23yo interior decorator from New York City eagerly takes a temporary job as housekeeper & office assistant for 35yo an almost-broke

cattleman Hero in his Texas ranch. Their work relationship later changes when Hero begins seeing as a woman. But virgin heroine's unwillingness to sleep with him as well as his knowledge of her past create an impasse for them. Who will relent first?

This was a decent Palmer book. Hero wasn't as cruel as other Palmer Heroes. He wasn't as arrogant either. In fact, he was the one with the insecurity complex. Heroine started out quite meek but she became bolder, especially after she left him. She didn't make it so easy for him to get her back. I would go as far as to say that she made him grovel to get her back. But not the greatest of grovels.** She succumbed to his seductive maneuvers a little too easily. But at least she stopped him before they got too serious. They got hot & heavy but there's no full-on sex scene. Emotional tone was good & there were some poignant moments. Hero did show how much heroine meant to him in the end. Possible HEA(happy ever after).

Moderately recommended.

**Specifics on how Hero groveled & why I didn't think his grovel was the best is on my blog. Click here.
 

Late 20s heroine doesn’t understand why 29yo Olympic alpine skier Hero will only limit themselves to a 1-night stand when she can sense that he wants more with her.

Seeing him again in the Vermont small town she lives in confirms how he feels for her. But he pushes her away again. He does so more forcefully this time when she confesses something personal. And breaks her heart in the process. What chance does he have of her trusting him again?

I liked this book. It had steam, angst, grovel, and a good resolution. We have 2 imperfect people who want to be together but have barriers that prevent them from doing so. What made it angsty was the barriers were mostly internal with Hero. He didn’t do relationships, including close friendships, because of his fatalistic view of his life.** He was used to it until heroine made him wish for things he couldn’t have. The push and pull between their desires and fears made this an emotionally engaging read. How he deliberately hurt heroine pushed the angst. And his shock at later finding out that life was not what he expected it to be pushed it even more. His grovel wasn’t dramatic but it was genuine and meaningful to heroine. He showed that he was sorry and I think made up for the wrongs he did to her.** Heroine was a hopeful person but sometimes a pushover. I did like how she didn’t quickly let him back in her life and took some time to really think things through.

Recommended.

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.

26y.o. preschool teacher is hesitant about letting her ex-boyfriend Navy SEALs Hero get to know their 5y.o. daughter now.

He publicly abandoned her 5 ½ years ago when she told him she was pregnant and she hadn’t heard from him until now. He’s apologetic for what he did to her and wants to atone for his abandonment of her and their daughter. Her resistance crumbles away when faced with their strong mutual attraction to each other. But her mistrust that he may leave them again and his war trauma may prevent him from having a life with heroine and their daughter.

It looked like Hero groveled but it wasn’t sufficient nor was it due to his love for heroine. His groveling was out of convenience, his need for companionship now that he’s disabled and no longer part of his SEALS team, and his desire to have a relationship with their daughter. I didn’t at all see any of his groveling as having any roots in his love for her. She was the mother of his child and she was available and willing. She was a bonus with his daughter. She was a doormat for giving in to him so easily. And he was a selfish and passive man, who knew he did wrong but pushed it aside to seek his own pleasures at his convenience. Not my kind of Hero. This book was emotionally pulling and the writing was good. Too bad I didn’t like the romance, which still has a likelihood of an HEA(happy ever after). But not a healthy one if they don’t change for the better.

Limitedly recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.

20y.o. heroine agrees to finish the 42 days she reneged from her previous contract to be 30y.o. billionaire banker Hero’s mistress a year ago.

As a result, she’ll get the business loan she needed for the store she and her best friend plan to set up. Heroine’s primary motive, however, is to be with Hero as much as she can. Being away from him was very difficult yet she cannot tell him about their 3-month-old son. Hero restarts their affair with a vengeful plan to treat her like sex object but her open and vulnerable responses to him eventually soften his attitude. When things go well with their romance, the dangerous interference of his family make her think twice about staying with Hero for the remainder of their current contract. What does she do? How does Hero respond?

I liked this book much more than book 1, [b:The Billionaire Banker|18634471|The Billionaire Banker (The Billionaire Banker, #1)|Georgia Le Carre|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1381228785s/18634471.jpg|26166702] (my review here). The writing was edgier, smoother, steamier, and more emotionally-evoking. The biggest progress was that we finally get to know Hero, unlike book 1. I felt more connected to him as I learn more about his inner motives and he began getting more emotionally unhinged due to how heroine made him feel. But his openness also displayed that he was a broken man with a secret past.** Heroine had secrets and I liked how she was able to maneuver them yet still get what she wanted. She grew up since book 1 and she’s now taking charge of her wants and needs instead of just being a victim of circumstance. I enjoyed this book immensely and was a fast read because it was unpredictable and sometimes shocking.

Highly recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.
**ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.