Synopsis
from Goodreads: When
the breakdown of her marriage leaves Sadie Turner a single mum, she
vows that she will make it on her own. After all, why would a smart
businesswoman with a PhD and the prospect of a life-changing deal on
the horizon need a man?
But
Sadie’s man-ban is tested to the limit when she travels to Monaco
to meet her potential investor. There she encounters Mac, a rough and
ready playboy billionaire who lives life in the fast lane – and
that’s when the real adventure starts!
But
Sadie’s heart isn’t the only thing on the line. There’s also
the business she’s worked so hard to make a success; the business
that could so easily slip out of her grasp if she doesn’t seal the
deal within thirty days …
Published
under Hot Choc Lit - slightly raised heat level but not erotica!
Previously
self-published as Hawaiian Affair. Revised and edited by Choc Lit
March 2015
Stats
for my copy:
Kindle edition, published by Choc Lit, 2015.
How
acquired:
NetGalley.
My
thoughts: This
story started out very strong. We meet Sadie, on a business trip to
meet with a prospective investor. With some free time on her hands
and a borrowed “Open House” invitation, she's at the docks,
nervously boarding a yacht under the pretense of being someone posh
who might actually want to buy a yacht. After getting thrown off said
yacht, she meets Mac, a deckhand on another yacht.
I
connected with and loved Sadie right from the beginning. She's a
little awkward and self-conscious, she's smart and witty, she's mum
to two adolescent daughters, she totters about on her sky high heels,
she's got curves, she's a realistic woman. She has a self-imposed
rule about no men in her life until her girls are grown. A one night
stand with Mac is the perfect way to end a stressful day. Not that
she rushes into it. Oh no, she vacillates, and actually walks away,
but her libido drags her back. On an impulse she's given him her
middle name, and they agree that there will be no talk about their
personal or business lives. Just each other's company for one
evening.
So
naturally the next morning when she walks into the meeting with the
investor, who is she shocked to come face to face with but a shocked
Mac. And Mac has a very firm rule – he does not mix business with
pleasure.
This
line is from much farther into the book, but it's a good description
of Sadie and Mac at this point:
How could a playboy billionaire ever want to be with a small-town single mother of two feisty teenage girls, with a hippy grandma in tow, and a barely-solvent health food store to run.
The
banter between Sadie and Mac was just delightful, and I loved
watching them get to know each other.
“Thanks so much for rescuing my bag for me. Are you always such a hero?”
“Of course! Drowning handbags, run of the mil. Damsels in distress, a specialty!”
“Well, if I'm ever in distress, I'll give you a call!”
“Dis-dress, dat-dress, you look good whatever,” he said, then cringed.
Mac
gets angry that Sadie didn't tell him who she really was, suspicious
that she was playing him because he's rich, but at the same time he
kept reminding himself that he was also less than honest, pretending
to be a deckhand rather than the billionaire owner of the yacht he
was on. He has a lot of trust issues when it comes to women, as
billionaire playboys do. But his issues never seem melodramatic and
we get into his head enough to have some insight and understanding of
his reasoning.
At
this point in the story, there is a lot of business talk. Sadie has
presented Mac's people with a proposed marketing plan for a hydrating
water, Frish, in hopes that he will be willing to invest, and join
her in vying for distribution rights. If all goes well, and the
company that produces the water goes for her plan, she's looking at
finally having some financial security, paying off debt, and being
able to provide more for her daughters without having to rely on her
scummy ex-husband's help.
And
frankly, all the business talk bored me. The plot got a little
convoluted and very busy. Now that they're contemplating going into
business together, Mac is determined to not have any kind of personal
relationship with Sadie, and he often disappeared and avoided her and
told her he would talk to her later and then didn't. I definitely
enjoyed the story much more when they were interacting together,
rather than going off in separate directions.
There
are several secondary characters, and they mostly remain secondary.
Which was fine, since I wanted the focus to be on Sadie and Mac.
Eventually there was a revelation about Simon, Mac's business adviser
and CFO, which I thought was unnecessary and a little disappointing.
But in the end everything wrapped up quite satisfyingly, and I
enjoyed more of the book than what I unenjoyed.
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