The McNeills are always expanding, forever demanding and foremost a family. Ms. Rock turns complicated into captivating. The wealth, power and prestige mean nothing without loves warm embrace to guide the way. For the Sake of His Heir allows easygoing Gabe to find his chance at happiness. With an unconventional, yet totally McNeill bargain, this lonely single dad finally finds the right fit for his heart. Can the quiet brother give his heart the wings it needs to fly? With the option of more McNeills to come and some sweet surprises revealed, Gabe and Brianne are the latest in a series of irresistible and unforgettable love stories.

 

She appreciated the cooler breeze on her overheated skin, and the light mist of rain blowing in with it. Only now did she realize the strap of her sundress had fallen off one shoulder, the bodice slipping precariously down on one side. Before she could reach for it, however, Cameron slid a finger under the errant strap and lifted it into place.

 

Her skin hummed with pleasure where he touched her.

 

“Sorry.” He slid his hand away fast. “The bare shoulder was…” He shook his head. “I get distracted around you, Maresa. More than I should when I know you want to keep things professional.”

 

The room was mostly dark, except for a glow from the last light of day combined with a golden halo around a wall sconce near the bathroom. He must have turned that on when he’d entered the master suite and found her sleeping.

 

Dreaming.

 

“What about you?” Her voice carried the sultriness of sleep. Or maybe it was the sound of desire from her sexy imaginings. Even now, she could swear she remembered the feel of his strong thigh between hers, his chest pressed to aching breasts. “I can’t be the only one who wants to keep some professional objectivity.”

 

She slid her feet to the floor, needing to restore some equilibrium with him. Some distance. They sat on opposite sides of the chaise longue, the gathering storm stirring electricity in the air.

 

“Honestly?” A flash of lightning illuminated his face in full color for a moment before returning them to black-and-white. “I would rather abdicate my role as boss where you’re concerned, Maresa. Let my brother Quinn make any decisions that involve you or Rafe. My professional judgment is already seriously compromised.”

 

She breathed in the salty, charged air. Her hair blew silky caresses along her cheek. The gathering damp sat on her skin and she knew he must feel it, too. She was seized with the urge to lean across the chaise and lick him to find out for sure. If she could choose her spot, she’d pick the place just below his steely jaw.

 

“I don’t understand.” She shook her head, not following what he was saying. She was still half in dreamland, her whole body conspiring against logic and reason. Rebelling against all her workplace ethics. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”

 

Much. They’d talked about a kiss. But there hadn’t been one.

 

His eyes swept her body with unmistakable want.

 

“Not yet. But I think you know how much I want to.” He didn’t touch her. He didn’t need to.

 

Her skin was on fire just thinking about it.

 

“What would your brother think of me if he knew we…” Images of her body twined together with this incredibly sexy man threatened to steal the last of her defenses. “How could he be impartial?”

 

Another flash of lightning revealed Cam in all his masculine deliciousness. His shirt was open at the collar, just the way it had been in her dream. Except now, his shirt was damp with raindrops, making the pale cotton cling like a second skin.

 

Cameron watched her steadily, his intense gaze as stirring as any caress. “You know the way you have faith in your brother’s good heart and good intentions? No matter what?”

 

She nodded. “Without question.”

 

“That’s how I feel about Quinn’s ability to be fair. He can tick me off sometimes, but he is the most levelheaded, just person I know.”

 

She weighed what he was saying. Thought about what it meant. “And you’re suggesting that if we acted on this attraction…you’d step out of the picture. Your brother becomes my boss, not you.”

 

“Exactly.” Cameron’s assurance came along with a roll of ominous thunder that rumbled right through the villa.

 

Right through her feet where they touched the floor.

 

Maresa felt as if she were standing at the edge of a giant cliff, deciding whether or not to jump. Making that leap would be terrifying. But turning away from the tantalizing possibilities—the lure of the moment—was no longer an option. Even before she’d fallen asleep, she’d known that her window for selfish pleasures was closing fast if Isla proved to be Rafe’s daughter and Maresa’s responsibility.

 

How could she deny herself this night?

 

“Yes.” She hurled herself into the unknown and hoped for the best. “I know that you’re leaving soon, and I’m okay with that. But for tonight, if we could be just a man and a woman…” The simple words sent a shiver of longing through her.

 

Even in the dim light, she could see his blue eyes flare hotter, like the gas fireplace in the Antilles Suite when you turned up the thermostat.

 

“You have no idea how much I was hoping you’d say that.” His words took on a ragged edge as his hands slid around her waist. He drew her closer.

 

Crushed her lips to his.

 

 

On the Plus Side by Alison Bliss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is book #2, in A Perfect Fit series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. To avoid spoilers, and have a greater understanding of the series, I recommend reading this in order.

Valerie has been in love with her brother's best friend for as long as she can remember. He has never even looked at her with longing. She is still waiting for the day he wakes up, if ever.

Logan has noticed the very hot Valerie. She has no idea what he has done to stay away. When she finds out, she may be very angry. He just cannot resist her. The eyes, that body, everything.

I think this series has me bedazzled! I love the characters, and how hot the sexy stuff sizzles. The banter is right on, and the heat is just turning up. I cannot wait for the next book!


***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review, by Netgalley and its publisher.

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This is book #3, in The McNeill Magnates series.  This book can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader enjoyment and understanding, I recommend reading this series in order.

Cameron has already made a mess of proposing to a stranger in the past.  When he meets the real person he thinks he should marry, he wonders, is it for the right reasons?  They are already compatible.  Cannot keep their hands off one another.

Maresa is in the middle of so much.  She is the anchor for all around her.  Can she give in to what she wants or needs at the sake of so many others?  Or will being with Cam be the one thing that pulls it all together?  For the sake of her family and her heart she must keep it all together.

This series has been just terrific!  My only complaint, was that this book felt rushed somehow.  I love the characters, and really enjoyed the recurring favorites in this title as well.  I sure hope we see more of these McNeill's!  I give this story a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.

Normally I would not read a book like this. It is a Harlequin Billionaire with babies book. Not my lane. But I saw that little baby was black and wondered.... 'hmmm' I let my curiosity get the better of me and picked this up.

At the least I figured I'd have a mildly pleasant read full of Harlequin Billionaire with babies tropes. I'd find them a bit tiresome because they are so very tropey, and probably give this a generic 3-star rating and be on my way. At the most I figured I might be surprised and get a cute little story that would subvert my expectations, enjoy it more than I did.

But nope. I got a book that made fall into a rage spiral.

The book starts off pleasantly enough. Billionaire Marcus Warren and his trusty Admin Assistant Liberty are doing their daily jog while discussing the important business of running Billionaire Marcus Warren's billion-dollar empire. Why to I emphasize Marcus is a billionaire? Because he refers to himself as a billionaire about three time in the first chapter. He ruminates on how awesome it is to be a billionaire.

Liberty is super efficient, not only is she jogging with her boss discussing his day-to-day meetings, but she is taking notes while she's doing it. I actually liked Liberty here for about two minutes.

All that changes when they find an abandoned African-American baby boy ear some trash bins in the park they are running in. The two hop into action, save the baby and because of some inner revelations we learn about Liberty (more on that later) Billionaire Marcus makes sure the baby gets placed into a good foster care home.

The general story isn't a bad one. Marcus is a silver-spoon baby whose had his whole life controlled by his parents and is finally waking up and breaking free of their harmful manipulations. The finding of the abandoned baby triggers a change in the relationship he has with Liberty. She has always been his super efficient assistant. But because of her reaction to the baby he sees a softer side of her it shifts his perception of her.

One thing I did appreciate about the characterization of Marcus was that he is unapologetically a rich, trust fund kid. He wasn't a poor kid who had worked himself up into being a billionaire so he is automatically empathetic with people closer to the poverty line. I thought it was an authentic character beat for him to think the foster home the baby gets into is shabby and not very nice. When in fact it is clean and well kept and for someone like Liberty, who has much more experience in what real poverty is like, it is a very nice place. That was a good moment because it illustrated very well how different rich people really are. Marcus has never been outside of the rarefied atmosphere of his Gold Coast lifestyle so he has no yardstick to measure the gradations of lower-middle class to middle class life and what makes something 'nice' versus 'not nice' when it comes to that.

So Marcus wasn't a bad character, he was really rather ok and fairly romance novel typical.

No Liberty was the problem here. A huge problem for me.

Liberty had a horrible childhood, her mother had been a drug addict who died in prison and Liberty lived in a succession of foster homes. If that had been the sum total of it, I would have been ok with Liberty. But no, Liberty has a whole host of problems.

First, she is a bundle of utter insecurity and neurosis wrapped in a blanket of no-confidence in herself. She was a mess:

"I am a nobody"
By herself, Liberty was utterly worthless
The last three years have been a gift I don't deserve

So basically Liberty has zero sense of her own self worth. Like, zero!

Oh but it gets worse. Liberty's mother was black. And Liberty has been passing as white all this time. And it has been her dirty little secret.

There is a whole passel of "oh fuck no" that needs to be unpacked with Liberty here. Look I get it that she had a bad childhood and is probably fair enough to pass as white, but why does she need to? The author never, ever gave a reason why Liberty felt the need to utterly and completely deny her blackness. Sure I get why people would be ashamed of a drug addicted felon of a parent. But why specifically was admitting to being black so damn difficult for Liberty? At one point she says to Marcus 'have you ever tried being a black woman in this world?' (yeah this came out of Liberty's mouth). To which I mentally responded "Bitch, please. Have you?"

What is even worse, is that over and over again as Liberty mentally hand-wrings over her big secret the 'being black' part is consistently conflated with her mother being a drug addict, convict and a hooker (because of course she was). Liberty doesn't just feel shame about her mother being these things, they are always always, always mentioned in conjunction with her being black. It is as if being black is just as bad as being a drug addict and a hooker. I could not even with this.

And then we get to the whole lies part. Apparently Liberty not telling Marcus any of this falls in the realm of her telling lies and not being truthful. Unless part of her employment with him depended on her 1) being white and 2)being from a pristine background and 3) these things were explicitly asked and answered on her job application/job interview then how exactly are these lies? How much of her childhood is she required to disclose to her employer? At what point did he look at her in her three years of employment as asked her 'Hey, you're not black or anything, right?' And she said "Nope, not black. All white meat here. Damn near albino, that's me!"

When the relationship moved from Employer/Employee to lovers, of course this all comes out very dramatically and Marcus is shocked and Liberty is ashamed. He is all "Her mother was African American? An addict? And a hooker? Why hadn't she told him?" Again with the black part being given equal weight with the criminal parts... but whatevs. At that point, they'd only been boning for about a week and hadn't actually talked about where they were relationship wise.

My big problem with this is the idea that denying race is a requirement to remake yourself into something worthwhile. There are so many other ways to reclaim self worth.  I do understand that there are still issues with colorism & passing even today, but there are usually some definable reasons why a person feels they need to pass. A simple "it is too hard to be black" isn't usually one of those reasons.  And in Liberty's case, the author never presents anything about  Liberty's lifestyle that requires her to reject her race so blatantly. She was a fucking Administrative Assistant! It isn't like she's an actress trying to get an Oscar worthy role (snerk!).

Finding a black heroine in a Harlequin romance outside of the Kimani line is like finding a tooth on a hen so it is a damned shame that she doesn't even want to be black.

So very not here for this.