Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

---

---

Review

God, how I love, love, love this book!!!

I must admit, I put off reading it for a bit, figuring it was just another sexy millionaire story, but this little book smacked me across the face with its awesomeness, and I could not get enough!

First off, there’s Jack… I pictured the gorgeous Matt Bomer the entire way through the book, only to discover that that is exactly who the author pictured for him as well, so that just reinforces his utter and absolute sexiness!

OK, so our heroine is Laurelyn, an American on holiday in Australia for three months with her outrageously hilarious best friend, Addison. She is 22, beautiful and incredibly smart and sassy and I loved her instantly. She is an aspiring singer/songwriter and is taking a break from her life back at home, leaving behind a hard life and a bastard ex-boyfriend.

Jack Henry McLaughlin (God, even his name is hot!), is a multi-millionaire wine magnate. He spies her in a bar on her first night in town and decides that he has to have her.

“She has bewitched me. And I want her. She’s the one.”

Fiercely protective of his privacy, he only indulges in anonymous, short-term, no-strings, no-fuss relationships, and he manoeuvres a way to meet Laurelyn where he puts forward a proposal that they ‘date’ for the three months of her stay in Australia. They would not learn each other’s names or personal histories, but they would be together in a relationship of sorts, and at the end of the three months they go their separate ways and never see each other again. It doesn’t take too much convincing for Laurelyn to say yes.

His mouth is so close to mine, I feel his warm breath on my lips. “Right now, all I’m thinking about is how I’m going to get you in my bed so I can show you all the ways I can make you come.”
Umm … yes, please and thank you.

The relationship works brilliantly for them both. They spend time together, they have fun together, and everything is laid out up front – they dive straight into it with no fear of rejection or expectation. They are both completely honest about everything from the very beginning, so there is no game playing, and no stupid. They accept each other as they are, and are respectful, affectionate, and hot as all hell. Damn, my kindle was steaming at the chemistry between these two, sensational!

Throughout the story, it is obvious that apart from the mind-blowing sex, Jack and Laurelyn genuinely care for each other, and I loved watching the easy, flirty affection between them develop into more as they both start feelings thing for the other that they never intended. And despite the end looming on their time together, there is no way they can fight what is happening between them.

“I’m sorry for all the secrecy, for making you feel like you weren’t important enough to know the real me. But I’m most sorry because I have fucked you – I don’t know how many times – and never made love to you.”
…
We’ve shared countless kisses. They were almost always heated and demanding, but this one is entirely different. It tells me things he can’t or won’t say because it goes against everything he intends for our relationship.

I absolutely adore these characters. Laurelyn is refreshingly self-assured with a wicked sense of humour, and brings a sense of fun and playfulness to Jack’s life. Jack is, obviously, sex on a stick, but he’s not an all-out dominant, controlling Alpha. He is confident and possessive, but he is also funny, incredibly caring and protective of Laurelyn, and goes out of his way to make her feel special, never degrading her and, as he promises her in the beginning, he shows her the time of her life. Laurelyn comes as a complete shock to him, and I loved watching her sneak her way into his life and his heart without either of them really realising it. It was a sensational dynamic.

And if, individually, they are fantastic, together they are just magic! The banter between them is brilliant, and I loved every little moment that they shared together. And even though the attraction was strong from the very beginning, the pacing of the significant little shifts occurring during their time together was perfect, and very realistic, leading to them slowly and inevitably falling for each other.

“Don’t leave. I want you to be with me.”
“You’ll have your family.”
I swallow before I say the words that will change this relationship forever. “You’re the one I need.”

I was so impressed that Cates was able to give us such an intense and emotional story without the characters resorting to stupid behaviour and unnecessary angst that is so common in a lot of books. Jack and Laurelyn both have nastiness in their pasts, and while it played a part in the story, at no stage did it overcome either of them, or cause issues for them. They dealt with everything up front and openly, and it made it all just that much more enjoyable.

With fantastic writing, the story moves at a great pace and is told in dual POV, alternating at each chapter, so we get to see where both Jack and Laurelyn’s heads are at the whole way through, and it’s AWESOME! I was captivated from the very first page and I laughed, squeed, and swooned my way through the whole book… God, did I swoon! And that ending (yep, another cliffy!) has left me desperate for more!

An instant favourite, I absolutely loved it – 5 shining stars.

 

The Beauty Series