Hello everyone!
Tonight we return to my favourite contemporary romance novelist, Serenity Woods, because unless you haven't been paying attention, I tend to always have a book or two of hers on the list of current blog posts no matter what time of year it is.
Ms Woods didn't disappoint during this time either, and just this past weekend is when her latest work was released.
So if you haven't yet taken a closer look, what ARE you waiting for?
Gorgeous, kind-hearted and compassionate men find the women of their dreams in these romance novels, but for the most part they do it without what I like to call the unnecessary "Hallmark effect" manufactured crisis.
I kinda sorta didn't like THIS particular release as much as I usually enjoy them, but that's beside the point, because for the most part this is a GREAT book.
I'll explain my disagreements with it at the end of the post.
But first I need to tell you about One Night with the Billionaire Boss.
One Night with the Billionaire Boss is the second book in the A Boss in a Billion series which started with Talking Dirty with the Billionaire Boss that chronicled Mack and Sidnie's relationship.
We also learned in that one that Huxley and Elizabeth might have a thing or two for one another.
Which is what THIS book focuses on.
It starts with a party where both of them get practically epicaly drunk, and Elizabeth admits she wants a baby, but doesn't want to deal with men and relationships while she's at it. So, she asks Huxley - her best friend - to be the donor. He's not going to turn this down - he loves the woman - but equally, he's going to do it the old fashioned way, rather than the other way.
Then they kiss and he tucks her into bed so that she can sleep this whole thing off, and of course she feels like backtracking the next day, regardless that Huxley's intent on pursuing this line of reasoning.
See, they met when they were both in their late teens, and immediately liked each other, going so far as to going on two dates together.
Then Huxley learned that his one-night stand from months before he even met Elizabeth was pregnant, and he explained to Elizabeth that he can't in good conscience let the girl face this on her own - abortion was out of the question - and it would also be unfair to her for him to date her under the circumstances. The problem here was that when he circled back after the birth of his daughter and settling things with the baby's mother, Elizabeth didn't want to go out with him anymore.
So he's asked her out, every single month, like clockwork, for the past decade or so.
Now he finally sees an opening and wants to convince her she's the one that got away and that he still loves her, if she'll only give him the chance. Elizabeth, on her side, has had three failed relationships (one cheated, one had problems during their intimate times, and one backhanded her across the face which resulted in her pushing him through a glass door or window, I can't recall which) and doesn't want to deal with any of that anymore.
She does still love Huxley, but we don't actually figure out what her reason is for saying no to him for a while; what she's saying is that he's a tomcat whose relationships have never lasted in the decade that she's known him, and that he only wants her because he hasn't had her.
Their friends - and several others - categorically deny this and say none of the others lasted because they weren't Elizabeth, to which she usually scoffs and keeps on keeping on.
So Huxley makes a bet with her: despite his heights phobia, he'll do a bungee jump, and if he does, she gives him one night. If he backs out, he'll back away for good.
This is where we get a really great scene with Mack and Elizabeth, because Mack is worried about Huxley; Elizabeth seems to think this is no big deal, but Mack tells her if Huxley puts himself through the proverbial grinder and does the jump, but she backs out after? He's never speaking to her again, because no man who's terrified of something will go and do it just to have sex with a woman. There's way more willing ones out there with less complications attached to them.
Naturally, Huxley jumps, and the couple take off for a romantic weekend together seeing as Huxley wants to wine and dine Elizabeth so that he can convince her their relationship isn't just going to be a fluke or not last.
Of course it's through the course of this that we figure out she seems to have a pretty low opinion of her supposed best friend even so, but they do the deed, and then there's an offer from a potential investor for Elizabeth's latest project that happens to deal with infertility issues.
This is important because her sister has failed to conceive, regardless of how much she and her husband want it, and her marriage is in trouble because of this now, so Elizabeth feels it's her duty to get things done and potentially be able to help out (despite the fact that her sister tells her, just like everybody else, that this doesn't mean shelving her own happiness in the process either).
It's also during this time as a move to England is on the table that Mack extracts another truth from Elizabeth, to his own minor shock: she's still hurt over what happened in their teens, and apparently wants to hurt Huxley like he hurt her back in the day.
She doesn't say it out loud - she does admit it to herself internally though, and Mack says it out loud for us.
Huxley realizes this too during their conversation and walks away, because there's only so much a sane, rational human male can take, and like Mack notes at one point, Elizabeth has literally been leading Huxley on for ten years without delivering. It's a miracle he's still chasing her to begin with, and even their other friends mention she needs to cut him some slack somewhere.
This is the mindset as we roll into the beautiful scenery of Mack and Sidnie's yacht wedding, which is when Elizabeth is just plain miserable and Huxley isn't doing well either, but he's keeping his distance because, obviously, and Elizabeth made her bed so she has to lie in it. Only she lies in it with Huxley later on - and no, she didn't get pregnant during their weekend escape, either, unfortunately.
But it isn't until they seem to still be dancing round one another and Huxley's daughter's brought over to spend the weekend with him when things come to a head: because his brother pops up, too.
Now, Huxley has four sisters and one brother, and nobody really mentions him. He explains that this is because the guy was literally just bad news no matter what their parents tried, and eventually barely escaped jail time, but then left, and the family has sort of dusted him off since. Only Huxley has been in contact with him, and his brother reached out at rock bottom, asking for help.
Thing is, there's also a secret here: it wasn't Huxley who got the girl pregnant back in the day. He just picked up the shattered pieces after his brother dipped, endured the backlash from his own family, hers, and everyone else, and is essentially the kid's father in every way that matters.
This is a revelation to Elizabeth - though not the rest of the friend group who apparently all guessed the moral and stalwart Huxley could have never done such a thing - and it makes her happy that she wasn't just ... thrust into a grand conspiracy where everyone knew but she didn't, or something along those lines. I'm still not quite sold on exactly what her reasoning is here, but in any event, the book is slowly drawing to a close from this point.
Huxley tries one more grand gesture, which is getting down on one knee to propose, and Elizabeth finally not only says yes, but says she isn't going to England after all.
Oh and also, she's pregnant. FIN.
I was kindly sent an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
And listen, hear me out first.
I love Serenity Woods. LOVE her. She's my all-time favourite contemporary romance author, bar none, and I think I've read all her books thus far (except her Brides series, because I need to find e-versions of them that aren't for Kindle). It is very, VERY rare for me to not be 100% on board with what she writes, because her romance stories always reach deep into your heart and soul and have you connect with the couples she's describing.
One Night with the Billionaire Boss is definitely one of those, and has the same quality things we always expect and adore from the author: beautiful writing, the backdrop of New Zealand, a supporting cast you love to cheer for because they're all wonderfully fleshed out, a compelling story arc (for the most part, for me) and a happily ever after.
And here's the thing. I loved everything surrounding this. Huxley is legitimately one of the good guys, with strong moral principles and who makes sure everyone around him is comfortable, feels welcomed, and is taken care of. He's not a bad boy, he never really has been, and is, for all intense and purposes, someone who a lot of people would describe as a 'vanilla' hero, which I think, in their connotation would be bad. But I loved him, because he's everything good, and steady, and respectable.
As you can imagine, there's got to be something that's keeping me from giving this a glowing review, right?
That something - or someone - would be Elizabeth.
Reviewers have said that she grew on them during the course of the book. I'd respectfully disagree. My respect and viewpoint of her as a character declined rather steadily during my read. There's just simply something about her that left an aftertaste in my mouth I can't stand. I think it's because I didn't buy her in psychological terms as a person.
For one thing, she keeps holding Huxley's honourable choice back when they were 19 against him, not to mention going to England with the additional potential pregnancy thing to punish him for hurting her. Which, with a potential baby in the mix, I'm sorry, respectfully, is the worst thing a woman can do to a man.
Not only that, but even though she says over and over that he's her best friend, it's as if she doesn't know him at all. Everyone around her - their other friends - actually clocks into the big reveal way before it becomes a reveal, suggesting they have a much deeper base-level knowledge of Huxley than Elizabeth ever had, and let's not get me started on his fear of heights and that whole jumping scene.
Elizabeth has zero clue about phobias. I'll put it that way, in nice terms. If my sister, who is deathly afraid of spiders, told me she'd stick her hand into a crate of tarantulas to prove something, I'd believe whatever it was she was saying, not only because I'd want to spare her the trauma, but also because you don't say something like that just because, or because you want to get into someone's pants. Huxley wasn't going to throw himself into the deep if he really just wanted to sleep with her, and it's especially off-kilter that she seems to dismiss this gesture, but is SO convinced after he pops out a huge diamond ring. This from a person who, not too long ago, said that why make a commitment to marriage when you could just move in together and see if you were compatible?
The last straw for me was when she feels so superbly pleased after the reveal - which changes nothing, by the way, not in practice - when she thinks to herself hey, he didn't exclude her from his confidence and yet told everybody else. It's as if she doesn't really know Huxley the person at all, but has an image of Huxley in her head that no one can dispel - because she's told, over and over again, by everyone and their mother, that the man's been in love with her for 10 years, to give him a break, and to stop yanking his chain.
So yeah. As you can see, I have opinions on Elizabeth LOL. I don't know, her character just leaves me mad on Huxley's behalf, and I needed more of Mack literally shaking some sense into her. Titus and Victoria should have done it, too. I'm reasonably sure if I had a friend acting like Elizabeth ... hooo boy. Let's just say, I'm no one's yes person. She would have heard it from me.
HOWEVER. Rant about Elizabeth aside. One Night with the Billionaire Boss is definitely worth the read because, I have to be fair. Just because I had issues with the heroine doesn't mean the book is anywhere near bad. I was transported away for the one afternoon that I read it, and Ms Woods' writing remains as magical as ever. Her intimate scenes are always made to advance the plot, and are about the intimacy between partners rather than the end goal, if you know what I'm saying.
And there IS a happily ever after, after all. Plus many tear-jerking, happy and soft moments, that really tug at all your heartstrings.
So don't listen to me. I'm usually particular about my heroines anyway haha. Pick this book up and see for yourself, and I will be SUPER HAPPY if you disagree with me. We all have to form our own opinions!
Definitely recommend.
And listen, hear me out first.
I love Serenity Woods. LOVE her. She's my all-time favourite contemporary romance author, bar none, and I think I've read all her books thus far (except her Brides series, because I need to find e-versions of them that aren't for Kindle). It is very, VERY rare for me to not be 100% on board with what she writes, because her romance stories always reach deep into your heart and soul and have you connect with the couples she's describing.
One Night with the Billionaire Boss is definitely one of those, and has the same quality things we always expect and adore from the author: beautiful writing, the backdrop of New Zealand, a supporting cast you love to cheer for because they're all wonderfully fleshed out, a compelling story arc (for the most part, for me) and a happily ever after.
And here's the thing. I loved everything surrounding this. Huxley is legitimately one of the good guys, with strong moral principles and who makes sure everyone around him is comfortable, feels welcomed, and is taken care of. He's not a bad boy, he never really has been, and is, for all intense and purposes, someone who a lot of people would describe as a 'vanilla' hero, which I think, in their connotation would be bad. But I loved him, because he's everything good, and steady, and respectable.
As you can imagine, there's got to be something that's keeping me from giving this a glowing review, right?
That something - or someone - would be Elizabeth.
Reviewers have said that she grew on them during the course of the book. I'd respectfully disagree. My respect and viewpoint of her as a character declined rather steadily during my read. There's just simply something about her that left an aftertaste in my mouth I can't stand. I think it's because I didn't buy her in psychological terms as a person.
For one thing, she keeps holding Huxley's honourable choice back when they were 19 against him, not to mention going to England with the additional potential pregnancy thing to punish him for hurting her. Which, with a potential baby in the mix, I'm sorry, respectfully, is the worst thing a woman can do to a man.
Not only that, but even though she says over and over that he's her best friend, it's as if she doesn't know him at all. Everyone around her - their other friends - actually clocks into the big reveal way before it becomes a reveal, suggesting they have a much deeper base-level knowledge of Huxley than Elizabeth ever had, and let's not get me started on his fear of heights and that whole jumping scene.
Elizabeth has zero clue about phobias. I'll put it that way, in nice terms. If my sister, who is deathly afraid of spiders, told me she'd stick her hand into a crate of tarantulas to prove something, I'd believe whatever it was she was saying, not only because I'd want to spare her the trauma, but also because you don't say something like that just because, or because you want to get into someone's pants. Huxley wasn't going to throw himself into the deep if he really just wanted to sleep with her, and it's especially off-kilter that she seems to dismiss this gesture, but is SO convinced after he pops out a huge diamond ring. This from a person who, not too long ago, said that why make a commitment to marriage when you could just move in together and see if you were compatible?
The last straw for me was when she feels so superbly pleased after the reveal - which changes nothing, by the way, not in practice - when she thinks to herself hey, he didn't exclude her from his confidence and yet told everybody else. It's as if she doesn't really know Huxley the person at all, but has an image of Huxley in her head that no one can dispel - because she's told, over and over again, by everyone and their mother, that the man's been in love with her for 10 years, to give him a break, and to stop yanking his chain.
So yeah. As you can see, I have opinions on Elizabeth LOL. I don't know, her character just leaves me mad on Huxley's behalf, and I needed more of Mack literally shaking some sense into her. Titus and Victoria should have done it, too. I'm reasonably sure if I had a friend acting like Elizabeth ... hooo boy. Let's just say, I'm no one's yes person. She would have heard it from me.
HOWEVER. Rant about Elizabeth aside. One Night with the Billionaire Boss is definitely worth the read because, I have to be fair. Just because I had issues with the heroine doesn't mean the book is anywhere near bad. I was transported away for the one afternoon that I read it, and Ms Woods' writing remains as magical as ever. Her intimate scenes are always made to advance the plot, and are about the intimacy between partners rather than the end goal, if you know what I'm saying.
And there IS a happily ever after, after all. Plus many tear-jerking, happy and soft moments, that really tug at all your heartstrings.
So don't listen to me. I'm usually particular about my heroines anyway haha. Pick this book up and see for yourself, and I will be SUPER HAPPY if you disagree with me. We all have to form our own opinions!
Definitely recommend.
xx
*image not mine
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