Samantha Taylor turned her back on her wealthy family to focus on social work. Those who know her think she’s the heart of kindness. Those who know her really well know she’s in a never-ending battle to make up for the harm her family’s companies inflict on the world. Which is how she finds herself at a charity bachelor auction of all places.
But oops, she was supposed to bid on her bff’s brother as a favor and accidentally bid on the wrong guy. Sue her for not being able to tell one stick-in-the-mud CEO from another.
Backstage, she goes to tell him not to worry about having to go through with a date or anything, but the oafish billionaire cuts her off dismissively. Looks her up and down, hands her a card with his assistant’s contact details, and reminds her that sex is definitely off the table.
Oh, she’ll call the assistant all right and have her make sure he wears jeans and comfortable shoes and to pick her up at seven a.m. The only “hammering” this guy is going to be doing is at Habitat for Humanity.
Too bad he turns out to be nothing like she expected.
Purchase links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UziOdE
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2WHGry9
AppleBooks: https://apple.co/2Icd8zG
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2YKIzXO
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2WHF8PL
Review:
A cute, light read–just don’t think about things too much or too hard while reading… 😉
An Accidental Date with a Billionaire had a cute premise–bidding on the wrong guy at a bachelor auction–though it did bring up some unanswered questions (why didn’t she at least look at a picture of the guy she was supposed to “win”? Wouldn’t her best friend have had at least one pic of her brother on social media, at least? And how did Sam manage to pay for her bid–she fully expected the bachelor to pay for her when she made it–when she kept herself on such a tight budget?) I really enjoyed how both Sam and Taylor were forced to re-think their first impressions of each other as they got to know each other better and that there was so much more to both of them than appeared on the surface–Taylor especially had a lot more going for him than that arrogant guy standing on the auction stage seemed to.
That same thing that I liked about him ended up being a bit of a problem, though–I mean, other than acting like a bit of a jerk in his first scene, Taylor basically had no flaws at all. Seriously, other than the fact that he was *only* actively participating in a single charity when they met (though OMG, the throwaway comment much later on that tells us just how involved he is…) he’s pretty darn perfect. Yeah, he ends up making a change in how he runs his business thanks to his relationship with Sam, but I wasn’t 100% convinced that he really needed to…it just seemed like a little “extra” for a guy who was already bordering on OTT fabulous. (Even Sam seems to think his main flaw is being rich–not what he does with it, or even how he got it, but the fact that he has money.)
Sam, on the other hand, has dedicated her life to two things: self-sacrifice to make up for her family’s history, and hiding that history from the world. Her rigidity as an adult (no relationships, no society events, no extra cash hanging around, ever–she gives whatever she doesn’t need to charity) felt like it was all a bit much. Maybe it’s just because I’ve never moved in society circles, but her insistence that going to a single event would “out” her to the world and ruin Taylor as well just seemed…silly. I was glad they got over it in the end; the fact that they did so so easily pretty much proves that the concern wasn’t really warranted, though.
If you’re looking for a light, cute HEA read, look no further–just don’t read too closely or ask too many questions (like he got her 5 different sizes of clothes, but did he get her shoes? and the big one–what happened to her cat after Sam left their “date” and then came back???)
Rating: 3 stars / C+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
About the author:
Diane Alberts is a USA TODAY bestselling Contemporary Romance author with Entangled Publishing. Under the name Jen McLaughlin, she also writes New York Times, USA TODAY, and Wall Street Journal bestselling books with Penguin RandomHouse. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. Diane is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.
Diane has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author. Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and three cats. Her goal is to write so many fantastic stories that even a non-romance reader will know her name.
Connect:
Site: http://www.dianealberts.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DianeAlberts6
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DianeAlberts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/DianeAlbertsJenMcLaughlin