Match For the Billionaire: A Boss Romance (A Seattle CEO Novel) by Eve Madison (2023)

Mia
He's making me an offer I can't resist.

So, get this. I'm slaving away at my waitressing gig, dealing with the world's pickiest customer, when he drops a bombshell. He wants me to be his assistant. Me! I couldn't believe it!

I mean, sure, I needed the cash and some time to focus on my art. But seriously, working for this guy? I must be out of my mind.

He's got all the looks, like he walked straight out of a romance novel. But boy, does he have an ego the size of Mount Everest. He's the type who thinks he's always right, even when he's dead wrong.

But, against my better judgment, I'm starting to think there might be something more to him.

Could he actually be the one?

---

Derek
I'm doing everything in my power to avoid a colossal business disaster.

I made the crazy decision to hire Mia Kamaka as my assistant, and now I can't help but feel a spark of excitement. She's drop-dead gorgeous, and I want to spoil her rotten.

But let's face it, things are complicated. We're on a dangerous path, and I'm not sure if it's the right one.
Maybe there's a better way, a better match.

But what if Mia is the one who can turn my life around?

---

Match for the Billionaire is a standalone novel in the Seattle CEO series. You don't need to read the other books in the series, but hey, they're all pretty awesome too.

Warning: This book contains sizzling love scenes, saucy language, and lots of grown-up stuff.

Billionaire romances don't seem to be going anywhere and if you want a quick, light read with minimal angst then this should fit the bill.

Mia is a struggling photographer working as a waitress who catches the eye of Derek, said  billionaire.

Both Mia and Derek have backstories that are not fully explored and it left me wondering if there was a previous book I hadn't read but, this is the first in the series. 

Neither shared much of their personal history with the other either which seemed a little strange to me. However, these are minor quibbles and easily glossed over.

There are a few cute and funny scenes involving Mia and Derek, especially in the beginning where she is working in the restaurant.

The story develops quickly, if predictably when Mia goes to work for Derek. Someone at the company is leaking information to the press and it isn't long before fingers point in Mia's direction. Derek is a likable enough character for most of the book but he should have had to work harder at the end to win Mia back. Mia on the other hand should have shown some loyalty and turned down that dodgy job offer instead of dithering.

Next booking the series is Ryder's story.

An easy read, perfect for a lazy day beside the pool. 

The Exiled by Sarah Daniels (2023) BLOG TOUR

 

Fantasy, YA, Sci Fi

Length: 496 Pages. Published by Penguin.

Blurb

Trust no one.

It is six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But this wasn't the freedom the inhabitants were hoping for. Esther Crossland did what she had to do, but it has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Now the wrecked ship is abandoned. Its inhabitants are in exile, trapped in sprawling make-shift shelters made up of warehouse, tents, shipping containers.

Esther and Nik, architects of the rebellion, are on the run. Esther is in hiding, desperate to do something to help her people, and Nik seems to have abandoned all hope, on a journey taking him further and further from home. And neither of them want to face up to their true feelings about one another . . .

Not only that, there is a new villain in town. With the fall of Commander Hadley, it's left to the ruthless Admiral Janek to deal with the traitors, and her own past is beginning to catch-up with her.

Then the shaky ceasefire negotiated by General Lall, Nik's mum, falls apart. Nik and Esther find themselves in a world of betrayals and double crossings - a game of power, with no one to trust but themselves.

It's time for the final showdown.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Exiled is the thrilling and fast-paced sequel to The Stranded.

Again, the story is told from different points of view; Esther, Nik, Meg, and Janek. The main characters are well established after The Stranded so it was easy to jump straight back into all the action along with them. Meg and Janek are new characters and both present challenges for rebels. Alex also makes a reappearance to throw a spanner in the works.

In The Exiled, we find that the survivors of the Arcadia are camped in an area of wasteland given to them by the Federated States as a temporary measure. The camp is a grim place to live with no real accommodation. The people are entirely fenced in and the Federation have planted booby traps in the streets. The camp has no medical facilities and no access to news from the outside world.

Nik's mother is leading the rebellion to escape the camp and cross over the border to Maine where the people will be safe and looked after. To do that, she has to play the politician and put up the appearance of cooperating with the Federation. Janek has her own nefarious plan for the people in the camp and it doesn't include anyone going free, especially Nik and Esther.

As tensions escalate with assassination attempts on General Lall and Nik and an imminent attack on the camp by the Coalies it becomes a race against time to evacuate and send the cavalcade of refugees to safety.

Suspense and tension ratchet up even more in the final chapters, during the trial and the rescue attempt that looked likely to fail. I was on tenterhooks the whole time and I wasn't sure if my favourite characters were going to make it out alive.

A riveting, heart-thumping read.

Sarah Daniels is an ex-archaeologist who escaped academia and now writes stories from her home in rural Lincolnshire. Her work has been published in various online magazines and has been nominated for best British and Irish Flash Fiction and Best Small Fictions. 

http://www.sarahdanielsbooks.com

Instagram: @sarahdanielsbooks
TikTok: @sarahdanielsbooks
Twitter: @sarahdanbooks

Thanks to TheWriteReads for including me in the blog tour and to Penguin for review copies.

The Stranded by Sarah Daniels (2022) BLOG TOUR

 

Description

*The first book in an unmissable and thrilling duology - The Hunger Games meets Station Eleven, for fans of pacey, disruptive TV, such as the Noughts and Crosses adaptation.*

A gripping near-future thriller: love triangles, betrayals and fights for freedom in a world turned upside-down . . .

Welcome to the Arcadia.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States - a leftover piece of a fractured USA.

For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.

Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Ben is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.

When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever . . .

                           🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Stranded is set at the end of the 21st century after a virus has ravaged the world. Refugees have been stranded on board the luxury cruise liner Arcadia for forty years and are prohibited from going on land despite the ship being virus free. The Federated States enforce strict laws and make life on board the vessel miserable, oppressive and claustrophobic. Anybody considered to be a threat or plotting a rebellion is either executed or sent to a labour camp. But, oppressive regimes will always inspire rebellion in the hearts of those who aspire for freedom and a better life.

The story is told from the viewpoints of multiple characters and it takes a little bit of time initially to connect with each of them; to understand who they are, their roles on the ship and where their loyalties lie. Not everyone can be trusted and it is a nail-biting read making sure favourite characters survive. The story is very fast-paced with nail-bitingly tense scenes and plenty of twists and turns. 

This book will keep you up into the wee hours of the morning as you won't want to put it down. 

The Stranded and its sequel, The Exiled are available now. Amazon

A Killing at Smuggler's Cove by Michelle Salter (2023) ~ BLOG TOUR

A Killing at Smugglers Cove. Wartime secrets, smugglers’ caves, skeletal remains. And the holiday’s only just begun...July 1923 - Iris Woodmore travels to Devon with her friends Percy Baverstock and Millicent Nightingale for her father’s wedding to Katherine Keats. But when Millicent uncovers skeletal remains hidden on the private beach of Katherine’s former home, Iris begins to suspect her future stepmother is not what she seems. The police reveal the dead man is a smuggler who went missing in 1918, and when a new murder occurs, they realise a killer is in their midst. The link between both murders is Katherine. Could Iris’s own father be in danger?

                                       🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Compulsive reading at its best. Iris Woodmore's fourth mystery has a mix of love, jealousy, and betrayal of the kind that can only lead to murder. Iris has put it upon herself to unravel the threads of how the victim and the people of the area are connected and who had the most reason to want the victim dead.

The discovery of one murder leads to another and things start getting more tense as it is clear that a murderer is amongst them hiding in plain sight. Red herrings and clever twists made this an addictive read.

I like the fact that this book can be read as a standalone even though it's the fourth in the series. It is obviously more enjoyable to follow Iris from the beginning but there will be no confusion for any reader jumping in at this point.  

Purchase link here

Author Bio Michelle Salter 

Michelle Salter writes historical cozy crime set in Hampshire, where she lives, and is inspired by real-life events in 1920s Britain. The first book in her Iris Woodmore series, Death at Crookham Hall, draws on her interest in the aftermath of the Great War and the suffragette movement.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleSalterWriter

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Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michelle-salter

Check out the blog tour for more reviews of A Killing at Smuggler's Cove