Author: Ashley Jacobs, S.S. Rich
Series: South Bay Billionaires Series Book #1
Category: Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
"Before her, I didn't think love could sustain. I didn't know love could be strong enough to make someone want to stay - even me. But, with her, I wanted to stay. Oh god, I wanted to. Stay in her orbit, in her heart, at her side." - Parker
Arrived, the first book in the new series South Bay Billionaires, was so much fun both to read and review!
Parker is a little egotistical but pretty down to earth, for a billionaire with everything he could ever want in life, he was not arrogant. He immediately is attracted to LB but it isn't until their banter starts up that he realizes what a catch she is. And he isn't going to let anything get in the way of them exploring their explosive chemistry, especially not LB herself.
"But I was not a grade-A creep. Maybe grade F. That's better, right? Less of a creep? Whatever, terrible analogy. However you want to phrase it, there are obsessed stalkers and then there are well-intentioned guys who don't want to miss out on what could be the most perfect girl they've ever met." - Parker
LB is effortlessly cool, witty, and clearly on top of her game. She has everything to lose in her competition with Parker but all the confidence that she will pull out the win. When things don't go her way, LB tends to draw into herself and ignore those who care about her most. It takes a strong man to break through those walls and convince her of his devotion, showing her that she can have a career and a man who loves her for who she is.
"'There's nothing to walk away from, Mr. Brooks. We scratched an itch. Now we're enemies. It's just business.'" - LB
Let me just say - the spice was extra spicy. Parker and LB had great chemistry before they went anywhere near a bedroom, but when they did neither of them held back. Their meet-cute and stolen looks across the plane aisle inevitably led to a heady connection they couldn't resist.
"'A little blonde spitfire tried to get away from me, but Fate and I had other plans.'" - Parker
It was nice to read about a male character who wasn't considered a grump, as the grumpy x sunshine trope has dominated contemporary romance in 2023. That being said, I am still counting down the days to read the second book in the South Bay Billionaires series, which pairs stoic Van with bubbly Cami.
Tropes and Themes: Contemporary Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance, Billionaire, Cinnamon Roll MC.
Blurb
Laura Beth
He was a charming stranger.
A business trip hook-up.
Then, suddenly, my competition.
Parker Brooks. Gorgeous, confident, wildly successful. And the one thing standing in the way of my landing the deal that would secure my hard-earned promotion and future.
I didn't care how good he looked in a suit. If achieving my dream meant going through Parker Brooks, so be it.
Parker
She was a southern spitfire.
The star of the hottest night of my life.
And my self-proclaimed rival.
Laura Beth Calhoun. A small-town transplant with enough confidence and sass to turn even my jaded head. And the first woman to make me question if love was more than just a story my grandfather told me.
I didn't care about the deal. Laura Beth was mine. She just needed to arrive at the same conclusion.
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