Tag Archives: Millionaire/Billionaire

The Unwanted Wife (Unwanted # 1)

By Natasha Anders

BR The Unwanted Wife

Synopsis

No one had ever looked at her and seen perfection—until now.

Delicate, titian-haired Theresa Noble has met her father’s associates in the past, but the gorgeous, Italian-born Sandro De Lucci leaves her speechless. Eighteen months into their marriage, however, Sandro has turned to ice. Desperate to escape a relationship that has proven to be as stubbornly passionate as it is cold and hateful, Theresa summons up the courage to ask for a divorce. But before he’ll grant her request, Sandro demands something from Theresa: a son.

The stalemate sickens her. Never mind that Sandro has yet to introduce Theresa to the large family that means so much to him. Or that Theresa overhears her husband on the phone with a mystery woman. Most damning is that Theresa senses, in Sandro’s treatment of her, the behind-the-scenes machinations of Jackson Noble, her cruel father. From the depths of her anxiety, Theresa must seek an empowering truth about the husband who calls her, with such cold affection, his cara, his beloved.

Review

“I want a divorce, Alessandro.”

After eighteen months of being married to a man who treats her with contempt, Theresa is calling it quits.  The man she fell in love with doesn’t love her in return⎯in fact, her resents her⎯and she sees no point in continuing on.  She wants a divorce but Alessandro won’t give her one, at least not until she bears him a son.  But when she keeps insisting on a divorce, he starts to question everything and discovers that she’s not to blame for the situation he’s been put in.  With the blinders off, he tries to salvage their marriage, but it’s too late; Theresa is too heartbroken to forgive and determined to divorce him as soon as possible.

I really liked Theresa and thought she was a very strong woman.  This is a woman who has been put through the emotional wringer, courtesy of her husband and her father.  She admits that she’s been a doormat in the past, but she stands up for herself and refuses to be treated that way anymore, and she does a damn fine job of it too.  She puts her husband in his place several times, not afraid to point out his poor treatment of her or that what he did was unforgivable.

“I’m your husband…”
“No.  You are not my husband.  You have never been my husband.  A husband loves, honors and cherishes.  A husband is a lover and a champion.  Look into the next room if you want to see what a real husband is, because you are no such thing!”

I’m just going to put this out there…you will not like Alessandro at the beginning of this book.  Even when he learns the truth, he still doesn’t treat Theresa very well thanks to his stupid male pride.  But when he puts aside his resentment and realises how badly he’s hurt her, he changes his whole attitude and becomes a man you’re truly hoping will win back his wife.  But eighteen months of poor treatment is a very hard thing to overcome, if at all.  Theresa is bitter and untrusting of his motives, and I don’t blame her.

“I’m trying to fix this, cara.”
“You can’t.  This…whatever it is…it’s irreparable.”

THE UNWANTED WIFE grabbed me from the first page and did not let me go.  Any opportunity I had to read it during the day, I took it.  I went through so many tissues throughout this book, especially in the beginning, which took me forever to get through because I was constantly stopping to wipe my eyes.  I was so sad and angry for what Theresa had been going through.  You will definitely experience several emotions while reading this story.  From memory, this is told only in Theresa’s POV and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a standalone.

“Why should I forgive you and love you again?  Why should I open up my heart to a man who could easily crush it in the palms of his hands?”
“You probably shouldn’t.  But I wish you would.”

The Unwanted Wife (Unwanted # 1)

My Rating:  5 Hearts

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The Unwanted Series

Burning Ultimatum (Trevor’s Harem # 4)

By Aubrey Parker

BR Burning Ultimatum

Synopsis

With Trevor’s contest at its end, it’d be easy to say we’re three against one. And yet I’ve never felt so alone. 

My heart is torn, twisted, ripped. I’m alternately hot and cold. I dream vivid dreams, no longer sure if they’re fantasy or reality. 

There’s a new player in the game. He’s tall, broad, beautiful, and intimidating. Everyone is afraid of him, even the company. I’m told he has a secret, and that I’m its subject. And someone else has a secret, too — from our mystery man, and god help us if he learns it. 

Everyone is loyal to something or someone in this place — though it’s seldom what it seems. 

I don’t know who’s with me and who’s against me — if I’ll go home with my new protector … or be kept here forever. 

I couldn’t possibly be what Eros has combed the world for … can I?

Review

BURNING ULTIMATUM is the final novella in a four-part serial that I read back to back.  I really wanted to like this series and I kept giving it the benefit of the doubt, but the only emotion I’m feeling two weeks after finishing it is frustrated.

Starting with BURNING OFFER, I didn’t understand what was going on but I was intrigued enough to continue with the series.  BURNING RIVALRY and BURNING CHOICE were similar, in that I still didn’t understand anything, but I was still intrigued even as I was getting frustrated.  I truly hoped that BURNING ULTIMATUM would explain everything.  That there’d be this lightbulb moment where suddenly everything from the first three books would make sense.  Either I missed a chapter or two that explained everything, or I’m just too stupid to understand, but I still don’t get what the point of this story was.  Right from the start I felt as though I was missing something, and that feeling never went away for me.

This entire series has amazing ratings and reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads, so obviously a lot of people are loving it, but unfortunately I just can’t give it the same love.  If you love books with hidden agendas, backstabbing, ulterior motives, mind games and corporate takeovers, this one will be right up your alley.

Burning Ultimatum (Trevor’s Harem # 4)

My Rating:  2 Hearts

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Trevor’s Harem Series

His Heart’s Revenge (49th Floor # 4)

By Jenny Holiday

BR His Heart's Revenge

Synopsis

Twenty years ago, I was too smart and too poor to be cool. Now I’m laughing my way to the bank–the bank I’m CEO of. Nothing can touch me.
Except maybe him.
We met at summer camp. We made out under the stars. Then he stabbed me in the back.
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But I’m gonna go with hot.

Alexander Evangelista is a millionaire with all the trappings: houses all over the world and hot guys lined up whenever he’s in need of some no-strings-attached company. He’s on his way to world domination.

A CEO in his own right, Cary Bell is competing for a major client with his boyhood crush. He’s never forgiven himself for betraying Alex. But with his professional reputation on the line, he’s going to have to find his inner cutthroat if he wants his new company to succeed.

Alex isn’t about to let his nemesis steal a client out from under him. It’s time to break Cary’s company–and his heart.

Review

Cary has boldly stepped away from his family’s business to start his own financial investment firm.  Things are going well enough, until he finds out he’s in direct competition with Dominion Bank and its CEO, Alex, for an account that is worth millions; an account that could really put Cary’s fledgling business on the map.  Unfortunately for Cary, Alex is the man he humiliated twenty years ago when they were both teens at camp, and he has never forgiven or forgotten what Cary did to him all those years ago.  Alex has declared war and is not afraid of playing dirty to come out as the winner.

HIS HEART’S REVENGE is told in present tense but also includes flashbacks to when Alex and Cary were at camp.  I really felt for Alex, who only came to camp every year to spend time with Cary, so it was heartbreaking when Cary turned around and humiliated him in front of everyone to save his own reputation.  That single event turned Alex into the cold and ruthless businessman he is today.  It has also haunted Cary, who wonders at what they could have had if he had the courage to stand up for Alex on that fateful day.  Now in their mid-thirties, both men are openly gay, strong, intelligent, and dominant.  The word “Alpha” suits them both to a T.

HIS HEART’S REVENGE is told in dual POVs and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone.  I have to admit, I liked Cary more than Alex, only because Alex was very cold, distant and hurtful throughout almost the entire story.  I also have to say that I felt more of an emotional connection between them as teens than I did as adults, which was why I struggled to understand how they fell in love in the present.  That being said, the sex was hot.  Overall, I found this book to be an enjoyable way to spend a few hours and I thought the ending was sweet.

His Heart’s Revenge (49th Floor # 4)

My Rating:  4 Hearts

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49th Floor Series

Burning Choice (Trevor’s Harem # 3)

By Aubrey Parker

BR Burning Choice

Synopsis

I’ve been in this billionaire’s game for a month — but something changed when half my competition was eliminated. 

It feels less like a contest now … and more like an experiment. 

I shouldn’t have made it past the first round. I don’t know how I did; I’m not special like the others. When I ask Daniel, he just tells me it’s complicated. Then he talks about brain chemistry, how love and sex are an addiction. He tells me how wild animals claim mates, and how he’s claimed me. 

The stakes are higher. 

The competition is fiercer. 

I should have been kicked out long ago, but Daniel tells me I might be the needle in the haystack the company has been looking for. 

Sometimes I’m afraid of them all, even of Daniel. 

But It’s like I’m on a tether. I couldn’t leave if I wanted to.

Review

So I’m now three books into this series and even though I know a lot more than what I did when I started reading book one, I still don’t understand what is going on or what it is I’m reading.

Here’s what I know:
1 – Three more girls have been eliminated and somehow, despite not playing the game, Bridget is still in the running.
2 – We know that Daniel wanted Bridget in the contest to punish and humiliate her for something she did as a child.  Pathetic much?
3 – We know that Halo is the program that runs the house and that it decides who stays and who goes.
4 – Everybody involved in the contest knows that Bridget and Daniel are sleeping together and yet they’re not removed.

Here’s what I don’t know:
1 – Who Caspian White is and why he’s so interested in the contest and Halo, or why everyone fears him and bends over backwards for him.
2 – I don’t know what it is Halo and the board are looking for.  They’re looking for something/someone special that will make them a lot of money, but how these games will help them find it, I don’t know.
3 – I don’t know how the villain, Kylie, is getting access to computers to hack classified information about Bridget and what is going on in the house.

BURNING CHOICE is told in dual POVs, but again is mostly told in Bridget’s POV.  It’s the third book in a four part serial, so it cannot be read as a stand-alone.  Since I still can’t make sense of anything, I’m hoping it’ll all become clear in the fourth and final book.  I have to admit, I’m getting more frustrated and less intrigued with each book.  I wonder if I should give up, but I feel like I’ve invested too much time in this to give up now.  So, onto the fourth book I go.

Burning Choice (Trevor’s Harem # 3)

My Rating:  3 Hearts

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Trevor’s Harem Series

Hanging By A Thread (Riley O’Brien & Co. # 3)

By Jenna Sutton

BR Hanging By A Thread

Synopsis

Thirty-year-old Bebe Banerjee is desperate to get rid of two things: her fiancé and her virginity. Escaping her arranged marriage might be impossible, but she refuses to give her firsts to an entitled jerk who lives on another continent. Instead, she devises a plan that guarantees another man will get her momentous firsts. But she never imagined that man would be Cal O’Brien, the gorgeous heir to the Riley O’Brien & Co. denim empire… 
 
Although Cal has always been fascinated by Bebe’s brilliant mind and beautiful eyes, he’s never pursued her. She can’t stand the sight of him, and every time they’re in the same room, they end up trading insults. Yet when he finds out about Bebe’s bold plan, he makes his move, unaware of her upcoming nuptials. He promises to make her firsts unforgettable, but he doesn’t know how hard it will be to forget her when their arrangement ends.

Review

This was a sweet read about two people who have been fighting their attraction to each other for years.  Sparks flew the moment they first touched, but being unfamiliar with the feeling and emotion, Bebe recoiled and lashed out, putting Cal immediately offside and keeping him there for the next four years.  When he overhears her talking about wanting to lose her virginity, Cal decides this is the perfect time to strike.  Bebe doesn’t know it, but Cal’s feelings for her will ensure he’ll look after her and treat her right.  What starts out as a sexual agreement quickly turns into something more and it’s not long before they’re both wondering if they have something really special.

HANGING BY A THREAD is told in dual POVs and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone.  I can’t say exactly why, but this one didn’t grab me as much as the other books in the series have and I felt like this was missing…something.  I would like to know why Bebe’s family loathed her, but that’s never explained and was left as a loose thread (no pun intended).  I liked the conflict and resolution at the end, even though there wasn’t much of a conflict at all and it was resolved very quickly.  I liked it because Cal had a legitimate reason to believe the worst, but he gave Bebe a chance to explain the situation and when he learned everything, he forgave her then and there.  He didn’t drag it out because his feelings were hurt, as you see in so many other stories.  Bebe was a nice character, but it was Cal I really liked.  He was a lot of fun and I loved his juvenile, sexual humour.

“And your shoes spoke to me.”
“Oh, really?  What did they say?”
“We look even better when she’s wearing us and nothing else.”

Hanging By A Thread (Riley O’Brien & Co. # 3)

My Rating:  3 Hearts

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Riley O’Brien & Co. Series

Burning Rivalry (Trevor’s Harem # 2)

By Aubrey Parker

BR Burning Rivalry

Synopsis

I shouldn’t be in this mansion, in this twisted contest, with these strange men and women. 

The things they’re willing to do as they play Trevor’s game are beyond belief. 

The plotting and backstabbing is too much to take. 

I only have one ally. One reason for staying. But as much as I’m drawn to Trevor’s right-hand man Daniel, he keeps pushing me away. We’re red-hot one second … but I’d swear he hates me the next. 

I’m better than this place. The hedonism should repel me, and the fact that I’ll only play with the one man I’m not allowed to have should have gotten me thrown out long ago. 

But I’m still here, and so is Daniel …

Review

I read BURNING RIVALRY immediately after finishing BURNING OFFER for two reasons: firstly because I was intrigued with the story and wanted to keep going; and secondly because I had no idea what was going on and didn’t want to risk forgetting anything.  After finishing BURNING RIVALRY, I have to admit that I still have no idea what is going on in that house.  Everyone talks in riddles and everything is based on strategy and manipulation.  Quite frankly, this book is a mindfuck just like the games in the story.

There are three things I do know:
1 – Six of the twelve girls get eliminated.
2 – Daniel is supposed to be off-limits to the contestants, but his sexual relationship with Bridget appears to be the world’s worst kept secret.
3 – EROS is looking for that special something in a special someone that will help the company make more money.

BURNING RIVALRY is told in dual POVs, but again is mostly told in Bridget’s POV.  It’s the second book in a four part serial, so it cannot be read as a stand-alone.  I hate overly predictable books, so while I’m frustrated that I’m not understanding this book at all, I love the fact that I have no idea what’s going on or what’s going to happen.

Burning Rivalry (Trevor’s Harem # 2)

My Rating:  3 Hearts

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Visit Aubrey Parker:  Click Here


Trevor’s Harem Series

Burning Offer (Trevor’s Harem # 1)

By Aubrey Parker

BR Burning Offer

Synopsis

The anonymous invitation that someone slipped under my door promises $1,000. Just for meeting a man downtown, in a public place, no questions asked.

I can make more than I ever imagined if I agree to take part in a competition.

Just get into the limousine. Just get on the private plane. Just fly to an airstrip at the foot of the largest, most luxurious estate I’ve ever seen. Just stay the first night, then another. Tell no one where I’ve gone, or why.

Everything in me screams to run away.

The rules say I can leave whenever I want.

So why am I still here?

Review

I’m not entirely sure what to say about this book, and I don’t have to worry about giving away any spoilers because I have absolutely no friggin’ idea what the hell is going on.  All I know is that Bridget is competing against eleven other women in a sexual contest aimed at finding a wife for the billionaire head of a sex toy company.  But is that all there is to the contest?  Who’s in charge?  Is it Trevor, Daniel or someone else?  Bridget doesn’t know, nor does she care; she only plans on staying long enough to win enough money to help her mother get out of a bad situation.

BURNING OFFER is told in dual POVs, but is mostly told in Bridget’s POV.  It’s the beginning of a four part serial, so it cannot be read as a stand-alone.  I’ll be honest, I thought about giving up on this book several times.  I didn’t feel like I was missing something, but rather that I was missing everything, because not one thing made a damn bit of sense.  I’m assuming it’s meant to be very confusing and that hopefully it’s not simply a case of being too stupid to understand what’s going on.  But as much as it frustrated the crap out of me, it also intrigued me enough to keep me coming back.

Burning Offer (Trevor’s Harem # 1)

My Rating:  3 Hearts

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Visit Aubrey Parker:  Click Here


Trevor’s Harem Series

Shameless (Playboys In Love # 1)

By Gina L. Maxwell

BR Shameless

Synopsis

People say I’m shameless. They’re right.
 
I like my sex dirty. It takes a hell of a lot to tilt my moral compass, and I always follow when it’s pointing at something I want. That goes double when it points straight at the one girl in all of Chicago who’s not dying for a piece of me.
 
She’s all I can think about, and that’s a problem, because she wants nothing to do with me. But I’ve seen her deepest secrets, her darkest fantasies, and they match mine to a fucking T.
 
I want her. Bad.
 
Now I need to show her how good it can feel…to be shameless.

Review

What can I say about SHAMELESS?  Well, it’s about a male stripper who loves pounding women into next week.  Do you really need to know anything else?  You do?  Ok, well, it’s a fun and quick read that includes a lot of hot, hard, hair-pulling sex.  There’s not much of a story, but the sex is plentiful and damn hot.

I dance and make their panties wet, then they do the same to my dick.  It’s a win-win.

I really liked Jane, who’s a simple, hard-working girl with a kinky side.  She gets the shock of her life when she realises that the plumber her best friend hired is actually a stripper and when Chance offers up a night she’ll never forget, it sounds too good for her to pass up.  She’s not clingy or emotional, and she really does try to keep her feelings out of the equation when it comes to Chance and their casual yet exclusive relationship.  When he’s not being an asshole, Chance is a very likeable guy.  For a man who claims he never wants to be in a relationship, he plays the part of doting boyfriend really well.

“I’m hungry for you, Jane.  So tell me what I have to do to get you on my menu.”

SHAMELESS is told in dual POVs and is the first book in the Playboys In Love series.  It comes with a HEA for Chance and Jane, and also sets us up for RUTHLESS, which will be about Addie (Jane’s BFF) and Roman (Chance’s BFF and Playboys 4 Hire business partner).  Please note that the sex in this book contains elements of degradation and humiliation, which I’m not into at all but Jane is, so it’s something to be mindful of before you start reading.

Shameless (Playboys In Love # 1)

My Rating:  4 Hearts

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Into The Whirlwind (BOSS Inc. # 2)

By Kat Martin

BR Into The Whirlwind

Synopsis

A bodyguard, a bounty hunter, a private investigator, no one can handle the heat like the men of BOSS, Inc. 

Megan O’Brien is at her wit’s end. Her three-year-old son has been kidnapped. No police, says the ransom demand. Fearing for her son’s life, Meg has no choice but to turn to her former bodyguard, Dirk Reynolds. 

Dirk’s never forgiven Meg for the way she left him after their brief affair. But with bounty hunter Luke Brodie on his side, Dirk knows he’s got to help Meg rescue her son. 

The few clues they’ve gathered send them spiraling into a murky world of big banking and international crime. Meg may be way out of her depths, but she’s seeing a side of Dirk she never suspected—one no woman could possibly resist.

Review

I was quite looking forward to reading INTO THE WHIRLWIND, but I have to admit that it left me a little disappointed.  At one point I considered not finishing it because I just wasn’t feeling it; the story was sounding old and I wondered if it was a reboot of an older book.  But I persisted and I felt the story improved as it went along.

So why only 2 hearts?  I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it’s hard to fall in love with a guy named Dirk because that is not a name I would consider sexy.  I think the author was trying to make Meg seem strong by insisting she could play with the big boys when they went out on their recon missions, but all she did was sit in the car and wait for them to come back.  She could have done that at home.  After she’s reunited with her kidnapped three year old son, twice in the next two days she leaves him at home alone with the nanny.  As a mother, if my son had been kidnapped, I wouldn’t leave his side ever again until he went to college.  Maybe not even then.  It would ruin his social life, but hey, at least I’d know he was safe.  I also couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that without any evidence whatsoever, they were certain they knew who one of the kidnappers were.  It turns out they were right, but nothing pointed to that person other than a hunch.

INTO THE WHIRLWIND is told in dual POVs and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone.  That being said, I get the impression you’d learn more about the start of Dirk and Meg’s relationship if you’d read INTO THE FURY first.  If you like books with a lot of action involving kidnappings, boat chases, drownings and international criminals, this book just might be for you.

Into The Whirlwind (BOSS Inc. # 2)

My Rating:  2 Hearts

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Sugar Daddy (Sugar Bowl # 1)

By Sawyer Bennett

BR Sugar Daddy

Synopsis

Sela Halstead lost her innocence in a way that no sixteen-year-old should ever have to endure. She’s spent years trying to forget that night even while wondering about the identities of the monsters who brutalized her—until a telltale tattoo flashes across Sela’s TV screen. The incriminating ink belongs to Jonathon Townsend, the millionaire founder of The Sugar Bowl, a website that matches rich older men with impressionable young women. Obsessed with revenge, Sela infiltrates Townsend’s world, only to come face-to-face with a tantalizing complication: Beckett North, his charismatic business partner.
 
The tech mastermind behind The Sugar Bowl, Beck always gets what he wants, in business and in bed. And yet, for a man who’s done every dirty thing imaginable, there’s something about the naïve, fresh-faced Sela that sparks his hottest fantasies. Because with her, it’s not just about sex. Beck opens up to her in ways he never has with other girls. So why does he get the feeling that she’s hiding something? In a world of pleasure and power, the shocking truth could turn them against each other—or bind them forever.
 
Note: Sugar Daddy ends on a cliffhanger. Sela and Beck’s story continues in Sugar Rush andSugar Free!

Review

HOLY FUCKING CRAP!!!  What a story.  I could not put this one down.  The chemistry between Sela and Beck is hot and the sex is even hotter.  But it’s not all just hot sex and amazing chemistry; there are some sweet and homey scenes in there too.  I knew this was going to end in a cliffhanger but it still came out of nowhere and man, was it a doozy.  My first thought when I finished was, “Beck, you have no idea what you’ve just done.”.  How will he come back from this?  What is Sela feeling right now?  What is going to happen next?  Honestly, you will be left with a slew of questions and feelings that you’ll have to sort through.  I love a book that still has me reeling several days later.

My heart absolutely broke for Sela after being shown glimpses of what happened to her on the night of her sixteenth birthday and I totally get her need for revenge.  What is really sad though is that we haven’t been told everything that happened that night; just bits and pieces of it as she had her flashbacks.  Obviously, trust is not something she gives out freely, but it’s not long before she gives her trust to Beck.  There’s something about him that not only puts her at ease, but also helps her heal some of her old wounds.  Being with him has her thinking that she can possibly have a happy and normal life, and that’s something she wants even more than revenge.

Beck is a nice guy who donates whatever time and money he can for worthy causes.  He was born into a wealthy family and has amassed his own wealth, but it hasn’t gone to his head.  He knows that the Sugar Bowl trades in sex, but he’s actually very respectful of the woman in his company; he doesn’t think of them as whores or sluts, but instead thinks of them as smart businesswomen.  He’s a good guy who never gives up on his friends, despite the fact that he should have given up on JT a long time ago. There’s a deep connection hinted at throughout the book that Beck uses to justify his reason for not turning his back on JT, but it’s not been revealed yet.

SUGAR DADDY is told in dual POVs and is part one in the trilogy about Sela and Beck.  I cannot wait for the next book, SUGAR RUSH, which comes out on August 2.

Please note: This book talks about rape which may be a trigger for some readers.

Sugar Daddy (Sugar Bowl # 1)

My Rating:  5 Hearts

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Sugar Bowl Series