Beauty and the Billionaire: The Wedding

Written by Jessica Clare

Narrated by Jillian Macie

Someone's out to ruin Gretchen's happy-ever-after on the eve before the big day. Can she trust Hunter, the man she's given her heart to? And can she rely on her sister Daphne (the least reliable person of all!) to help her salvage things? Or is this marriage going to go down in flames before Gretchen and Hunter ever get to the altar?

Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Dec 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781515980704

Reviews for Beauty and the Billionaire

[addictofromance · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

SummaryHunter Buchanan, is a real estate tycoon, and because he is scarred, no woman will come near him. He is respected because of his wealth and business intellect, but that is as far as it goes. He is lonely and craves companionship, and when he spies Gretchen he knows that she is the one woman for him. So he devises a plan to bring her to his home to work on some letters for writing a book, hoping to make her see the man beneath the scars. Gretchen is a ghostwriter, and when she is given a great offer to write and transcribe some letters for a new book, she can’t pass this opportunity up. When she arrives though, the mansion has only a few servants, and has a rigid schedule, and the man of the house is a recluse, and is a bit of a beast at times. But she senses more from Hunter than meets the eye, and despite his scars, she sees a man that needs her and she sees the man beneath his rough exterior, a man that has never known love or affection, and has only a few friends and one loyal bitter servant. Soon Hunter and Gretchen will soon learn that you need to have faith in love or it won’t work, will these two find a balance in each other?The HeroHunter Buchanan was kidnapped when he was a child, and trying to escape, ended up barely getting away alive, and was scarred for life. Hunter’s father was a man who cared more about money than his own son. But when Hunter went to college, the saving grace was the friends he made, friends that saw past his appearance and she the inner part of him. Hunter is a hero that is very “tortured male”…and it just broke my heart. It was quite heartbreaking seeing more and more of his character come through in this story, We see bits and pieces of him, a damaged man but not a broken one. He is on the hunt to be accepted and loved by a woman, to have passion and companionship. To be loved for who he is and not for his money.The HeroineGretchen is spirited and lively, and who wouldn’t love her. Gretchen makes a living by being a ghostwriter, but lately her writing has been falling short and she needs something more or she could be out on the streets soon. When she is given a offer, that is the best opportunity, but would have her living in a house with a man who is a recluse, she is cautious, but she is drawn to this opportunity. She soon sees that there is more to her boss than meets the eye, and sets out to show him who she really is. What I loved about Gretchen is her accepting nature, she doesn’t see Hunter as most others do, she sees a man hurting and in need of her. She takes a look at his scars, but doesn’t see a beast but a man worthy of love. Gretchen is bold and goes after her “prey” which was quite entertaining. I loved the way she goes after what she wants and is a fighter.Plot and Story LineThis is a “beauty and the beast” themed story but in a contemporary setting. Which I actually love this trope, and even though it can be overdone, I loved the way that Jessica Clare wrote this one. In the previous book, we see the beginning of the story happening, so it was fun seeing it just start off from where the first book left off. Beauty and the Billionaire, is a story that won my heart with every page written. I loved the different feel to this story from the first book. We have the Beauty (Gretchen), and the Beast (Hunter), and at first they don’t see much of each other, but Gretchen grows more bolder, and Hunter becomes more open to her advances, and it was quite entertaining seeing these two come together finally. There are quite a few obstacles that they need to overcome before they have any hope of getting their HEA, but they find it, and what a beautiful way it is found too. I love the flow of the story, and the writing just kept me reading and this was such a page turner, I had the most difficult time putting it down. This author has a talented way with her writing of captivating her audience. I found these two characters to be just wonderful for each other, and boy some of the bedroom scenes are quite thrilling and sexy, but what I loved most was seeing the love story to be the primary focus of the story, and seeing it grow and bloom was quite fun. Another great aspect was seeing the way this story comes together, it was very riveting at times, and kept me on tinder hooks, and it also gave us a little teaser at the end for the third book which I am very excited for now.The CoverI still don’t know what to think about the covers. I mean they are pretty of course, but they aren’t really relevant to the story in any way.Overall ViewBeauty and the Billioniare is an emotional love tale of compassion, trust, and what true love really takes….this is a story that is enthralls the reader with every page, a tender love story to capture you from page one. SIMPLY SPLENDID!

[rabidgummibear-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another awesome book by Clare! I'm super thrilled with this series so far. Beauty and the Billionaire takes a classic spin on the classic tale of Beauty and The Beast.

This time our bookish belle, Gretchen is a ghostwriter hired by our reclusive scarred Billionaire Hunter to write a love story based upon some letters. It's all an elaborate set up. After various run ins and typical issues we have a book filled with lots of great sex scenes and character development.

It was incredible to see a character go from completely reclusive to being more open and comfortable in the world. It was character growth that felt realistic and not forced. Along with not changing just to be with somebody.

Overall I was thrilled with this adaptation of beauty and the beast. Even as a sucker for those style of stories this one rises to the top of that pile.

[angelzinhamia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I started this series backwards. I read book 1 of the spin off series first then I read Book 5 of this series and then decided to read the series in order.
I didn't like Book 1 that much. It's an OK story but it cause to roll my eyes so much that's when the like goes down now this second installment is so much better.
I love Gretchen and Hunter together. She is so good for him. And got to see Maylee. I loved her in
book 5.
I finished the book last night and it gave problem to fell asleep because I kept thinking about the story.

[msralways · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Looooved it (in a sing song voice).

The characters are so cool in this series that there isn't much to dislike in the story, BUT there were a couple of things that bothered me greatly: a) how Hunter was a manipulating jerk to Gretchen and simply thought everything was going to be fine; b) the name Gretchen and c) the a**holeness that was Eldon.

Other than that the story was funny, sexy as all hell, sweet, almost made me cry. Tallk about chemistry between Hunter and Gretchen, which by the way, I wasn't completely sold at the beginning of the book, but the author made an awesome job with character development.

[mhanover10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm enjoying the Billionaire series. They are typical love stories where the guy does something sneaky to be near the woman and the woman falls in love with the guy only to find out he was sneaky and it hurts her feelings. The guy also misunderstands things and also has hurt feelings. But of course the hurt feelings happen after they have fallen in love and had hot sex constantly. This is about Gretchen, the ghostwriter who barely gets by and Hunter the physically scarred recluse who thinks women are only with him for his money. They are both very likable characters and enjoyable to read their relationship develop. This is a great steamy beach read or a steamy sit by the fire with a hot chocolate and a blanket on a cold winter day read. Or a steamy lounging in a hammock in the shade read. Whatever kind you like, it's steamy and enjoyable.

I won this as a Goodreads winner.

[bookaholiccat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was super cute. Now I need next book in the series.

[aoibhealfae · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another instalment from the Billionaire series, but this time it does around the events in the previous book. A while back, Bronte and her new friend Gretchen was picking up some boxes of books from a mansion and the recluse owner eavesdropped into the conversation and find himself intrigue with one of the girl. When his friend Logan brought Bronte to the secret club as a show of trust, he managed to obtain several new information about the girl -particularly about being a ghostwriter- and end up setting a trap for her by buying a publishing house and offering her a chance to write a book about a boxful of letters he secretly bought for her but claimed he found it in his house. It is creepy but mostly because Hunter was an outcast and kept himself in the shadow because of his past that left his face scarred like the phantom of the opera. And yes, this is a premise for Beauty and the Beast.

Hunter is the most intriguing character in the story next to the vibrant Gretchen who despite all odds about her hating her job as a ghostwriter to a trashy pulp science fiction, she found herself intrigued by the 1800s letters which turn out to be a correspondent between two lovers and their explicit letters about themselves and also to the owner of the mansion.
For a light reading, I do found this book enjoyable and even if its cliched and often predictable, the interaction between the characters were never bland or boring. Cleverly written, fast paced and easy enough to like. If you're seeking for a good light romance and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, this book can never go wrong with it.

[paideiamom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book through a DA random drawing.
Ms. Clare handled the sending. She was great. Quick and friendly.

But the e copy I got had no cover, had instructions to insert certain things, had the name Jessica Madden as the author, so I am not really sure it was the final final. Now, this could be because I just got a Mobi format, not specifically through Kindle. I know nothing about the intricacies so I don't really know if that is a part of why there were inconsistencies.

That being said, it was well written and well edited. There were a few word issues, formatting issues and such, but nothing that affected the enjoyment of the book.

I did enjoy the book. I had some suspension of disbelief issues such as our Beauty not knowing about the Billionaire's disfigurement. One would think in today's world of instant info she would have sat down at the computer and done some basic searching. I also had issues with her sister, the assistant of a close friend of the Billionaire's, not warning the Beauty of the disfigurement if it was just so awful people flinch when seeing him.

This book was sensitively written and actually told a story. There were allusions and a cross-over with the first in this series, but there is no reason this can't be read on its own. It also had some pivotal bits for the setting up of the third book in this series. But they weren't just plot devices (yeah, they were major plot points) so the foundation for book three was nicely set up but not intrusive.

I was kind of confused as to whether this was meant to be erotic or just "hot." I decided it was just a good story, executed well with some hot sex scenes.



I really, really disliked the portrayal of the Southern assistant in the latter part of the book. It was stereotypical and negative and dismissive. I know it was meant to be humorous, but it just totally missed the humor mark for me. Yeah, I am Southern and I work in the real world with Southern assistants and lawyers and doctors and other professionals. Portraying this assistant as sweet but really unsophisticated (shall we say hick) and clueless, yeah, kind of hit some hot buttons. But that is a me thing.

All in all, a great little read.

[cranberrytarts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I marked this as a new-to-me author, but I'm not sure I can claim that since I've read Jill Myles before and this is one of her pen names.

This is a modern take on Beauty and the Beast. Reclusive billionaire engineers it so sexy ghostwriter is forced to live with him. I'm not always a huge fan of fairytale rewrites, but this one worked. Mainly because the similarities are there only in the basics of the story.

Based on the blurb I thought this was going to be a dark read. I expected something kind of naughty and full of angst. While it was definitely naughty, it was also light and fun.

The best part is the virgin hero. This is something that has to be done well to be believable. Clare did it very well. It made perfect sense that he'd be a virgin considering the circumstances.

His lack of experience was written very well. It was great seeing the heroine take charge for once. In a complete role reversal, she had to teach him, not the other way around.

It had some flaws, but overall I found the story to be engaging and fresh.

[claudiagc-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this books so much! I don't know how realistic all of it is but I don't care.
I can't say if I liked Hunter or Gretchen better. They were both fabulous characters. I so felt with them. Gretchen cracked me up several times and I had to actually laugh out loud more than once. She has a great sense of humour.

Favourite quotes:
"Hunter's attention was definitely on her now, and she noticed the look in his eyes was hungry. It emboldened her and made her think of her outrageous idea from earlier. "Hunter?" "Hmmm?" He seemed distracted, almost dazed. She reached for the loose collar of her robe and pulled it open. Stepping back, she flashed him her breasts. He stared, frozen in place. "Now we're even," she told him lightly. "The field is leveld. Enjoy your meeting tonight." And she closed her robe and sauntered back into her room, grinning the entire time."




"Their story is not ours," he told her in a husky voice, his fingers brushing at a lock of her hair. "I want us to make our story, not follow someone else's."