Tag Archives: Billionaire Boys Club

Review: Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding (Billionaire Boys Club #6.5) by Jessica Clare

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Title: Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding
Author: Jessica Clare
Publisher/Year: Penguin Publishing 11/15/16
Length:   92 Pages
Series:  Billionaire Boy’s Club #6.5

Overview

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?

My Thoughts

Well, the day has finally come – and i think that from all that we’ve seen from the ‘spin off’ Billionaires and Bridesmaids, it’s not a moment too soon.  We’ve spent the last few years with this group of friends, starting with Hawking and Bronte and revolving quite a bit around Hunter and Gretchen.  So not only do we finally get to ese the wedding happen (or maybe no), we get to see a bit more of another character’s story – one that we’ve really been dancing around throughout much of the series.

So as you all know, Gretchen has been planning her wedding and through needs of moving the date due to Hunters work, her friends getting pregnant etc, she’s having a christmas wedding.  Just days before, she finds out that someone seems to be blackmailing Hunter and that’s just one of many issues that Gretchen has to deal with.  All she wants is her man – isn’t that enough?

Then there’s another little side story here – Gretchen and Audrey’s sister Daphne is out of rehab and wants to find a way to get back into their lives.  So we get to see how her trainer/life coach manages to keep her on the straight and narrow, and at the same time we get to see how welcoming or not her sisters are.  I think that you guys will remember the many other times that we’ve crossed Daphne in other stories, with Audrey, Gretchen even and then also with Kyle (her makeup artist).

It’s a sweet culmination of things – where what you expect doesn’t happen and when things seem to be too easy and smooth, you know that the other shoe is about to drop.  The question is whether this wedding will happen, where it will happen and who will be there since it’s all up in the air.  Enjoy!

Review: His Royal Princess (Billionaire Boys Club #3.5) by Jessica Clare

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Title: His Royal Princess
Author: Jessica Clare
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Publishing 4/19/16
Length:   106  pages
Series:  Billionaire Boys Club #3.5

Overview

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…

My Thoughts

To be honest, i had no idea how this novella fit into the mix and then had to go back and sort it out all.  I”m glad that we got to peek into how this romance started though and how the wedding came to happen.

In this story – we get the expected royal that we know Ms Clare has been itching to write.  Alex is the heir to the throne now that her mother has abdicated and that means that she’s always had to live her life by the rules.  That’s been ok so far for her, just unfulfilling.  It’s only when a movie is being filmed in her small country  with the start being Luke – the actor that she’s had a crush on forever that things begin to change.

She happens onto the set one day and ends up hiding out in his trailer to avoid photographers when a chance encounter makes them meet, in circumstances that are quite funny.  Luke misinterprets who she is – meaning that he thinks she’s a hooker, and well, you know that there’s going to be a lot of apologizing later and quite a bit of embarrassment.

We spend the next chapters seeing how they figure out if they can entertain a relationship, be covert about it, and understand what it could mean to their futures since they are VERY different.  Alex speaks multiple languages, is destined to run a country and is very put together.  Luke has his GED, is American and is an actor on the cusp of something big in his career.

What we get is typical Jessica Clare in the sense that we have a nice romance here, with a story that carries us through the chapters.  Being that it’s a novella and not a full length story, there’s a bit that’s been shaved off so that we don’t necessarily get the depth and breadth that i’ve come to really love in her writing, but nonetheless, it’s still a sweet story filled with the right amount of steamy passionate moments. I can’t wait to see what’s up next in this series, novella or otherwise!

On that note, have a great weekend everyone and i’ll be back!

Review: Romancing the Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club #5) by Jessica Clare

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Title:  Romancing the Billionaire
Author: Jessica Clare
Publisher/Year: Penguin Group USA 11/4/14
Length: 304
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #5

Overview

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?

My Thoughts

I’ve always had a soft spot for Jonathan and i’m glad that we get to see his story this time around.  It was always hinted at that his heart was elsewhere, and that he wasn’t interested in anything serious with new women like his ‘brothers’ – and it’s great that we got to see why.

This story takes us back to when Violet and Jonathan met 10 years prior and through the journey of Violet coming to terms with her father who had passed, and what became of her friendship and relationship with Jonathan.  Through a scavenger hunt of sorts, Violet’s father brought these 2 back together as a way to apologize since he realized as he was dying that he needed to fix all that he had messed up.

We go from New Mexico to London to Greece and back to Detroit on a hunt to decipher clues leading them to what Violet’s father stole, and along this journey we see a passion and heat re-ignite among a couple that’s not quite ready to walk away from each other but who are too scared to welcome it with open arms.

Like we’ve gotten throughout this series is a great set of characters – they are great as a standalone duo, yet it’s nice to see other brothers come in to play supporting roles.  Cade does that here and i can’t wait to see what his story brings to him.  We also get some great passion and such a sweet love story that you know that you’re reading something by Ms. Clare.  There’s chemistry that leaps off the pages, but you aren’t kept reading the story because of that. y ou want to root for these 2 in a way that’s heart warming, yet you know that it’s not going to be an easy journey.

I’m excited for the next installment and i hope that you guys are too.  Enjoy!

Review: The Wrong Billionaire’s Bed (Billionaire Boy’s Club #3) by Jessica Clare

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Title:  The Wrong Billionaire’s Bed
Author: Jessica Clare
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Group (USA) 10/15/13
Length:  265 pages
Series: Billionaire Boy’s Club #3

Overview

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

My Thoughts

We’ve become well aware of Audrey as she’s Logan’s assistant and she had a role in all of the other ladies stories – either through helping Bronte through her struggles or being the younger sister of Gretchen in book 2.  I knew what was coming from the horrible experience that she had at Hunter/Gretchen’s party when Daphne her twin showed up high and drunk and caused a spectacle.

So in this story we get to see Audrey’s dreams come true – in an odd way.  She’s trying to help Daphne get sober since her twin won’t go to rehab again, and Cade, one of the billionaires and her childhood friend has offered his house and his assistance to get Daphne sober. This means that Audrey has the chance that she’s always wanted to spend time with him since she’s been in love with him forever and see where it goes.

Of course things don’t always work out as planned – because as soon as they get to Cade’s house, they find Reese there, with another woman and that throws a curve ball in things.  Daphne’s also not the easiest to deal with since she’s having a tough time coming down off her drugs and substances.  What ensues is a ‘hate hate’ relationship with Audrey and Reese, Daphne being needy and Cade being overly attentive to that, and Audrey finding herself attracted to Reese in ways that she didn’t expect and didn’t want.

All the while, still harboring feelings for Cade and not sure what the implications will be.  Throughout this story we get to see the dynamics between the couples, and see what will develop.  There are a lot of things that were quite expected in terms of who would hook up and who’s feelings would get hurt.  I can’t say that there was any twist here that was unexpected and unpredictable which is a bit of a let down since i think that there was more of that tension in the previous installments of the series.

While i like the story and i like that it’s continuing, i really hoped that there would be more tension which would lead to more passion and that’s not really what we got.  We got luke warm sensuality between the characters, lacking the steam and passion that i’ve come to appreciate, but at least we got to see characters come together that deserve each other.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see who’s story is next……this was average but i’m not willing to give up on the series yet.

Review: Beauty and the Billionaire (The Billionaire Bad Boys Club #2) by Jessica Clare

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Title:  Beauty and the Billionaire
Author: Jessica Clare
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Group  7/16/13
Length:  300+ pages
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #2

Overview

he 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…

Real-estate tycoon Hunter Buchanan has a dark past that’s left him scarred and living as a recluse on his family’s palatial estate. Hunter is ready to give up on love—until he spots an enigmatic red-haired beauty and comes up with an elaborate scheme to meet her.

Gretchen Petty is in need of a paycheck—and a change. So when a job opportunity in an upstate New York mansion pops up she accepts. And while she can overlook the oddities of her new job, she can’t ignore her new boss’s delectable body—or his barely leashed temper.

Hunter’s afraid his plan might be unraveling before it’s truly begun, but Gretchen is about to show him that life can be full of surprises…

My Thoughts

We definitely get the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ story here which is kind of sweet yet kind of cliiche.  while i enjoyed this second installment, i felt that it was really a bridge book and maybe just a place holder while the next books were in motion.  There was so much heat and anxiety in the first book between Bronte and Logan that i was kind of hoping that we would get something similar here.

In this story, we are reintroduced with Gretchen whom we met in the first book when Bronte ran away from Logan.  You get the sense in that story that there’s a good tale to be told with Gretchen, but when we get her on her own, there’s just not as much there as could be.  I actually kept wanting to hear more about her sister than her.  Anyhow, we learn more about Grethchen’s job as a ghostwriter and we see how she;s affected by what she does.  meaning that she’s bored with the stuff that she writes and doesn’t make enough money doing it.

We also get to know a bit more about Hunter and about what makes him the recluse that he is.  In book1, we learned that he was heavily scarred and we actually get that story begrudgingly from him in this book.  I think that the best thing about this story was seeing how scared he was and how fragile he was as a result of what happened when he was a child.

I came to appreciate how naive he is and it makes his story so much better than being just the guy who’s damaged yet very successful because of what his family had.  There’s also this gentle side that really relates to the Beast in Beauty and the Beast which is nice, and you really want him to be happy.

throughout the book, we get the story of Hunter figuring out a way to spend time with Gretchen, which in his own way meant that he set up a publishing house for her to write for, and bought letters that he said were from his house that he wanted her to put into a story form but could not take the letters from his home so she’d have to stay there.  pretty smart, but you knew that she would find out.

There were bits and pieces thrown into the story that made me think that it could go one way or another , but we never got there.  potential love triangle, getting kicked out of an apt, maybe finding a new profession since writing bad romance books wasn’t her thing…..

I really kept hoping that there would be ‘more’ to the story and there wasn’t.  there were a few decent scenes where you feel the heat and passion behind the couple, but they are short lived (probably intentional given Hunters back story), but it left me just wanting more.  so now i’m left with a few questions

1) who’s the focus goign to be on for book 3

2) can Audrey save Daphne or is it a lost cause?

3) which one of the sisters does Cade really like since i have a feeling that there’s more to the story

all in all, average, but not bad enough to keep me from reading the next installment when it comes out.

Review: Stranded with a Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club #1) by Jessica Clare

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Title:  Stranded with a Billionaire 
Author: Jessica Clare 
Publisher/Year: Penguin Group (USA) 4/16/13
Length: 260 pages
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #1

Overview

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… 

Billionaire Logan Hawkings needs a vacation. 

He’s had a rough time after the death of his father and the betrayal of his fiancée. But with a visit to a recent business acquisition—a private island resort in the Bahamas—he has a chance to mend his broken heart. 

When a hurricane blows in, a misplaced passport and a stalled elevator bring Logan together with an unusual woman named Bronte. She’s unlike anyone he’s ever met—down to earth, incredibly sensual, and even quotes Plato. 

She also has no clue that he’s rich… 

Bronte Dawson, a waitress from the Midwest, is stranded with the hotel’s domineering yet sexy manager Logan. What’s the harm in a little fling when it’s just the two of them, alone in paradise? But after several steamy island nights in Logan’s arms, Bronte’s ready to give her heart—and her body—to the man in charge. 

But she soon discovers there’s more to Logan than he’s told her…a billion times more. Now, Bronte’s caught in a whirlwind affair with one of the world’s most powerful men. But can their love endure their differences or will it all just blow over? 

What i liked

One of the interesting things here is that more than half of the story is from the POV of Logan which is nice.  We get the sense that Bronte is our strong female, but it’s more about Logan here and that’s a nice change.  We get that he has trust issues and that he had a tough upbringing, and we see how that’s changed him.

I also liked the glimpses into the other 5 gentlemen in the Brotherhood and i can’t wait to see how they are brought to life in the follow ups to this story

What i didn’t like

Bronte was VERY predictable in all of her actions.  Seriously, you knew where this story was going to go and you knew exactly what you were going to get from her in terms of response.    I also didn’t care much for the lack of depth that we got throughout some of the  character development.  I mean, everything was pretty much on the surface.  you don’t get a real back story on any of the characters aside from the little glimpse into Logan.  you don’t really know what the point of the society is and why they need to keep it so secret.  

all in all, it was pretty average, but since it’s a series, i’m not going to count it down and out just yet.  if you need a quick read, then i’d suggest you check it out.  took me just a few hours last night to read through the whole thing.

What i’m looking forward to

1) learning more about Hunter and what made him scarred

2) learning more about the other guys in general since i really enjoy Jonathan, Griffin, Cade (and i guess Reese)

3) seeing where things go with Logan/Bronte since I”m sure that there will be some continuation of their story in the next books 

4) finding out why it’s so taboo for the brotherhood to exist, although i kind of have a little idea…..