Exploring All Things Bad

by Blair Butler

The steamy adventures continue with Ivy and Alistair in Book 5 of the Blood Money Billionaire series.

(Blurb coming soon)

Genres: Romance, Audiobook

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 13, 2025

Reviews

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

These accents are amazing

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟/🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
Format: Audiobook - Narrated by Emily Dugan & Derek Duvall
Series / Standalone: Book five in the Blood Money Billionaire series
Tropes: Billionaire, Romantic Suspense, Super steamy

Thanks to High Gravity Productions and the author for this ALC - all opinions are my own

We are back with the continuation of this family saga picking up right we were left off at the end of book four. Right when one storyline is cleaned up, another branches off and we get more drama and intrigue. While the beginning of this book is still full of the clever banter we are used to between Ivy and Alastair, circumstances have us ending with another dramatic cliffhanger. Don’t fear though…the steamy scenes are plentiful and give us a nice reprieve from the intense plot.

I love love love this series on audio. You can really hear the dedication the narrators exhibit in these performances. The smallest inflections and nuances bring such life to their characters. I could listen to these two for hours at a time and never be bored!!

[Beba Andric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are hotting up in this book, the rivalry, the lies and the deception scream, loudly! Ariana is a main focus in this book, my word, what she'd been told, how she'd been manipulated, well frek! It's no wonder Stockholm syndrome set in, it's no wonder she can't see the forest from the trees. My heart genuinely ached for her but Henderson, OMG, he twisted my heart into the tightest coil! So beautiful in an incredibly dangerous situation. All of Sebastian's doing. The tensity drew on my nerves, stretching them to the point of snapping! This is something I've really enjoyed, the author knows exactly how far to pull a string, how taut to make it before releasing it slightly, adding to the drama and suspense.

A wedding is supposed to be a happy occasion. Not this one, this one was doused in manipulation, in heartache, in flames, in betrayal. And worst of all, the PTSD that Ivy thought she'd overcome, pounds back like a boomerang, engulfing her worse than before. Thankfully, she has Alastair to counter the pain, to ease the guilt and I think I'm probably in love with him as much as Ivy is. He's so considerate and gentle. He seems to have a radar on exactly what he needs to say or do to bring Ivy back, to alleviate her trauma as only he can. I love the author humanising him. Here's this tough mob boss who is a kitty cat, well a tiger really, but his growl is fiercely loving. I adore their relationship, their easy banter and even their overwhelming passionate compulsion. This author gave it a lightness within the intensity. Only to ramp it up again, pulling Ivy into the depths of uncertainty.

As before, I still do a "wow" with all these characters, they really are easy to like, easy to distrust. I loved Becks right from the start, she's a true friend to Ivy and what she's going through, clenches at my heart. And then, geez, the author pulled a fast one on me, so darn unexpected, like, really Becks???? As for Noah... well... I was uncertain of him since he entered the fray. Ms Butler had me second guessing myself, "genuine or not" was a constant in my head. And Alex, oh heck, HE pierced my heart like a tornado! As adrenaline pumping the last book was, this one was an emotional minefield! The waters couldn't be more muddied if an eddy suddenly appeared. As the churning stopped and the waters cleared, my jaw dropped right to my feet. The betrayal....THE betrayal! OMG! Noooooo!

I've mentioned it in previous reviews, but it needs mentioning again, this book and series isn't just sex and lust, although it's explosive enough to steam your glasses, this is about healing, healing of the soul, healing of past trauma, of self discovery and of a passionate love that encompasses one's entire being, of discovering ones sensuality and sexuality. It's a book of the lengths one goes through for love, for family and it's one of different values coming together. A story of rebirth and unparalleled intimacy.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to @highgravityaudiobooks for the gifted copy of this advanced copy of this audiobook exchange for my honest review.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Exploring All Things Bad
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Blair Butler (@mistress.blair.butler)
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: Blood Money Billionaires
𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Emily Dugan (@ItsEmilyDugan) & Derek Duvall
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲: High Gravity Productions

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬:
Billionaire Romance
Hot and Steamy
Romantic Suspense
Mafia
Family Drama
Dual POV

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: This is the 5th book in the series and honestly, I feel like I needed to read the previous books before listening to this one. It was very hard for me to connect with the characters and I had a hard time keeping all of the characters straight. All that said, I did enjoy this story itself.

The narration is fantastic - it bursts with the feelings from these characters. I loved the accents so very much! I went into this book blind and I have to say, I am glad that I had my headphones on! 🌶

𝐂𝐖: Graphic Sex, Violence/Murder, Bad Language

[Erin Stapel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio review:

The continuation of Ivy and Alistair in Book 5 of the Blood Money Billionaire Series. I love how this author picks up right where they left off, leaving you with only the confusion of the new things that are occurring. Everything else from the previous is starting to get resolved, which allows us to be able to explore some new adventures. There's a lot of drama, a lot of spice, and we can't forget the banter. This is definitely not a series that you can go into as a standalone. You really need to listen to the other books before going into this one. The narration itself is fantastic, as always. I enjoy how they bring these characters to us - the accents, the creativity, and all the tiny things that make each character really stand out individually. Derek Duvall & Emily Dugan always do a wonderful job narrating, and I look forward to hearing more of them.

[Michelle Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exploring All Things Bad is the fifth book in the Blood Money Billionaire series. These books must be read/listened to in order. This book picks up where book four ended. There are many more twists and turns, some drama, suspense and intrigue. Ivy and Alastair are still together but will they survive? Beware of the cliffhanger.
As in the previous books, Emily Dugan and Derek Duvall were fabulous in their narration. Emily Dugan is brilliant as Ivy. You can feel all of Ivy’s fear, doubt, uncertainty, sadness, happiness and love through her voice. Derek Duvall has an amazing, commanding alpha voice. He portrays Alastair perfectly. These two voice actors brought this story to life.

[Jennifer Wycech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billionaire Romance
Romantic suspense
Spicy 🌶️

Dual Narration - Derek Duvall & Emily Dugan
Great narration.

This is book five in the Blood money Billionaire Series

*best read in order*

This audio was good. I haven’t read the first four books so I was a tad lost in the beginning, but the writing was good and kept me intrigued to find out what was going to happen next.

Enjoyable and well done audiobook.

[Miia Salomäki · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first picked up this book, I didn’t realize it was a part of a series, so at first I was a bit lost. This series should definitely be read in order, as there are multiple references to the previous books. It’s an intriguing mixture of mafia crime story and smut romance, so there’s lots of action, and a cliffhanger. Even though the storyline could’ve used a bit of embellishment, I absolutely adored the audiobook narrators. I could’ve listened to their accents all day. This book was definitely worth listening to just to hear their soothing voices and those northern English accents.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, so this is heavy on the spice.
And it tand it's a continuation of all the rest of the books. This is book 5 in the series. You have to listen to the previous 4 books. Otherwise, you're going to be a little lost. It's a pretty good book.
But you have to start from the beginning. This is definitely not a standalone series.

[Amour.Rebelle.Reads (Bran.d) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need book 6 asap!! I’ve got questions & the main one is how dark will Alastair go to save his family?!

I’m listening to the audiobooks of this series & am loving them🖤