A much needed escape that will bring so much more…

Synopsis

Will their fling on the tropical island of Mustique develop into something more? Find out in the first of the Billionaires for the Rose Sisters duet by Rachael Stewart for Harlequin Romance.

A summer fling…

Or something more?

Jessie Rose is shocked by the instant chemistry she feels when she meets billionaire Joel in Mustique. She’s come looking for an escape, and brooding Joel is very clear he’s not looking for anything permanent. But letting their guards down while exploring the island together, they can’t deny their fling is dangerously close to being a temptation they may not be able to walk away from…

From Harlequin Romance: Be swept away by glamorous and heartfelt love stories.

Billionaires for the Rose Sisters

Book 1: Billionaire’s Island Temptation
Book 2: Consequence of Their Forbidden Night

My review

Jessie Rose for sure needed a time – out. So when her sister has arranged the perfect escape for her, Jessie cannot not accept the offer to stay a while on the tropical island of Mustique.
what she wasn’t prepared for, was having an instant chemistry with billionaire Joel. A chemistry just impossible to ignore, and despite several warning, they decide to have a fling.
But their fling may turn out to be so much more than that. However, are both Jessie and Joel ready for deeper feelings, as they both have high walls built around them, protecting them from getting hurt (again)… 

Is there a book from Rachael Stewart that doesn’t make me devour it at once? I truly don’t think so… 

There are a few admissions I have to make, before I start my long list of compliments…
I am just a regular, normal woman, living in Belgium, having a normal pay check. So it takes some time for me while reading to grasp the ability of rich people to just own a villa on a tropical island, having private jets, ready to take off wherever they want.
Just imagine the luxury to go wherever you want, without a single worry about finding the cheapest flight, a good but not too expensive hotel etc. What a life the wealthy have! 

And I do believe in instant attraction, but I never had the urgence to jump a man after just seeing him for the first time. So again, I had to turn off my own situation and just go with the flow. 

But what an amazing story this was!  

When Jessie arrives on the island, she isn’t in a good place. After losing her beloved mother, she is faced again with terrible nightmares, only now she doesn’t have the warm embrace of her mother to comfort her.
While it broke my heart, I could completely understand how terrible that returning nightmare was, and her reaction to it.
But what was even worse than just those nightmares, was how laconic her ex was about it, even ridiculing her!
So I was glad that Jessie has an amazing sister that took her away from everything, giving Jessie the opportunity to find some calmness again. 

A calmness that she somehow finds in the arms of Joel…
Joel is the kind of man that everyone is warning you about. He has the looks and he has the money. But what he lacks is the commitment. Even his best friend warns Jessie to stay away from him, to avoid another heartbreak. 

Initially it was difficult for me to grasp why everyone would be so against Jessie and Joel getting (temporarily) together. They are both consenting adults, knowing their romance comes with an expiration date. So while I understood the meddling of Joel’s friend Brendan, and Jessie’s sister Hannah, I found it also very frustrating, annoying and intrusive.
Obviously we as a reader know what outcome we want to have, and will have. But in this book the journey towards that ending was more important than ever. 

While we know from the start what Jessie’s issues are, it’s harder to get through Joel’s armour. I just couldn’t understand how an amazing man as Joel could be cold at moments, even towards his own family.
But slowly, we get to understand Joel better, we get to know his past and thus his fears. And reading those bits, made everything crystal – clear. And my heart went out to him… 

In this book there is a difference in status, as to say. While Jessie isn’t living in the higher ranks as Joel, it turns out that Jessie may be exactly what Joel needs to just live again. Jessie is the antidote Joel didn’t know he was looking for.
But also Joel shows Jessie that not every man is the same. And while he may seem self – centered, he shows his caring and nurturing character in Jessie’s most agonizing moments. 

The feelings develop rather quickly in this wonderful book, but sometimes it just takes an instant to fall in love. But it takes so much more and so much courage to take the dive and find the courage to admit those feelings. Because even if there is always the risk of ending up in heartbreak, the chance at love is always worthy of that risk…  And then I am not talking about all the sparks that fly out of the pages!

I found this an amazing story about two hurt people, falling in love, overcoming their pain, finding comfort and trying to find the courage to put the pat behind them and starting to have a bright and wonderful life again.

And I am also VERY intrigued with what will happen with Jessie’s sister Hannah next, because those few glimpses the author shared with us, for sure makes me want to dive into the next story right away! ☺️