Brutal Secret (Brutal Billionaires 2) by Laurelin Paige-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au / B&N paper /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 27, 2023

t was supposed to be one night. Now he’s obsessed. When my one-night-stand turns into an all-time-fail, I vow not to tell anyone about the much older hottie who walked out on me mid-deed. (On my twenty-first birthday, no less.) Too bad I bump into my almost lover at my mother’s wedding a few months later. That’s when I discover he’s none other than Reid Sebastian—my new step cousin and the billionaire son of my step-dad’s rival. Which means he’s my rival, too, obviously. While I thought he was cruel before, he’s become obsessed with torturing me. And because we’re family, he’s always around. Now we’re playing a brutal game that neither of us can possibly win. But I have a secret—the more we play the more I want him. Even if it means we both lose everything. Brutal Secret is a complete standalone forbidden, age-gap, forced proximity romance set in an intriguing world of billionaires, power, and scandal. While it is recommended to read Brutal Billionaire first for best reading experience, it isn’t necessary to thoroughly enjoy the story.

••••

REVIEW:BRUTAL SECRET is the first instalment in Laurelin Paige’s contemporary, adult BRUTAL BILLIONAIRES erotic, romance series. This is thirty-three year old, billionaire businessman Reid Sebastian,and Emmalina ‘Lina’ Quinn’s story line. For fans of the author, there is a slight cross over with Laurelin’s Fixed universe.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Lina and Reid) BRUTAL SECRET follows in the wake of an almost one-night stand between our leading couple. On her twenty-first birthday, Lina is seduced then rejected by our story line hero. Lina is clueless as to Reid’s connections and affiliations with the Sebastian family until a mutual wedding reveals Lina and Reid are now step-cousins, and any suggestions of inappropriate behavior is a means to an end. Hired to work within the Sebastian hierarchy of employment Lina will discover that all is not as it seems within the Sebastian family dynamics, a fractured family of betrayal and vengeance in which our couple are about to become the spoilers of war. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Reid and Lina, and the potential fall-out when Reid and Lina’s affair exposed forcing our couple to take a stand, and walk away from it all.

The world building focuses on the lifestyle of the Sebastian family: a family history of secrets, betrayal, vengeance and hatred in the face of greed and a battle for power. As Lina struggles to find her place, Reid will discover just how far someone else will go to exact revenge for sins of the past.

The relationship between Lina and Reid begins as an almost one-night stand that will quickly devolve into humiliation for our story line heroine. Determined to prove she is much more than Reid has made her believe, Lina will come face to face not once but twice with the man that will control her heart. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of dynamic and energetic secondary and supporting characters, several generations of Sebastians all vying for power and control. Betrayal and manipulation are at the heart of a dysfunctional family of billionaire businessmen but ultimately the control comes from the top.

BRUTAL SECRET is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, a dysfunctional and manipulative family, greed and jealousy, betrayal and trust. The premise is captivating and fascinating; the romance is provocative and seductive; the characters are desperate, stubborn and tenacious.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

With millions of books sold worldwide, Laurelin Paige is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author. She is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however.  

When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Killing Eve or Letterkenny, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio.

She is represented by Rebecca Friedman. 

Follow: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest / Instagram / Facebook Fan Page

Sign up for Laurelin’s Newsletter: HERE