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Billionaire's Mediterranean Proposal
His proposal is pure convenience…
Their desire is anything but!
To convince everyone he’s off-limits, Tara Mackenzie agrees to pose as billionaire Marc Derenz’s girlfriend. It’s purely for show, until the C™te d’Azur rumor mill leaves the world convinced they’re engaged! Resisting Marc’s infuriatingly addictive charm was hard enough before, but becoming his fiancée pushes their desire to new heights. Now Tara’s so deep in their Mediterranean fantasy, dare she believe it could ever be more…?
Step into the billionaire and his fake fiancée’s glamorous world…
Their desire is anything but!
To convince everyone he’s off-limits, Tara Mackenzie agrees to pose as billionaire Marc Derenz’s girlfriend. It’s purely for show, until the C™te d’Azur rumor mill leaves the world convinced they’re engaged! Resisting Marc’s infuriatingly addictive charm was hard enough before, but becoming his fiancée pushes their desire to new heights. Now Tara’s so deep in their Mediterranean fantasy, dare she believe it could ever be more…?
Step into the billionaire and his fake fiancée’s glamorous world…
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published April 16, 2019
49 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Julia James
730 books164 followersJulia lives in England with her family. Mills and Boon novels were Julia's first "grown up" books she read as a teenager ("Alongside Georgette Heyer and Daphne du Maurier."), and she's been reading them ever since.
Julia adores the English countryside ("And the Celtic countryside!"), in all its seasons, and is fascinated by all things historical, from castles to cottages. She also has a special love for the Mediterranean ("The most perfect landscape after England!") — she considers both are ideal settings for romance stories! In between writing she enjoys walking, gardening, needlework and baking "extremely gooey chocolate cakes" — and trying to stay fit!
Julia adores the English countryside ("And the Celtic countryside!"), in all its seasons, and is fascinated by all things historical, from castles to cottages. She also has a special love for the Mediterranean ("The most perfect landscape after England!") — she considers both are ideal settings for romance stories! In between writing she enjoys walking, gardening, needlework and baking "extremely gooey chocolate cakes" — and trying to stay fit!
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 6, 2019
A storyline that centers around the fake relationship trope. An uptight French billionaire banker H, gets himself into a bind when his elderly mentor's skanky young gold digging wife sets her sights on seducing him. His solution: to hire a beautiful model ( the heroine) as his fake girlfriend.
I'm not a big fan of Julia James' novels. In fact, I've probably only enjoyed about 3 or 4 of her books and those had been her older romances. I didn't have high hopes for this book. In fact, when it comes to this author:
So, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself being entertained by the snarky fun and OTT drama that unfolded.
What I enjoyed:
1. The MC's thorny relationship. Marc and Tara are desperately attracted to each other, but determined to fight it because he's paying her 10 000s 💷 to play the role of doting fiancee.
2. The skanky wannabe OW, Celine, reminded me of the deliciously nasty hagbitches in vintage harlequins who never took plain hints that the H despised their trampglorious mercenary selves. Celine was utterly shameless, throwing herself at Marc right in front of her oblivious husband Hans.
3. The heroine was spunky and feisty. Tara had been in one failed relationship before with a man who had only wanted a trophy model girlfriend. All she wanted was to save 10 000 pounds to renovate her country cottage, retire from modelling and maybe find a nice rural vet or farmer to marry.
4. She didn't take crap from anyone - especially the wannabe OW Celine. There were a few very funny and entertaining scenes where Tara totally put Celine in her place. The best part was that she did it in a classy and polite manner. That's a refreshing change because the stereotypical OW usually gets the upper hand in HPlandia - until the very end when the H declares his love for the heroine.
This is the H, Marc:
This is the heroine, Tara:
The MC's romance didn't actually start until the midpoint of the story, after the wannabe OW had been routed and despatched. It's only from this point that Marc becomes likable. Nevertheless, in the tradition of most of Julia James' heroes, he sticks to the script and keeps the relationship strictly sexual.
The poor heroine falls in love first and makes the mistake of hinting that she'd like more from the relationship. This ruins their idyllic vacation romance in the south of France and he insults her by leaving a necklace on the bedside table: the traditional gift that rich alpha males use to dump a mistress who's no longer in favour.
Surprisingly, there's a lot more drama to follow:
1. A surprise pregnancy;
2. A major misunderstanding, leading the H to think that she's going to marry Hans !
3. Some stilted, hostile interaction between the MC's, both of whom are suffering from the misconception that their love is unrequited;
4. A dramatic scene where Hans lets Marc know that he's an idiotic dumbass;
5. A sweet grovelling scene where the H begs her forgiveness and explains why he's been unable to trust women. She forgives him, after a cute tearful reunion and true love wins out in the end !
The epilogue was lovely and it made it easier for me to give this an average/good rating of three stars. The MC's have a baby son and are planning for ( hopefully ) a daughter. It's not my ideal type of romantic storyline but it definitely entertained me and made me laugh a little. I also applauded the fact that Hans divorced the skanky adulterous Celine and married a nice, refined lady closer to his age
Safety: No OM, a wannabe OW, no cheating and both MC's are celibate during their very short ( couple months) separation. The H despised the OW and had never been in a relationship with her.
I'm not a big fan of Julia James' novels. In fact, I've probably only enjoyed about 3 or 4 of her books and those had been her older romances. I didn't have high hopes for this book. In fact, when it comes to this author:
So, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself being entertained by the snarky fun and OTT drama that unfolded.
What I enjoyed:
1. The MC's thorny relationship. Marc and Tara are desperately attracted to each other, but determined to fight it because he's paying her 10 000s 💷 to play the role of doting fiancee.
2. The skanky wannabe OW, Celine, reminded me of the deliciously nasty hagbitches in vintage harlequins who never took plain hints that the H despised their trampglorious mercenary selves. Celine was utterly shameless, throwing herself at Marc right in front of her oblivious husband Hans.
3. The heroine was spunky and feisty. Tara had been in one failed relationship before with a man who had only wanted a trophy model girlfriend. All she wanted was to save 10 000 pounds to renovate her country cottage, retire from modelling and maybe find a nice rural vet or farmer to marry.
4. She didn't take crap from anyone - especially the wannabe OW Celine. There were a few very funny and entertaining scenes where Tara totally put Celine in her place. The best part was that she did it in a classy and polite manner. That's a refreshing change because the stereotypical OW usually gets the upper hand in HPlandia - until the very end when the H declares his love for the heroine.
This is the H, Marc:
This is the heroine, Tara:
The MC's romance didn't actually start until the midpoint of the story, after the wannabe OW had been routed and despatched. It's only from this point that Marc becomes likable. Nevertheless, in the tradition of most of Julia James' heroes, he sticks to the script and keeps the relationship strictly sexual.
The poor heroine falls in love first and makes the mistake of hinting that she'd like more from the relationship. This ruins their idyllic vacation romance in the south of France and he insults her by leaving a necklace on the bedside table: the traditional gift that rich alpha males use to dump a mistress who's no longer in favour.
Surprisingly, there's a lot more drama to follow:
1. A surprise pregnancy;
2. A major misunderstanding, leading the H to think that she's going to marry Hans !
3. Some stilted, hostile interaction between the MC's, both of whom are suffering from the misconception that their love is unrequited;
4. A dramatic scene where Hans lets Marc know that he's an idiotic dumbass;
5. A sweet grovelling scene where the H begs her forgiveness and explains why he's been unable to trust women. She forgives him, after a cute tearful reunion and true love wins out in the end !
The epilogue was lovely and it made it easier for me to give this an average/good rating of three stars. The MC's have a baby son and are planning for ( hopefully ) a daughter. It's not my ideal type of romantic storyline but it definitely entertained me and made me laugh a little. I also applauded the fact that Hans divorced the skanky adulterous Celine and married a nice, refined lady closer to his age
Safety: No OM, a wannabe OW, no cheating and both MC's are celibate during their very short ( couple months) separation. The H despised the OW and had never been in a relationship with her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2019
DNF. This book is boring and that makes me sad because I used to love this author's book in the past but her recent books are just not good.
July 6, 2020
Not a great read
This was pretty cheesy. I had to look at the author a couple of times just to make sure it was Julia James. And at the year it was written. It reminded me more of the HPs I read long long ago. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't good either. It was just okay. The hero was such a downer to me judging women based on their income. If it was less than his they were gold diggers. He was such a moron I thought. His thoughts were unkind, he treated women like garbage and was a total jerk. Jumping to conclusions, not asking questions, everything. Tara the h was nice but it was just silly to me. The whole book was just not quite up to her normal standards. Or HP's standards either. Maybe in the 60 's or 70's in the last decade. Just a very odd book. Not bad, but definitely not good!
This was pretty cheesy. I had to look at the author a couple of times just to make sure it was Julia James. And at the year it was written. It reminded me more of the HPs I read long long ago. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't good either. It was just okay. The hero was such a downer to me judging women based on their income. If it was less than his they were gold diggers. He was such a moron I thought. His thoughts were unkind, he treated women like garbage and was a total jerk. Jumping to conclusions, not asking questions, everything. Tara the h was nice but it was just silly to me. The whole book was just not quite up to her normal standards. Or HP's standards either. Maybe in the 60 's or 70's in the last decade. Just a very odd book. Not bad, but definitely not good!
April 7, 2019
I am sad to say that this book does not have the “WOW” factor. It’s just meh
I dragged myself through it. The h and H did not impress. The dialogue was waaay too forma, to the point of being annoying. I just didn’t connect with the main characters. Even the protagonist, Celine, was just blah.
Not a winner for me. Save your money for a better book.
I dragged myself through it. The h and H did not impress. The dialogue was waaay too forma, to the point of being annoying. I just didn’t connect with the main characters. Even the protagonist, Celine, was just blah.
Not a winner for me. Save your money for a better book.
April 29, 2019
2.5 stars
Ok read nothing special.
Ok read nothing special.
April 7, 2019
This book is so dull... Ms. James what happened?? Your books are usually good.
May 9, 2019
This one is a real keeper. I loved Tara and Marc and I was crazy about the luxurious setting and the supporting characters. The writing is not only fresh and sexy, some of it is downright poetic. (Tara caressing her pregnant belly and feeling at one with the flowers and the birds and the bees.) This story really has everything I look for in a romance. Julia James delivers excellence *consistently* and that's something very few HP authors can say. (Looking at you, CC!)
April 12, 2019
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars.
See the full review at HarlequinJunkie.com
Billionaire’s Mediterranean Proposal had all the hallmarks of a classic Harlequin Presents: exotic locations, a stunning attraction between the hero and heroine, a fake engagement, as well as some animosity and miscommunication to keep things interesting. I will admit, though, that this romance started a bit rough for me as I didn’t connect right away with either character. The bickering between Tara and Marc and the way they kept stepping on each other’s toes was comical, but the chemistry was all on the surface at first. Once they began to truly get to know each other, that’s when I began rooting for them and could see them together as a successful couple. Read More
See the full review at HarlequinJunkie.com
Billionaire’s Mediterranean Proposal had all the hallmarks of a classic Harlequin Presents: exotic locations, a stunning attraction between the hero and heroine, a fake engagement, as well as some animosity and miscommunication to keep things interesting. I will admit, though, that this romance started a bit rough for me as I didn’t connect right away with either character. The bickering between Tara and Marc and the way they kept stepping on each other’s toes was comical, but the chemistry was all on the surface at first. Once they began to truly get to know each other, that’s when I began rooting for them and could see them together as a successful couple. Read More
August 14, 2019
Tara wants to retire from modelling and live in her grandparents's cottage. Enter Marc, a French banker .He hires Tara to be his pretend girlfriend/ fiance. Marc is pursuied by Celine,who is married to his late parents's friend Hans. Hans is a manufacturer ,with two grown children. Celine is bored with him and plans to land Marc. Marc is appalled by the very idea.
So Tara goes to Cot d'Azure and tries to become a wall between Marc and Celine. At one point Marc announces they are engaged to be married and tells Celine off.
Hans and Celine leave ,planning to get a divorce.
Meanwhile, Marc is attracted to Tara and they become lovers. Then he has to go abroad and the affair is over. Marc pays the agreed amount + gives Tara an emerald necklace.
Some months later Tara encounters Hans in London. He shows Tara an engagement ring he has bought for his future wife(mother of his daughter-in-law). Marc sees it and misunderstands the situation. He confronts Tara and learns some surprise news.
A comedy of errors with a happy end.
So Tara goes to Cot d'Azure and tries to become a wall between Marc and Celine. At one point Marc announces they are engaged to be married and tells Celine off.
Hans and Celine leave ,planning to get a divorce.
Meanwhile, Marc is attracted to Tara and they become lovers. Then he has to go abroad and the affair is over. Marc pays the agreed amount + gives Tara an emerald necklace.
Some months later Tara encounters Hans in London. He shows Tara an engagement ring he has bought for his future wife(mother of his daughter-in-law). Marc sees it and misunderstands the situation. He confronts Tara and learns some surprise news.
A comedy of errors with a happy end.
June 14, 2019
I'm about 1/3 through, and the verbiage makes this story seem like a Historical story.
Amongst others. A couple of these odd turns of phrase and it would've been just fine - however, put them all together and it reads like a bodice-ripper 95%.
I'm finishing it unless I get bogged down in the language.
‘I merely need my guest to be…disabused…of any expectations she may have of me.’
His voice was more fulsome, and there might well be relief in it...
...as if trying to bend her to his implacable will.
But I was young then! A stripling! It was calf love, nothing more than that, and that’s why it hit me so hard.
Amongst others. A couple of these odd turns of phrase and it would've been just fine - however, put them all together and it reads like a bodice-ripper 95%.
I'm finishing it unless I get bogged down in the language.
doubtful-because-not-v
January 12, 2022His proposal is pure convenience…
Their desire is anything but!
To convince everyone he’s off-limits, Tara Mackenzie agrees to pose as billionaire Marc Derenz’s girlfriend. It’s purely for show, until the C™te d’Azur rumor mill leaves the world convinced they’re engaged! Resisting Marc’s infuriatingly addictive charm was hard enough before, but becoming his fiancée pushes their desire to new heights. Now Tara’s so deep in their Mediterranean fantasy, dare she believe it could ever be more…?
Step into the billionaire and his fake fiancée’s glamorous world…
Their desire is anything but!
To convince everyone he’s off-limits, Tara Mackenzie agrees to pose as billionaire Marc Derenz’s girlfriend. It’s purely for show, until the C™te d’Azur rumor mill leaves the world convinced they’re engaged! Resisting Marc’s infuriatingly addictive charm was hard enough before, but becoming his fiancée pushes their desire to new heights. Now Tara’s so deep in their Mediterranean fantasy, dare she believe it could ever be more…?
Step into the billionaire and his fake fiancée’s glamorous world…
July 2, 2019
Modern Romance May 2019: Book 8
I gave 4 stars because the story rather different. The story just simple, a model hired to act as a billionaire's lover to annoyed out a rich woman whom already married to another billionaire but not enjoying her relationship. Then we already knew the ending for each Harlequin books.
I gave 4 stars because the story rather different. The story just simple, a model hired to act as a billionaire's lover to annoyed out a rich woman whom already married to another billionaire but not enjoying her relationship. Then we already knew the ending for each Harlequin books.
May 16, 2020
Another great book by Julia James
I read all of her books and this was a really good one. She should be picked up by a better publisher, her books are much better than your average Harlequin imho
I read all of her books and this was a really good one. She should be picked up by a better publisher, her books are much better than your average Harlequin imho
April 18, 2019
A jaded billionaire, a fake fiance to prevent the advances of other women this has it all as well as heart to this wonderful read. loved it.
May 2, 2019
3.5 🌟
July 1, 2020
This was rather boring and I ended up skimming the majority
of it.
of it.
January 28, 2021
This is a big miss for me. I love Julia James but this is a big NO from me. No cruel hero either... what a disappointment...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews