Review: The Billionaire Beast

The Billionaire Beast by Jackie Ashenden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Beast does describe Nero quite well. Nero is a kinky type of Howard Hughes, except the reason for Nero's isolation is horrific. I fell for Nero as his traumatic past is revealed. He is definitely a boy with mommy issues and seriously needs some social skill courses. Still, leniency for his behaviour is understandable as each abusive incident in his past comes to light.

From a character building perspective, I really liked this story. Nero is this anti-hero who is ruthless and does whatever he wants because he can. He is a prickly jerk because he has not come out of his victim mentality. He does things which demonstrates he still isn't over the lack of control he had as a child. In addition, he has not reconciled what his mother did to him. He thinks he is a survivor but until he meets Phoebe, no one has put him in his place to really look at his own behaviours. Basically his power trips are a reaction to whenever he feels threatened or flashes back to his childhood in a PTSD manner.

Now Phoebe is a strong and admirable woman. She is loyal and dedicated. The way she takes Nero's outrageous orders and still remains professional is impressive. She is someone with a heart who clearly is good from inside to out. I really liked her and oddly, she's the perfect person for Nero. Their slow attraction made sense to me. Their sexual tension build up and Nero's violent frustrations were all written quite well. Their romance is definitely unconventional and a sore point for Phoebe. But in the end, it works. This story is like a modern day Beauty and the Beast tale. This erotic romance is recommended to those who like a misunderstood alpha male and a woman who can tame him.

*provided by NetGalley