A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

This review contains spoilers for JUST ONE NIGHT, the first book in this series. You can read JUST ONE LIE as a standalone. In fact, I think you might prefer it that way.

I still remember how blown away I was by Kyra Davis’s fantastic JUST ONE NIGHT serial. It was only three parts, but the plot was paced perfectly between them, with a relentless knife-edge tension that I rarely see in romance stories that aren’t dependent on physical threats to the heroine. So when I heard there was a follow-up book about that heroine’s doomed older sister, I was more excited than I probably should have been. Because although I did enjoy reading JUST ONE LIE, it was in spite of my elevated expectations, not because of them.

In the previous story, JUST ONE NIGHT, our heroine Kasie Fitzgerald had lived her whole life to her parents’ extreme specifications, never allowing herself to step out from behind their imposed facade of the good girl who never makes mistakes. After all, Kasie’s sister Melody made all the wrong decisions and that’s why she’s dead. Or is she? Because as we eventually discover in the opening chapters of JUST ONE LIE, Melody might be dead, but Mercy is very much alive, and trying desperately to stay that way.

Now the man who helped kill Melody, as Mercy keeps telling us, is back in her life and wants to pick up where they left off. Ash doesn’t seem like the best choice for Mercy but she can’t resist the pull, even as she’s becoming more drawn to Brad, the new drummer in her band. Which man will help Mercy heal from her tragic past, and which man will drag her back to the grave she thought she’d buried Melody in for good?

I’ll confess that although I knew this book was about Kasie’s sister, I was a bit lost at the beginning. Once I figured out what was going on, I was able to settle down and enjoy what turned out to be something completely different than what I had expected.

Because unlike JUST ONE NIGHT, JUST ONE LIE is a New Adult romance in every respect, and I was not prepared for that. Mercy made terrible choices as Melody, and continues to do so as Mercy for a major portion of this story. Ash was the guy who helped get Melody evicted from her home and life, yet she wants to him to be the one who saves her now. Brad is clearly the better choice, yet there there’s no clear path between them and real happiness either. Between the drama and a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards, it was sometimes only my need to see how all this tied back into Kasie’s story that kept me going. But once the book stopped jumping around in time and began its final approach to Mercy’s HEA, I was all in.

Although I did enjoy reading JUST ONE LIE, I honestly think I would have liked it more as a completely standalone book. The connection to the previous book set up assumptions that weren’t correct or fair. And that’s not the fault of the story, which is a touching romance about two people who eventually learn the right lessons from their past mistakes so they can be truly happy together. If you love dramatic angsty New Adult romance, JUST ONE LIE is what you want. It’s not JUST ONE NIGHT, but it’s still a good read.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

I’d read STRANDED WITH A BILLIONAIRE when it was first released back in April 2013, but was eager to revisit it for this new re-release, and happy to see that my original reaction to it had not changed. This first book in the Billionaire Boys Club series not only sets up its premise well for the books yet to come, but also provides us with a hero and heroine who are more than a match for each other despite significant differences that would keep a less determined couple apart. 

After the death of his uncaring father and an ugly split with a gold-digging fiancée, billionaire Logan Hawkings was bitter about nearly everything except the deep ties he shared with his five best friends and fellow billionaires. At their most recent gathering, his friend Hunter shared news of an opportunity to invest in an island resort in the Bahamas, so Logan decided to visit the property himself to see if it was worth acquiring. He didn’t expect to be trapped in an elevator with a waitress from Kansas City just as a massive hurricane about to hit the island. And he certainly didn’t expect that woman to turn his outlook on life and love around completely once the storm that brought them together had passed.

Bronte Dawson was on the worst vacation ever, thanks to her so-called friend who dragged her to this crappy resort, only to abandon her when the storm was about to hit. Now all Bronte had standing between her and impending death was a bossy sort of fellow she assumed could only be the resort manager. Once the initial danger had passed, Bronte couldn’t help but notice how attractive this Logan guy could be when he wasn’t being rude. So why not take advantage of the situation to enjoy some hot sex with a good looking guy while they’re stuck here together? But when Logan’s friend Jonathan arrived to rescue them, inadvertently revealing Logan’s true identity, it was Bronte who wanted no part of a billionaire’s life, forcing Logan to earn her trust in him and his love for good.

STRANDED WITH A BILLIONAIRE is still one of my favorite books in the Billionaire Boys Club series, and the main reason is how light-hearted it manages to be even at the darkest moments in Logan and Bronte’s unlikely romance. When the tables are so quickly turned on Logan after Bronte discovers his lie of omission, it’s played for laughs as well as drama, and while Logan continues to do precisely the wrong things to get Bronte back in his life, it’s genuinely fun to see him get the attitude adjustment which he so richly deserves. After all, Bronte may just be a waitress at a Missouri sock hop diner, but she has a degree in Philosophy and a strong sense of self-worth that can’t and won’t be bought off by whatever obscene amounts of cash Logan is willing to throw around. Even when they face their darkest moment thanks to Logan’s misguided decision to test Bronte’s self-professed love, what follows isn’t entirely bleak, and the end result is a fully chastened and self-aware Logan who is truly worthy of Bronte and the happy ending they have earned together. In STRANDED WITH A BILLIONAIRE we also get to see more of the other 5 billionaires, including an intriguing setup for the next potential romance in the series. It’s a great start to the Billionaire Boys Club and one I wholeheartedly recommend.

Ratings:

Overall: 4
Sensuality level: 3

and I absolutely loved it. I had just finished raging over a disappointing review book and this was just what I needed to get back into enjoyable reading.