Dirty Money by Jessica Clare Pages: 198
Series: Roughneck Billionaires #1
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Also in this series: Dirty Scoundrel
Also by this author: Taming the Billionaire, Last Hope (Hitman, #4), Dirty Scoundrel
Goodreads
Southern Texas heats up when four roughneck billionaires set their sights on love in the new series from New York Times bestselling author Jessica Clare.
Boone Price and his brothers know oil; at least, the dirty, backbreaking side of working an oil rig. But when their scrubby, worthless hunting land turns out to be sitting on top of one of the biggest oil wells in North America, they go from the rig to the boardroom and end up billionaires practically overnight.
Now with enough money to do whatever he wants, Boone is developing a taste for fine things. And the finest thing he's ever seen is Ivy Smithfield, local realtor. Boone's determined to buy her affection and show the world that he's more than just a dirty fool with a bit of money. Ivy's classy and beautiful - she'll make the perfect trophy wife. The fact that she's sexy and funny is just a bonus.
There's one tiny problem - Ivy's as dirt poor as Boone is. Her carefully crafted veneer of luxury? All an act to promote her business. What's Boone going to do when he finds out the woman he's falling for is, well, in his league?
I almost gave up on Dirty Money after the first chapter or so. Boone Price is an idiot in the beginning. He is rich, but hasn’t let that change the core of who he is. Suddenly after being dissed by a ‘suit’, he wants respect. To get that respect, he feels he needs a ‘classy’ lady, a big house, and other exterior things to show his money. Apparently money should equal respect. I loathe this type of shallow character. He is going to change everything about himself because someone looked down on him?! And he thinks that classy looking arm candy will result in people treating him with respect? Its like the worst logic ever!
I didn’t give up though, but in chapter 2 we meet Ivy/Reba. Here is a woman pretending to be cultured and classy so she can impress clients. She knows that in the real estate business, she needs to have a polished exterior in order to impress clients. However, she comes from nothing, she lives in a trailer, and she dropped out of high school when her dad went to prison for armed robbery. Ivy changed her name and is attempting to reinvent herself so that she can give her sister a better life. This is the type of character I can champion!
Boone sees Ivy on an add for the real estate company she works for and decides she will be the classy lady that makes people respect him. Ivy, desperate for the commission agrees to help Boone find a house. Boone doesn’t hide that he wants way more from Ivy than a house. Ivy isn’t sure what to do with Boone’s blatant advances. Its inappropriate to date a client, she doesn’t want to be labeled a gold digger, and she needs this commission. However, she is attracted to Boone. Boone doesn’t know she is a fraud as a ‘classy’ lady though. So, you can see where the conflict of the story will come into play.
Dirty Money is predictable for sure, and while Boone made me so irritated I wanted to throat punch him, you do get to see some character growth from him. I loved Ivy and felt a type of kinship with her even though my life is nothing like hers. Her story is one that is the classic ‘American Dream’ type story. Despite my early frustrations, I gobbled this book up and can’t wait to get the Price brothers’ stories!
- POV: Dual
- Tears: no
- Trope: Billionaire, secret identity
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: stand alone
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
The Darkest Link by Scarlett Cole, Campaigning for Christopher by Katy Regnary, Nico by Sarah Castille…then you will probably like Dirty Money!
Dirty Money
I just one clicked this book because this is my type of romance. The hero sounds similar to the hero in Blue Eyed Devil by Kleypas ( I am not sure if you have read that one) but yeah I won’t be able to resist picking this one up. And yeah pretty glad the heroine turned out so fantastic. Isn’t it wonderful when you can relate with a character so well even if your life is nothing like theirs? Jessica Clare does that so well.
Lovely review.
Oh I haven’t read Blue Eyed Devil yet! I will have to check it out! I am still trying to make my way through all of the Kleypas books!!
Oh no, Boone sounds like the kind of hero I’d want to punch in the nuts. Thanks for the review, Sam!
He made me crazy for like 80% of the story. But, maybe I am just too judgmental! I really did want to throat punch him…
I really want to dive into this author’s works. I’ve read great things about her stories just haven’t gotten around to them.