THE BILLIONAIRE AND THE VIRGIN (Billionaires and Bridesmaids 1) by Jessica Clare-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 17, 2015

Waitress Marjorie Ivarsson is the picture of naiveté. Raised by her grandmother, she’d rather go to bingo than go dancing. But when she’s asked to be a bridesmaid in her friend Bronte’s destination wedding, she finds herself venturing into new and exciting territory. The wedding is set on the billionaire groom’s private island and Marjorie is fascinated by all the new people she’s meeting.

Most fascinating of all is the man she saves from almost drowning in the blue waters of the island lagoon. She might even have a bit of a crush on him. Unfortunately, she’s not the only girl who finds him so intriguing. Hot shot television producer Robert Cannon has a reputation for womanizing, drinking, and partying to excess. They couldn’t be more wrong for each other…so why are they constantly drawn together like magnets?

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REVIEW: THE BILLIONAIRE AND THE VIRGIN is the first installment in Jessica Clare’s new contemporary, adult Billionaires and Bridesmaids erotic, romance series-a spin off from her best selling Billionaire Boys Club series-that will focus on the upcoming nuptials of the Billionaire Boys and the women that they love. This is billionaire entrepreneur Robert Cannon and waitress Marjorie Ivarsson’s storyline. You do not have to have read the Billionaire Boys Club series to understand the premise but the new series focuses on the weddings of the couples we met in Jessica’s original series, and the introduction of new billionaires and friends.

Told from third person point of view the storyline follows Marjorie as she is tasked with being a bridesmaid at her former co-worker’s wedding-Bronte Dawson and Logan Hawkings (Stranded with a Billionaire #1) destination wedding. Marjorie is a 6’1” twenty four year old naïve (almost cloistered) virgin who was raised by her elderly grandparents following the death of her parents. Marjorie has spent most of her life surrounded by senior citizens and is at her most comfortable socializing with the silver-haired seniors-in this she is socially inadequate, inept and awkward with people her own age and men. Marjorie’s low self esteem and poor self image is a by-product of her height and the resulting negative comments throughout her life. Rescuing a near drowning Robert Cannon finds our heroine lost in a strange world where Robert’s vulgarity and crude language are matched by the size of his wallet and their attraction to one another.

Robert Cannon is a self made billionaire, a television producer who made his money through the virtual world of trashy television and The Men’s Channel. He is a man whose language is blue, and his reputation with the women precedes his introduction. But Marjorie is oblivious to Robert’s history, his business, his money and his connection to Logan Hawkings. Robert is stalking Logan in the hopes of negotiating a television deal.

The relationship between Robert and Marjorie is one of immediate attraction but Marjorie’s over the top naivete and Robert’s crude and vulgar personality are distractions to the overall enjoyment of the storyline and likeability of the couple. Their first couple of dates are a disaster, uncomfortable and would have sent most people packing. But Robert persists in his pursuit of Marjorie until the truth about how he makes his money and his connection to Logan is revealed. Marjorie will return home heartbroken and lost. The sex scenes are intimate, exploratory and at times, awkward due to the heroine’s lack of experience.

All of the previous storyline series’ heroines are present but their significant others (excluding Logan) are more or less absent or silent. The bridesmaids are ever present and offering advice about dating, relationships and sex.

There comes a time when too many reminders and the redundancy of some of the plot points make it difficult to enjoy a story. We are constantly reminded about Marjorie’s lack of experience and her height; and Robert’s overuse of cuss words and swearing became a bit too much especially in a romance storyline.

I love Jessica’s BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB series-her heroes and heroines, their stories and their love but something was missing from THE BILLIONAIRE AND THE VIRGIN-there was no spark, no palpable energy, no real connection and very little sympathy for our hero. In fact, the writing did not ‘feel’ like Jessica Clare but more like someone else. It wasn’t until Robert’s return to civilization did the story take on a completely different feel.

If you are a fan of Jessica’s BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB I would still recommend giving the new series a try. I am hoping my disappointment in this storyline is a fluke and the next installment will pull me back into the fold.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy