Review: A great start to the Ryker Billionaires, with at least 2 more tales to come.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 8, 2014
This is my first full-length tale by CM, and it doesn't disappoint. I love tales where I'm reminded of the 'battle of the sexes' style of romance that was so popular in Mills & Boons of the 70's and 80's and this took me down memory lane; however, it is a very modern tale with a feisty female who's more than a match for the male lead.Amazon's blurb covers the gist of the tale, so I won't repeat that, but what I liked about the tale is that Emma had backbone and was no pushover, and that Quinn, upper-hand billionaire or not, came across as a very decent, genuine guy, driven by truly wanting to help and protect Emma. In the very nicest way, this was no Indecent Proposal, where one had the power and the other was eventually coerced into something she didn't truly want.So, OK, yes, I'm sort of contradicting myself, as Emma was pretty much forced into the agreement with Quinn, but she stood her ground about what it would entail, so that eventually, when they made it into bed, it was entirely mutual, and nothing to do with a business deal. I liked that she was a strong enough character that she didn't feel 'bought' and that she knew and spoke her own mind. I liked that Quinn didn't have to pressure her into his bed, and that he simply took advantage of their mutual attraction, which made for a lot of very steamy sex scenes!I also liked that we got to see Quinn's feelings as well as Emma's (in fact, Quinn was the more open character, and Emma almost seemed ultra-tough until a certain incident, where she broke down), and that though he made a big mistake where she was concerned, he was honest, persistent, clearly in love, and 'earned' her love back. I think that had not happened, Emma might have ended up with doubts about their relationship, later down the line, but Quinn came through for her, in several different ways.The tale ends with the start of their HEA, but it is the first book in a trilogy, and I'm lucky enough to have found out that Emma and Quinn's romance will continue to be seen in the background of the remaining two tales. In this, we're also introduced to Gabriel Ryker, who initially comes over as a bit of a 'butt' (the a-word would probably get this review pulled), and who deserves to have his own butt brought into line in his tale, and from the sneak preview I've seen of the next book, CM doesn't disappoint.Disclaimer: I am lucky enough to have been introduced to this author via a mutual friend, and to have become a beta reader of hers. Whilst I have been gifted a copy of this book, the review is entirely my own, for which no payment was made or requested.