The Billionaire Banker Review Tour

Blurb:

Time is running out for Lana Bloom.  She needs money desperately and fast.  And the only thing she has to sell is her body.  When she walks into that exclusive restaurant she does not know that the highest bidder will not be the rich man she has accompanied into the restaurant.

Utterly confident and breathtakingly handsome, Blake Law Barrington is the fourth generation of an illustrious banking family.  He has everything he desires, and everything under control.  As is the custom in the great, old houses, marriage is a time of consolidation and expansion.  Blake is due to marry Victoria Montgomery, daughter of the Fourth Earl of Hardwicke.

If he had left that restaurant five minutes earlier he would not have seen the girl in the cheap, orange dress and the six-inch high, plastic platforms walk in.  His carefully constructed universe would still be intact…and his terrible secret, safe.

Excerpt:

It is Rupert’s cold, hard voice that drags her back into that room.  They had both not heard him enter.  ‘I’m afraid she’s rather spoken for,’ he drawls, but there is so much suppressed anger that his voice is like a blast of icy air.

She snatches her mouth away from Blake’s.  He is positioned between her and Rupert so his wide chest hides her from Rupert’s condemnation.  Her eyes, cloudy with confusion and desire, are still caught in Blake’s gaze.  For a few seconds more he does not release her, but simply stares into their blue depths with something approaching surprise.  Then his eyes turn into hard granite chips and his body stiffens as his hands tighten and curve protectively around her waist.  Slowly he turns to face Rupert.

‘But still unpaid for, I believe?’ he says, and looks down with a smile at Lana’s flushed, troubled face.  She has two very quick impressions.  He is a brilliant actor and he is a cold man.  A shockingly cold and unemotional being.

Rupert directs his astonished, vicious eyes at Lana’s.  ‘You offered yourself to him too?’

Lana stares mutely at Rupert.  His eyes move derisively, hatefully over her.  She feels herself cringe.

‘Does he know how much you charge?’

‘Do you doubt I will be able to afford her?’ asks Blake.

Rupert shrivels the way a leech that has had salt thrown on it does.  ‘This is why you invited me here, isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’

‘What a joke!’ he taunts, but his jibe lacks any real bite.  ‘The great Barrington can’t find his own whore.  He has to steal mine.’

‘I didn’t steal her,’ Blake notes reasonably.  ‘I just offered to pay more.’

Rupert’s eyes bulge, bug-like.  ‘She’s just a cheap bloody tart.  I’ve just finger-fucked her out there,’ he taunts maliciously, jerking his dandruff-laden head in the direction of the door.

Lana feels Blake’s hand tighten around her waist.  ‘Consider it an unearned freebie, then,’ he says quietly, but there is warning in the calm words.  A warning that is not lost on Rupert.  The air becomes tight with tension.  Lana looks from one man to the other.  It is like watching two lions fighting for supremacy.  But her body knows which lion she wants to win this fight.

Rupert shrugs.  He knows he’d be a fool to go against a Barrington.  He has much to lose.  ‘If you think I’m going to fight over her you’re mistaken.  Have her.’

He turns on his heel and leaves.

Blake lets go of Lana.  She realizes she is trembling.  She leans against the desk, hating herself, but unable to stop—nothing is more important than the money—she asks, ‘Did you mean it about the money?’

My Review:

3.5 stars

This was an interesting read for me. I was drawn into the story, even though I didn’t think I would like it as much. The twists added to the story made it more enjoyable for me, and kept my interest, even though there were times when the story dragged on.

I liked Lana, though there were times I wanted to smack her and tell her not to be so stupid. I applauded what she did in the end, which helped redeem her in my eyes. On the other hand, I absolutely hated the Barrington family by the end, and I was a bit pissed off at Blake at the end of the book.

And speaking of the ending, I wasn’t a big fan. While I liked what Lana did, I hated the cliffhanger ending, especially since with the length of the book and the blurb, I was expecting a happy ending, which I didn’t get.

All in all, this was an interesting book, and I will read the second one because I want to find out how Blake and Lana’s story ends.

Georgia will be awarding a rare, hand painted, Iranian perfume bottle carved from camel bone and depicting Persian lovers from Nys Bloom's collection to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour; a 1oz silver American Eagle coin, 2013, from the Barrington family vault to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour; an Amazon gift card worth $30.00 to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour and an author signed, print copy of the Billionaire Banker to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. (Prizes are open internationally). So the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

December 6: Sharing Links and Wisdom

December 13: Shooting Stars Reviews

December 20: We Love Kink

December 20: Booker Like a Hooker

January 3: Reviews Unleashed

January 3: The Hedonistic Minimalist

January 10: Crazy Four Books

January 17: Literary Confessions of a Mom with Frizzy Hair

January 17: Bunny's Review

January 24: Snarky Mom Reads...

January 31: Deal Sharing Aunt

January 31: Nightstand Novels

Author Bio and Links:

Georgia Le Carre lives in England, in an old 19th century romantic cottage surrounded by a magical garden filled with fruit and walnut trees.

When she is not feeding words into her laptop, she is either curled up in bed with a box of chocolates and a good read, or lost in a long walk in the woods. Especially on moonlit nights.  And often with the man of her dreams.

Facebook

Twitter