The Billionaire's Defiant Acquisition by Sharon Kendrick

{I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.}

Review and Character Study Playlist

I’m going to preface this review with a few notes. 1) I’ve never, ever read a category romance before. 2) Billionaire romances aren’t my thing.

Now you may be asking yourself, why would I read a book that clearly involves a billionaire when I know that type of hero doesn’t do it for me? Well, that’s a darn good question actually. I occasionally read books to “stretch” my comfort level or to see if my reading preferences are changing. As well, I try to have an overall sense of what is happening in the larger romance genre and that sometimes means reading books that I know won’t be a 5 star book in my mind.

That being said, I didn’t dislike everything about this billionaire book (even though that was completely my expectation). I found the book to be witty and entertaining.

The Good

• I liked that both Conall and Amber had hidden talents that created some character depth. Conall had a passion for modern art and Amber had linguistic talents along with her unique artistic style. Most of the billionaire romances I’ve read in the past simply show the billionaire as a man who is good at making money. Honestly, the shallow billionaire hero doesn’t interest me. Although Conall is certainly wealthy, he’s made a good portion of his fortune dealing in the modern art he loves and cherishes; this facet of Conall’s persona kept me interested in him and the outcome of the story.
• A very satisfying epilogue. Getting a glimpse of the characters a few months or years into their HEA is the perfect ending to a book for me. The epilogue in The Billionaire’s Defiant Acquisition tied up the last few loose ends and allowed me to relax a bit seeing that the hero and heroine truly did commit to one another.

The Bad

• Amber’s party-girl beginning was just bad, bad, bad. I almost stopped reading this book since I found everything about Amber to be so annoying for a decent part of the novel.
• I felt like there was a lot going on in this book. Billionaire, party-girl turned good-girl, virgin, fake marriage, friend’s sibling, heroine having to prove herself, hero working for heroine’s father...and on and on. There were certainly a lot of romance tropes represented here, almost too many for the storyline to handle!

The Unique

• In a lot of ways this book reminded me of the romances of yesteryear. It felt like a throwback to some “bodice rippers” I’ve read in the way the plot progressed, in the way the hero clearly had the upper hand in the situation and in the way the heroine’s virginity was presented.

The Playlist

• The playlist I’ve created for The Billionaire’s Defiant Acquisition has two songs for Amber, two for Conall and two for the HEA. Amber’s songs are “American Sweetheart” by Elle King and “human” by Christina Perri. Conall’s additions are “Perfect Storm” by Braid Paisley and “Sparks” by Coldplay. Note: I DO NOT think Conall would be country music guy, but the lyrics for “Perfect Storm” were just too close of a match for Conall to pass up. “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith and “I Love You More Than You Think” by Rizzle Kicks represent Amber and Conall’s HEA.

I rate this book:

What did you think of The Billionaire’s Defiant Acquisition? Are there any songs that remind you of Conall, Amber and their HEA?

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