Her Pretend Billionaire Boyfriend

Clean Billionaire Romance #1

by Bree Livingston

Belle Evans just won a cruise and it couldn’t come at better time. Between her wrecked marketing career and finding out her fiancé was cheating on her, all she wants is an escape from life. The last thing she wants is a relationship—until she meets Tristan.

Billionaire Tristan Stone is sick of being used. When he inherits his grandmother’s cruise line, it seems like the perfect opportunity to take a vacation and be a regular guy for a while. Then he meets Belle. She’s cute and funny with a heart of gold.

When Belle’s ex-fiancé and his new girlfriend show up on the same cruise, she’ll do anything to keep from looking pathetic, including pretending to date Tristan. It doesn’t take long before the lines blur between pretending and reality.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Clean Romance, Contemporary Romance, Billionaire Romance, Audiobook, Chick Lit

490 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 2018

Reviews

[Stephanie]

This was suuuuuuuper cheesy, but it had some good moments, too. I got this as a free e-book because I am a sucker for fake relationship stories. I probably would never have read it otherwise, but despite the cringeworthy title and cover it was overall entertaining. Belle drove me crazy for most of the book. I'm definitely not someone who often stands up for myself, but even I wouldn't have let myself be walked over as much as she did. It was a little much. I liked Tristan much better, though.

[Amy]

Clean. Free. Mindless. Basically, what else am I looking for?

But also, I swear it never makes any sense how any of these billionaires become billionaires. Like, even with inflation that word does not mean what you think it means if the character thinks he is going to lose his entire fortune sinking it into a cruise ship business. Either that or wow, talk about a red flag for a business.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (4/21/2019)! 🎁

[Kathy]

I enjoyed this, I really did, but found it really annoying at the same time. It took way too long for Belle to grow a backbone and open her eyes to what a manipulating terrible person her friend was. I enjoyed the scenes with Belle and Tristan but anytime Belle's friend and ex-fiance were around those scenes could not end fast enough for me. There were also some editing errors. That said this was a super cute romance with a great cast of characters and a fun setting. Definitely worth reading for those who enjoy clean romance.
Clean

[Aimee]

Fun, Easy Read

She won a cruise! It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. For me it was a fun distraction. A quick, easy read.

[Ed Davis]

No rating. I couldn’t take any more of this narrator, or the dish rag who was the main character. I want my female main characters to be strong and intelligent. I guess Bell was smart, but when she caved and agreed to have dinner with her ex best friend and her ex fiancé I knew she had no backbone. I’m out at 25%

[☆☆Hannah☆☆]

This was a good read. Belle wins a trip on a cruise. Everything is going well until her ex fiancé and her ex best friend show up. They ruin everything. Luckily Tristan saves the day and they get their happy ending.

[Charity (TAKING A BREAK)]

TW/CW: mentions of a parent with Alzheimer's (and a small visit), manipulation from friends, near death.

This is a super sweet yet cheesy insta-love romance between two lonely people who meet on a cruise that come from different backgrounds. Both of them have this moment of "I know I love you, but I can't admit that because..." and it's something simple that is blocking them from pursuing. Rightfully so it's because they haven't known each other long enough, which is valid, but the other excuses are mostly class related. OR pressure they put on themselves.

Tristan could literally do no wrong and Belle has a found-family moment.
He needed to be seen and Belle needed real friends. She needed someone to show her what real people who love you are like, and despite not knowing Tristan for long Belle felt that and it woke her up a bit.

Something that bothered me about this story was its focus on the romance shifted more on her friendship with Laura. I, personally, felt like Laura's character overshadowed the romance going on and I was just forced to read about her. Not saying her character wasn't important, because her treatment with Belle definitely played a role in Tristan and Belle's connection. It just got to the point where it was literally chapters of "What about Laura..." "Why would Laura..." " Paul did this/that..." "Laura did this/that..." etc. Spoiler: This woman literally watched on as Paul nearly killed her. Tristan should've put his foot down on letting Belle make her own decisions on continuing her friendship with Laura, because it could've ended the torture of reading about Laura any further.

In the end I liked the little romance between them. This is a very clean read if you're looking for a simple romance between two grown adults who form an instant friendship/love out of thin air.

Also, Yaya should have been on the cruise. We were deprived of more Yaya!! Put her on that ship so Laura can get a taste of Yaya. Or better yet, bring on the Purge and allow Belle the right to toss that woman overboard. I am TIRED of her!! (Also... Belle mentioned how she didn't know how Laura knew where she lived and that got me thinking. (Even though it was never mentioned again.) Since Paul and Laura started their little affair after Belle introduced them... is it possible that aura actually helped Paul sabotage Belle's career? Could she also have remote access to her laptop? Does she STILL have access to her which is how she knew about the cruise and kept popping up everywhere??? Food for thought.

[Josie]

Definitely sweet

Are relationships always so complicated? I just love how author's unravel all the twists and turns. I also love seeing the good guy win. The only thing missed actually reading about the others getting their comeuppance.

[Alysia]

Winning a cruise and getting more than you bargained for! Some good twists and turns throughout the story. Engaging throughout.

[Peace]

Clean wholesome romance about two lonely and broken hearted individuals finding love and happiness with each other.

[Sandy]

This is a sweet, very clean romance. There were lessons learned about friendship and that loneliness can happen whether you are rich or poor.

[Diamondgirl2634]

Fun read

I enjoyed this book very much. It is a fun, sweet romance that kept me entertained start to finish. Will read other books by this author.

[Pascale’s*ARC,Unwind,Read,Review]

-‘The cruise was over, and real life had already struck. Her glass slipper was two sizes too small, and her pumpkin was rotting. Belle steeled herself and pasted on a smile as she met the group.’-
Having just returned from a cruise ,yself, I was intrigued by the storyline. It was a fun, clean romance and I enjoyed it. I would read more by this author. Some stronger editing would be beneficial as there were lots of errors.

[Nancy L. Toole]

This book is stupid.

The author is an idiot if she thinks this is a good story. She has made Belle one of the most stupid people ever. It's a wonder the woman can walk and breathe at the same time. I'll never read this author again. Honey, you need another career. You're no author.

[PaisleyPJs]

Great book ... loved every minute I was reading it (which took about 20 hours .. you do the math!)
I loved the story line and even the unexpected twist.
The characters are relatable and I cheered for Belle (and cried for her too)
This was my first book by Bree and will absolutely be reading more !

[BJR]

This book was boring. I forced myself to finish it. I won't be reading any of this author's books anymore.

[Michelle]

DNF. Couldn’t stand how Belle allowed people to treat her.

[Emma]

A nice quick read

A lovely sweet romance I loved the quick witted characters and also hated a few and glad it turned out the way I'd hoped

[Karen]

I really liked the main characters of this story. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing them get to know each other.

Content: clean- passionate kissing

[Laura]

A cute read. Billionaire on his own cruise line pretending to be an average Joe. Poor girl wins a trip on the cruise. Of course they meet and fall in love. A fun dessert book.

[Camille]

Just great

A nice love story with very little focus on the billionaire part and more focus on the couple and their journey. A feel-good read.

[Patty Campagna]

Good book

This book was very enjoyable to read. For the most part it was perfect. A little bit of the dialogue didn’t work for me. However, the characters were great.

[Emock]

Juvenile in characterization and a lot of repetition in descriptions.

[Luna Reader]

Waste of Time and Energy.

[tali]

It's awfully written. DNF at 20%.

[Megan]

A clean read about Belle, who is one of the winners who get to cruise for free in Miami. She is barely making ends meet with two jobs supporting her mom who has a mental health problem and needs special nursing.

She meets Tristan Davis/Stone, another winner on the cruise and this starts an instalove romance between them for the duration of their trip. Tristan is taking a break from his responsibilities and he conceals his real identity as a billionaire. He has also recently suffered the loss of his beloved grandmother and is still grieving her loss.

But this trip is fraught with unwanted companions in the form of Belle's cheating ex fiancé and his new fiancée, Belle's ex best friend who join the same cruise. Belle, to save face, announces that Tristan is her boyfriend and because he is so kind and is attracted to her, he plays along.

Both characters were likeable but I found some of their dialogue to be repetitive - how many times can Belle call Tristan "sweet" and him calling her "cute"! They made an endearing couple and the story was a good one. Tristan was wary of becoming involved with someone as he has always been pursued for his money and Belle was still recovering from betrayal and I found her to be a bit too passive and a bit of a doormat. This couple had some issues with communication as they didn't want to express their feelings for one another, in case of rejection.

This was a nice enough read about two lonely people who are scared and insecure. There wasn't much drama in the book and the writing was good with the story unfolding at a steady pace. I rate this book 3.75*.

[Jes Drew]

The book was an interesting premise- a poor girl accidentally calls a complete stranger her boyfriend to save face with an ex while on a cruise, and the stranger goes along with it. And it was very interesting reading everyone's dynamics- but the characters were all psychos. Of course the villainous ex-fiance and ex-best friend were sociopaths, but the heroine was slightly bonkers too. I shouldn't blame her, since for so long the only peeps in her life were the aforementioned people and her sick mother (who also has moments of psycho), but I just felt so bad for the hero as she went between moods so fast. You can't flirt, then say you're great friends, then say no when he wants to make the pretend relationship real, and then kiss him a moment later! And not even kissing because evil 1 and evil 2 were around, but just because you wanted to. Poor, poor hero, but he was a patient bloke.

Because of the craziness, the story was a bit more stressful than I was expecting with a cruise romance, but you just have to keep reading to find out whether craziness or sanity wins out. A great way to get your mind of things for a little while, though.

[Shirley]

Again another first time read for me ... :) I thought this was a cute love story ...yet sad cause of what happened that brought the two main characters together.... was a really good story..... kind of a slow building romance story. Ya gotta love the pretend boyfriend thing and rich people pretending they're not the wealthy so they don't have to deal with gold diggers. This story combined all of these and did a great job in doing so.

I liked the main characters, and though the h might have been a bit much of a pushover early on,But thankfully the author helped her grow a spine and boy did she shine :) The guy was rich and lonely and definitely swoon worthy. He was an alpha without being a jerk or mean which I appreciate. with the one exception where he aImost ruined everything...LOL .....but then the author smarted up hahhaa... and she let the loved show how they both came from different money situations, but they were so much alike -- both lonely and needing love.

I wanted to shove both of the antagonists off the boat without life preservers. They were dealt with, though I could have gone with a little more 'pain' in their direction, but oh well, the story was sweet and clean. totally a worthwhile read...

[SourCandyOrNoCandy]

For me, a slow burn romance lover, this book's pacing was way too fast. As soon as they see each other, there is attraction. That's not my thing. I like to see the attraction grow over time, I don't want to be hit with it from the second they meet.

This book was sweet and as stereotypical as it gets, so it was a nice mindless read that I finished in a few hours. I wouldn't rave to anyone about it, but if I was forced to reread it, I wouldn't mind at all.

What I Liked
• The fake dating trope is always sweet because the lines inevitably get blurred.
• Some of the romance scenes were so sweet that my chest physically tightened.

What I Didn't Liked
• Belle was essentially a doormat for 80% of this book and that was frustrating to have to read.
• Tristan blew up at her because she asked him if he'd ever been to San Juan...? Okay...?
• Like I said at the beginning, everything was just too fast. Give me pining after each other and working for the romance.

Would I reread?
• If I had nothing else to read, yes. It wasn't a bad book by any means, but I won't jump at the opportunity.