I absolutely love this cover–so adorable!
The Billionaire’s Christmas Proposal
by Victoria James
Synopsis:
She’s everything he wants for Christmas…
Social worker Allison Barrington’s home went up in smoke, literally, a month before Christmas. Now the guardian of her teenage sister and a crazy pup, she shows up on the doorstep of the only man in the city she can trust. Resisting Ethan Dane had never been easy, but luckily, Allie isn’t into cutthroat playboy businessmen. And Ethan is as driven as they come.
Ethan Dane has wanted Allie since the moment he laid eyes on her at their best friends’ wedding. Having her in his home is the perfect chance to prove to her that their chemistry can’t be denied, but when he finds out that the biggest business coup of his career means destroying the youth center where Allie works, Ethan is forced to decide what kind of man he wants to be…
Review:
Since The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby was the very first book by Victoria James that I ever read, I was very excited to get my hands on the follow up book, The Billionaire’s Christmas Proposal. It tells the story of Allison and Ethan, the best friends of Hannah and Jackson, the hero and heroine of Christmas Baby. (We also get a short visit with Hannah and Jackson here too–bonus!)
Ethan and Ally met at the wedding of their best friends, and felt an instant attraction–one Ethan was all for acting on immediately and which Ally resisted in every way possible. At the start of Christmas Proposal, Ally’s turned Ethan down no fewer than three times already. However, when her apartment goes down in flames–literally–leaving her and her little sister and dog without a home, Ethan’s the first person Allison thinks of to go to for help.
Before Ethan can blink, he’s moved Ally, her teen sister Dani, and their one-eyed and slightly incontinent dog Captain Hook into his penthouse apartment. Even though the month of December is traditionally a tough one for him, things are starting to look up. Until he finds out that the challenge his father has issued to both him and his brother–design a condo for me and win future control of the family business–will result in the closing of the teen homeless shelter and refuge that is Ally’s pride and joy.
But he’ll fix it. Somehow. And not tell her that he might be involved in crushing her dream until he does. Because that’s a solid plan that nothing can go wrong with.
Riiiight. 😉
I loved Ally and Ethan together–they have such great chemistry and engage in some really fun banter. The secondary characters, especially Ally’s sister Dani, are well-fleshed out and add a lot to the story. I loved seeing Dani interact with both Ally and Ethan–she’s a riot! Raising a sixteen-year-old sister has got to be the only thing more challenging than raising a sixteen-year-old daughter. I totally felt Ally’s pain as her sister barely contained her despair at her high levels of uncool–but hey, it’s way funnier when it’s happening to someone else, especially when it’s in a book!
It was fairly obvious what Ethan was going to have to do to make things work out in the end, but it made sense that he doesn’t see it right away since his rocky relationship with his family has been coloring things for him for so long. Naturally the Haven House problem is going to be the cause of their relationship crisis, but Ethan will pull things together in the end to bring us a highly satisfying–and seasonally appropriate–HEA. Yay!
As a bonus, The Billionaire’s Christmas Proposal is happening at the same time as another brand new book by Ms. James–Falling for Her Enemy–and gives us a tiny glimpse into that story, since Hayden, the hero, is a close friend of Ethan’s. We get just enough to make me glad I’ve already got it on my TBR and will be reading it by the end of the week 🙂
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Billionaire’s Christmas Proposal ‘s release day is tomorrow, November 16–but you can preorder your copy today at Amazon or Barnes and Noble!