"I didn't know what love was until I found you. My true north. My Firecracker."
There's something to be said about reading a book from one of your favorite authors. It's like... Sunday roast. Everyone's had Sunday roast. In my case, special Sunday roasts were my grandma's.
Jessica Lemmon's writing - and her billionaires and bad boys - are like grandma's Sunday roasts, because no one can hold a candle to them.
Case in point - Charmed by the Billionaire. I swooned, I got emotional, and I smiled. A lot, on all three counts. The perfect storm.
For those of you who read (and if you haven't, you should!) Once Upon a Billionaire, you know who Benji is. Benji is the youngest Owen brother who, just like Nate, has been adopted into the family.
I adored Benji. I love his general cockiness, I love his sense of humor, and his dirty mouth too. I love his confidence, and that his heart is in the right place. I love how adorably clueless he is, and how romantic he truly is without even realizing it. His parents died when he was a kid (hence the adoption), and he has a cynical take on anything that seems long-lasting (including his relationships). And so he doesn't do permanent, and doesn't handle intimacy that well either.
Cue Cristin - how can you not love Cristin? Her mother bailed on her and her brothers, forcing her to basically raise them, and neglect herself, in more ways than one - she's still a virgin. She dropped out of school for her brothers, and was determined to make them the best people they could be. But now they're all gone, and she's alone in the house - and she realizes she's been missing out in life.
Cristin is Benji's "life assistant coach". She's also his best friend, she knows his silences, his voices, and his smiles. Nothing ever happened between them - in fact, she's sure he doesn't even see her as a woman anyway... but what if she's wrong?
In fact, what if he volunteers to take her V card? I mean, it's just sex, right? Well...
*Ahem* I will never look at a compass the same way EVER again! *swoons* Or at a donut?
"I am the man in your future, and in your past, and here, in the present."
Their feelings for each other are so inspiring in their simplicity, and so obvious to anyone but them. Cristin thinks she can categorize, compartmentalize, and keep things inside a little box inside her head so she doesn't get hurt. Benji thinks he can take mental pictures for his mental scrapbook, which he can keep to himself and remember later. It's all about playing it safe, but it doesn't really work like that, does it?
In this friends-to-lovers story, Jessica Lemmon shows us life (and love) are all about ripping through those little boxes and taking real pictures meant for real scrapbooks and frames. Cristin and Benji will discover how perfect they are for each other, and just how much they complete one another, without losing who they are.
It's a really amazing, heartwarming page turner that will make you believe in love, and hope to find that person who is your own true north, wherever they may be.