Billionaire Daddy Protector

by Esther Jade

My billionaire ex, who broke my heart, is back.

But this time, he's my only hope for survival…

As a matchmaker, my life has always been glamorous and predictable—until it wasn’t.

I broke the rules and matched the wrong person.

Now, I have a target on my back, and my life is at risk.

The one man who can protect me is the last person I ever expected to rely on.

Alexander Hayes, my first love and a devoted single dad, is now a billionaire shrouded in mystery.

I can't help but admire him—his chiseled jawline and piercing blue eyes strip away my defenses, but he is older than me.

The strength he gained as a Marine reminds me of the safety I once felt in his arms.

Our forced time together has reignited an intense love that we thought was long buried.

I should resist him, but I can't. Time has only amplified his power over me.

As we face our past, every look and touch between us threatens to unravel my guarded heart.

But trusting him again is more dangerous than ever—because it’s not only my heart on the line this time. It’s our lives.

And the one man who can save me might also be the one to shatter my heart forever.

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 30, 2024

Reviews

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Billionaire Daddy Protector Second Chance Age Gap Romance
By: Esther Jade
Tropes: billionaire mmc, age gap, second chance, single dad, bodyguard
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶
This book was infuriating and full of angst. It was a second chance romance. The MMC (Alex) ghosted Lily (FMC) without warning and unexpectedly reentered her life 12 years later. The FMC is a matchmaker and was getting threats, so her assistant hired a bodyguard, and unbeknownst to her, he was the fmcs ex! The book had many secrets, some drama, and steamy scenes. The mmc and fmc had good chemistry, but the mmc was so evasive that I just wanted to scream. Overall, it was a good and engaging read that kept me guessing what secrets the mmc was keeping. It felt like I was being edged until I finally got my questions answered at the end.

[Tegan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book without purchase via the authors ARC team and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I only made it 4 chapters before DNFing. The writing isn't for me due to the writing in general but also because the plot moved so fast within those first 4 chapters. So fast that I had to check to see if this was a short story collection that I mistakenly thought was a novel. I skimmed ahead a bit and it went in the direction I was hoping it wouldn't, at least not so soon especially given the characters histories with each other.

Ultimately this book isn't for me and I couldn't get past the writing and the errors in order to finish it. I wish I was able to finish it as I am usually of the opinion that things that are confusing in the beginning need to be given the chance to be explained. However, other reviews have stated that the main focus of the book isn't explained so that cancelled out my usual reason to stick with books I'm not enjoying - curiosity.

Edit: the errors were getting increasingly stranger so I downloaded the sample from the Amazon listing and it is free of the errors I mentioned previously (which are now deleted). Something must of gone wrong in the conversion for the ARC that was fixed before publication. There still are some formatting errors in the Kindle version (e.g. large chunks of dialogue and regular text stuck together without paragraph breaks) which are annoying but compared to the previous errors it's not a deal breaker for me.

I'll go into detail about the plot below with spoiler warnings.

Tropes:
- age gap
- second chance
- damsel in distress
- protector/saviour
- insta love/lust
- billionaire (apparently? Didn't get that far)
- forced proximity
- hidden secrets

Triggers:
- violence on page
- unresolved trauma from shared history
- vague medical situation involving a young child
- dubious consent in a sexual encounter

SPOILERS BELOW
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Plot (as far as I got into it): A matchmaker (FMC) has been receiving threats and it's implied the threats are due to a poor matchmaking experience from a previous client. FMC's assistant hires a bodyguard to protect her which the FMC doesn't believe she needs. The bodyguard turns out to be her ex from 12 years ago who left her without a word. FMC is still very upset about this but keeps him as her bodyguard. FMC is attacked by assumed kidnappers which the MMC fights off. MMC drives her home, they share a kiss, she invites him up, decides it was a bad idea, instantly forgets that decision, they have sex, he refuses to answer questions again, and he leaves.

I assume the plot will go further into why she's being targeted and the whole billionaire thing but I couldn't read any longer.

What I didn't like:
- FMC didn't fire MMC after seeing it was her ex (conflict of interest, anyone?)

- FMC was a damsel in distress and didn't have a sense of self preservation during the attack scene (why did she just sit there and not lock the doors or run like the MMC yelled at her to do several times??) and it felt like she didn't have a sense of agency at all. I understand trauma and being frozen but she had multiple opportunities to leave but didn't and clearly wasn't in panic mode as she replied to the MMC twice in a non-agitated manner

- She has 12 years of resentment for him leaving her without warning over a decade ago and in the fourth chapter they're already boning (presumably it wasn't that big of a deal for her despite conveying how hurt she was and is by it?)

- He didn't answer the direct question of why he left multiple times (which is one reason for why she should have fired him)

- Reasons/decisions/reactions are brought up and thrown away without explanation (e.g. FMC is desperate to get her lost necklace back but not so desperate that she'll put off sex and then the matter is dropped even after he leaves)

- Apparently he's only a bodyguard between office hours because he goes home after the sex (I guess the people who tried to kidnap her only do crimes between 8am - 5pm?)

- MMC abused her traumatic vulnerabilities for sex and then left without explaining anything AGAIN after acknowledging to himself and her that he hurt her in the past by not explaining anything

Things I didn't find out:
- Why was a billionaire working as a bodyguard?? It couldn't have been to get close to her as he is surprised to see her in the first meeting as much as she was and he describes it as fate throwing them back together

- Why did she accept him so readily after 12 years of resentment and no contact? Why make a decision to ask him to leave only to change her mind one second later?

- Why was she being targeted? A mismatch in love cannot be the only reason.

I may end up reading the rest of the book to answer these questions but it's very likely that I won't.

[Sheila M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily is 25 years old and has a successful matchmaking business but has been receiving personal threats. Her assistant Julianna decided Lily needed a bodyguard and hired a security company. Her new bodyguard is none other than the man that ghosted her 12 years ago, Alex. He’s back, and now he is a former Marine, business owner, father of Eliana, and secret billionaire. One thing that hasn’t changed is that Alex is still keeping secrets from Lily. The love and lust between them are still there. Factor in a kidnapping, a psycho ex-client, and a pregnancy, and you have a recipe for a fun story. My only negative was the timeline didn’t seem to match up. Otherwise, this is an interesting story for readers that like forbidden love, second chances, drama, and steamy stories.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do yourself a HUGE favor and grab this romance book right here because it is one wonderful book to fall in love with reading. So quick grab your kindle and sit back and relax and let the storyline as well as Lily and Alex take you on a romantic adventure you want to be on. It has some emotional scenes so you might need a box of Kleenexes to wipe away your tears, but in the end, everything comes full circle for Alex and Lily, and I loved how the book ends. This is a romantic must read book by Esther you will truly read over again.

[L KQ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matchmaker Problems

While this was a good story overall, the fact is some parts contradict other ones or parts of a chapters ended up in another chapter, which messed with the flow. I enjoyed the fact that Lily and Alex have a history that needed to be resolved, but the truth to why he left should have been clearer. Their chemistry was intense, and their relationship was a bit apprehensive, which added another layer to this read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Mariam Mirza · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard to follow and understand the relationships. You don't understand exactly how she does as a matchmaker and what made someone give threats. I think if the author explored their respective careers a bit more then started the premise of the storyline, it would have been easier to follow.

I loved eliana's character, and can't wait to read her story!

Thank you Booksprout for the eARC copy!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Merry Jelks-Emmanuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Lily makes a mistake with matchmaking it puts her life in jeopardy and there is only one man she can trust for protection, her ex. Alex is an ex-marine and a single father and the man that left her devastated. Will she be able to protect her heart from Alex as they stay ahead of who is trying to kill her. This action-packed drama kept me all caught up in this story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so invested in this book!
This book was so good!

So much chaos! I feel bad for
Lily! But Alex turned out to
be a good one for Lily..

Lily went through so much
but Alex being so protective
and in love with Lily is so cute!

It has light spice.. 🌶️🌶️

I received this as an advanced reader copy and I'm writing this review voluntarily.

[EGotay · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Billionaire Daddy Protector"
By Esther Jade

I love a Second Chance Romance and this one it's a good one.

I received an advance free copy of this book and I'm leaving my voluntary review.