The Billionaire Next Door by Jessica Bird

Book description:

Take-no-prisoners deal-maker Sean O'Banyon ate Wall Street financiers for lunch. So why was he losing sleep over a fresh-scrubbed nurse in old jeans and a too-big T-shirt? Maybe it was those warm green eyes. Or the way she blushed when he got personal. There was no denying the serious chemistry between them. But sooner or later Lizzie would learn his deep, dark secrets: First, he had trust issues. And second—he'd rather not go into the whole family thing. He didn't do relationships…but amazingly, Lizzie made him want one anyway.

This book was MUCH better than Man in a Million. Much more enjoyable. Much less of the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING.

Sean O'Baynon was a super-hot hero. After leaving his father's home in South Boston at 18, Sean has never returned. With a head for finance, Sean has made a name for himself on Wall Street. When he receives a call telling him that his father is dead, Sean heads to the house that he grew up in and that he hasn't been back to since the day he walked out.

Lizzie Bond doesn't understand why her landlord and friend, Eddie O'Banyon, died alone. Knowing that he has three sons, she is at a loss to why none of them were at his bedside. Lizzie feels a horrible sense of guilt that he died all alone. After calling his son Sean, Lizzie waits for him to arrive to claim his father's body. She's unprepared for the feelings Sean invokes in her.

Of course Sean has been burned by a woman before. Right after he went from poor to rich, he met a woman and "showered" her with gifts, money, and whatever else she wanted. He soon learned his lesson when the woman left him for a richer man. From then on, he rarely spends money on women though he's far from cheap. He just doesn't want to get burned again. Which brings us to the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING in this book...

Lizzie doesn't know who Sean is. She has no idea he's rich. She works two jobs to support herself as well as her mother. Sean thinks she's too good to be true. When they go on a date, Lizzie offers to pay for half the dinner. She's almost too good to be true. When she does find out who Sean really is, it doesn't change much. She's still as fiercely independent as she ever was. The only thing she does do (toward the end) is take Sean up on his offer of living rent free until he sells the duplex.

When Sean is cleaning out his father's possessions, he finds all sorts of canceled checks that Lizzie wrote to herself, signed by his father. He also finds his father's will, which leaves all his belongings and any cash in his checking account to Lizzie. Needless to say, he flies of the handle and thinks he's been taken for a fool again. After accusing Lizzie of being a gold-digging tramp, he walks out of her apartment and swears he won't return. Ha.

The BIG MISUNDERSTANDING is eventually cleared up and the book is wrapped up quite nicely. Bird setup the O'Banyon brothers very nicely and I believe I will be reading the next too books for Mac and Billy O'Banyon.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Man in a Million by Jessica Bird

Book description:

As far as bad boy Spike Moriarty was concerned, Madeline Maguire defined female perfection. When they'd met, she'd walked up as if she wasn't the most gorgeous thing on the planet and asked to see his tattoos. He-a tough guy who'd make grown men run-had just about passed out. But their connection was definitely one-way-it had to be. Because he could never be the man in a million she was looking for, not with the things he'd done and seen. So for as long as she'd let him, he'd give her whatever she wanted. He'd worry about her walking away when it happened.

I wasn't planning on reading this book, but I am oh-so glad that I did. Reading this book, it shows what I already knew. Jessica Bird aka J.R. Ward is nothing special. She hit the genre with the BDB at exactly the right time and got lucky. Yes, she got lucky. I've read Harlequin's by Susan Mallery, Roxanne St. Claire, Kathryn Shay, Marilyn Pappano, and Nalini Singh that are as good, if not better than Man in a Million. Don't get me wrong, I'll still read her JRW books, I just won't run out and hunt down all of Jessica Bird's backlist.

Okay, I know this is a Harlequin. So we'll definitely have the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING. Dude, this whole freakin' book was a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING. I'm not exaggerating either. If you don't believe me, read it.

Madeline "Mad" Maguire is a very insecure woman. Over six feet tall with a very athletic frame, she has had bad luck with men in general. Not to mention the two men she did get serious about ended up sleeping w/ her half sister. So even though she thinks Spike Moriarty (which I read as Mortuary every time) defines male hotness, she won't do anything about it. She's content to coast along with her life as it is. She also knows that someone like Spike would never want someone like her.

Meanwhile Spike knows that Mad is way out of his league. She's gorgeous and wealthy, she'll never give him a chance. Not only is he unrefined, he's also an ex-con. After a horrible experience telling a woman about his past, Spike doesn't want to put himself or another woman through that again. So he admires Mad from afar, wishing for what he can never have.

Are we seeing a pattern here?

Spike does Mad a favor by being her "guest" at the family home. Acting as a buffer between Mad and her barracuda of a brother, Spike begins to see Mad in a different light. Of course in between the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING, there are little misunderstandings. Such as Mad asking Spike why he's attracted to her. Spike thinks she wants a list of her attributes because she has to know how hot she is. So he is disappointed because he doesn't realize how shallow she was.

Then there's the coup de grâce, when Mad walks in and misinterprets a conversation between Spike and her half-sister Amelia. You'll be able to see this misunderstanding coming a mile away. It doesn't end there, though. Mad takes off like a bat out of hell. Spike is totally oblivious to the fact that Mad even saw him and Amelia talking. Mad's brother, Richard, takes full advantage of the situation telling Spike that Mad left b/c Richard told her about his past. Spike leaves with his tail between his legs, but understands why she left.

So Spike and Mad are both licking their wounds, but for different reasons. It really is quite humorous. When Spike does find out the truth, he realizes if Mad doesn't trust him about Amelia, she'll never be able to understand and accept that fact that he did time for manslaughter. Uh-huh.

And on and on it went. I was glad that this book ended because it was really getting tedious toward the end. Not to mention that the characters were far from brilliant. Spike was a good hero, in a bad-boy-turned-good sort of way. Madeline was a total wimp of a heroine. Of course there was a reason for that, but whatever. She just didn't rock my socks.

2.5 out of 5 stars.