Parker Black has put her bad girl days behind her. Once the rebellious, womanizing middle child of the wealthiest family in Seattle, she’s now the founder and CEO of a luxury lingerie label. But when an incident from her past resurfaces, everything she’s built threatens to come crashing down.
For up-and-coming public relations specialist Julia Conner, her job is her life. A former foster kid, she’s spent years climbing the ladder. So when Parker contacts her to help her come back from a scandal, Julia is determined to prove she can handle a big-name client like Parker Black.
But Julia isn’t prepared for the way the blonde-haired billionaire makes her weak at the knees. And she definitely isn’t prepared when Parker announces to the world that Julia is her girlfriend.
Swept into a fake romance with a woman who’s determined to tempt her into her bed, Julia is unable to resist Parker and her intoxicating power games. But is their relationship really just pretend? And with both their reputations on the line, will Parker and Julia be willing to put their hearts on the line too?
Anna Stone is the award-winning author of lesbian romance bestsellers Being Hers, Tangled Vows, and more. Her sizzling sapphic romances feature strong, passionate women who love women. In every one of her books, you’ll find off-the-charts spice and a guaranteed happily ever after. Anna lives in Australia with her fiancée and their two cats. When she isn't writing, she can usually be found with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other. Subscribe to Anna's newsletter for an exclusive free novella and short stories at annastoneauthor.com/newsletter
I'm not familiar with Anna Stone but I know Hildred Billings has written plenty of books that are on Kindle Unlimited. I've been skipping them though because I judge covers. (Yeah, I'm superficial that way.) But this blurb sounded attractive so I took the plunge and I'm glad I did because this is one of the better fauxmances I've read. I thought it has a well-thought-out plot, three-dimensional characters, and it's also incredibly steamy.
Parker engages a small PR firm to help her out of a PR fix after an old incriminating video of hers surfaces and after several turns of events, Parker and the owner of the PR firm, Julia, enter into a fauxmance. I thought the fauxmance made sense, clever even, because both characters would have benefitted substantially from the lie, reputation wise, so I get why both sides would carry on with it.
Parker and Julia both have backstories that are interesting when we find out more about them along the way, and I'm particularly drawn to Parker. Her story, the way she acts and presents herself are intriguing to me and I'm charmed. She's a socialite with a distant history of being a screw up but at the same time, she also has a more recent reputation as a responsible and successful businesswoman after having cleaned up her act and so we have a character who's incredibly smart, mature and sexy. Parker is also a natural seducer and loves power play so there's a lot of that in her interactions and sexual episodes with Julia and it really drives up the steam in the book. By a lot. The sex is kinky, but not too kinky. And trust me when I say it's so, so good because I don't usually like reading kink unless it's from a small group of trusted authors like Donna Jay and this one is tastefully done.
This is the first book of the Black Diamond series and I realise the sequel that is coming out next month will be on Parker's older sister, Scarlett. It's a workplace romance that's right up my alley so I can't wait.
Not a fan of the cover to be honest. Putting real people and faces on the cover kinda ruins that fantasy glow of the book. But that’s a personal thing- not very hard to ignore.
The Girlfriend Arrangement by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings is the first in a new series set around the billionaire Black sisters. This one stars the middle sister Parker Black who is the black sheep of the family and a reformed bad girl. When a lost tape from a 5-year old mishap turns up she hires PR specialist Julia Connor.
It’s a typical fake girlfriend romance with all the trimmings. I needed some lighter fare to read and this was certainly it. A fairly predictable plot but entertaining enough. The mom was a bit much and the 80% rift between the lovebirds was ridiculous, but it all works out in the end. Oh, and there are kittens :-)
I wanted to like this book more, but I just couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t poorly written, I just felt like the characters walked a fine line when it came to consent. It made me slightly uncomfortable. Maybe I just a little too old fashioned.
Just this side of believable, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Touching on 'WTF' but never quite falling into it. I'll be buying Book 2...
I tried to listen to this audiobook, but it just didn't work for me. I needed more plot, more interest in the characters. Abby Craden is wonderful but she wasn't enough to keep me engaged with this book.
The chemistry between the MCs was off the charts!! Hot damn! Really loved how their relationship evolved and how cute they were together. I really enjoyed this book a lot, the only reason why I’m not giving it 5* is because the angsty part of the story was so bleh and lazy and unnecessary, but oh well… other than that, it was perfect 🥰
I've needed a few light reads over the last few weeks, as well as a short break from ARCs. I picked this up after reading a few reviews and overall I liked it but it is slightly predictable. This book features light BDSM, which is a given seeing as though it's written by these two steamy authors.
There was a moment where I was going to DNF but after learning that book two in the series features Scarlett, the eldest Black sister, I pushed through so I could go in knowing all of her context. I'm looking forward to reading book two in the series, The Executive Liaison, as Scarlett definitely peaked my interest in this novel. 🤭
Parker Black is beautiful, rich and sadly neglected by the family as the middle child of three sisters. She's the bad girl, the black sheep. She made mistakes in the past , and serious ones at that. Those mistakes are catching up with her today, five years after she left this life and started a successful business. So they need the PR magic of Julia Connor. Julia knows all about „Bad Girl Parker“ and what she's getting into. But she‘s a professional PR Agent and wants this job. She needs it! However, as life goes, things happen that nobody expected and for that you need a solution…the Girlfriend Arrangement is born, but Julia never thought that she would have to play the girlfriend herself. It's extremely hot and the two have wonderful chemistry and seem to be good for each other in other aspects of life as well. But that's all an act, right? Of course, this isn't the first rich/poor girl romance that has been written, but it's one with, as always, hotly written BDSM scenes by these two great Authors and is therefore something special. Any Fan of Anna Stone and Hildred Billings will devour it, just like me, and think it's awesome. I loved that there is far more obstacles zu overcome than just the past mistakes. Her mother and also her big sister especially have a big part in Parker’s life and also in her past behavior and this screams for more „Black Familiy“ romances!
3.2 ⭐️ Not my favourite by Stone & Billings but it was still a solid read! Spicy sapphics and fake dating are always a win.
I flew through this in a couple of days and enjoyed the story. One of the MCs I did find a bit hard to like which is why I didn’t enjoy this novel quite as much as the others. I felt like she never truly took accountability for her actions and didn’t really care for how they impacted others.
You can read these out of order as each book follows a different character but I would suggest in order given some small plot lines that follow through to the next.
Rep// Lesbian Woman MC (27), Lesbian Woman MC (30). Central romance is WLW/Sapphic.
Spice// Multiple scenes. Spice CW’s listed below.
TW’s listed below, please skip if you don’t want vague spoilers.
General TWs// Adoption, Abuse within the adoption/foster care system (past, brief mention, off page), alcohol, past dependency on alcohol, struggles with sobriety, death from an overdose (past, off page), drunk driving (past, off page), car accident (past, off page).
Spice CWs// multiple descriptive sex scenes, bondage (restraint use like cuffs), spanking (riding crop, paddle), strap use, oral, power dynamics.
How exciting for two of your favorite authors to collaborate. They hit it out of the park. Absolutely can not tell two different authors wrote this book. Parker Black is so 🔥. Her family is always on her back to walk the straight line. Julia Conner has no family and works hard to take care of herself. The attraction is off the charts. Throw in some felines and what more could you want. I picked it up and could not put it down till finished. It is just a wonderful book. Hits all my buttons. Highly recommend.
Parker needs to fix her image and Julia is the perfect woman for the job. Although the relationship is fake to everyone else it seems clear to both women that there is more going on. Julia has the fear of being abandoned by someone who is rich, powerful and out of her league as she puts it. Parker is finally ready to truly love someone and Julia is her person. They have great chemistry together. Parker's grand gesture is enough to finally convince Julia the their love is real and worth giving them a shot. This is a wonderful start to the series. Abby Craden was as always simply brilliant.
People do you like your lesbian fiction spicy, well written, spicy, hot with plot, hot and oh yes...hot? Look no further than The Girlfriend Arrangement. I love the main characters. Parker's confidence will leave you breathless and Julia is the sweetness that balances out the couple. In fact, dear authors can you slide my number to Parker? I think I would be eternally satisfied and grateful. I hotly recommend this book for a quick exciting read.
Usually Idols, or people you look up to, are celebrities. Intellectuals maybe or even sports figures, maybe superheroes- but then you read about Parker Black. Overcoming her past, doing what she wants, saying "F you" to stereotypes, meeting Julia and battling obstacles all while looking flawless. Being an overall confident and gorgeous badass is a given. I started this, couldn't put it down, and then had to sit on it until release before I could brag about it. ALMOST KILLED ME! I love everything that Stone and Billings put out individually,so I couldn't wait to read their paired project & it def did not disappoint. I finished it the same day I started it. It's THAT good. I can't wait for the next in the series, Book 1 kicked it off with a bang. If you like badass dominant alpha-type beautiful women, hard working "from the gutter" type beautiful women, an engaging story with passion and romance- this tale is perfect. Witty banter included also- scoop this book up. 5 stars!
If you were hoping to read another pathetic fetishizing homage to capitalism, this 50 shades of lame is the book for you. Rather than upending all of the problematic messages about consent, passive aggressive communication, and boundary violations that abound cishet literature, by queering the gaze, breaking the binary, and going for some strong female leads, the writing style does little more than a find and replace on he/him pronouns and other gender references. To be clear, no single book has to accomplish all the things, but this book merely perpetuates many of the messages that trickle down from dominant culture, including idolizing consumerism and equating grand gestures following a relationship rupture with romance when it is little more than a boundary violation. I was so disappointed in this book but felt I had to read the whole thing in order to truly give it a good shot. Do not recommend if your someone who is looking to grow.
Parker was falling for her. Hard. And she didn’t care how much it would hurt when she finally hit the ground.
I needed a little palate cleanser after a heavy read, and this served that purpose! I did like the other book I read in the series, so I figured I'd go back to the beginning to read the other sisters. This was cute, and pretty sexy! A rich reformed bad girl gets an unpleasant surprise from the past, and in order to clean up her image, she hires a PR manager, but they quickly start falling for each other. It's a fake dating romance with a little BDSM flavour. I feel like we didn't really get enough of the fake dating aspect, but the little we did get was fun. This distinguished itself by being a book about a really wealthy person where I didn't get really annoyed at the really wealthy person, so, kudos for that. (It helps that they keep emphasising how many charities the Black family has, lol.) Parker is sliiiightly obnoxious in a way I always find people with toppy/alpha personalities to be, but Julia is really charmed by her and into her, so it still ended up being cute. And hot. There was a lot of chemistry. And I loved the subplot with the animal shelter, because I always melt for cats in books.
I ended up being really annoyed by the third act conflict, lol.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Abby Craden; lovely as usual. I figure I'll probably finish out the series with Scarlet's book some time, but I'll probably wait until I need another palate cleanser.
• The Girlfriend Arrangement (Black Diamond Book 1 ) • Authors Anna Stone & Hildred Billing • MC Parker Black & Julia Conner • New Release
Parker Black has put her bad girl past behind her and is now the CEO of a successful lingerie company. Julia Conner is PR specialist, the one you call to clean up your image after skeletons in your closet emerge.
Parker has an “old mistake” from five years come back to haunt her, she reaches out to Julia to help clean up the mess, before it ruins her business and everything she has worked for. A plan is put in place, and the chemistry between the Parker and Rachel is fire!
I really enjoyed the back stories of both of the main characters.
Julia was given away by her mother and put into foster care. She was adopted by a family but they’ve passed on, and Julia does not have any living relatives left. Julia had a heart of gold she loved giving back and volunteering at the Shelton. Julia comes from humble beginnings, and works hard to take care of herself and to make it. She built her business from the ground up.
Parker comes from a wealthy family and is the middle child. Her mother and father didn’t show Parker much love. Her older sister is her father’s number one. Her baby sister is the center of her mothers world. Parker’s mother is cruel and that’s putting it nicely. My heart broke for Parker and her home life growing up.
Parker’s also has a secret that could destroy the connection she develops with Julia. I enjoyed the book. Two people from two different walks of life, both dealing with pain and trying to heal.
I highly recommend this book there is lots of steam and BDSM ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Both Authors are simply Amazing!!
I didn't write a review the first time I read this book. I love it! Parker is the black sheep of her very wealthy family, but she's pulled herself together and owns an extremely popular brand of lingerie. But her past comes out to hurt her reputation. She needs a PR firm, to represent her. The owner is Julia and Parker is instantly smitten. This is a HOT story, with mild BDSM! Definitely 5 stars!
I enjoyed this! Rich girl/poor girl romance, with fake dating. I really liked the wittiness between the characters and the story line was something fun and different.
Written in third person with 2x POV’s. Narrated by the amazing Abby Craden. Opposites attract, dominant FMC and 6x spicy scenes (straps and elements of BDSM).
This is the first book in "Black Diamond" series. I have to admit that I didn't like it as much as I liked other books by Ms. Stone. It was difficult for me to warm up to both mains and I didn't feel connection between them. Parker (one of the mains) irritated me quite a lot throughout the book. I'm actually pretty interested in Parker's older sister Scarlett, who seems more likable and sophiscticated. Anyway, I'm going to continue with the series to see where it goes.
P.S.: always happy to see Vanessa 😊, hope there will be more in the second book. I will have to reread "Being Hers" soon to refresh my memory, since it's my favorite book by Ms. Stone.
DNF at 20%. No chemistry between MC and short, choppy, unsophisticated sentences that did nothing for me. The writing is just “trying too hard” to make Parker into an ice queen, but that felt insincere and her internal dialogue was just predatory and gave me the ick. Ice queen, my ass. Julia is supposed to be a PR expert in rehabbing reputations, but her voice in the book was just immature and pathetic. She could have been vulnerable and still act and sound like an adult.
This is my 2nd Anna Stone book and it’s just not for me. I wasn’t going to rate it, but as I write this review, I’m just mad at the quality of the writing.
This was an ok fauxmance. Personally I could have done without the kinky scenes. They seemed forced to me and totally different than Parkers personality. But that’s me, others might think differently.
Ha sido un libro entretenido y fácil de leer, tenía mis reservas en cuanto a leer los demás, porque aquí Parker se me ha hecho un poco tóxica. Al final creo que si seguiré con el resto de los libros.
For the faint of heart this book is not. WELL the world of lust to love this is the world of being The bestest. If that is such a word. Many faux romances are in this genre, but my two favorites authors combine to make a spectacular combination of heat, sensuality and sensuality, and falling in love. A great read and a great save to be added on my favorite list.
After reading almost a handful of Anna Stone's other books, I thought to immerse myself more but this might have been a bad idea. I think i got saturated by the BDSM theme and have been loosing interest since the past three books. So i sincerely can't say my present ratings is justified.
This book is about a reformed rich playgirl turned woman whose past comes biting and to resolve her image she and her Public Relations Consultant come up with a faux relationship. As things will go, their true personality is revealed in time, emotions grow and secrets revealed which may undermine this relationship.
This is the lesbian version of 50 Shades of Grey and I didn't enjoy it at all either. I didn't love Parker one bit and still felt Julia was taken advantage of. I would of given it a 1* star but I finished it and I was very invested in the Cat Shelter within the book. I was more pleased the Cat Shelter got a happy ending than Parker and Julia.