Tome Thursday: The Wrong Billionaire

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome back, and, I know what you're thinking.

 

Most of you are probably shaking your heads, rolling your eyes, or saying FINALLY.

 

I mean, how many bloggers do you know who'll write about all the other books in the series and THEN realize, hey whoops, I never actually talked about the one that started it all?

 

There's a first time for everything, I guess LOL, so here we are.

 

... or is it the first time? I have a feeling I've done this before!

 

The thing is, I read so much, and review SO much, that I might THINK I've done something, only to find out I actually only thought about it, and never put pen to paper.

 

Or, fingers to keyboard in this case.

 

Eh. Life's short, so YOLO, right?

 

Without further dithering from me: The Wrong Billionaire.

 

Links to previous related posts can be found at the bottom of the page, as per usual. And of course, if you'd like to see anything MORE of Serenity Woods, feel free to browse my entire collection, because I've got almost all of them.

 

I'm working on the rest. Heh.

 

The Wrong Billionaire is Marcus Ashford's story, the middle child of the Ashford family, who has a run in with his teenage crush, Wren. He asked her out when he was 18, but as she's 5 years older, she said no at the time. She still seems rather adamant about not going down that route, no matter that she's attracted to him, but the kicker is this:

 

she wants to have a baby. She doesn't want the hassle with the rest, and the waiting list for singles when it comes to clinics is long, so, fastest way would be if a friend helps her out.

 

She wants Caesar, Marcus' older brother, to be that friend.

 

Yep, you read it right!

 

Around this same time, the Ashford patriarch calls a meeting and is like: listen up kids, the Rutherfords, aka the nemesis, wants to explore an acquisition. And since it looks like none of his kids are serious about anything, well, he's considering it.

 

Unless ...

 

They provide the family heirs.

 

It's a bit medieval and heavy-handed, I'll give you that, but it's the premise for this series as a whole and it kickstarts the entire avalanche of what happens afterwards, so nod and read on, because it IS worth it.

 

Now, the kids are obviously upset, but, this is a chance for Marcus, because he knows about Wren asking Caesar if he'd be the father of her child (anonymously, that is), and he WANTS the girl. Like, wants WANTS her.

 

So he first proposes it as a business deal, after which he just goes straight out and says, he's not going to do it in a cup, he's getting her pregnant the old fashioned way, and he'll also marry her, being a husband until he becomes a father. Basically, he's offering her everything any sane woman could ever want: love, stability, money, the works.

 

Wren's too terrified because she's been unlucky in love and so she initially says no. Then Marcus comes around and spends some time with her nephew and such, and she starts turning a new leaf.

 

Maybe, she thinks, I can do this, and not fall for him.

 

Yeah, right, keep dreaming girl.

 

The conversation they have on the beach is probably the most important one in the entire book, though, because Marcus, like a hunting hound, can smell something else is fishy, and he quizzes Wren about why she feels like he'll get bored with her and walk away. While, it's true, he's had his share of one-night stands and such, he's had several relationships and he's serious when in one, and VERY serious about her specifically.

 

Eventually what comes out is that she's had bad experience with sex, nothing terrible or violent, but just BAD because her exes were idiots, and Marcus makes a private vow to change that for her.

 

Then they go to meet his parents, he formally proposes, and the wedding preparation train is full steam ahead!

 

You spend a lot of time with Wren's thoughts on the matter and how she struggles with believing that Marcus truly means what he says, and that he really loves her. His father Edward has a nugget of wisdom that he shares, however, which is that he knows it can't possibly have been a two-sided love match since it happened so suddenly, but he also knows Wren turned Marcus down when he was 18 and it broke his heart. Seeing as the old patriarch had the same thing happen to him with his now-wife, who first told him he was daft and said no, well, he might know a thing or two.

 

Regardless, the wedding goes ahead as planned, and for their honeymoon, Marcus takes Wren to the old family farmhouse (which is way more glamurous than that sounds like, but it IS down to Earth, sensible, and quiet, perfect for escaping the chaos), after she gets so drunk the wedding night is SO not happening lol. It's a funny moment actually, but also so bittersweet since you can see how nervous she is.

 

They get around to the horizontal tango eventually, and it's exactly as beautiful as you can imagine it would be for someone who's convinced that Marcus will get annoyed or irritated or hurry up. He does none of those things and literally blows Wren's socks off!

 

He also later takes her to Matamata, and the film set that's been set up as a permanent tourist attraction after the phenomenal success of The Lord of the Rings, so I mean, I'm over here JEALOUS AS HELL.

 

That's on my bucket list. I'm seeing it someday.

 

Overall, Marcus and Wren's honeymoon goes very well, and they even get to the actual point of: how the hell can he reassure her that he'll stay, that this is real? Words are just words. She needs to let him have actions to back them up ... but she's so scared.

 

Of course that's the moment his dad calls about an article that just about broke the internet: someone spilled the beans about the arrangement, about Caesar being asked as a sperm donor first, the works.

 

Now the board is baying for blood, and Marcus is rip-shit-pissed that he can't enjoy his HONEYMOON in peace!

 

He begs Wren to wait for him, then goes to the meeting, after which, as he's flying back, Wren gets a call from his sister Aurelia to tell her that he was going to resign if it meant keeping the company and not selling it, but he wasn't divorcing her.

 

So Wren dresses herself all nice and sexy and welcomes Marcus home like the wife she is, finally accepting her OWN feelings and letting herself love him, now that she realizes what all he would have been giving up for her.

 

They eventually go see the new house which Marcus bought just before they got married, and Wren takes a pregnancy test there, coming up positive. They're having a baby!

 

And oh by the way, yes Caesar did in fact agree to be a sperm donor, but Wren turned him down and chose Marcus, so Marcus finally feels like he didn't come second to his brother at all.

 

Which, for a competitive man like him, is everything really!

 

Five out of five stars yet again, and I so very kindly received an ARC of this book, my opinions are my own.

Ms Woods knows how to create an interesting family right from the start, and the Ashfords are no different. Marcus and Wren are one of those couples, I think, who you'll either love or hate however.

I loved them. While I do believe Wren's reticence held on a touch too long, I can also see a lot of myself in her. I, too, am never chosen. Usually, men will ask me if my "pretty" friend is single, or if I can give the friend their number (has happened more times than I can count ...). So I honestly probably wouldn't believe it if someone handsome, rich and powerful like Marcus proposed out of the blue, then declared he's loved me for a decade.

So I get it. I love how patient he was with her, willing to give her the world and stand by her side. I love how Wren eventually embraced it all with gusto and started trusting.

Ms Woods writes characters really well, the setting is always beautiful, and the writing itself immensely engaging.

10/10 recommend! 

 

xx

*image not mine

 

The Mysterious Billionaire - The Forbidden Billionaire