kindness, which is way more than he deserves.

Stand By Your Man
I liked Beth Ann, and though I can empathize with her being nicer to the residents than they deserved,  it kind of bothered me that she didn’t always stick up for Colt when someone talked disparagingly about him. She wasn’t trying to hide him, but she failed to say anything in his defense when someone talked about him being white trash or said he wasn’t good enough for her.

The Romance Factor
I loved the romance in this book, especially when it came to Colt. When things get rough and he thinks he’s going to lose her, Colt’s emotions were what really got me. I also loved that he punched her ex. 5/5

The Steam Factor
This one is super spicy and takes it to those places that don’t always make their way into romance novels…in great detail. 6/5

Final Thoughts
The relationship picked up fast, but there was still conflict, so I didn’t mind the lack of “getting together” foreplay. The residents of Bluebonnet are largely a bunch of putzes, but the main characters are great, and to some extent, are all misfits of their small town populations, which makes the series so enjoyable.

Book Review: Last Hit by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick

At my job, we have a type of project that is easy enough that I can listen to podcasts or audiobooks while I work on it. This time around, I chose to listen to this audiobook. It kept me riveted and engaged, but when things got hot in the book, I felt a little nervous listening to it in the office. Talk about some heat.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A sheltered young woman leaves her home to live on her own and becomes involved with a mysterious Ukrainian who has ties with a dangerous Russian mafia group. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Immersive Entertainment
Though my first audiobook was fun but not magical, and I have to say…I loved this one. I loved that the readers used a Russian accent when reading from Nikolai’s point of view. I also enjoyed the fact that there were two people reading, one for each character’s point of view.

Living Under a Rock
Daisy is really naive. Really, really naive. But it works in this book because she’s been extremely sheltered and so is weirdly awkward. Her father has kept her under his thumb for years, having turned paranoid and agoraphobic after the murder of his wife. But Daisy wants more, and so after some sneaky planning, she manages to run away to live in an apartment with a roommate. Because I could understand why she had no social skills, her awkwardness and the fact that she was clueless about many things weren’t as annoying as they might have been otherwise.

Keeping Tabs
Nikolai starts out a little creepy, but he’s so endearing that I didn’t actually care that he was peeping on Daisy. He’s an assassin and part of a Russian bratva, but he’s also damaged from his youth. So when he actually has feelings for Daisy, it’s classically trope-ish and really romantic. He wants to protect her, she wants her independence, and this brings some great conflict.

Of course Nikolai doesn’t tell her he’s a killer for hire, and his secrets start to get a little out of hand. But he tries to maintain normalcy by taking her out on dates and buying her nice things…things she doesn’t want him to buy because they cost so much, of course. But he does it anyway. He’s also there to rescue her in a few situations, so props for some damsel in distress situations that make sense considering Daisy’s lack of world experience.

Sex & Violence
This is a darker romance, dealing with mafia and murder and heroines in danger. I loved this blend and thought it was well balanced. There was suspense in the fact that I knew at some point Nikolai’s profession would get Daisy into trouble. It was just a matter of it actually happening. Then when it did, I got all worked up waiting for Nikolai to figure it out and go save her. There are some dark themes. While Daisy isn’t raped, another character is, and there is quite a bit of violence.

The Romance Factor
I got the same heart feels from this one that I get from a really great book I’ve read visually. Nikolai’s desire to protect Daisy is amazingly sweet, and Daisy’s worry that everything she says or does is wrong is kind of adorable. I know, it sounds like  it could get really annoying, but it’s not. 5/5

The Steam Factor
While the sex doesn’t overpower the plot, the sexy times are definitely tantalizing. Daisy’s a virgin at the beginning, but it doesn’t seem to take long for her to jump on the dirty talk/dirty times train. 5/5

Final Thoughts
This was a great story with narrators that I really enjoyed. When it comes to audiobooks, the voices reading the story play a huge part in the experience. I’m going to listen to this whole series, including the book I’d already read (which I loved, so it won’t be a chore to enjoy it again). This one is written by 2 authors I like, and I feel that when they collaborate, romantic magic is made.

Book Review: The Girl’s Guide to (Man)Hunting by Jessica Clare

Our local library recently got Hoopla, an app that lets you check out media using your library card. I browsed some audiobooks and found several by some of my favorite authors, which means more entertainment and things to listen to during various other activities. This was the first one I decided to try out.

One Sentence Synopsis
A woman with a bad reputation in her small town attends an outdoor survival class in order to get revenge on the guy who gave her that reputation. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Friends Let Friends Get Revenge
Labeled the town slut due to something she believes Dane did, Miranda is thrilled to have finally found a job that will allow her to get out of the town she’s come to hate. As she’s preparing to make her exit, she finds out Dane is back in town, and her best friend puts ideas of revenge in her head. After all, she’s leaving, so what could it hurt? I loved that Miranda had a good girl and bad girl side that warred with each other, waffling between wanting revenge and not wanting to hurt Dane like she’d been hurt.

Probably not this extreme…and with less clothes…

Not the Man He Used to Be
Dane has changed since high school. He’d left to play hockey, but after he’s accused of sleeping with the manager’s wife and kicked out of the league, he finds his true calling in wilderness survival. The one thing that hasn’t changed, though, is his crush on Miranda. When he sees she’s signed up for the survival class, those old feelings come back.

Easier Not to Talk About It
The two of them see the past very differently, mostly because neither knew what actually happened. Miranda has believed for years that Dane was responsible for the videos. Dane didn’t even know about them and couldn’t understand why Miranda’s mother wouldn’t let him talk to her when he called to explain why he’d left town so abruptly to go play hockey.  So much could have been solved with a little communication, but then we wouldn’t have had all the romping in the woods. Probably a good trade-off if we’re talking entertainment value.

Flaws and All
I liked that even though Miranda only went to the course to get revenge, she found that she enjoyed the outdoors and ended up with a stronger sense of self, despite her confusion over Dane’s attentions. Dane is actually a nice guy, but the fact that he used to be kind of a dick wasn’t glossed over. He wasn’t misunderstood. He really was just kind of a dick.

The Spoken Word
Listening to this on audiobook was definitely a different experience, one that took some getting used to.  When I read, I tend to read faster and absorb the scenes rather than picking them apart piece by piece, and the act of listening makes things feel more drawn out. It also emphasizes the fact that there was a lot of sex in this book. And that in itself, listening to someone read erotica out loud, also took some getting used to.

The Romance Factor
The romance was definitely there, but I think there was a bit of a disconnect in listening to the audiobook. I didn’t get the feels I usually do when I read on my own, though towards the end I did get a few warm fuzzies. Am I going to stop listening to audiobooks? No way. They’re perfect for multitasking. The story was still good and romantic, I just didn’t get all mushy over it. 3/5

The Steam Factor
There is sex all over the place. Hot sex. In the woods. I may have had to fan myself a few times when listening to it. Another side effect of taking it in slower than usual? I had time to dwell on the fact that the forest floor would be very uncomfortable on the knees. 5/5

Final Thoughts
Despite having to adapt to audio, this story was fun. I have the second book in paperback, so I’ll read that one normally and then resume the audiobooks for the rest of the series. Time to queue up some walking and knitting for some quality listening time.

Book Review: Partner Games by Jessica Clare

It took me way too long to get to this book, especially because this is one of the series I auto-buy. I was hooked on the Games series from the beginning. There’s something awesome about steamy romance happening during a reality game show.

One-Sentence Synopsis
Sisters compete in reality TV game show and ally themselves with biker guys who they find different types of chemistry with. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Sisterly Love
I’ve been reading  a lot of books with less than likeable family members lately, so it was nice to read one about sisters who actually get along and love each other. They’ve decided to go on the World Race together, but from the beginning, nerdy Clementine knows something isn’t quite right with her normally confident model sister Georgie. Clem’s stress is only compounded by the strange chemistry she has with one of the guys from another team.

Teaming Up
Swift and Plate (biker names…no joke) are drawn to the sisters from the start. Swift has a thing for nerdy girls and finds Clementine adorable. Plate recognizes Georgie from her modeling work and has a huge crush on her, even though he’s not her type (he’s a big teddy bear of a guy and she’s used to dating male models).

Nerdy Girl Gets the Guy
The dynamics between the two couples were different but still sweet. The romance and heat comes from Swift and Clementine. Clementine still has her v-card and it takes her awhile to believe that Swift genuinely likes her. It doesn’t help that they’re trying to win a million dollars, so  besides her lack of confidence, Clemmy is also dealing with being unsure of how much she can trust her allies.

Georgie and Plate are the friends of the story, but they’re super close and their relationship is adorable. Georgie is struggling with a traumatic thing that happened to her when she was modeling, and Plate has the knack for keeping her calm when she has a meltdown. They’re flirty, but Plate is the perfect gentleman, never taking advantage of Georgie and doing what he can to be supportive and kind to her.

Just Friends?
Major props to the author for being able to the tell the story of two different couples using a first person point of view from one character (Clementine) the whole time. She does add little blurbs at the beginning of each chapter which are segments of interviews the contestants gave for the show. Considering these are just short blurbs among a longer story, it was impressive that I still felt a whole range of emotion from all the characters.

The Romance Factor
I’m a sucker for a nerdy heroine, and Clementine is perfect. She and Swift have good chemistry, and there is a ton of foreplay between them. On the other side of the story, Plate is the kind of guy who’s rough around the edges but he’s the perfect match for Georgie. And while a later romance between Plate and Georgie is only hinted at, the development of their relationship and their strong friendship is genuine. Luckily, the author released a holiday short story about those two on her blog, so I was able to get a little more bliss after I finished this book. 5/5

The Steam Factor
There’s a lot of stolen kisses between Clem and Swift throughout the book, and though there seemed to be a much lower level of sex in this one than in the previous Games books, when the hotel room started rocking, it was worth the wait. Probably for the characters too. 5/5

Final Thoughts
I really can’t get enough of this series, and I’m always a little bummed when I have to wait for another one to come out. The premise is simple, so you’d think eventually they’d start to get boring, but not yet and maybe not for me. I find the whole romance/reality TV combo thing to be quite pleasing.

Book Review: The Billionaire Takes a Bride by Jessica Clare

Even in the most lighthearted series, you can get a story that manages to maintain the fun while still introducing a pretty dark and/or serious theme. This is one of those. Trigger warning for themes of rape.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A marriage of convenience seems like the perfect solution for two people who need an “other” to help them out, but it gets more difficult when they start to have real feelings for each other. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Crazy Families & Messed Up Pasts
It’s not often you find a modern day marriage of convenience story, but this one nails it and does it in a way that’s fairly realistic. Well, in the world of a billionaire anyway. Sebastian’s horrible mother is involved in a reality TV series about their family and being that the woman is completely insane, she wants Sebastian to get back with his ex as part of the season’s storyline. Chelsea is a bad ass roller derby girl, but when the skates come off, she has a hard time dealing with crowds, the dark, and men hitting on her due to PTSD from being raped a few years before.

Beneficial Nuptials
When they meet at Gretchen and Hunter’s engagement dinner, Chelsea finds Sebastian to be “safe,” and they decide to be party Safety Buddies. After all, if they pretend to be together, men won’t hit on her and people won’t bother Sebastian about this family’s TV show. But then Sebastian decides to take it a step further, because if he marries Chelsea, then his mother and his ex (in theory) can’t bother him about the show’s storyline of getting back together. And since Chelsea’s roommate moved out and it scares her to be alone in an empty apartment, she jumps on the opportunity.

Taking Care of Business
It’s all fun and games and convenience until someone starts getting lusty after the other one, though. And it doesn’t take long for Sebastian to realize that he’s probably not going to be able to avoid all those feelings he said he wanted to avoid in the first place. Yet he doesn’t push Chelsea into anything, especially when he finds out what happened to her. Instead, they become good friends and he just takes care of “things” on his own.

Split Persona
I loved the whole roller derby thing and the fact that Chelsea is of two personalities. In her roller gear, she’s fierce, tough, and confident. Outside of it, she feels broken and scared, which is understandable. Her sex feels are pretty much non-existent, but when she realizes that Sebastian is turned on by her, she starts to feel that she’s ruining his life by not being a wife who can give him what he wants. Because by that time, they’ve started to like each other and the whole convenience/temporary nature of the marriage seems to have been forgotten.

Roller Girl
Sebastian never pressures Chelsea into anything. Instead, he lets her take control. He also makes it a point to let her know that no matter how much she’d been drinking the night of her rape, it wasn’t her fault. Chelsea slowly comes out of her shell, but it’s not until Sebastian suggests she integrate her roller derby persona into the bedroom that she starts to find her sexuality again.

Working Through Issues
I think thus far, this one is my favorite in the series, not only because it has some of my fave tropes (friends to lovers, marriage of convenience) but because the characters felt real and I loved that Chelsea was able to regain her identity and empower herself, even after a traumatic event. Of course, the big conflict of the story reopens some of those wounds, but Sebastian is great as the supportive husband who just wants Chelsea to feel safe.

The Romance Factor
Besides the above mentioned tropes, I also get a little mushy over the whole damsel in distress thing, and when Sebastian comforts Chelsea after the lights go out in their hotel in New Orleans, I melted. He’s so sweet and caring and careful of her feelings that I couldn’t help but love him. 4/5

The Steam Factor
Because of the nature of Chelsea’s PTSD, there isn’t a super high volume of sex in this story, but what there is manages to sizzle while still maintaining the respect and caution towards Chelsea’s past and the things that made her scared of it in the first place. And honestly, not everything is resolved by the end, but you’re still left with the feeling that things are going to be okay, both in and out of the bedroom. 4/5

Final Thoughts
I mentioned in the last B&B review I did that the stories were going to parallel and sure enough, this one seems to be happening right alongside Edie and Magnus’ story. I believe it parallels Asher and Greer’s story as well, which comes out later this year (and has already been preordered by yours truly). I also enjoyed the random reference to one of the reality shows in Clare’s Games series. The whole story left me with warm fuzzies, and I can’t wait for book 4 to come out.

Book Review: The Taming of the Billionaire by Jessica Clare

Even though the title of this book should have given it away, it took me a couple chapters into this book to realize it was a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. Which then made me nostalgic for “10 Things I Hate About You.” I love retellings and this one was a lot of fun.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A game developer agrees to go out on a date with a bitchy cat behaviorist so his brother can date her sister, not expecting he’d turn into a cat person and have feelings for her along the way. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

The Cat Whisperer
Edie, the sassy but grumpy friend of Gretchen’s, meets Magnus, a driven game developer at Gretchen and Hunter’s engagement dinner for the those who’ll be in the wedding. When Edie hears him making disparaging “cat lady” comments, she goes on the defensive and they start things out on the wrong foot. Edie is a cat behaviorist who’s fairly resigned to her life as single cat lady, but still, the insult is there and her impression of Magnus isn’t good.

The Drama of Love at First Sight
Magnus is of the mind that Edie is grouchy and miserable, so he’s not happy when his brother coerces him into showing interest in Edie so he can date her sister. Magnus wouldn’t do it, but he sees his brother as the creative partner in their business, and since his brother can’t seem to create without his “muse,” Magnus agrees to help him.

More Quirks
Besides her love of cats, she has a bad knee as a result of an accident. She doesn’t want sympathy, but she’s a little bitter about the whole thing, especially since her boyfriend at the time of the accident dumped her.  Magnus is an alpha nerd who ends up falling for Edie and realizes that what they were doing in the first place was cruel. He also does something a little different from many of the guys in these books: he actually comes clean before she finds out from someone else. There’s still conflict and betrayal and a very pissed off Edie, but score one for honesty, even if the timing is bad.

Gamers Unite
The book was fun overall, but I loved the fact that Magnus took Edie to a gaming convention. It thrilled my little nerd heart to no end.

Nothin’ But a Gold Digger
I never really got why Bianca was spending time with Magnus’ brother. It was hinted strongly that she was a gold digger, and maybe wanted some time away from taking care of Edie, but I was never entirely sure of her motives. She was just a brat, and it cracked me up every time Gretchen put her in her place.  To be honest, neither of the siblings were really likable and were both highly annoying and self-centered.

The Pain of Siblings
Having said that, I liked the way that both Edie and Magnus were highlighted as having codependent relationships with their siblings to serve as another of their flaws and another shared trait that brought them together. It’s not something that’s often thought about really, but it’s definitely a family dynamic that could mess with a good relationship.

The Romance Factor
While their whole relationship as that sweet vibe, I absolutely loved what Magnus did to show Edie that he really loved her. No spoilers, but it was such a great thing to do and a great idea in general, that I want it to be a real thing (it involves cats, of course). 5/5

The Steam Factor
Lots of sexy talk, sexy times, and naughtiness, perfectly choreographed and written around Edie’s bad knee. I loved the realism and sex positivity. 5/5

Final Thoughts 
Another entertaining book in this series with more cameos from familiar faces. One thing I really liked is that the storyline in this one actually parallels at least one, maybe 2 other books, and so you get a hint of things to come in some of the scenes.

Book Review: The Billionaire and the Virgin by Jessica Clare

I recently celebrated my wedding anniversary in a way fitting for a couple of nerdy book lovers: spending the day chilling and reading. It was perfect for us, and rather than worry about reading from my list or trying to get blog posts and writing done, I just went with it, no guilt involved. In doing so, I managed to finish all three of the currently released Billionaires and Bridesmaids series, a spinoff of my fave Billionaire Boys Club series. If you had told me a few years back that billionaire romances would be one of my favorite subgenres, I’d have rolled my eyes. But this is one of my guilty pleasures that I have absolutely no guilt about.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A self-conscious woman doesn’t believe it when a good looking business man showers her with attention while she’s on vacation, not recognizing him as the brains behind a popular but misogynistic TV channel. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Cashing in the V-Card
Marjorie is the epitome of naive. She’s a virgin (not a spoiler, it’s in the title of the book), she’s never had a boyfriend, and she tends to think and do like the older generation. She loves bingo, knitting, quilting circles, and generally spending time with the elderly, who she relates to better than she does her peers. She also has a huge hang up about her height and has been made fun of in the past for being an “Amazon.”

Misogyny at Its Finest
Rob Cannon is Marjorie’s complete opposite. He’s jaded by the television industry and the fact that women want him for his money and the fame they think he can bring them. He’s not a good guy. Rob makes his money off a TV show that has women show their breasts for money. And while he’s at the point where he actually wants respect in the industry, he’s having a hard time getting it, especially because his timing in talking with Logan Hawkings (Stranded With a Billionaire) sucks. Logan is on the island for his wedding and wants nothing to do with smut peddling Rob. So Rob decides to leave…until he falls hard for Marjorie.

Beautiful to Me
There were times that Marjorie’s naivete was a little annoying. How sheltered can one woman be? But other times, she was charming and sweet and overall, I really liked her. Rob is a major douchecanoe in general, but I loved that he had no problem with Marjorie’s height and did everything he could to make her feel beautiful. This is one of my favorite themes of all of Jessica Clare’s books: the heroine with a “flaw” and the hero who could care less about it and spends his time making her feel sexy and pretty.

Don’t Mess With Bingo Players
Their first couple dates are hilarious and disastrous. Marjorie doesn’t handle her alcohol well, but Rob isn’t one to be put off by a little end-of-the-evening vomit. Marjorie also has a habit of taking bad advice from well-meaning friends, so their second date involves some weirdness, tears, and a posse of elderly Bingo players who seem likely to take Rob out and beat him like a senior mob hit. Which would have been a pretty funny scene, actually.

I See Where This is Going…
It’s pretty clear from the beginning where the conflict is going to happen, but that doesn’t make the journey to get there any less fun. While Marjorie develops a little bit, mostly because she discovers “the sex,” Rob is the one who really changes, changing his whole outlook on things because of Marjorie and making a big, awesome gesture to show her how much he loves her.

Timey Whimey
I will say that the timeline threw me off a bit. I expected these books to happen after the final book in the Billionaire Boys Club series, and because I don’t retain details after a time, I couldn’t remember what time markers were in One Night with a Billionaire. Cade makes an appearance in this one, single because his date stood him up. My first thought was that something happened with Kylie, but then I remembered that this is romance, and things like that don’t happen. I realized that this one took place before that, when Cade was still hung up on Daphne.

The Romance Factor
Marjorie and Rob are sweet, and it’s fun to watch Rob go from being a general dick to being a kinder person because of Marjorie’s influence. He treats her well for the most part, and his own emotions and hurt during their conflict made me want to give him a hug. 4/5

The Steam Factor
I’m not sure if there’s much I can really say about how hot these books are. Anyone who’s read Clare knows that she writes them spicy and that dirty talk makes up about a good chunk of the naughtiness. Even though Marjorie is a virgin and Rob takes his time with her, it’s still all kinds of dirty fun. 5/5

Final Thoughts
Besides being a fun read, this was a chance to revisit characters from the first set of books, as it takes place at Logan and Bronte’s wedding. While the verdict is still out on if I’m going to like these ones as much as I liked the original books, there’s no doubt that I’m still going to like them, and I’m thrilled to be able to stay in this world for a bit longer.

Book Review: One Night With A Billionaire by Jessica Clare

I knew it was only a matter of time before I finished this series, and I feel a little sad about it. I mean, yeah, I’m going to read them again, especially 2, 4, and 6 in the series, but I really love this world and really don’t want the author to stop writing for it.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A make-up artist spends a fantastic night with a billionaire but can’t take it further because the singer she’s touring with has called dibs. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

The Good Stuff
Kylie is a great character. She’s a big girl, and I love that no one skirts around this. Cade never tries to tell her she’s not fat to make her feel better. Instead, he’s genuinely attracted to her and loves her for who she is. Though she has personal issues with her weight, it never becomes overpowering to her character or takes away from the story itself. Like most of these books, this one was body positive and sex positive.

Things That Made Me Go Hmmm
Daphne is back. She was heavily featured back in The Wrong Billionaire’s Bed and was pretty horrible up until she made a promise to her sister to get clean. As you can imagine, she broke that promise and is a hot mess in this one. She’s also a heinous person working for a record label that’s just as heinous.

I spent the entire book hating her, but then my emotions got toyed with, and once again, she turned out to be okay. I know the other books made me emotional at points, but I think this one was by far pushed most of my buttons.

The Romance Factor
Kylie’s lack of confidence was endearing and added to the conflict when she didn’t think she could compete with Daphne. Cade’s determination to keep Kylie was so alpha, but so sweet. Heck yeah I wanted these two to get together. 5/5

The Steam Factor
You know those scenes that are pretty much standard in a porn film? Not only does Clare go there, but she writes those same scenes as hot and romantic. 5/5

Final Thoughts
This is my 3rd favorite in the series, I loved every minute of it. I’m so sad to be done with this series, but at least I now own them all and get to read them again.

 

Romancing the Billionaire by Jessica Clare

I’ve loved this series so much, but I wasn’t as excited to read this one as I have been the others. It follows a second chances trope, and for some reason, that trope just doesn’t grab me. That wasn’t going to deter me from reading it though, especially because I have one more book to go before I move on to the Billionaires and Bridesmaids spinoff trilogy.

One-Sentence Synopsis
After a decade of regret about losing the woman he loved, a billionaire reunites with her to set off on a treasure hunt left by her dead father, desperate to win her back despite the fact that she hates him. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

The Good Stuff
I ended up really enjoying this one. Violet is hardcore about carrying a grudge, as she’s maintained one against Jonathan for a decade. To be fair, it’s a pretty deep one and borne of both heartache and tragedy. Of course there’s a major misunderstanding, but even with that, Jonathan isn’t held faultless for the fact that he lost her. I liked that they both made mistakes and that it caused them both pain. I’m apparently a character sadist.

I may have mentioned it before, but when written well, a hero who gets sappy over a woman is seriously the best thing ever. Jonathan is still so completely in love with Violet and he’s tormented by the fact that she doesn’t want anything to do with him. My heart seriously broke for the poor guy. Yet at the same time, I was also saying, “You go, Violet. Make him work for it.”

The Romance Factor
Nothing says romance like a man who cries over the woman he wants. I’m also somewhat of a fan of miscommunication when done in the name of angst, and there is a nice chunk of that in this story. Oh the drama. The delicious drama. 5/5

The Steam Factor
I covet Jessica Clare’s ability to write hot sex scenes. The detail and the intensity are always amazing, and though there wasn’t as many sexy times in this one as there have been in others, it was still highly blush inducing. 5/5

Final Thoughts
While not my favorite, I think this book held up well to the series, and even though second chance love isn’t my thing, it definitely gave it originality among the other stories. It’s going on the shelf for when I want to re-read the whole series.

Once Upon a Billionaire by Jessica Claire

I hit another one of my goals, which meant I got to reward myself with the 4th book in the Billionaire Boys Club series. Sadly, I don’t get to see it sitting on my shelf, since it’s not in print. However, I could still read the digital version, which I bought right away. Besides treating myself to the book, I also treated myself to a night of putting the other books I’m reading aside and diving into this one.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A stuffy member of a small country’s royal family is appalled when the the temporary assistant hired to accompany him to his cousin’s wedding turns out to be a southern girl with no knowledge of proper etiquette or decor. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

The Good Stuff
This one currently stands as my 2nd favorite of the series. Griffin is a complete douche while Maylee (who we met in a previous book) is one of the sweetest people ever, as evidenced by the fact that people are drawn to her and seem to like to be around her. Except for Griffin, who can only focus on the fact that she has a southern accent and seemingly, no filter.

Unlike Reese in the previous book, Griffin has a reason for the way he is. Having been brought up to be proper in a royal family, he can’t quite let go of those teachings, even though he’s made an effort to get as far away from his family as possible. Also, he’s not a social person. He doesn’t like people and he doesn’t understand them. There were so many times that he said or did something he thought was nice, and yet didn’t realize how much it hurt Maylee.

Maylee was so adorable. I loved her as the heroine, including her quirky ability to use folk healing to take away pain. It was a strange, magical element that fit into the story as a believable element. She was emotional, but it was nice to have an emotional heroine who was okay with crying when she was upset. She’s also hilarious. I couldn’t tell if she knew that Griffin was correcting her English and didn’t care or if she really didn’t know, but their dialog cracked me up.

Also, we get to see Gretchen and Hunter again, and though Gretchen comes off as a little obnoxious in this book, she’s also the one who calls Griffin out on being a dick, which maintains her likability quotient.

The Romance Factor
Maylee and Griffin take awhile to figure things out, but their journey there is so delightful and angsty. Every time Griffin messes up and Maylee gets sad, the feels just about about killed me. The thing is, Griffin messes up through pretty much the whole book, so while he learns, he learns very slowly. But he does learn, and by the end of the story, I was rooting for him, even if he was a major ass at the beginning. 5/5

The Steam Factor
Interesting fact about this story…compared to the other books, there’s almost no sex. The previous books in this series were pretty hot and heavy, but in this one, besides a few moments of sexual tension, nothing even happens between the two of them until about three quarters of the way through. Actual intercourse only happens once. But because Clare can right sex scenes like a boss, she managed to put so much eroticism into those few scenes, that it still maintained high steam factor. 4/5

Final Thoughts
It’s so hard to finish one of these novels and then go back to other ones. This is another one I could have turned around and read again. I own the next one in the series, so once I get some of my list pared down, I think I’ll “treat” myself to reading that one so I’m ready to buy the last one in the series when I meet my next goal.