How to Catch an Heiress by Natalie Rios Pages: 300
Series: Heiress Series #1
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Goodreads
Anthony Carter has not had it easy in life. In a matter of months, he lost his mother to cancer along with his much coveted spot in a prestigious doctoral program. Swimming in debt, he's been forced to move back to his hometown in rural Montana and take whatever job he can find. A drunken weekend in Vegas is exactly what he needs to help him forget his problems.
A recent break-up with her boyfriend of nearly a decade has left straight-laced Liz Rockwell disillusioned with love and in desperate need of a vacation. She gets more than she bargained for when one drunken night at a Vegas bar results in her being married to Anthony. Embarrassed by her lapse in judgment, Liz is ready to make this whole night just go away. A quickie divorce seems like the best solution to their problem, until Anthony realizes who Liz really is.
Known in the media as the Candy Heiress, billionaire Liz is the answer to Anthony’s prayers. All he has to do is convince her to write him a check. Unfortunately, Liz is not one to be easily intimated or coerced. Discovering the Rockwell family secret may be Anthony’s only hope. But the more time he spends with the intelligent and tenacious Liz, the more he realizes their chapel wedding may not have been such a drunken mistake after all...
How to Catch an Heiress is the debut novel from Natalie Rios! Rios has a great writing style that I thought flowed well and wasn’t choppy or disjointed. For a debut author, I think this is huge! Sometimes (most of the time) it can take a book or 2 to find your rhythm but Rios has hers already.
So, Heiress is the story of Liz, a divorce lawyer (ironic)/candy empire heiress who no longer believes in love and Anthony, a broke man who just lost his mother. Anthony and Liz have a drunken Vegas quickie wedding and he tries to extort her for money. Not really the best start to a romance novel…
I think it was difficult for me to ever really warm up to Anthony after that. I kind of felt that he was manipulating Liz the whole book, just for different reasons, in order to get what he wanted (information, money, etc). When extortion wasn’t working, he though about blackmail. Yep, not exactly romantic yet. If you like your alpha heroes, Anthony isn’t it. He wasn’t a wimp or anything, but he just isn’t alpha at all. But, he is smart! So, if you like the brainy heroes, you will enjoy Anthony.
Liz was kind of a middle of the road character for me. I didn’t hate her, but I wasn’t dying for her to get her HEA either. Sometimes she could be a bit bitchy, but I also felt that her bitchyness was understandable. I loved that she was smart and independent (she was a heiress, but she was NOT a spoiled brat living off daddy’s money).
So, if you can accept the bad beginnings of their relationship and move past it, you will find that Anthony does begin to honestly pursue Liz. There is some steamy scenes and Anthony kind of redeemed himself a bit. Was I 100% sold on their relationship? No. But, in the end, it is a satisfying conclusion.
- POV: 1st
- Tears: no
- Trope: extortion/blackmail
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: standalone
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
The Bachelor Auction by Rachel Van Dyken, Thief of Hearts by LH Cosway, Hard Rules by Lisa Renee Jones…then you will probably like How to Catch an Heiress!
How to Catch an Heiress
“Now that you’ve fed me, tell me why you’re really here. How does this visit fit in with your master plan?”
“Master plan?” Anthony chuckled. “What master plan? I’m not a comic book villain, Liz. I’m not trying to take over the world or anything.”
“No, you’re just trying to squeeze money out of me. Quit trying to play me like I’m stupid. I know you’re up to something.”
Sitting back in his leather seat, the man had the nerve to look delighted, like he found this entire conversation incredibly entertaining. “If I did have a master plan, what makes you think I would tell you? The element of surprise would only work in my favor.”
The only acknowledgment I gave that statement was a roll of my eyes. “I’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities. You’re either trying to charm me into writing you a check or attempting to get one of my relatives to do so, Robbie and my father being the leading suspects.”
Shaking his head, he laughed. Loudly. Like I’d suggested he was communing with ghosts or some equally ridiculous scenario. Crossing my arms, I scolded him. “So glad you’ve managed to find humor in this.”
“I’m sorry,” he managed to wheeze out between laughs. “You’re just so off base, it’s hysterical.”
Picking up a pea from my now cold lunch, I flung it at him. “Ass. Enlighten me then.”
“We’ve been over the whole sex thing. Neither one of us is interested.” That was a lie, of course. I was definitely more than interested and if the hard ridge of his jeans last night was anything to go by, so was he. I couldn’t call him out on it though. Our attraction was a fact we were both actively trying to ignore into oblivion.
Welcome to Denial City, population two.
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