A woman hiding from her past, a celebrity desperate to fix his image, and the reality show that forces them together. Penelope Cooper loves her single life. It’s safe and predictable. When her meddling twin sister, Paige, assumes her identity and auditions for Celebrity Proposal—and wins—Penelope’s life is upended. It’s either go on the show with the hunky movie star with a less-than desirable reputation or her sister could be in serious trouble. Angus MacLachlan was Hollywood’s hottest leading man until a bitter, very public breakup with his agent—and subsequent bad behavior—ruined his image and tanked his career. Desperate to get back into his fans’ good graces, he agrees to be on the show, Celebrity Proposal. Neither of them is looking for love, but as the weeks pass, they find themselves growing closer. Can two cold hearts warm up to love, or will the past keep them frozen in time?
Other books by Bree The Clean Billionaire Romance 1. Her Pretend Billionaire Boyfriend 2. Her Second Chance Billionaire Sweetheart 3. Her Broken Billionaire Boss 4. Her Fake Billionaire Fiancé 5. Her Stranded Billionaire Mix-Up 6. Her Secret Billionaire Roommate A Sweet Fake Marriage Romance 1. The Cowboy's Fake Marriage 2. The Star's Fake Marriage 3. The Bodyguard’s Fake Marriage 4. The Matchmaker’s Fake Marriage 5. The Beast’s Fake Marriage A Clean Army Ranger Romance 1. The Ranger’s Chance 2. The Ranger’s Peace 3. The Ranger’s Heart 4. The Ranger’s Hope 5. The Ranger’s Forgiveness A Clean Scottish Romance 1. Mending the Billionaire Movie Star 2. Mending the Billionaire Scotsman 3. Mending the Billionaire Brother A Caprock Canyon 1. The Best Friend's Billionaire Brother 2. The Adversary's Billionaire Fiancé 3. The Housekeeper's Billionaire Boss 4. The Fake Girlfriend's Billionaire Match Stand Alone Love and Charity The Mistletoe A Clean Christmas Novella
My #1 gripe is the cover. Our billionaire actor is described multiple times as having gorgeous red hair. It's a joke to have a dark brunette on the cover. I've been creating cover art for indie authors for years. Red isn't that hard to make happen.
Penelope (for God's sake, don't call her Penny) is just tiresome. OK, I get it. You had a bad relationship in the past, but you need to get over it. And you definitely don't need to transfer all your own issues onto other people, and run and hide in your room. You're 32, not 12.
DNF at 40%. I tried, but this has so many qualities I hate in a story that I'm not going to make myself finish.
I'm not sure why "billionaire" has to be part of the title...or why cover model does not have red hair...he's a gorgeous Scottish actor..that was enough in itself.
Penelope was so weird and mean. This girl needed counseling not being tricked by her sister into this reality show. Penelope constantly cried or yelled or ran from room. She wanted out of the show. Seemed cruel to leave her there like that. She was mentally unfit.
Angus was a softy and very nice. Once we got full affect of his agent ex- girlfriend we understood why he behaved badly. Thank goodness for Barb, the producer. He now wants to get his reputation improved.
Story was a bit long...it seemed every day of the twelve week filming was included and the same girls having same reactions over and over.
The best part comes when our dippy twin, Penelope gets information on the bad agent, Clara.
So three stars is an average read. If you like actors and reality shows it's pretty good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
If your looking for a feel good book, this is not it. I felt unhappy through the whole read. I kept waiting for it to turn around and bad people kept winning and the nice people stayed clueless and lacked common sense. It pulls you down and makes you feel frustrated through the whole book. Not a good feeling in real life so definitely not a good book to escape to. Very disappointing.
I found the character back story for female lead pretty unbelievable, and her ongoing dramatics off putting. If I was the male lead I’d have walked away from her a long time ago.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Mending the Billionaire Movie Star by Bree Livingston (4 stars)
Two very damaged people are stuck together on a reality tv show and eventually come to realize that, when they finally open up, they are healing one another’s pain.
I liked that the h fought against being on the show and the fake-ness of being filmed, etc. She was over-the-top about it, but it was understandable as to why she didn’t trust anything that was happening on the show, or the H’s sincerity. She was they type of person to love with her whole heart and she fought to keep her heart safe from the charade of the live tv show.
The H is damaged and has lashed out. He is still being tormented by his ex who also happens to be his agent. He has an epiphany during the course of the show, but so does the h.
I enjoyed this book and especially the ending. The author saves some surprises for us readers! An easy book to get caught up in...Well done, Ms. Livingston!
*poor, ** ok, ***good, ****very good, *****something special
I truly enjoyed reading this book! It's a captivating & intriguing story. Penelope, lives a quiet life. But, what no one knew is, Penelope is still trying to mend a broken heart. Her twin sister Paige, decides to shake-up her life & lies to get Penelope on a Reality Show. It's the last thing she would ever want to do. Angus, a gorgeous, successful, & wealthy actor. He's going to be a bachelor on a Reality. show. He is not happy about it, but Angus does not really have a choice. Angus's evil & manipulative ex-girlfriend, & agent, is making his life miserable. On the show, ladies compete for a wedding ring from, Angus. Penelope, makes it known how she feels about Angus. While filming the 12 weeks show, strange occurrences happen, along with threats. Will Penelope ever see that Angus might not be the bad guy, he's been painted to be? The story will draw you in, from the very beginning, & keep you reading till the end!!
Sometimes I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as these two do maneuvers of tug of war against everything pushing them together. She didn't want to be there much less to like him. He didn't want to be drawn to her but couldn't stay away. Not only had he been burned but he had lost his family in the process. Well if only that was all they had to deal with it might not be too bad, but of course it's not. Penelope might be the quiet twin but she is by no means docile when those she cares about are threatened. It's a great read and of course I read them out of order so yeah they are standalones in this series. Clean fun romance reads that will get your blood pumping with the intrigue and your heart melting as they deal with all of the manipulations and crazy that go with the territory. Of course the MacLachlan brothers are hot, sweet, and rich. The women who love them are no pushovers and give these brothers a run for their love.
I usually hate reality show stories because I hate the catty women at the meat market and I don't feel like anyone is ever honest about their feelings. I would hate trying to get to know someone under those circumstances and I can't stand to read about it. This one was different. I won't say why and ruin it. Just read it. I really liked that it was clean, honest, and monogamous. She's one of my favorite clean contemporary romance authors, I've decided. They only things I didn't like were that the guy on the cover doesn't have red hair, and Penelopes back and forth "I hate you/I don't hate you" started to get old. No wonder the other girls didn't like her. And lastly, at the end when Penelope was fighting back, she turned kind of catty like Clara. That didn't make her feel strong to me anymore like she had felt previously in the story.
Romance, sweet, contemporary; series but stand alone read. Penelope and Angus’ story was more of a 3.5 for me as a reader. Lots of characters, main characters were good. Loved seeing them gradually trust each other and find their heart homes. They both recognized their attractions, and fought them due to their past with lying exes who poisoned their hearts. Genuine, caring, heartfelt moments pulled them together. Stocking up for each other, and great chemistry made for a heartfelt romance. Angus’ complex contract situation, and poisonous agent along with her intrigue made for a tense side story that thankfully ended and made for a perfect HEA.
4 stars I purchased a copy of Mending the romantic suspense Billionaire Movie Star: A Clean Scottish Romance Book One (A MacLachlan Brothers Romance 1) by Bree Livingston and this review was given freely. Vivid descriptions, lots of drama, and a twisted plot with a happy ending. Two broken hearts find love in an unexpected location. Florida dog groomer Penelope is setup by her twin sister Paige to compete in a twelve week Montana based reality show featuring the rude and pompous billionaire bachelor Angus MacLachlan, but things are not as she expected.
The last chapters are the only reason I'm giving it a two star. Most of the book she acts like a moody teenager. While he isn't enough of a jerk in the first part to make the change effective. Instead he's a sweetheart through the whole book so you can't believe he spit on a fan. The most unbelievable part is Tom. Nope, just nope. I would have believed unwanted attention/sexual the led her to a solitary life, especially if it had lasted years. the facts as they were presented immediately caused me to roll my eyes.
A lot to like about this book, but there was also a lot of plot that felt not quite enough. First of all, I hope twin sister, Paige gets her comeuppance in a future book, because I really did not like her at all. Penelope has an aversion to good-looking, confident men with loads of personality. At first, Angus doesn't disprove her experiences, but he certainly works hard throughout the book to change her mind. There are A LOT of conflicts, relationship and otherwise, in this story, at at times there was just too much. Standalone, but part of a series, and a HEA that fixed most of the issues.
When Penelope's twin sister signs her up for a reality TV show, she doesn't want to do it. Angus is trying to clean up his image by starring in a reality dating show. Both of them have been hurt before. Can Angus convince his fans that he is a changed man? Can he convince Penelope?
Yeah, so the set up and ending was obvious from the blurb, but the storyline was ok. There are some very obvious bloopers in there also. that made me wonder who proof read this book. But as for a simple romance it was ok, had some drama thrown in, some nasty women as well and the usual ending.
A clean romance in a reality tv show setting. Twin Penelope and celebrity Angus have a lot of chemistry but Angus also has a stalker targeting Penelope and a vindictive agent. Will they have a HEA?
I was given an ARC and I am leaving this review honest review voluntarily.
Oh my goodness! What a fabulous experience I had reading this so very interesting book. Thank you Bree Livingston! I loved this book, everything about it. It gripped me right from the very beginning, didn't want it to end. Great work Bree!
This is the best book I've read so far this year and I've read over 250. I love books that are long enough to really get to know the characters and get deep into the plot. This book has sweet romance and a complicated plot that keeps you reading.
Penelope and Angus are my favorite 😍 I was kind of meh for the first 20% but then things picked up and they actually started talking and .... Excited to read about them again in the next novel in the series!
I liked the way that Penelope got really smart once she stopped thinking with a broken heart. She came across believable. Angus not so much. The only thing that I saw was him only wanting what he could not have.
I am a sucker for anything that deals with Scotland. I loved that the book is not the typical meet, love, have a problem, get back together, live happily ever after. It kept me guessing.
My only complaint about this book is the cover. The guy should have red hair and a beard. This is a production problem, not an author problem. I really enjoy Bree Livingston's books. They are delightful, has just enough mystery and drama to prevent cavities, and of course, a happy ending.
I could not put this book down. When I saw how many pages I cringed a little bit thinking it would take me forever, but it didn’t. Loved it so much. It will be one I read again. And a clean romance!!! Yay!!!
A clean, fun HEA. The story is well written, I read it every chance I could, even putting off house work! I look forward to reading more books written by Bree Livingston.