Romancing the Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club, #5) by Jessica Clare 
Series: Billionaire Boys Club #5
Published by Berkley on November 4th 2014
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 304
Format: eBook
I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]When I first picked up my copy, I had the impression this was an Indiana Jones/Romancing the Stone type story. Not even close! It was not very exciting. Violet and Jonathan were on a treasure hunt for letters hidden by Violet’s father in some deathbed attempt to make up for the fact that he was a selfish bastard and screwed up both their lives. I was quite disappointed. [/box]
Violet DeWitt seems very callous about her father’s death. The truth is that he simply was an absent father, jumping from one archaeological dig to anther. It was rare that he stopped home to see her mother who spent most of her life pining for her missing husband and drinking herself to sleep. All Violet’s childhood, her father would have her go on these treasure hunts for birthday presents, etc. and they always ended up being more exciting than the gift itself, until even the hunt lost it’s shine.
Her father also left a letter for Jonathan Lyons, billionaire owner of Lyons Motors. Violet and Jonathan met the one and only time Violet was invited to a dig with her father. Ten years ago, Jonathan was an intern for her father, and was also the financier of the project. Their summer romance didn’t end well and her father made sure that Jonathan didn’t follow the Violet back to the United States, leaving them both hurt and heartbroken.
We find out very quickly how much of a self-centered prick her father truly was. After Violet left, Jonathan missed her and decided he was going to follow her so they could be together. Phineas told Jonathan that Violet went home and married someone else. Although that was a pretty quick rebound-marriage, Jonathan didn’t question it and presumed that Violet was happily married all these years. Phineas wasn’t concerned that he ruined his daughter or Jonathan’s lives as long as he was able to keep Jonathan financing his projects.
It was only on his pre-deathbed that he realized his mistake and instead of letting them both know that he interfered and lied, he set up an elaborate treasure hunt up to a year before he died, to force them together to figure out the clues (which thankfully they do since they can’t ask for help once he’s dead). Obviously, his hope is that after spending so much time together, they would fall in love again, and he can die without guilt of putting himself first.
Having Jonathan’s private jet and billions of dollars is helpful in completing this task since some of the clues are located in Europe and Violet’s teaching salary barely kept her in her tiny apartment so thankfully Jonathan was up for being part of the hunt.
THOUGHTS:
This is my first Jessica Clare novel. She has been highly recommended to me by more than one friend and when I received a copy of Romancing the Billionaire, I thought what a fun and exciting book. I can’t wait. I was completely disappointed. Not only was this a boring story, which is nothing like Romancing the Stone or Indiana Jones, but neither Violet or Jonathan excited me as main characters.
The treasure that Jonathan is looking for is a marker from his latest dig that her father stole. No gold? No jewels? So far, ho-hum. Then there is no one else trying to follow the clues left by Violet’s father so there is no race, no excitement or pressing need to finish. In fact, they spend about a week in one place trying to figure out one of the clues and having a quasi-vacation.
Violet was an okay heroine, except for the bitterness that kept escaping over the original breakup. Jonathan was pathetic since he came off as too desperate and needy in his OMG, I love Violet so much. I need her back in my life way. He’s desperately in love with her, so much so that in ten years he only hires prostitutes and never even has one-night stands. I mean, he’s über-rich. In those ten years, he never once sent a P.I. to peek in on her and see if she’s still married, or even looked her up on Facebook? When Violet shares some news with Jonathan, he literally breaks down and goes on a bender for days — days! — putting the ho-hum quest on hold. Violet had to search his phone listings to find a friend to come pick him up out of the gutter. I love a hero who is in love with his heroine, but not one who is pathetically desperate and whiny about it.
I just didn’t enjoy this story and read it simply to finish it so I could write my review. I don’t believe I will write Jessica Clare off entirely just yet since so many people find her funny, but if I made my determination simply based on this novel, I would cross her off my list of authors to read. Although, I am not racing to the bookstore to grab another book by her anytime soon.
Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Favorite Scene:
It was clear that whatever had been was dead and buried, and Violet didn’t want anything to do with him. She was married, anyhow. No sense in mooning after a happily married woman. “I just want an old friend to help me with something important to me, all right?”
She looked up and tilted her head, frowning slightly, and tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear in a motion that brought back a wealth of memories. He remembered that thoughtful expression, and desire and longing came flooding back through Jonathan.
Ten years, and he was still insanely in love with Violet DeWitt, ice princess act and all. No wonder she wanted to scare him off.
“What did you say?”
He toyed with the front of his suit jacked, thankful that it was buttoned up so it would hide any hint of the erection he’d just gotten at that small gesture of hers. “I said, I’m not here to mess up your life, all right?”
She got to her feet, smoothed her skirt, and then came around to his side. She extended her hand. “Let me see that letter.”
Finally, he was getting somewhere. Eager, Jonathan held both of them out to her.
Violet skimmed the letters, and then cast him another puzzled look.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Where did you get that I was married?”
Now it was his turn to be confused. “Excuse me?”
“I said, I’m not married. Wherever did you get that idea?”
The blood began to roar in Jonathan’s ears. He watched, entranced, as she pushed a lock of hair behind her other ear. It made both of her ears stick out–which he remembered that she hated–but he found adorable. His Violet.
He’d given up on her so long ago because she’d married someone only days after she’d left his bed, and he’d regretted it ever since.
“You–” He coughed, irritated at how hoarse his voice was. He felt like all the blood had rushed to his face…well, that and one other extremity. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “You called off the wedding?”
Again, she gave him a curious look. “What wedding?”
“Your father said that when you left…you married someone else. Right away.”
She raised both eyebrows at him, as if to say really? “And you believed him? Jonathan, your family was funding all of his digs at the time. He’d have told you cows flew on the moon if it was what it took to keep you at his side.”
Well, goddamn it all. He’d known that Phineas was a sly old dog, but he’d had no idea he’d been taken for a ride on something so important. “You’re…not married?”
“I don’t see why it’s any of your business–” She yelped as he grabbed her hand in his. It was just a soft as he remembered, her nails bitten short. It was a habit she’d never been able to break. There was no ring on any finger.
He’d been lied to.
He should have been furious. Filled with anger and hate and loathing that ten years had been wasted, ten years that had kept them apart.
But Jonathan didn’t see any of that. All he saw was Violet–his Violet–standing so close to him that he could reach out and touch her again for the first time in so long that his entire being ached. Violet, with her hand in his. Never mind that she was trying to draw it out of his grasp.
His Violet was here, in front of him, and she’d never married. He’d be damned if he’d let an opportunity slip through his fingers again.
Grabbing her shoulders, Jonathan turned her toward him fully, leaned down, and pressed his mouth firmly to hers. He kissed her with all the fierce passion of ten long, lonely years. She wasn’t responding, but that was okay. He had enough need and love for both of them. She’d come around. He’d show her just how much he missed her. He’d never let her go again. He–
Violet’s knee went between his legs, and connected with his groin.
Hi Lucy …I don’t understand….I read your review with interest and noted your thoughts but you still gave this book 4 stars which surprised me . Sounds more like 2stars at most. What did I miss?
Hi, Catherine. Thanks for pointing that out. I wanted that to be a 3 star review. It was readable, but calling it an adventure was pushing it. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it 2 stars. A 2 star book would have made me walk away from it and I would almost have to tie myself to the chair to finish.