A Review of The Billionaire’s Secret Heart (The Winters Saga Book 1) by Ivy Layne
Ivy Layne and Ifound her writing style to be both engaging and easy to get into. The storycenters around Josephine Miller, a computer science grad student at GeorgiaTech and self-proclaimed geek and Holden Winters, a charismatic alpha malebillionaire with a tragic family history.
Thestory opens with Josephine enduring a dull blind date with Stuart, heradvisor’s nephew. She’s eager to end the evening until Stuart mentions he has aVIP invitation to Mana, the exclusive club she’s been dying to visit. Sinceit’s nearly impossible to get into this club Josephine decides to continue thedate long enough to get in.
WhileStuart rambles on about his dissertation on campaign finance, Josephine’sattention wanders and lands on a handsome stranger sitting on the couch nearby– Holden. With a confident smirk, heinvites her to join him. Intrigued by his boldness, Josephine doesn’t hesitatewhen he asks her to leave with him. What follows is a sizzling one-nightstand—completely out of character for her.
Holden,unexpectedly captivated, tracks her down on campus and invites her to dinner athis place. As their chemistry intensifies, a case of miscommunication threatensto derail their budding relationship. Both are left hurt and confused,believing the other walked away. Eventually, the truth surfaces when Josephine,her roommate Emily, and Holden’s cousin Tate uncover the person responsible forstirring the drama. With everything cleared up, the story wraps with asatisfying happily-ever-after.
Overall,this was a fast-paced, steamy read with all the right ingredients for a solidromance. The characters felt believable in their roles—Holden as the commandingalpha and Josephine as the intelligent, relatable nerd. I enjoyed the wittydialogue, dramatic twists, and vivid scene-setting. A strong introduction towhat looks like an exciting series. Two thumbs up!
Rating:4 Stars
Some of myfavorite lines:
"Ilike Josephine. You look like a Josephine." He must be a mind reader.Answering the question on my lips, he said, "I'm Holden."
"Doyou usually steal women away from their dates?" I asked tartly, thenflushed at my tone. He laughed, looking down at me. I was five feet, fiveinches tall—not short, but he towered above me. He must have been at least afew inches over six feet. He grinned at me and shook his head, saying,"Never. I can honestly say that I've never stolen a girl from her date inthe VIP Room at Mana before."
"Soyou have stolen a woman from her date before? Just not there?" I asked inthe same tart tone. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but his completeself-assurance made me want to poke at him, just a little.
