Jessica Lemmon

A Christmas Proposition
4 Stars

No stranger to scandal, Stefanie Ferguson once again finds her name associated with an obnoxious former suitor and the only way to distract social media is to marry as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the only trustworthy candidate, Emmett Keaton, is the one man who pushes all her buttons. Can Stefanie and Emmett get past their mutual animosity to address the underlying passion that has always been there?

Lemmon saved the best for last.

Stefanie and Emmett's love/hate chemistry is off the charts, and the book avoids the problematic pitfalls of the first two installments, i.e., the heroines' 'doormatish' tendencies.

Stefanie is a lovely heroine who truly cares about people despite her "poor little rich girl" facade. Emmett's backstory is heartbreaking and goes a long way toward his reluctance to form an emotional attachment to Stefanie. Thankfully, he gets some sense knocked into him and alls well that ends well.

Looking forward to reading more Jessica Lemmon books.… (altro)

The Bastard Billionaire
3 Stars

The final installment in Lemmon's series focuses on the middle brother, Eli. Seriously injured in Afghanistan, Eli must learn to cope with both his physical and emotional wounds.

Unfortunately, Eli and Isabelle's romance does not live up to its potential. While the story starts out well with a dark and brooding hero who meets his match in a take no prisoners assistant, the spark fizzles at the halfway mark.

Perhaps it is the fact that Eli's issues stem less from the trauma of his experiences and more from his overinflated sense of guilt, which ultimately comes across as self-indulgent. Moreover, the core of the conflict with Isa, Eli's inability to commit, predates his injuries and seems immature more than anything else.

Isa, on the other hand, is a lovely heroine although her strength and resilience only last so long and she ends up being too forgiving and understanding considering Eli's attitude.

Finally, the subplot involving Isa's parents and her ex is underdeveloped and remains unresolved. This is regrettable as there is some stong material here.

Overall, not one of Lemmon's better efforts.
… (altro)

The Billionaire Next Door
3 Stars

Unfortunately, this is a disappointing follow-up to the delightful first book, The Billionaire Bachelor.

Although there is tremendous potential in the premise and Lemmon's writing is very engaging and steamy, Rachel and Tag fail to resonate either as individuals or as a couple.

To begin with, Tag's physical appearance and the focus on his long hair and beard did not appeal to me. I do not find huge hairy heroes sexy, but that is just my personal preference. The more significant issue is his commitment phobia and love 'em and leave 'em attitude, which comes back to bite him. His actions toward the end do not reflect well on his character and his grovel at the end is not satisfying.

Rachel is just as bad if not worse. Her constant woe-is-me whining about her ex, her job, and her life is not at all endearing, and Tag has a point when he argues that she was just using him to gain back her confidence.

On the other hand, the secondary characters are delightful. Tag's best friend Lucas and his unique wife Gena are fantasitc, and I would much rather have read their story. There are also updates on Tag's older siblings, Reese and his soon-to-be wife Merina, and Eli whose traumatic experience makes me want to read his book sooner rather than later.

Overall, not one of Lemmon's better works, but her writing is very enjoyable. I am sure the next book will be better.… (altro)

The Billionaire Bachelor
5 Stars

Forget the cheesy title, this book is delightful!

Merina and Reese's marriage of convenience should seem out of place in a contemporary romance, but it fits in with their personalities and their individual requirements - respectability for Reese and keeping her family hotel for Merina.

The enemies to lovers romance is intense and exciting as these two opposites clash at every turn, that is until they realize they can't keep their hands off each other. There is also very little drama or angst in the plot, which is an added bonus.

Each of Reese's brothers has their own book and Tag's is next. Looking forward to it.

… (altro)