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Review

Kaden Barnes is a complex man. On the surface he’s a young billionaire running a company with his best friends after they struck it rich with the creation of a social media app. He comes off as arrogant and demanding, having gone through a slew of assistants that have not met up to his exacting standards, but in reality his need for control is how he copes with deeper personal issues.

Lexie Parker is given the job of Kaden’s assistant as a favour to her father, a major investor. Lexie has had a difficult life and has struggled to find work due to the fact that she is the caregiver for her mentally unwell sister who requires a lot of her time and support. She is desperate to start living her own life, so she throws herself into her new role, happy to put up with any kind of behaviour from her new boss if it means she has a job.

From the beginning we can see that Kaden and Lexie are attracted to each other, and it’s only a matter of days before they act on it.

“You’re not firing me?” she asked…
He smiled, something that seemed to come easier around her. “No, I’m not firing you.”
“Then what are you doing with me?”
“This.” He hooked an arm around her waist, pulled her close, and sealed his lips over hers.

What I really liked about this hook up is that once they actually admitted their attraction to each other, there was no game playing and no pretence. They wanted each other, they discussed how it would impact upon their work together, and they went right ahead, starting something that they both had every intention of making work.

“Make no mistake, no matter what, I intend to pursue you, Lexie. To make it difficult, if not impossible for you to walk away … So?”
She looked up at him with wide blue eyes. “You’re a hard man to say no to,” she murmured.
He felt himself grin. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

Their physical connection is intense and emotions soon follow, with Lexie and Kaden opening up to each other, and I liked the honesty, understanding and support that they show each other. But will their blossoming romance be able to survive the demands that Lexie is under, and the threat to all that Kaden has built when his past comes back to haunt him?

It’s a good set up and I went into this book with high hopes, but sadly it didn’t work for me. I’m a sucker for billionaire stories with intense love stories but in this case I just didn’t feel it. Maybe it’s because it was such a quick read, but the chemistry didn’t sizzle for me, and I found the storyline very predictable with coincidence upon coincidence that had me rolling my eyes; and coupled with the speed and intensity of the romance, I never got invested in the story.

This is a really quick read, but I really struggled to finish this book. It’s only 179 pages, yet it took me four days to read it because every time I picked it up I would end up falling asleep. I almost DNF’d it, but persevered to see how it all ended, and it does end well. Everything is resolved and there is a sweet happy ending, I just wanted more.

2 stars – it was just ok.

The Billionaire Bad Boys series