When we decided to be escorts, we agreed it would only be professional. We drew up a list of rules, a bro-code.
But now that Harper is my new client...I want to forget every single one of them.
It's been a long time since I've felt this way about anyone. The one woman I loved cheated on me and I couldn't forgive her. My heart is still shattered from the betrayal.
But somehow, Harper makes me forget all of that.
Standalone. No cliffhanger. HEA. Books in the series can be read in any order.
USA Today Bestselling Author, E. L. Todd is one of the most prolific authors of her genre, having published over a hundred novels. With over one million copies sold, she writes romance stories ranging from contemporary romance, new adult romance, and fantasy romance. She's best known for her Forever and Always Series as well as her Timeless Series.
She loves coffee, ice cream, and anything with sugar.
Well I finished this one too...while I thought it was a wee bit similar to book 1, I still loved it. Once again the characters meld their way into your heart and you are championing them along from the start. Will be starting book 3 shortly. (full review to come)
I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review
It is hard to write a separate review for each of the books in this series without them all ending up sounding the same. So...
What I loved about this series: ~The stories are so easy to read. They could easily be read in one sitting. ~I very much enjoyed the authors style of writing. All the books were well written. ~Throughout their books, the characters are developed well and are very likeable. ~Each situation that requires the need to hire an escort is different. You're not reading the same story multiple times. ~The further I read into the series, the more I enjoyed the books.
Book specific thoughts This was a great second instalment to the series. It follows the story between Troy and Harper, two characters featured in the first book of the series. Although I would say you could read this as a standalone novel, I would suggest that it be read after the first book, Beautiful Entourage. I think as a reader, you would be able to get a better grasp of their lives if you did so.
Gorgeous Consort (Beautiful Entourage #2) Review by E.L. Todd
I was given a free copy for an honest review I loved, loved this one. I thought I was going to be left hanged over with “Beautiful Entourage” but I was so wrong. I loved the first book, nothing wrong there. But this one, left me so I want moooore. I read this one slower because I enjoyed every word and I had to stop to take it all in.
Troy, damn you male species for putting me like this. In the first book he said these words and I knew from then that I had to read about him:
“If a guy doesn’t have the balls to be up front about his intentions, then he isn’t going to be upfront about any aspect of his life. He prefers to hide in the shadows and cover up his mistakes. Every behavior is connected to every other behavior. If someone is a liar, then they’ll lie about everything. If someone is a cheater, they won’t respect any partner they have. I’m telling you, I Know”
Beautiful Entourage – E.L Todd (Book #1)
Very deep words by him, and like I said I just had to know the truth behind them. And when I learned about them, I must say I was really shocked. I won’t say any spoilers. Read this book, is a YOU MUST READ IT!
Troy: He is loyal, honest and lovable. I imagined him like a teddy bear who you just want to hug and never let go. My dream man, oh please I have t many dream mans but he going to that list as well. He works as an escort, he is Rhett’s best friend who is also an escort (His story is book #1). He is one of the head in company of Beautiful Entourage. He has a hate-love relationship with his parents because of his brother (READ IF YOU WAN TO KNOW WHY) And his past with his ex, still “haunts” him and his heart isn’t prepared to be in a relationship yet but he fall for the beautiful and amazing Harper, but he just don’t know.
Harper: She is also a loyal and honest girl, who is just seeking for love. The love she never felt from her parents and resent her sister but in a jealous type of way. Her parents would only pay attention to her if she brings a man. That where Troy comes in, and sparks fly everywhere. At first she didn’t want to fall for him, well she didn’t try because she already did…………. Oops.
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it just made me frustrated. I was so excited to see that Troy and Harper were getting a love story but I was disappointed. I felt like this was a repeat of the first book Beautiful Entourage. Just different characters. Aspen and Harper had issues with their parents approval. Rhett and Troy both had brothers with problems. Aspen and Harper were able to fix the issues that the brothers had. Aspen being compared to her cousin Isabella, Harper compared to her sister Kara. As for Troy I enjoyed him in the first book. He was sarcastic and funny. In this book I couldn't stand him. He was so pathetic. A year has passed since his girl friend dumped him and he is still crying over it. What guy actually says, "I never got to tell her she hurt me? I never got to scream". I have never seen such a weak "hero". There was nothing appealing about him. He wanted to have a friends with benefits relationship with Harper but when it came down to it, he couldn't even perform. He was so unlikeable, pretending to be a player when he hadn't dated anyone since his ex. There was also the contradiction when he said that he was always honest and said exactly what he means, but turns around and continues to lie to Rhett about everything. He doesn't appreciate when Rhett calls him out on it and runs off acting like a child. I am wondering what is the age of these characters? They act like they are still in high school. As for Harper I couldn't tell you anything about her, except she doesn't get along with her parents, she is an Interior Decorator and her best friend is Aspen. She just didn't have any personality in this book like she did in the first one.
Die Begleiter des Escort Services Beautiful Entourage sind ihr Geld absolut wert. Viele Frauen finden die gutaussehenden, durchtrainierten jungen Männer schlichtweg unwiderstehlich. Doch sie arbeiten hoch professionell und haben strenge Regeln aufgestellt, die nicht gebrochen werden dürfen. Niemals.
1. Keine Küsse. 2. Keine Gefühle. 3. Kein Sex. Absolut keinen Sex.
Für Tyler ist das Einhalten der Regeln kein Problem. Der sexy Playboy hat in seiner Freizeit genügend Spaß mit diversen Damen. Das spielt er jedenfalls seinen Freunden vor. Keiner würde vermuten, dass er auch nach über einem Jahr noch so sehr unter der Trennung von seiner Exfreundin leidet, dass er mit keiner Frau schlafen kann. Liebe ist erst recht kein Thema mehr für ihn. Doch dann tritt Harper in sein Leben und hypnotisiert ihn mit ihrer Schönheit, ihrem Witz und ihrer beeindruckenden Intelligenz. Wird er sich trotzdem an das halten, was er sich einst geschworen hatte?
Die Charaktere:
Tyler - pflegt mit aller Macht sein Bad Boy Image, ist aber eigentlich ein ganz lieber Kerl.
Harper - steht in ihren Augen stets im Schatten ihrer Modelschwester, kein Wunder also, dass ihr Selbstbewusstsein nicht so groß ist, wie sie eigentlich versucht auszustrahlen.
Meine Meinung:
Tyler ist ein wundervoller Protagonist. Er vermittelt den typischen Eindruck von einer harten Schale und einem weichen Kern. Er hat ein großes Herz und setzt sich für seine Familie, Freunde und Kunden stets ein.
Leider hat seine Ex ihm so sehr das Herz gebrochen, dass er auf den ersten Blick beziehungsunfähig scheint. Mit viel Geduld, kann man ihm jedoch vom Gegenteil überzeugen.
Harper ist Innenarchitektin, taff und nicht auf den Mund gefallen, allerdings seelisch auch ziemlich angeknacktst. Ihre Eltern wissen sie nicht zu schätzen und sie eifert unbewusst ständig ihrer Schwester nach. Alles in allem, ist sie eine Protagonistin mit vielen Schwächen.
Eigentlich war sie mir sehr sympathisch, allerdings fand ich ihr Verhalten in den letzten Kapiteln wirklich unmöglich, sodass sie da einige Federn verloren hat.
Mir hat das Buch sehr gut gefallen und ich fühlte mich unterhalten. Daher vergebe ich 4 Sterne.
I really love this fairly new concept of romances being written with a dual point of view. Troy comes across as a cocky SOB. If we only had Harper's perspective, I don't think I would have liked Troy at all. Seeing his perspective, I was able to have a lot of empathy for Troy. I guess that's a very good thing. 😃
Here I was thinking that nothing and nobody could be any better then Rhett but people I'm here to tell you I was wrong...Troy came along and push the hot factor way past my expectations. So this is his and Harper's story and you hear about them alot in book one so you already kinda love them both and I thought they would be a great book myself and boy was I right! You have Troy who is still holding on to the past and the heartbreak that has made him bitter and incapable of any kind of relationship, even just a sexual one. Then comes Harper..his unknown bff. They grow close and decide that a friends with benefits relationship is what's needed. Well that doesn't really work out for reasons I won't say due to me not wanting to kill the mood for you, but they do get VERY close and before long they realize that they really can't live without each other. Friends or more? That is the question. Harper and Troys story really is an awesome one and there chemistry is ridiculous so when their hot....THEY ARE HOT, and when their not...well their still freaking hot lol. I loved the back and forth and all the flirting. I fell in love with them and this story and I really hope everyone will give it a read:) E.L has once again blown my mind and I'll tell you be ready for every emotion to run through you because you can't help it:) This book throws them all at you in the best way possible.
3.75⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Troy and Harper met when with Rhett and Aspen from 1st book both found each other attractive but have their own issues. Troy plays the player part well, every time he goes out he acts like he has a new women all the time when in fact he hasn't recovered from his ex and how she left him so there has been no one since which he is wanting to get over her but doesn't know how. Harper is independent, career driven with no long lasting boyfriends. Troy and Harper both think each other are hot but that is it, so they start a friendship with turns into an agreement. Troy only wants to get over his ex so he is hoping Harper is able to help with her body. Harper doesn't agree with his profession so therefore doesn't want anything serious and agrees if Troy becomes her escort for her sisters wedding. Feelings, emotions baggage, an ex are all thrown in to complicate their friendship and relationship. Troys mind made my head hurt a lot. He was so over the place with his feelings he was worse than a woman. Worth reading but not as good compared with the 1st. I was given a free copy from the author in exchange for a honest review
Very interesting read with so much going on. The things I liked were the honesty and general compassion Troy had for his clients. I loved his brother, even though we don't get a lot from him. The parents in this book, ALL of them made me so upset. Who treats their kids like that. The thins o hated were the fact that he didn't see Harpers worth until the very end. He was hung up on a woman who cheated and he had the best woman he will ever hope for in front of him. He sleeps with her, tells her he loves her and then goes to his ex after she begs him not to. OMG I hated him in that moment. I would not have taken him back when he came crawling. There a HFN/HEA lovey ending but he hurt her so deeply. I couldn't get past it. But I'm a tough sell on the 'second chance after a total fuck up' routine so maybe you will like it. He realizes he loves her more than he ever has anyone else after he goes and talks with the ex. Well, too fucking bad douchebag, you should never have gone. Anyway, I would say read it, it's a really interesting yet frustrating book. Harper deserves better but the heart wants what it wants I guess.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
E. L. Todd does a fantastic job with developing Troy and Harper's story. They both need to find a balance in life even when they don't want a relationship. It is hard not to fall for the characters because they may have a past to overcome but they are fighting to not let it define them. Harper has so much sass and spunk, I love it! Troy is gorgeous and has a great sense of humor. Troy and Harper need each other and over the course of time they find that they each want more. The conversations between the characters of this book had me laughing and sometimes I found myself getting pulled into the conversation. E. L. Todd has a way of making the characters come to life and you want to be in the story. This is another great read. Learn from your past but don't let it define who you really are!
Si j’avais apprécié le premier, je dois dire que j’ai particulière adoré celui-ci. On avait pu apercevoir nos deux personnages dans « Une bien belle compagnie » et leurs apparitions nous laissaient entrevoir des moments drôles. Et ce fut le cas ! J’ai beaucoup ri dans ce tome-ci. Harper et Troy n’ont aucun filtre et on assiste donc à des dialogues aux réparties amusantes.
Harper et son côté bad-ans nous font l’adorer immédiatement. Troy, ou le mec lourd au point qu’il en est profondément drôle. On assiste tout d’abord à une amitié, bien loin de l’amour au premier regard, ce qui me semble être une récurrence chez E.L Todd.
Un excellent moment de lecture encore une fois. Loin des clichés que promettait cette romance.
Really fantastic read and one of my favourite's this month! We met Troy and Harper in the previous book and i was interesting to see how they will eventually ended up together because i was sure they will. Its one of those times that when you meet fictional characters you know they will be together. Crazy huh?
Troy and Harper was great together. Yes they had flaws and they were not the perfect couple but thats what made those two adorable and so much fun to read at the same time!
This is the kind of romance and reads i enjoy to feel connected with the characters and the story because i am sure if you try to check this out you will feel the same as well!
This one just did not do it for me. If I'm honest, part of it was the narrators. But a lot of it was the story. Both main characters seemed so shallow, especially her. It was cute to watch them try not to start something, and once they did, they were cute together, but I just felt like it was almost only skin deep at times. First there was Troy pushing Harper away when he knew he had a good thing. His reasoning seemed so... I dunno... dumb? And then Harper's flip out at the end... I wanted to strangle her. Hard. It just made no sense to me. I almost DNFed this. :-/ I'll still read the next one because I have it, but this wasn't as good for me as the first one was.
As I lost (for unknown reasons yet) half my review of the 1st book, you wouldn't know I loved Troy and Harper in Rhett and Aspen s story... Well, in this book I f*****g loved them. I totally get their humour, their banter and Troy cocky ways.
Harper is so understanding , it was nice to see her being caring and patient. And Troy... A hot guy with a golden heart... Yum!
Once again I m soooo glad I had the chance to read this series!!!
Free copy provided by the lovely author in exchange for an honest review..
5 devouring-worthy stars!
Loved it!! Can't get enough of those guys! And I can't say I was expecting this one to turn up as good as the first one, turns out that it was, at least, much better than I expected and finished it in record time!
E L Todd is amazing writer. You feel for Troy and Harper like they are your friends. Can't wait to read book 3!! I have read all the Forever and ever & Forever and Always series, now hook on another series. Can't wait to read what unfolds.
Loved it! Troy and Harper were really funny, especially Troy. He always had quick humor to add to any of their conversations and it made the book enjoyable!
Troy is an escort of Beautiful Entourage. Don’t let the big flirt and known playboy among the five employees of the escort service fool you. He’s nursing a broken heart for close to two years now thus couldn’t commit or even date anyone at the start of the book. He does try to move on in his own way, by not getting involved with anyone personally and focusing on what his clients pay him to do. He is a caring man who believes in equal love for all – you will see it as you read through the book.
Harper is a successful interior designer in Manhattan. She loves her work and is proud to survive in a very competitive industry. She constantly gets taunted by her parents on if she was dating anyone since she has been single for a while. She’s the eldest in the family and yet lives in the shadow of her also successful swimsuit model younger sister, Kara, who recently got engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Sebastian. Kara is the opposite of her folks who truly loves and supports Harper and her career.
I thought things would be similar to Book 1 but I was wrong. Troy was introduced to Harper in Book 1. Although nothing happened to them together, Troy and Harper seem to bump into each other around town in this book and have grown into a love-hate friendship with their constant bantering.
The author’s character traits for Troy was surprising. At the start of the book, he was earlier portrayed as a different man – confident, persistent, and playful – but the grocery scene with his ex-girlfriend caught me off my chair when self-doubt and fear came over him. When I learned about his backstory and what went on after the “break-up” I felt really bad for him. His dream-sharing segment on the book really got to me. I emphasized with him especially when his job would enable him to replace his ex-girlfriend. The depth of hurt was deep enough to have him drop relationships/connections or even dating out of his radar.
On the opposite spectrum, Harper’s parents may not be outrightly the same as Aspen’s father, who is critically blatant of Aspen, but Harper’s parents outrightly imply a lot of their displeasure (this might be too tamed of a word) of Aspen’s singleton status that frustrates her every time she goes to the “family get-togethers”. She is a successful interior designer in Manhattan where she had to work on it for a few years before she found her niche market two years ago. Instead of that fact, Harper’s parents’ standard for success of a woman is (a) to have a stable boyfriend, (b) get married well, and (c) have children. They do not see the many wonderful qualities of Harper and instead chooses to focus on Kara, her younger sister. They do not see Harper as a wonderful daughter who values her self-worth first as an individual versus having a man validate her.
Each of them shares their “secrets” with the promise of not disclosing it to either one of their own best friends, Aspen, and Rhett (Book 1) so most of the important parts revolved between the two of them. This is the turning point of their friendship wherein there seems to be a better understanding of what the other person is going through. Troy asked Harper’s help in decorating his recently purchased beach house in Connecticut. Elated with the offer, Harper starts to plan and brainstorm ideas for Troy’s place. Later in the story, Troy and Harper came into a deal that benefits – Harper’s parents with Troy being her “serious boyfriend” while they enter into a friends-with-benefits to help Troy get over his heartbreak and move on.
Along the way, Troy started developing “unknown feelings” for Harper then later was acting grouchy and possessive of Harper. It was frustrating to see that his words and his brains were not connecting to the truth. He confesses constantly to Harper on how he can see himself only with Harper but is not willing to admit that what he is in love with her. It’s a big contradiction that even Rhett pointed this out.
Summarizing, I like the book and how honesty was the first requirement/basis of Harper and Troy’s relationship. It made everything raw, relatable, and believable. I like how the author discussed the archaic beliefs of some parents and have Troy empower Harper in standing up to her parents in the end. The chemistry and love between Harper and Troy came from their determination to take care of and protect each other from crazy parents and vindictive ex-girlfriends.
I hope that readers will (1) remember the theme of “you are enough“, wherein they will not think that they REQUIRE anyone but themselves to feel “complete” and fulfilled in the end; (2) you can still be yourself while finding “the one” but do not let it hold your life and your self-esteem to be the best version of you; and (3) if one relationship didn’t work out, grieve and get up to continue on, it’s normally times when you are not looking that they do come out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
OKAY, SERIOUSLY AFTER READING THE FIRST BOOK I THOUGHT TO GIVE THE SECOND ONE A CHANCE. I AM GETTING THE FEELING THAT THIS ENTIRE SERIES SMELLS OF THE SAME PLOT TEMPLATE, THE SAME EVERYTHING. JUST CHARACTERS WITH DIFFERENT NAMES.
OUR HERO is A pussy. I swear to god...I've never met a hero like him which is a little off putting. Sorry but I am crazy into alpha guys and this dude here is sort of broken. He flirts around and shit, but has never done the deed since he broke up with his almost fiancée ex. Anyways, he claims to be VERY VERY emotionally disturbed by what happened, unable to commit and will never fall in love again. BLA BLA BLA that's all I hear. The way he treated Harper shouts at you that he cares for her and loves her. WHAT THE FUCK I don't know what culture they live in...but when you have so much skinship and you sleep in each others bed sans fucking and you turn to each other for comfort....that's pretty much A RELATIONSHIP!!! OMG can he be anymore dense?! That's just not a nice way to treat a woman who obviously loves you. GOSH! I JUST CANNOT. My opinion of him just plummeted.
OUR HEROINE I assumed would be sassy as fuck but meh I have read better. She's just like a template of the first heroine. Heck even the plot has the same feeling....and the main elephant in the room in all the stories is DENIAL. Mostly from the guy's side. Harper was a nice girl though, she gave it her all to Troy but he was just too blind and forgive me for saying STUPID for acting like a douche.
OVERALL I am pissed now after writing this...short as it may be. I honestly have not much respect for the heroes of this author, AND IRONICALLY IT IS NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE ESCORTS but more of THEIR PERSONALITY that was frankly off putting. Not to mention, how repetitive the plots were and I have only read TWO books by this author! So I guess I will likely have to dump the rest.
This is the book 2 from the beautiful entourage series💗 i enjoy reading this book, both characters were well written. Such an easy read💓. Troy and Harper, I love them, I love how their relationship has evolved. Troy was so in tune with his feelings, he was hurt now he thinks he can’t fall in love again, but when it comes to Harper he found comfort, happiness that he never experienced before some goes with Harper, she only wants to be love by someone and now she found that with Troy💗💗💗 in love with this book. Thoroughly enjoyed it💓💓 highly recommend💗💗
I didn't care for this couple as much as the first - something about Harper really bothered me. The plot and setting seemed less realistic, too.
They live in NYC, Manhattan, but it's barely part of the story. Which neighborhood? They're always walking everywhere, but where? This booked didn't seem to be as edited as well as the first. I noticed more typos and some inconsistencies. How did Harper get to the beach house? Why did Aspen say she had a lot of dating experience?
Still entertaining and enjoyable, but this is by no means thought provoking. I'm curious about the rest of the series, and since I got the entire collection for free, I'll probably read the next one, at least.
I love Troy, he’s my favourite out of the guys so far. He’s got the best characteristics, he’s fun, charming, cocky and loves hard.
If you read book one then you already know Harper and Troy, seeing as they are both bestfriends with the couple from book 1. If you haven’t you should definitely read these books in order 😁
When you think of escorts, your expecting the naughty side, but these guys really just help you get that big promotion, make a ex jealous, need a date for a event and can’t be bothered with somebody expecting more at the end of it or you just want a friend. These guys seem to have struggled finding the right girl to accept their job.
Mentally slapping Harper right now. She is so fu**ing exhausting. And all that goo goo shit was way over the top. Oh they love each other so much, sooo much oh sooo sooo much.
Not to mention the deep conversations:
Troy: You are so sexy Harper: No, I'm not Troy: Yes, you are. Harper: You're way hotter.
So deep.
Don't get me wrong, they had their moments and sometimes it was so cute, mostly in the beginning but later on I just couldn't continue. It was hurting my brain and frustrating me too much.
There were some similarities to book 1 in that Harper needed a boyfriend to impress your parents. I thought these two characters were just OK but I got tired of Troy’s inability to get over his ex. A couple break ups in the story and the second one was really irritating. Harper was unreasonable when she broke up with Troy for needing closure. In the last few paragraphs they resolve their issue so the ending was really abrupt. The plot was just a tad too close to the first book, both had parents who were selfish manipulators and favored their other children over them. It lacked originality.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Troy and Harper are basically a perfect couple. Best friends before letting their feelings evolve. Troy hides, beneath his bigger than life persona, a sweet, caring and scarred man. Harper has never even felt close to finding her match and has serious family issues. What was supposed to be an arrangement that worked for both of them, quickly turned to more. I found myself sighing, smiling and holding of tears for most of the book. Can’t wait to meet more of the guys by the bar is set really high with this couple.
I loved Troy and Harpers banter. Troy has to be the first MMC I read about who couldn't have sex with someone he didn't have feelings with. I loved that the author touched a bit on depressions because often times it's those that seem the most together/fun/happy, that struggle the most. I do wish we saw a little more of that issue addressed. I get why Harper was upset with Troy for going to see his ex, but I also wanted her to understand him because of how he was when she started her friendship with him. She knew his ex did a number on him and he deserved that closure.
I was thinking that nobody could be any better then Rhett but I was wrong...Troy came along 😍 Troy is honest and lovable, a big teddy bear who you just want to hug and never let go. Easy read, I enjoyed this book alot like the first one in the series. It made me laugh, blush and I never hate a girl name Alexia more than the one in this story 😫 E.L. Todd does a fantastic job making the reader feel connected to her characters. I was so heartbroken when Troy was sad alone in the beach house 😭 Great work, Im excited to start Cato story and PLEASE I want Chase book 😭😭
Troy is one of the Partners of Beautiful Entourage and best friend since childhood w/ Rhett. Troy is dealing w/family issues as well as dealing w/ex. He is barely holding all together. Harper is an interior designer and the best friend since the play ground with Aspen. But the beautiful carefree woman has family issues and they are just about to get out of hand.
Banter 5/5 Spicy 3/5
Possible issues or triggers: homophobia, brutality against gays, cheating, body images,