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ARC Review: The Big, Bad Billionaire (Billionaire Fairytales #4) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: The Big, Bad Billionaire
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year:  St Martins Press 11/21/17
Length:   200 Pages
Series:  Billionaire Fairytales #4

Overview

Overview

The Big, Bad Billionaire: A Billionaire Romance by Jackie Ashenden

An intensely sexy Billionaire Fairy Tales standalone novel by Jackie Ashenden that is billionaire romance meets Little Red Riding Hood with a happily ever after.

Wicked. Ruthless. Obsessed.

Sent away from his family as a boy because he couldn’t be controlled, Rafe DeSantis’s new guardian turned him into a monster. One who wants only two things out of life: To get revenge on the father who destroyed his life. And to possess the woman who was kept from him. Ella Hart has been his obsession for years, and now that he’s her guardian he’s finally in position to black mail her into his bed. And once he has her there? He’s going to eat her up.

Innocent. Alone. Hunted.

Ella has been living with her grandmother since the death of her parents when she was a child. She’s learned to pour her grief and pain into dance, and it’s become her escape. Her passion. Now she’s set her sights on a prestigious dance school in Paris. But there’s one problem. Ella was so young when her parents died, her money was left in the hands of the DeSantis family…and it’s now controlled by Rafe. A man she’s always found compelling and terrifying at the same time. Rafe offers her an ultimatum: Give herself to him, body and soul, and she’ll get the money she needs.

Ella isn’t in a position to refuse, though she tries to resist the sexy billionaire. It feels good, until her heart becomes involved. Does the big bad billionaire want to capture her heart? Or does he only want to own her body?

My Thoughts

First i have to thank the folks at Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC – i’m a huge fan of Jackie Ashenden and they’ve gifted me with the pre-read.

We’ve gotten stories from all the other brothers so it’s about time that we get to see what the story was for Rafe.  In the last book we watched him take down his father’s role as CEO and now it’s come to fruition.  He seems to have everything that he could ever want – with the exception of one thing.  one person.  Ella.

Ella – our leading lady is a bit of a girl – twenty years old and really just trying to live her life as best as she can.  Dancing is the only thing that she has to look towards – her mother was a ballerina and she’s only ever wanted to follow in her footsteps.  Which would take her to a summer intensive program in paris.  That of course is where Ella sees her path crossing with Rafe.

As Ella’s newly appointed guardian, Rafe has control over the money that Ella needs to go to Paris and of course he’s able to manipulate the situation so that it works to his benefit.  He makes it so that Ella is at his control, and in order to get what she wants, she has to give him a bit of what he wants.  her.  So this is a story of seeing that power struggle unfold while also watching what was once a sweet relationship when she was a baby turn into something that’s heated and intense.

There’s also the underlying story of how damaged both of them are.  Rafe has an uncontrollable temper and that was something that was a fear for her family when she was a baby and something that he struggles to control and contain now.  Ella on the other hand has her own anxiety issues stemming from the loss of her parents.  She’s afraid to experience life at all in the fear of losing everyone and everything that’s important to her .

It’s a tough journey that they go on, and one that’s written in the exacting style of Ms Ashenden as we’ve become accustomed to over the last few books in this series.  there’s heat and passion that jumps off the pages, interspersed with intense anger and fear.  all the right components to making a story a good one.  So…on that note, i think that we’ve wrapped things up with all the brothers and i hope that you’ve enjoyed the series and get a chance to get this next installment when it’s out in November.

Review: The Billionaire’s Intern (Billionaire Fairytales #3) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: The Billionaire’s Intern
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year:  St Martin’s Press 8/1/17
Length:   200 Pages
Series:  Billionaire Fairytales #3

Overview

An intensely sexy Billionaire Fairy Tales standalone novel by Jackie Ashenden that is billionaire romance meets Sleeping Beauty with a happily ever after.

Lorenzo De Santis: Ruthless. Driven. Ambitious.

Lorenzo De Santis is the boss. He’s an uncompromising hardass, he doesn’t suffer fools, and he doesn’t have time to deal with witless young interns. But when an old friend asks for a favor, Lorenzo can’t refuse. Even if it means taking on the man’s daughter as a project.

Kira Constantin: Rich. Party girl…Spy.

Kira Constantin feels like she has been half-alive since that one night of partying ended in tragedy. So when her father demands that she go undercover at De Santis Corp as a spy, there’s no way she can refuse. She must redeem herself, even if that means dealing with a boss like of Lorenzo De Santis.

Except neither of them counts on the forbidden heat that flares between them. As Kira and Lorenzo draw closer, spying on him becomes harder and harder. And then Kira discovers that the real villain might be closer to her than she thinks…

My Thoughts

I’m a fan of this author and i think that the stories that we’ve gotten from this series have been rooted nicely in fairytales that we know but given a modern twist in a world where there’s a lot of deceit and conniving amongst a family as well as a family rivalry.

In this third book we get to see the story of the eldest brother Lorenzo – and how he’s trying to make DS Corp clean and free from fraud etc.  He’s noticed that his father is moving money around and he can’t seem to find the trail.  He needs help in figuring that out, and that help comes to him in an unlikely form.

Ivan is the closest person to Lorenzo’s father, and he’s kind of a father figure to Lorenzo since he’s grown up around him.  When Ivan comes to him with a directive from his father saying that Ivan’s daughter Kira needs to be part of his staff in the form of a direct intern, we know that things are going to get dicey.  Lorenzo wants nothing to do with Kira since he remembers how she was when she was younger – selfish, undirected and a nuisance.  That’s nothing that he needs in his office, although after a bit of convincing, he realizes that she’s perhaps the bets person to get the information that he needs.

Interestingly enough, Kira’s also been manipulated by her father to find information on Lorenzo since Lorenzo’s father thinks that he’s onto him and what he’s doing with the company and that is a problem.  Fortunately Lorenzo realizes that she’s likely a spy and decides to see if he can use her against her father and his father to prove them being wrong.

What’s nice about this story is that we get to see a large shift from how they feel about each other and the situation in general – and that’s something that’s both rooted again the in the fairytale but also something that’s necessary in the story line to keep it going.  I think that there’s a lot of personal growth for both Lorenzo and Kira as a result.  the truama that Kira went through all those years ago where she was angry with her parents, ended up getting into a car accident that killed her friends and hasn’t truly recovered from it.  That’s something that haunts her every day – yet the structure and control that Lorenzo puts into her life is something that helps her cope.  Add to that her ADHD, and we know that she needs an alpha male to control her.

So the story that we have as a result is one that’s really sweet – with a predictable ending of sorts – yet a slight twist that could be game changing if they let it.  All in all, a nice third installment – getting to the bottom of the De Santis brothers – and i can’t wait to see if there’s more and how our author would do that.  Enjoy!

ARC Review: The Wicked Billionaire (Tate Brothers #2) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: The Wicked Billionaire
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin’s Press 10/03/17
Length:   352 Pages
Series:  Tate Brothers #2

Overview

This high-concept series brings together the glamour of Park Avenue and hot Navy SEALs in dark, smoldering contemporary romances.

The Tate Brothers were once orphans and they have been raised to do one thing only: protect what is theirs.

As a trained sniper and Navy SEAL, Lucas Tate found the courage to distance himself from the wealthy, wicked patriarch who adopted him. Instead, he’s devoted his life to the elite band of brothers from his unit. So when the widow of one of his former comrades finds herself in apparent danger, Lucas makes it his job to protect her against all enemies. . .and not let her out of his sights.

Grace Riley feels overwhelmed by Lucas’s presence, but the cold-eyed marksman will do anything to keep her safe. Soon the special attention he pays her becomes a wild romantic distraction—one that troubles Grace, since Lucas was so close to her deceased husband. Still, how can she resist Lucas’s intense, ice-blue stare? All she knows is that a life without strong, passionate Lucas is one not worth living. Can Lucas can find a way to honor his former brother-in-arms by saving Grace. . .and loving her, too?

My Thoughts

First off, thank you to the folks at St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for getting me this ARC – it’s a great series and i’m so glad to see what was next for the Tate brothers.  We had the exciting introduction into their family a while back with the eldest brother and now it seems like it’s time to get into Lucas’s story – especially since there were hints throughout book 1 that he had something else going on.  that something else was protecting Grace.

So, Grace – where do we start – she’s a girl that Lucas knew of because she was married to one of his close friends in the SEALs – and after his death there’s so much that’s come up, with Lucas only learning about that after his own father has passed away and revealed a secret.  So Lucas finds himself trying to protect Grace from several folks that are after money that her husband owed people after getting involved with De Santis in an arms deal gone wrong.

Lucas on the other hand, he’s a guy who is so stoic, a man who won’t allow himself to feel anything because he thinks that he needs to deny himself of all pleasure and happiness….and he feels that its also the only way to stay in control of his life.  Grace makes that quite difficult because she’s not that sort at all, she’s an artist and by nature she’s the kind of woman who is driven by emotion and passion.  So seeing these two come together is quite interesting.

When Grace’s life is put in danger, and Lucas has to hole them up in a secret apartment that he owns, we see them grow closer together, but it takes a while for them ever to admit that they have an attraction because they both can’t really figure it out.  When they do finally get together, it’s hot and steamy and so appropriate for what the story needs.  Ms Ashenden has a knack for finding the best moments to introduce the heat and chemistry and make it build.

There’s so much going on in this story that you stay sucked in.  Grace as an artist is trying to finish her series of paintings for her first ever  show and she’s having a mental block on the final piece.  Lucas ultimately because the muse for it and when the show debuts, it’s something quite impressive.  Then there’s the bits of someone is still after Grace and when someone sneaks past their defenses and she’s at risk, we see true feelings come out.

I think that we get what we were expecting here, but with the way that the story’s written, we don’t know what the full ending will be and may not even know it with the finale of the last brother’s story.  I feel like De Santis will be a thorn in their side forever, even from what we got in the series from that side of things.  (recall that we got several books of the de santis heirs). So, who knows where things will go, and what family secrets will be uncovered next, but i know that i can’t wait to find out.  Enjoy!

Review: In Bed with the Billionaire (Nine Circles #5) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: In Bed with the Billionaire
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin’s Press 11/1/16
Length:   300 Pages
Series:  Nine Circles #5

Overview

In the final Nine Circles novel, there is a fine line between pleasure and pain, between sin and salvation. Jackie Ashenden shows what happens when a dangerously irresistible man and woman collide, in and out of the bedroom.

In Bed with the Billionaire

Known to the underworld only as Jericho, billionaire Theo Fitzgerald is one of the most powerful men in the world. But his plan is to tear down the criminal empire his father created from the inside out—unless someone else does it for him.

He suspects a bold, seductive woman named Temple Cross might be trying to take him out with it—but for the chance to burn in the heat she gives off, he’s not sure if he minds…

A hired hit woman, Temple has been waiting to get close to Jericho her whole life. The man who destroyed her family is worth looking in the eye before she kills him—but when she’s finally alone with Jericho, he’s nothing like the ruthless barbarian she imagined. Her reaction to his touch is explosively sexual—and their emotional connection is too powerful for her to ignore.

Is she his shot at redemption? Or will he have to risk losing her love to save her life?

My Thoughts

WOW – so, i think that we got exactly what we were hoping for as a conclusion and resolution to this fairly complicated story.  Not only was it filled with twists and turns, i think that we also got to see the true colors of people.

Before i get into the meat of this story – i have to say it again- i don’t know how Ms Ashenden does it, but what we have is another example of a series that’s made up of stories about couples that happen in a chronological order of sorts, but instead we have a series that’s made up of stories that are completely connected, and you have to really follow the series as it goes to truly understand what everything means to each other part.

So in this final installment, we get to see how it will all play out.  You know that throughout this one, we have seen couples come together in the hopes of taking down a kingpin only to learn that there’s someone bigger and badder who’s behind it all, and then when we find out that it’s Theo, Violet’s brother who’s supposedly dead, well that makes things all that more complicated.  He has his motivations but the question becomes whether we can trust him or not.  and the guess is not.

Then there’s Temple – the woman that we had met as Eva’s driver, hired by Zac to protect her and when we saw her betray Eva a few installments back, you had to wonder what that was all about.  We learn that she’s linked to them all in a deeper way – having her ties to Elijah in the hopes of taking down the ring as well as trying to find her sister who was taken by them and sold.

Of course you know that since she’s personally invested, there’s another revenge saga.  Add to that the fact that she’s an assassin, and you know that things are going to get spicy – FAST.   Temple takes on a job at the request of Zac to locate Jericho (or Theo) and take him down, kill him all so that this can be done with.  What no one expected was that there would be feelings there, that we would see the truth behind Temple and the truth behind Jericho and perhaps that there was so much more that was going to come out.

Throughout this story we see the fight of chemistry between Jericho and Temple.  She wants to get information from him in regards to where her sister is/was and then kill him, all while playing him and herself.  She won’t admit what she’s feeling towards Jericho and she won’t even it admit the reasons behind it, but with the prodding that he does, and his need for control, we start to see things unravel.

Then there’s Jericho.  He’s got his motivations, the fact that he knew all about what it was that his father did, and his intent all these years was to take down the ring and make sure that his father paid for everything.  Even if it means that his sister will never look at him again.  And we know that Violet is a tough one – so you never know.

The journey here isn’t as deep but very angst ridden since they both have so much pain and it’s all tied to the Nine Circles desired outcome.  What we don’t know is how it’s going to end, who’s going to remain alive and what that will mean for these friends and family.  I think that there’s a level of expectation of the happy ending and i think that it’s highly unreasonable to expect that to be the case now that things are being shaken up, so it’s the masterful writing that gives us closure in a way that makes sense and gives us hope.

Also, true to her form, Ms Ashenden gives us some incredibly steamy scenes.  Not the bondage that Zac loves, not the control of the others, but the power and rage that only Jericho can have and the fight that only Temple can bring.  It’s hot and sensual and really really intense.  To top it off, we get romance, and we get saving grace and that’s what we need at this point.

Now i’m bummed that i don’t have more with this series, but i think that it was exactly what i needed right now to read.  I hope you guys give it a try!

Review: Kidnapped by the Billionaire (Nine Circles #4) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: Kidnapped by the Billionaire
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin’s Press 3/1/16
Length:   384 Pages
Series:  Nine Circles #4

Overview

When revenge and desire collide…

Seven years ago, billionaire-turned-bodyguard Elijah Hunt lost everything he had—his family, his future—and now he wants revenge. But when he decides to kidnap the daughter of the man who ruined his life, Elijah gets a lot more than he bargained for.

Violet Fitzgerald is nothing like her corrupt wealthy father. In fact, she’s so disarmingly independent—and irresistible—that she’s downright dangerous…

there is no place to hide.

Violet never thought she’d feel a connection to her captor. But there’s something beneath Elijah’s steel-bodied exterior that makes her want to know him more deeply…and surrender to his every demand.

However, once Elijah’s erotic fantasies become a reality—and he and Violet develop a powerful connection—he finds himself in a quandary: Is he still the one in control? Or has Violet imprisoned him—body and soul?

My Thoughts

Well, we knew that things were getting very very complicated and while Fitz has now been murdered, we know that there’s still the quest for revenge by the elusive Elijah, and that’s exactly what we get in this next installment.

We didn’t know much about violet before this story – just that she’s best friends with Honor and a free spirit of sorts since she’s trying to find where she fits in the world.  The twist that we learn though is that there’s really a method to what she’s been doing – and that she’s determined that her brother hadn’t commit suicide years before and that perhaps he’s truly alive.  So that’s her goal in life.

Then there’s Elijah – we know that he’s beyond angry because Eva killed Fitzgerald, and now he’s out to kill Jericho, the other man who’s at the helm of the Euro empire that Fitzgerald was trying to get in on, as well as the fact that Elijah thinks that Jericho is the man behind the death of his wife.  So lots of tension there.

When the plan becomes kidnapping Violet to use as bait to get to Jericho, we see things get dicey.  True to how Ms Ashenden has written all of the female leads so far, we see that they aren’t going to take things sitting down and they all put up a fight.  Violet does exactly that and it’s impressive to see how resourceful she becomes in the hopes of trying to get free.

The other expected bit since we tend to see it in quite a few of these stories is that the captor ends up being so much more than what they seem on the surface and we quickly see a spark of chemistry building between these 2 and that makes things all that more complicated.

It’s not until the Nine Circles figure out where Violet is being held and go after her that things start to get some sense of resolution.  They are all now after the same thing – trying to save Violet all while trying to get to Jericho, and just when we think that it’s all be taken care of, another twist comes up.  (one that i figured out but i usually do – quite early).

In any event, it leaves us in a place in the story where we are surprised and yet frustrated since there are limits to what can be done.  Thankfully there’s one more installment that will hopefully give us the closure that we need since i feel like there are still a few twists to come up that we’re not ready for.

Like i’ve said before though, i’m really impressed with how well these installments are woven together, even though they are about different couples essentially.  The plot is so complete throughout and the way that all of them are connected means that we’re going to see the same themes and lines pulled through.

The other piece that’s great is how we get to see each couple scene together and Violet and Elijah are so hot as well.  We have yet another inexperienced girl in the lead but there’s something about how she allows Elijah to control her and dominate her that’s incredibly hot.  I can’t wait to see how things get resolved – and happily i have the last one already!  Enjoy

Review: You are Mine (Nine Circles #3) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: You Are Mine
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin’s Press 10/6/15
Length:   304 Pages
Series:  Nine Circles #3

Overview

He’s master of the game.
Zac Rutherford is one of the most powerful and sought-after men in New York’s private club scene. Masterful and demanding, he attracts beautiful women willing to surrender to his every whim, every desire, and every command. But Zac is in love with one woman, and one woman only. She is his true passion-and sole obsession. A glorious angel in the flesh…who refuses to be touched by any man.

She doesn’t play by the rules.
Eva King owes her life to Zac. Seven years ago, he rescued her from darkness. Still, in spite of her attraction to Zac, she refuses to allow any man to touch her body, let alone her heart. But when a dangerous enemy from Eva’s past reappears, Zac is the only one who can save her-if she’s willing to bare her soul, shed her inhibitions, and surrender control…to him.

My Thoughts

This is yet another great continuation of the story that i’ve become quite engrossed with.  where we had Gabriel/Honor’s story and Alex/Katya, we know that things have to get messy with Zac and Eva.  the duo of the group that has a very interesting relationship and one that we know has so much more potential than what’s been revealed so far.

So where we left off in the series is with Katya/Alex coming back from Monte Carlo with information leading us to believe that it’s not Conrad who was in charge of all that’s bad and evil in the mission, but someone else – yet we don’t know who it is.  We do know that there’s a mercenary named Elijah who’s close to whoever is the ring leader who’s warning them all off from their investigation, but we also know that all these alpha males aren’t scared so easily.

Meaning that it falls into the lap of Eva who’s one of the best hackers out there and Zac who’s got more connections than we can imagine because of his security company and some of the mercenary work that he’d done in a past life.

The journey here is one where we see Zac come to terms with what he’s been doing for the past 7 years – protecting Eva because of what she went through, even though he doesn’t know the full extent.  They met through the fact that she was trying to hack into his computer system and needed to be saved so he did that and they’ve been close ever since.  Because their club doesn’t probe into what makes each person into who they are, no one has a clear sense of what it was, but with the nature of some of the stuff that we’ve uncovered, sex trafficking and the like, we start to put the pieces together to know that perhaps that’s what Eva was going through before she was saved.  The other bit too is that Zac isn’t just alpha, he’s a dom, and while that’s typical with this type of character, we know that he’s in love with Eva and wants to push her to open up even though he knows she’s terrified of all that.

So complicated isn’t even going to cover it.  He gives her tough love throughout the story in the hopes of breaking her open so she can overcome her fears – not just for herself but to help everyone figure out who’s behind the casinos and the murders etc.  She’s the one that can link it all since we learn that it’s likely the same man who held her captive.  When we learn what that link is, and a few twists along the way, we know that there’s potential for their world to be blown up even more.

Where we get the great abilities of our author is not just in the complexity of the story and how well it’s been interwoven between each installment in the series, but the different nature of this romantic/sexual relationship that we see bloom between Zac and Eva.  Each one of our couples has had their own niche – their unique bit to make it special, and this is no exception.  The way that Zac controls and over powers Eva is intense, taking away her ability to do anything aside from just experience and it’s hot.  I know that if it were me, i’d absolutely be into letting someone like Zac do all that stuff.  You even have to feel a bit bad for Eva because regardless of her tough exterior, she really has no chance.

The twist that we have through everything though is Elijah – he’s a wild card since he is employed by the man that they want to take down, yet he seems to be on the side of the Nine Circles.  I really haven’t figured that one out yet and i feel like there’s so much more to that story that we don’t even know.  I have to get into the 4th book since i feel like it’s going to get even dicier knowing that it’s not a nine circles member being drawn in, but the best friend of Honor – who’s got ties to the whole story as well.  So on that note – enjoy and have a great weekend!

Review: Make you Mine (Nine Circles #2) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: Make you Mine
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin’s Press 5/5/15
Length:   278 Pages
Series:  Nine Circles #2

Overview

In the Nine Circles Club, one lucky man gets more than his share of money, power, and women—until he meets a beautiful opponent who plays in the name of love…in Make You Mine by Jackie Ashenden.
He’s raising the stakes.
International playboy Alex St. James always plays to win. Whether it’s betting on a high-stakes card game—or bedding a high-class socialite—the gorgeous world-class gambler knows how to beat the odds using his brains, his body, and a whole lot of charm. But there’s one woman who’s immune to Alex’s bag of tricks—which makes her the perfect challenge…and the ultimate prize.
She’s going all in.
Once a special operative in her native Russia, Katya Ivanov knows what kind of man Alex is. As his personal bodyguard, she’s seen him seduce the richest women, place the riskiest bets, and break the hardest players. But to even a score from her past, she’s willing to take a gamble on her reckless boss. Even if she has to pretend to be his lover. Even if he drives her mad with desire. And then she never wants this dangerous game to end…

My Thoughts

I’m really enjoying this series – i think the fact that there’s this bigger story that seems to be woven throughout each installment so far makes it that much more engaging.

So we had the first book with Gabriel and Honor – and we saw how their relationship had the potential to make Gabe’s world explode since Honor is his best friend Alex’s sister – yet we see that maybe it’s ok right?

So in this 2nd book, it’s about Alex, and his quest to find out the link of who Gabriel’s father is since it’s not their stepfather, while fighting demons of his own.  The journey that we go on shows us quite about of what happened to Alex nineteen years ago, and a lot about who he is now and why.

As expected, things get interesting when we learn more about his bodyguard – a woman who appeared in the first book – an attractive Russian woman who was special forces and has the ability to disarm Alex with a look.  You know it’ll inevitably lead to chemistry right?

When Alex has to go to Monaco to play in an exclusive poker tournament that’s run by Conrad – the demon from his past and potentially a link to his father  – we see things get interesting.  There’s clearly more to the game than meets the eye since Alex realizes that it’s not Poker exactly that folks are there for.  They aren’t the best players and there are hints of other things that are of interest outside of cards.

All the while, Katya, his bodyguard and the other guys, Gabriel, Zac and Eva try to uncover the links and information – which still seems elusive even at the end of the story.  What’s not escaping us is the chemistry and tension between Alex and Katya and once they start to scratch the surface – everything erupts.

Katya plays the role of girlfriend and lover when she’s had no experience at all in that.  She learns a lot about herself and is forced to admit to herself why she’s been so stoic and hard through out her entire life – all because of the emotions  that Alex brings out.  What it leads to is uncharted territory for the two of them, and it’s only when one is shot and ends up on the edge of death that things are finally realized.

The great continuation that we are taken with this story is that there’s a video that’s being used as blackmail against Alex and while he uses a facade of not caring, we know there’s more to it than that, and it’s Eva that we learn who may be able to decipher it all.

So true to Jackie Ashenden’s style, we not only get a book with a compelling plot, but one that’s so hot and steamy that you can’t help but to get engrossed in.  The way that she writes the need for control and ownership, dominance etc from Alex is incredibly hot.  The way that we see Katya fight giving up control and letting Alex lead is also really compelling.  I can’t wait to see what’s next since there’s clearly something between Eva and Zac and it has to come out in the next book.  Enjoy!

Review: Mine To Take (Nine Circles #1) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: Mine to Take
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin’s Press 11/25/14
Length:   384 Pages
Series:  Nine Circles #1

Overview

First in a brand new series by Jackie Ashenden featuring the members of the Nine Circles Club—friends bound together by power, secrets, need…and the love they will find and stop at nothing to keep.
Passion always comes at a price.
Gabriel Woolf is unstoppable. A ruthless businessman, he has perfected the art of revenge. Ever since his mother’s death, Gabriel has harbored only one wish: To take down the man who ruined their lives. But all bets are off when he meets his father’s step daughter, Honor St. James. Beautiful and innocent, she is everything Gabriel never knew he wanted—and now there’s no turning back…

Is her desire worth the risk?
Honor wasn’t born yesterday. She knows that Gabriel is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, willing to cross any line to get what he wants…herself included. But Gabriel’s passion for Honor—in spite of her connection to the man he hates the most—cannot be denied…and the feeling is utterly mutual. Can Gabriel be trusted? The only thing she knows for sure is how he makes her feel. And she can’t keep herself from coming back to him, over and over again…in Mine to Take.

My Thoughts

As you can tell, lately Jackie Ashenden has become a favorite of mine since i’ve read a bunch of her series (thank you Netgalley for the intro).  So i tracked down this series that’s been around for a while just not on my radar.  And it’s good.

What we have here is the first installment to a new series around the premise of a group of Billionaires that consider themselves more family than just friends, and what brings them together is not just business, but similar backgrounds, pasts that haunt them and a need to do right in the world.

This book takes us on the journey of Gabriel who’s out for vengeance on the man who raped his mother and is therefore his father.  He’s got information leading him to the man, and now he’s going to not only take him down, but make him regret his whole life.  The challenge of course is that the man is his friend Alex’s step father and Alex has a sister who’s tied up in the business that Gabe wants to ruin.  meaning, collateral damage.

The sister – Honor – well she of course makes things more complicated.  We all know from the way that all stories are told is that when there’s a girl in the mix, well you know that there will be manipulation from Gabriel to get what he wants but of course there will be feelings and emotion since she’ll get under his skin – making the end game more compelling.

Honor fights him every step of the way – she wants to save her step father’s business and she wants to save her own business since she’s invested in him.  And when Gabe offers a solution, she’s willing to jump through hoops to secure his investment, even if it means pushing herself to places and points that are uncomfortable.

The way that Ms Ashenden writes this story is really compelling.  (yes i’ve used that word already).  The relationship and dynamic between Honor and Gabe is intense and we see how his need to control takes Honor to places she can’t imagine.  There’s also the challenge of the point that Honor is Alex’s sister and so the secrets that develop making for so much more anxiety.

Where this story takes us is a point of real confusion since there are so many more secrets that we couldn’t even expect – that we couldn’t put together already that even though we get resolution of sorts to things, there are so many more surprises that just carry us to the need to read the next book.  which i’m about to do.

So all in all, lots of great intrigue in the story itself and the sceneing between Gabriel and Honor make the heat and passion leap off the pages.  Definitely a great introduction to the series and i can’t wait to see where we go from there. There are 3 others in the Circle and i know that their stories have to be as exciting.  enjoy!

Review: The Dangerous Billionaire (The Tate Brothers #1) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: Dangerous Billionaire
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin’s Press 5/2/17
Length:   368 Pages
Series:  The Tate Brothers #1

Overview

Money doesn’t always change the man in The Dangerous Billionaire, a new standalone romance from Jackie Ashenden.

Navy SEAL Sullivan “Van” Tate has been called home to reluctantly inherit an empire and finds himself facing the most difficult mission of all: love.

“Sinfully sexy.”–Opal Carew on Mine to Take

Nothing about Sullivan “Van” Tate is what it seems. A Navy SEAL raised among the New York City elite, Van prefers heart-pounding action over a Wall Street corner office. But when his adoptive father dies and his business rivals move in to overtake his empire, Van must suit up to save the company and protect the one woman most forbidden to him…and the object of Van’s most dangerous desires.

Chloe Tate is as ambitious as she is gorgeous. With a newfound independence, Chloe is no longer a prisoner on her father’s ranch. But everything changes when losing her father may also mean losing her life. Even with her survival on the line, Chloe can’t deny the burning attraction she feels the moment she locks eyes with Van, her rich, rough and ready, foster brother and the new head of her father’s company. Tall, dark, and muscled, he’s the one man who she has no business being with. But how can she resist a Navy Seal Warrior when he’ll do anything to protect her?

Money doesn’t always change the man in The Dangerous Billionaire, a new standalone romance from Jackie Ashenden.

Navy SEAL Sullivan “Van” Tate has been called home to reluctantly inherit an empire and finds himself facing the most difficult mission of all: love.

“Sinfully sexy.”–Opal Carew on Mine to Take

Nothing about Sullivan “Van” Tate is what it seems. A Navy SEAL raised among the New York City elite, Van prefers heart-pounding action over a Wall Street corner office. But when his adoptive father dies and his business rivals move in to overtake his empire, Van must suit up to save the company and protect the one woman most forbidden to him…and the object of Van’s most dangerous desires.

Chloe Tate is as ambitious as she is gorgeous. With a newfound independence, Chloe is no longer a prisoner on her father’s ranch. But everything changes when losing her father may also mean losing her life. Even with her survival on the line, Chloe can’t deny the burning attraction she feels the moment she locks eyes with Van, her rich, rough and ready, foster brother and the new head of her father’s company. Tall, dark, and muscled, he’s the one man who she has no business being with. But how can she resist a Navy Seal Warrior when he’ll do anything to protect her?

My Thoughts

This first introduction to our new series is a great one.  We knew of the De Santis family from another of Ms Ashenden’s series and it’s all coming full circle so that we can see how another family is tied to them and it’s interesting.  It’s just following the death of Noah Tate, the patriarch of the Tate family and we’re learning more and more about how he grew his business and what it means for his kids now that he’s died.

This story is really based in trying to understand what this family really is made of since the 3 sons are adopted and there’s one daughter who’s got more secrets that she’s not even in on – than anyone else.  When the sons get letters from the father detailing various things that’s personal to each, we see that there’s shock and awe.  Van is left all of the Tate fortune as he is the heir – left to run the business and the ranch that his sister has come to live on and love.  She’s always thought that the ranch would be hers and when she learns that it’s not the case – things get tricky.

Then there’s the sister Chloe – she’s had it tough.  the only girl in a family of foster sons.  A girl who’s grown up being overly protected since her father’s business brings along enemies.  She’s also got this tough relationship with her father that means that she was constantly let down by him and his broken promises so she’s in a tough place when he dies.

When Van learns the secrets about Chloe that she doesn’t even know, that Noah isn’t her true father be Cesare De Santis is, he’s asked to protect her and keep her alive since we know that Cesare will come after her for all that she’s potentially worth.

The journey of this story is trying to outrun Cesare since he seems very motivated to get to Chloe for reasons not fully known.  We also see that in this story, the childhood crush that Chloe had on Van still lingers, and Van protecting her makes that relationship change into something that could be interesting yet so so bad.

True to the nature of Ms Ashenden, we have a really sweet story of protection since that’s kind of the lingering theme across all her stories.  There’s so much machismo since the brothers are all military, and while 2 of them really don’t seem to thaw even around their sister, it’s Van’s ability to open up that makes is even more interesting.  The way that their relationship shapes and changes is such a natural progression even with the necessary bonehead moves by Van in the midst of things.

We’re left in a place where we know that someone’s going to be broken hearted and perhaps even more threats will be waged.  At least we know that the story continues since Lucas and Wolf have their stories as well.  maybe we’ll learn how Noah died since i think there’s more to the story than we know.  Enjoy!

ARC Review: The Billionaire Beast (Billionaire Fairytales #2) by Jackie Ashenden

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Title: The Billionaire Beaste
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin’s Press 3/7/17
Length:   198 Pages
Series:  Billionaire Fairytales #2

Overview

Nero de Santis: Damaged. Bastard. Beast.

Nero hasn’t left his house in ten years. He demands the world come to him, and the world is only too happy to bend to the strong-willed billionaire.

Ruthless, cold, and selfish, Nero wants for nothing and takes care of no one but himself. His last handful of assistants have left his house in tears, but the prim redhead applying for the job looks up to the task. Nero has spent his life shut within the walls he built, with no care to have more than a window to the outside world. But the fiery passion he senses beneath his reserved assistant’s exterior makes him want to break down the barriers he lives behind, and unleash the beast within.

Phoebe Taylor: Uptight. Misunderstood. Engaged.

Phoebe needs the obscene amount of money that comes with being Nero’s personal assistant for one thing, and one thing only—to pay for the mounting hospital costs that her fiancee’s two-year coma continues to incur. She’s heard rumors that the de Santis beast is a force that cannot be tamed—but even she isn’t prepared to handle the smoldering intensity simmering beneath his hard shell of feral dominance.

Nero is hiding something, something he is fighting with every step he takes. Yet he can’t help but stake his claim on this woman who has shaken up his life, and Phoebe can’t believe this animal of a man is the one person to ever look into her eyes and see her soul. Nero wants to keep her. He wants to devour her. And Phoebe just might let him.

My Thoughts

First off i should thank the folks at Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for sending me this advance copy since i’m really a fan both of this author and a lot of what comes from the publisher.  Anyhow, you’ll remember that we began our journey with this family – the de Santis when we met Laurent in the first book – when he saved a girl Cinderella style from being homeless and bringing her into a life of stability, wealth and love.  This 2nd book gives us more of the Beauty and the Beast aspect as the title suggests.

So we have Nero, the son that no one knew about for a while – or did they?  He had a very interesting life up until he was about 15, and that’s shaped the man that we know now.  He lived in a 5×6 room for 10 years, his mother hid him from his violent stepfather (or did she), and because of that, he’s got this insane fear of being outside and in the public.  He’s therefore closed himself off in 2-3 rooms in his HUGE house in new york city, and it’s turned him into a demanding person/employer and that’s where Phoebe comes in.

Phoebe is a Brit who’s moved to new york with her fiance, a man who we learn is in a coma as a result of a car accident 2 years prior.  Caring for him has become her life as she’s devoted all her time and money to ensuring that he’s got the best care in the hopes that perhaps he’ll wake up.  this is what leads her to Nero and that’s where our story goes.

Throughout this story we see two really broken people come together in a way that’s expected but sweet.  Aside from what Phoebe’s going through now, her past isn’t that great either as we learn about her sister and parents, so it’s not surprising that she and Nero find that they’ve got something complex together.

Nero’s demanding ways shows us that he’s going to have some type of controlling passion that will be unleashed, and Phoebe’s insane calm and innocence means that we’re going to see Nero’s alpha dominance bring out a side of her that’s so sexual that she never expected it.

What we get is Phoebe learning more and more about herself and how to pleasure not only Nero but herself too.  Nero as a result starts to come out of his shell a bit and not just open up to things that he’s terrified of, but to her too.  It’s sweet and hot all at the same time.

It’s when secrets of his past are finally uncovered and Phoebe’s forced to face a change in the situation with her fiance that we finally get resolution here and all in all it’s nicely sorted out.  It’s such a sweet and intense story all that the same time and i can’t wait to see what’s next in this series.  Have a great day all!