The Taming of the Billionaire
(Billionaires and Bridesmaids #2)
By Jessica Clare
Blurb:
The New York Times bestselling author of The Billionaire and the Virgin returns with a tale of Shakespearean-style seduction…Edie’s an overbearing cat behaviorist who’s not big on people. Magnus is a newly-rich game developer who likes to be in control. When the two of them meet at Gretchen and Hunter’s masquerade engagement party, the loathing is mutual. Unfortunately for them—and everyone else—they’re in the wedding party together and must deal with each other for the next few months.
But when Magnus’s younger brother falls for Edie’s sister, he begs for his brother’s help in concocting a plan to win her over. If Magnus can keep the prickly Edie occupied, his brother will have time to woo Edie’s sister. Of course, Magnus isn’t interested in the slightest, but Edie is…intriguing. And stubborn. And smart. And sexy. And they might have more in common than they thought.
Before long, it becomes a challenge between the two of them to see who will be tamed first. But how’s Edie going to react when she finds out that Magnus is using her? And how’s Magnus going to handle the fact that he’s fallen for a cat lady?
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This is an engaging and entertaining story, with plenty of great banter between Edie and Magnus, hot sexy times and funny moments. But what stopped me from outright loving this book is Edie.
Edie isn't an overall bad person, she's not a heroine who's all sweet and sappy and everyone just loves her. No, Edie has a major gripe and a bitchy attitude, and that sets apart from typical romance heroines, but there needs to be a limit to how bitchy a main character needs to be. I can understand why she feels bitter, but the fact that her behavior lasted throughout the book took away some of the fun of the story.
Magnus on the other hand is a great main character; yeah, his initial interactions with Edie weren't on the up and up, but that eventually changed. While he's a successful billionaire, he seemed pretty realistic in that he has his vulnerabilities like everyone else does. Oh, and he worked. He actually worked, showing us how he's able to maintain his billions, instead of the main hero we know is a billionaire but we never see in a working environment. So yay for a realistic hero!
There are a couple of characters in this story who just might annoy the everlovin' crap out of you; at least they did for me. They were so annoying I felt like throat-punching them. I'm not sure if that was the intention to make them annoying, but if that was the goal, I'll say that Ms. Clare definitely succeeded with them, and I'm hoping to never see them again in a story.
ARC provided in exchange for honest review.
Excerpt
“If I didn’t like you, would I do this?”
And he leaned forward, put his hands on the sides of her face, and pressed his mouth to those full, red lips.
She stiffened underneath him, clearly surprised. Hell, that made two of them. Magnus hadn’t expected to kiss her. But when she’d pursed that pretty mouth in a sarcastic expression, he felt determined to prove her wrong. To show her that yes, he could like someone like her, and here was what he had to offer.
So he kissed her.
It was a quick kiss, his mouth simply pressing against hers for a moment, and Edie too startled to part her lips under his. Out of habit, his tongue grazed the seam of her mouth before he pulled away, and then they were both left blinking and staring at each other.
“You kissed me,” she said softly, and she sounded shocked.
“I know. I . . . kind of want to do it again.”
“Okay.” She blinked up at him.
Good enough. He pulled her close again and this time, when he pressed his mouth to hers, those lush lips parted for his tongue. He wanted to groan when he felt her tongue brush along his, a hot snake of desire ripping through him. Then her mouth opened wider for him and they were locked together, tongues melding as the kiss grew deeper and more passionate, and she was clinging to his shirt and he was holding her and slanting his mouth against hers over and over again, licking her like he would if he was between her legs and she had her thighs on his shoulders and—
Magnus pulled away again, and Edie gazed up at him, completely dazed. “Go out on a date with me,” he pressed again. He released her.
She wobbled and took a step backward to regain her balance. He almost reached out to catch her—almost—but he stopped himself. Edie hated being treated like she needed help. So he watched while she straightened her jacket and smoothed her hair, noticing her lipstick was smeared on that pretty, pretty mouth. He wanted to reach out and fix it with his fingers, but he was afraid if he touched her again, he’d grab her by the hips and fling her down on his bed.
Date. That was what they needed. Just a date.
“Date?” he asked again when she remained silent.
Her fingers fluttered to her mouth. “I . . . I’ll think about it.”
Magnus grinned, because that wasn’t a no. In his book, that was as good as a yes. “You do that.”
Billionaires and Bridesmaids Series
About The Author
She also has a third pen name (because why stop at two?). As Jessica Sims, she writes fun, sexy shifter paranormals. She lives in Texas with her husband, cats, and too many dust-bunnies. Jill spends her time writing, reading, writing, playing video games, and doing even more writing.
You can find Jessica at
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