I have a bit of a like-dislike thing going on with this book. On the plus side, I thought the hero and heroine were fully developed and grew over the course of the book. I also found it to be a quick and generally enjoyable read. That being said, some plot points left me shaking my head. This is the third in the author’s trilogy over the fight for a billionaire’s estate but worked well for me as a standalone.
While teenagers, JT Hartley and Pia Baxter were lovers from opposite sides of the track. Pia was the town princess from a wealthy family. JT and his mother lived in near poverty. JT and Pia’s relationship ended tragically and neither has fully recovered. They haven’t seen each other in 14 years when JT forces his way back into Pia’s life, not for love, but for business.
Growing up, JT never knew who his father was and was furious as an adult to discover his father was the high profile billionaire his mother once worked for. JT has made millions on his own in property development. He’s not named in his father’s will and is contesting it to get his mother some justice and acknowledgement. So what does Pia have to do with all of this? Conveniently, she’s the executor of his biological father’s will.
Pia gave up her dreams of becoming a fashion designer when she and JT broke up. Instead, she’s a successful lawyer up for partnership. She fought hard to get JT’s father’s case before he died. She knows she should have nothing to do with JT; it would be a clear conflict of interest as her firm represents the billionaire’s legal heirs. When JT barges into her office without an appointment, she tries to put him off. When he tracks her down to her home, she also tries to push him off. Soon, however, they’re way too involved in each other’s lives.
I thought the initial setup for JT and Pia’s background was particularly strong. Despite the larger-than-life circumstances, I found them both believable and interesting. They each have positive qualities and clear flaws. Pia justified leaving JT by saying he brings out the worst in her, her wild side (unlike her staid, respectable family). He thinks she left because when the going got tough, she gets going and thinks she will leave again and again. On the surface, each has a successful life, but neither is happy.
However, after a while I found them both tiring. It was so apparent that Pia didn’t want to be a lawyer and found joy in designing hats and clothes. While a short book, I thought her eventual realization was a long time in coming. I also tired of JT’’s repeated belief that Pia would leave again when the going got tough.
Without getting into spoiler territory, my major problems with the book involve the reasons why Pia and JT end up spending so much time together. I thought there were other ways their lives could become entwined. They have a history; they clearly still have feelings for each other. Being involved with the will could have been enough. I also felt short-changed by the development of much of their eventual relationship. The epilogue hinted at developments in both of their characters, developments I would like to have seen more of in the actual book rather than off page.
Sensuality: Warm
Publication Date: 2011/10
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