Review: The Wicked Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden

Posted September 17, 2017 by Elizabeth in Elizabeth B, Reviews / 0 Comments

Review: The Wicked Billionaire by Jackie AshendenThe Wicked Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden
Series: Tate Brothers, #2
Published by St. Martin's Press Publication Date: October 3rd 2017
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three-stars

The Tate Brothers were once orphans and they have been raised to do one thing only: protect what is theirs.

As a trained sniper and Navy SEAL, Lucas Tate found the courage to distance himself from the wealthy, wicked patriarch who adopted him. Instead, he’s devoted his life to the elite band of brothers from his unit. So when the widow of one of his former comrades finds herself in apparent danger, Lucas makes it his job to protect her against all enemies. . .and not let her out of his sights.

Grace Riley feels overwhelmed by Lucas's presence, but the cold-eyed marksman will do anything to keep her safe. Soon the special attention he pays her becomes a wild romantic distraction―one that troubles Grace, since Lucas was so close to her deceased husband. Still, how can she resist Lucas’s intense, ice-blue stare? All she knows is that a life without strong, passionate Lucas is one not worth living. Can Lucas can find a way to honor his former brother-in-arms by saving Grace. . .and loving her, too?

Cocktails and Books received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.

I really debated how to rate this book. There were parts that I loved, but also parts that I struggled with, parts that just didn’t seem to make sense.

What I loved:

Our main characters Lucas and Grace have a very unique interaction. They start out as two people who barely know each other and aren’t terribly comfortable with one other and eventually bring out the best in each other. I appreciated that the changes in Lucas’s character were gradual. The stone cold ice man didn’t just flip a switch and become a loving boyfriend. Grace’s effect on him was subtle and he slowly transitioned from a character that I tolerated to one I genuinely liked. Lucas’s impact on Grace was a little more obvious and quick acting, but her character didn’t have the drastic emotional growth we saw with him.

The premise of the story, a wealthy Navy SEAL protects a friend’s widow and they fall in love was what drew me to the book. The execution of that story falls under the category of….

What I struggled with:

I don’t know if my issue with the plot execution has to do with the fact that this is book 2 in a series (and I haven’t read book 1) or just that it does more than stretch the imagination. The fact that Lucas, a highly trained SEAL would accept intelligence and then act on it without verification or back up seemed more than odd. There were several other things like that, issues that just didn’t jive that made plot elements hard to accept.

It didn’t help that a seemingly random tangential story line was inserted into the book and that Lucas’s unreasonable reaction was what forced his hand in the physical relationship with Grace.

 

Setting aside the plot issues, I enjoyed the story in Wicked Billionaire (even if the title itself doesn’t make sense either, except for the little reference at the end). Several tweaks along the way would have pushed this from an average read, 3 cocktail read, to something closer to 4.

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I am a full time mom who works part time. I squeeze reading in wherever I can between work, volunteer stuff, and kid activities. I read a little bit of everything, but really enjoy indie authors and Happy- Ever-Afters. I've been reviewing for Cocktails and Books since January 2015.