Wow! Brody & Grace’s Story Is An Emotional Read. A Second Chance Romance, It Combines A Smart Venture Capital & Napa Vineyard Story With Bullying, Betrayal, & Caring For An Ailing Parent. It is Complex & Real, With Some Laughs & Tears. It Is Steamy With A Little Kink, Yet Sweet & Sentimental.
This is part of the Billionaire Boys Club series of standalones.
HAWKE: A CHRISTMAS IN PARADISE, BOOK ONE:
This is Hawke Sterling’s story. The committed playboy meets his match in a jilted nerdy introvert on vacation alone at his couple’s retreat. Hawke is the CEO of Sterling Enterprises, a venture capital company. Quinn Hayes has devoted her self to developing MIndScape VR, an app slated to revolutionize Alzheimer’s treatment. Hawke and Quinn’s electricity is palpable. Their story is deep and personal.
For fans, there is a very slight crossover with the Guardian Hostage Rescue series. The story takes place in the Atlanta area as well as a tropical island paradise. It opens on December twenty-one.
RICHARD, BOOK TWO:
This is a royal billionaire romance. After too much tabloid scandal, Richard is under pressure from the Crown to clean up his act. But Richard cannot turn his back on his wild ways. A company called Infidelity comes to his rescue, offering discretion and solid NDA’s for powerful men such as him. A one year agreement to quietly satisfy his needs and avoid messy stories is a perfect solution. But will Prince Richard be able to keep his Cinderella?
*FIRESTORM: AN EVERYDAY HEROES WORLD NOVEL (SET IN K. BROMBER’S EVERYDAY HEROES WORLD)*
While this book is technically not part of the series, it really belongs here. It precedes Brody’s story.
Asher La Rouge is CEO of La Rouge Vineyards in Napa Valley. His family owns one of the largest properties not yet swallowed up by big corporations. He is the eldest of the infamous La Rouge triplets, known for their identical good looks, hijinks, and the women that flock to them. Brody is number two, and Cage is the third in birth order. When their father died, they all stepped in to help with the family business. Asher was a natural and took over running the winery as CEO. Brody, good with numbers, became part-time CFO. And Cage, a marketing major with an artistic eye, took over marketing.
Asher’s life isn’t as perfect as it might appear. He works to keep his family business viable while learning as he goes, and a wildfire could come along and destroy everything. He also works as a volunteer firefighter, assigned to an elite woodland crew. The last things he expects when called to duty is to rescue a beautiful damsel in distress. But what was the mysterious Evelyn Thornton doing in the midst of that inferno?
BRODY, BOOK THREE:
Brody La Rouge, roughly twenty-eight, knows what women want from him. He is the CFO of venture capital firm Sterling Enterprises. With a talent for finding the next big deal, he is working toward his first billion. He might be unattainable, but as a most eligible bachelor with a hefty bank account, he still has endless choices. He rarely calls a second time, but it doesn’t stop nameless women from thinking they will be the one to finally tame Bad Boy Brody, the infamous heartbreaker. He never brings a woman to his apartment in the city and never stays the night with them. They know what they sign up for, and once he is bored he is ready to move on – unapologetically and without regret. There is only one that he broke his rules for, and that was eleven years ago. She is his only mistake, and there is no making up for the destruction he left behind. He never wants to live through that again.
Suddenly becoming bored and taking stock of his life, Brody decides to spend the weekend at home in Napa. Cage may away be on assignment, but Asher, his fiancée Evelyn, and his mother are a welcome escape from his city life. Brody and his identical brothers are close, and that will never change. But being nearly indistinguishable from his brothers growing up had its disadvantages, too. Brody, the middle triplet, also wanted to be seen for himself, not just as an infamous La Rouge triplet. He began long-distance running as a form of meditation, something he still does to this day. There was just one secret he had kept from his brothers back in their senior year of high school. When that news came out, he saw an opportunity and went with it. That was how he became known as the heartbreaker, a decision that shaped the last decade of his life.
Grace Atwood, twenty-five, never dreamed of returning home to help run Atwood Estates. She attended Stanford, earned a business degree and an MBA. She loves working with numbers and especially enjoyed her coursework related to venture capital. Instead of pursing a career after graduation one year ago, though, she was called home by her ailing mother. Diagnosed with cancer three years ago, her mother needed her home and Grace wouldn’t have it any other way. Her Uncle Mark runs the operation side of their small vineyard, but Grace stepped in on the business side to run things in her mother’s place. She also sees to her mother’s medical requirements, which have increased over the course of the year. Her mother’s time is limited, and the end seems to be approaching. To top it all off, Grace is at risk of running their business into the ground. With decreased sales and increased costs, she fears she won’t be able to hold onto the family business that means so much to her mother.
When the banks turn down their request for an extension, Grace knows she has one last option: venture capital. She is comfortable with the idea, having studied it previously. She has narrowed down her list to five firms, but hopes to avoid the last. Sterling Enterprises is a big fish, probably not interested in their small operation. And their CFO would likely never see the application, but the risk of seeing Brody La Rouge again has her seeing red. So it is a rather unfortunate coincidence when the man himself crosses paths with her as he runs through her property one weekend. Over a decade had passed since she last saw him, and the sting is still too fresh.
Brody thinks it is fate when he unexpectedly runs into Grace. She had been a freshman in high school when he last saw her. Her submission was unmatched, and no other woman ever affected him like she had. With her it had been special. It had been about power and control. Her trust was a gift. He had dominated her as they explored some rather mature ideas in their youth, things they probably weren’t ready for. He thought she would have moved on by now, but as it turns out he might just have a second chance. Determined to make things right, he plans to keep the promises he once broke. The couple eventually earns a happy ending.
Wow! Brody and Grace’s story is an emotional read. There are several things happening; in combination with a devastating history, things get very complicated between the pair. The couple has undeniable chemistry from the start, but with so much to overcome their story is a slow burn with little stops and starts along the way. Brody’s character has been living in a holding pattern since leaving home a decade ago. He thought he had been living the high life, but begins to experience revelations that indicate otherwise. His transformation is remarkable to read about. Grace was his victim – in every sense of the word. He was absolutely horrible to her. He destroyed her. She had thought once she left for college that she had begun to get past the pain, but seeing Brody again brings it all back in full force. Brody asks for the chance to earn her trust back, which he doesn’t deserve. Finding forgiveness in her heart just might be easier than handing over her trust once again. Grace’s big heart and her ability to see the good in people are tested.
Note that Brody’s story is connected to Hawke’s in book one. Brody does not appear in Hawke’s story, but here Brody is best friends with him. Brody was hired on by Hawke right out of college and given an opportunity, which he ran with. He impressed Hawke and the rest was history. In Hawke’s story, Hawke’s company is called Sterling Enterprises, but is most often references as SVC Inc. It had appeared to be an Atlanta-based venture capital company. Here, though, the company only goes by Sterling Enterprises and is based in a swanky forty-story San Francisco office building. Hawke is married here and his wife Quinn’s MindScape VR is poised for a kickoff party.
Brody and Grace’s story is deeply emotional. It is a second chance billionaire romance. It combines a smart venture capital and a Napa vineyard story with bullying, betrayal, and caring for an ailing parent. It is about families, big and small. It is complex and real. There are some laughs and a lot of tears. It is steamy with a little kink, yet sweet and sentimental. The triplets and their pranks are hilarious – you can almost imagine what growing up in the La Rouge household was like. The storytelling is wonderful. My ARC copy could use just a little tightening and cleaning up, but the story is very worthwhile. The plot is complex. The characters are well-developed and three-dimensional. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Brody and Grace. I rate this book four stars.
I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.