A Beauty for the Billionaire (Accidental Heirs)

Unlike many romance novels that merely tell us how competent the heroine is, this one shows us a chef who’s at the top of her game. So competent is Chloe Merlin in the kitchen that potential employers are constantly trying to outbid each other to get her services. The scenes in which Chloe demonstrates her culinary prowess are very pleasing, especially to someone like me who cares for her gustatory pleasures as much as she does her bibliophilic enjoyment.The idea that both she and the hero are walking wounded people who bond over shared stories is a tad banal. Time was when employers and employees didn’t burden each other with their private problems. However, the scenes in which they open up to each other display their insecurities under their more confident or closed attitudes. Humanity consists of more than adeptness in the garage or the kitchen, after all.Hogan and Chloe are people from disparate backgrounds who aren’t necessarily at ease in the paths their lives have taken when the story begins. They learn to accept that love, too, can take some strange twists and turns. The love story is filled with shy, awkward and adorable moments. While the epilogue was a little too neatly wrapped up and rather quick in its ending (it definitely has a “where are they now?” attitude), the happy ending felt proper.Yes, I found myself liking this novel (although, once again, I’m not happy with the idea of employers who sleep with their employees). Trite or not, this is a tasty little romance. Bon appétit!

This was a really enjoyable book. I liked the fact that Hogan was a regular blue-collar guy until he got his unexpected inheritance, and I enjoyed seeing him trying to figure out how to navigate his new life as a billionaire. I know that rich, powerful men make easy heroes in romance novels, but it was refreshing to see a hero who's used to working with his hands. And Chloe, with her obsession with cooking and mysterious past, was really intriguing. Overall, the book is sweet, sexy, and very satisfying.