THE PLAYBOY BACHELOR (The Bachelors of Arizona #2) by Rachel Van Dyken -a review

The Playboy Bachelor

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 11, 2017

She’s no Sleeping Beauty. And he’s definitely no prince . . . Margot McCleery could have lived her whole life without seeing Bentley Wellington again-her ex-best friend and the poster boy for Hot, Rich Man-Whores everywhere. But Margot’s whiskey-augmented grandmother “buys” Bentley at a charity bachelor auction, and now suddenly he’s at her door. Impossibly charming. Impossibly sexy. And still a complete and utter jackass. Bentley’s just been coerced by his grandfather to spend the next thirty days charming and romancing the reclusive red-haired beauty who hates him. The woman he abandoned when she needed him the most. Bentley knows just as much about romance as he knows about love-nothing. But the more time he spends with Margot, the more he realizes that “just friends” will never be enough. Now all he has to do is convince her to trust him with her heart . .

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REVIEW: THE PLAYBOY BACHELOR is the second installment in Rachel Van Dyken’s contemporary, adult THE BACHELORS OF ARIZONA romance series focusing on the Wellington brothers-Brock, Bentley and Brant. This is romance author Margot McCleery, and Bentley Wellington’s story line- a second chance/friends to lovers romance that saw two people destroyed by fear and fate.

Told from several third person perspectives including Bentley and Margot THE PLAYBOY BACHELOR is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast but the Beast is our heroine- a woman who has secluded herself since the accident that claimed the lives of her parents, and sent our heroine into a world governed by the romance novels she writes. When Margot’s grandmother wins the services of Bentley Wellington at the recent bachelor auction for charity, Margot’s well-ordered and secluded life begins to spiral out of control when the man that she has loved for most of her life, but hasn’t seen in close to ten years, is forced to spend thirty days in the same house with the woman he pushed out of his life. What ensues is the rekindling friendship, relationship and romance between two people broken by mistaken beliefs, and a ten years of heartbreak and pain.

The relationship between Bentley and Margot is one of second chances. Margot’s life changed the day her parent’s died; not only did Margot blame herself for the accident but when her best friend disappeared from her life, Margot found herself alone, wallowing in depression, trying to recover from the loss. But Bentley Wellington had a difficult time with the accident that almost killed the young woman that he loved, and in the ensuing weeks found himself struggling to comprehend where everything went wrong. For ten years Bentley buried himself in alcohol and women finding neither solace nor comfort for the pain of losing the only woman he would ever love. Margot and Bentley never again made contact, and in the ensuing time, anger and heartbreak festered into self-loathing, and darkened dreams. The $ex scenes are mostly implied or fade to black.

There is plenty of back and forth banter (both negative and positive) that ricochets between the leading characters adding some humorous moments between hostile aggression and heartbreak.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Bentley’s struggling twin Brant Wellington, and their elder brother Brock whom we met in book one-The Bachelor Auction. Bentley’s grandfather returns, alone with Margot’s grandmother as the two continue to play matchmakers for their heartbroken grandchildren. Brant’s story is next in The Bachelor Contract

THE PLAYBOY BACHELOR is a story of second chances; of miscommunication, mistaken beliefs, and broken promises; of consuming loss, and impulsive decisions. The premise is passionate; the romance is challenging; the characters are broken and struggling.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one THE BACHELOR AUCTION.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy