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The Escort Collection #1
Escorting the Billionaire
Love don’t cost a thing… except everything.
When billionaire mogul James Preston hires an escort as a date for his brother’s wedding, he knows he’s taking a risk. One thing he won’t be taking? The escort’s clothes off. He just wants a date — not a girlfriend. Not a relationship. No strings. No ties. No games. No sex. He has his reasons. He lost someone he loved, and isn’t interested in trying again. Too many opportunities for mistakes or worse, heartbreak.
Audrey Reynolds became a high-end escort to keep her brother in his expensive group home. James Preston is the client of her dreams — he’s offering to pay her more money for two weeks than she’s ever made before. But James is... difficult. He’s gorgeous, troubled and all too human for Audrey's business-like tastes. Determined to complete her assignment and collect the money, Audrey tries to play by James’s rules. But before she knows what's happening, he's rewriting the contract.
When Audrey ends up in James’s bed, he realizes that she’s everything he’s wanted… and everything he’s been running from.
Standalone with an HEA.
When billionaire mogul James Preston hires an escort as a date for his brother’s wedding, he knows he’s taking a risk. One thing he won’t be taking? The escort’s clothes off. He just wants a date — not a girlfriend. Not a relationship. No strings. No ties. No games. No sex. He has his reasons. He lost someone he loved, and isn’t interested in trying again. Too many opportunities for mistakes or worse, heartbreak.
Audrey Reynolds became a high-end escort to keep her brother in his expensive group home. James Preston is the client of her dreams — he’s offering to pay her more money for two weeks than she’s ever made before. But James is... difficult. He’s gorgeous, troubled and all too human for Audrey's business-like tastes. Determined to complete her assignment and collect the money, Audrey tries to play by James’s rules. But before she knows what's happening, he's rewriting the contract.
When Audrey ends up in James’s bed, he realizes that she’s everything he’s wanted… and everything he’s been running from.
Standalone with an HEA.
474 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 8, 2015
3203 people are currently reading
6823 people want to read
About the author
Leigh James
46 books514 followersUSA Today and Amazon Top-10 Bestselling Author Leigh James is currently sitting on a white-sand beach, watching the sunset, dreaming up her next billionaire. Get ready, he's going to be a HOT one!
Just kidding! Leigh is actually freezing her butt off in Maine, USA, where she lives with her awesome husband, their great kids, and her BFF Choco the chocolate lab. But she promises that billionaire is REALLY going to be something!
Her books have been translated into German, French, Italian, and Portuguese. Leigh also writes Young Adult Paranormal Romance as Leigh Walker. Her smash-hit series Vampire Royals was previously optioned by Netflix.
Sign up to get new release notifications at: http://www.leighjamesauthor.com/subsc...!
Just kidding! Leigh is actually freezing her butt off in Maine, USA, where she lives with her awesome husband, their great kids, and her BFF Choco the chocolate lab. But she promises that billionaire is REALLY going to be something!
Her books have been translated into German, French, Italian, and Portuguese. Leigh also writes Young Adult Paranormal Romance as Leigh Walker. Her smash-hit series Vampire Royals was previously optioned by Netflix.
Sign up to get new release notifications at: http://www.leighjamesauthor.com/subsc...!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 479 reviews
May 14, 2020
4 Emotional boner-inducing stars
Right now I should be sat here madly ranting about how I hated this book.
It started off as a modern take on Pretty Woman, even down to the heroes douche of a best friend propositioning our heroine when he finds out what her 'job' is. I rolled my eyes at that.
But I can't sit here and moan. I just can't. The writing had a great flow to it, I hated and loved exactly who the author wanted me to (Especially both mothers - I wanted to inappropriately beat them both round the head with a pink glittery dildo). The stupid overbearing witches. Argh. I felt for Aubrey and the shitty hand she had been dealt in life. Even James, - who started as such an ambivalent robotic billionaire arsehole - turned it around and had me fighting in his corner.
While it is clichéd, cheesy and over the top at times and it may not be an original storyline or have anything that initially stands out from all the others that are similar, there was something about this that just worked for me. I was frustrated, turned on, then I was angry. And now I'm a gushing pile of grinning mush fangirling in my 'special' corner.
"Dude put your emotional boner away. Its embarrassing "
Ok sorry sorry.
Maybe it was a case of right time, right book, it doesn't matter. What counts is that I loved it.
Right now I should be sat here madly ranting about how I hated this book.
It started off as a modern take on Pretty Woman, even down to the heroes douche of a best friend propositioning our heroine when he finds out what her 'job' is. I rolled my eyes at that.
But I can't sit here and moan. I just can't. The writing had a great flow to it, I hated and loved exactly who the author wanted me to (Especially both mothers - I wanted to inappropriately beat them both round the head with a pink glittery dildo). The stupid overbearing witches. Argh. I felt for Aubrey and the shitty hand she had been dealt in life. Even James, - who started as such an ambivalent robotic billionaire arsehole - turned it around and had me fighting in his corner.
While it is clichéd, cheesy and over the top at times and it may not be an original storyline or have anything that initially stands out from all the others that are similar, there was something about this that just worked for me. I was frustrated, turned on, then I was angry. And now I'm a gushing pile of grinning mush fangirling in my 'special' corner.
"Dude put your emotional boner away. Its embarrassing "
Ok sorry sorry.
Maybe it was a case of right time, right book, it doesn't matter. What counts is that I loved it.
March 1, 2016
4 Stars
Escorting the Billionaire is a three part serial, but now is released as one book. I love serials because it gives me a mini break with each book, I think I would have enjoyed this series a bit more if I read them in three parts verse all at once.
Then again, I don’t mind cliffys.
I picked up this book because of the cover and the summary. He’s a billionaire and she’s a hooker. He needs a date to his brother’s wedding and she’s for sale. What a better summary right?
The book starts out well, it’s light, airy and exactly what I was in the mood for. It showed James as crass, rich and kind of mean. He needs a classy girl to take to his brother’s wedding, but it’s not just for one night, he needs her for two weeks, since he will be on his brother’s honeymoon as well.
Audrey is a poor girl that needs extra money to pay for her brother’s special needs cost. She works as a high escort service and as much as she doesn’t like her job, it pays the bills. She lands a once in a life time payout to be James’ date. She gladly accepts the offer.
Out of the three parts of the book I really liked the first book the most. I liked Audrey and James getting to know each other. I also like the mild tension and angst. James is attracted to Audrey but he doesn’t want anything more than what he bought. Just some arm candy to show his family he is “serious” and so they can leave him alone.
Audrey pursues James a bit, but only to guard her heart. She believes if she treats him like a “John” then her heart will be intact. The relationship between James and Audrey moves forward fairly quickly and there’s plenty of family drama to keep you going. James’s and Audrey’s mothers create most of the obstacles and at times it was too much. Also, at times the book was a bit repetitive and dragged a bit. I think it’s because I was reading it one sitting verse in three parts. I skimmed those parts.
I think if the book was cut down by 30% it would have been easily a five star book. Regardless, this is my first Leigh James read and overall it was pleasant. I see plenty of potential. She has all the makings of a good book, it just needs to be tweaked slightly.
Read on Kindle Unlimited
AMAZON
Escorting the Billionaire is a three part serial, but now is released as one book. I love serials because it gives me a mini break with each book, I think I would have enjoyed this series a bit more if I read them in three parts verse all at once.
Then again, I don’t mind cliffys.
I picked up this book because of the cover and the summary. He’s a billionaire and she’s a hooker. He needs a date to his brother’s wedding and she’s for sale. What a better summary right?
The book starts out well, it’s light, airy and exactly what I was in the mood for. It showed James as crass, rich and kind of mean. He needs a classy girl to take to his brother’s wedding, but it’s not just for one night, he needs her for two weeks, since he will be on his brother’s honeymoon as well.
Audrey is a poor girl that needs extra money to pay for her brother’s special needs cost. She works as a high escort service and as much as she doesn’t like her job, it pays the bills. She lands a once in a life time payout to be James’ date. She gladly accepts the offer.
Out of the three parts of the book I really liked the first book the most. I liked Audrey and James getting to know each other. I also like the mild tension and angst. James is attracted to Audrey but he doesn’t want anything more than what he bought. Just some arm candy to show his family he is “serious” and so they can leave him alone.
Audrey pursues James a bit, but only to guard her heart. She believes if she treats him like a “John” then her heart will be intact. The relationship between James and Audrey moves forward fairly quickly and there’s plenty of family drama to keep you going. James’s and Audrey’s mothers create most of the obstacles and at times it was too much. Also, at times the book was a bit repetitive and dragged a bit. I think it’s because I was reading it one sitting verse in three parts. I skimmed those parts.
I think if the book was cut down by 30% it would have been easily a five star book. Regardless, this is my first Leigh James read and overall it was pleasant. I see plenty of potential. She has all the makings of a good book, it just needs to be tweaked slightly.
Read on Kindle Unlimited
AMAZON
April 12, 2017
Lots of spoilers!!!
This book contains the practically exact plot of "Pretty Woman", including all its characters, down to a friend of the hero who gives Pretty Woman's Philipp Stuckey, and a fellow escort of the heroine who is the Kit De Luca-lookalike. Only in this book "Stuckey/Cole" gets married to "Kit De Luca/Jenny" after turning on "Vivian/Audrey". Of course "Edward/James" and "Vivian/Audrey" also marry.
Spliced into this is a double rendition of the vicious (murderous) stepmother from the original Cinderella-story Pretty Woman was based on. Of course we get the golden-hearted whore trope, rich people are all mean, grasping and emotionally stunted, and the whole fucking mess ends with a double marriage and oodles of children.
I'll not even start on how terminally squicky the author's verbiage and mindset around escorting was, because the story per se is just utterly stupid and childish.
This book contains the practically exact plot of "Pretty Woman", including all its characters, down to a friend of the hero who gives Pretty Woman's Philipp Stuckey, and a fellow escort of the heroine who is the Kit De Luca-lookalike. Only in this book "Stuckey/Cole" gets married to "Kit De Luca/Jenny" after turning on "Vivian/Audrey". Of course "Edward/James" and "Vivian/Audrey" also marry.
Spliced into this is a double rendition of the vicious (murderous) stepmother from the original Cinderella-story Pretty Woman was based on. Of course we get the golden-hearted whore trope, rich people are all mean, grasping and emotionally stunted, and the whole fucking mess ends with a double marriage and oodles of children.
I'll not even start on how terminally squicky the author's verbiage and mindset around escorting was, because the story per se is just utterly stupid and childish.
November 4, 2016
Loved!!! You almost get two stories in one in this book. Escorting the Billionaire is James and Audrey's story but you also get to read about Cole and Jenny who make an appearance in the third book, Escorting the Player.
March 23, 2016
Heartwarming, Funny, Sexy, Intriguing & Emotional! A Great Read! I Loved It!
August 10, 2021
I was just in a mood for some cheesy, sexy-romantic, easy to read drama - but this book, the level of shallowness, the number of clichés... Oh My Goddess!
Isn't it possible to imagine that the man can be breathtaking and amazing lover without being a billionaire? Not even millionaire is good enough anymore.
It seems that glorification of working as an escort is the main point behind it, considering not 1, but 2 escort ladies have found their perfect happily ever after with men so far out of their reach, that it's strange they are not from different planets.
The only reason it's not 1-Star, is the fact that I have read even worse erotic romances than this one (believe it or not). This one is at least actually sexy on couple of pages :)
Isn't it possible to imagine that the man can be breathtaking and amazing lover without being a billionaire? Not even millionaire is good enough anymore.
It seems that glorification of working as an escort is the main point behind it, considering not 1, but 2 escort ladies have found their perfect happily ever after with men so far out of their reach, that it's strange they are not from different planets.
The only reason it's not 1-Star, is the fact that I have read even worse erotic romances than this one (believe it or not). This one is at least actually sexy on couple of pages :)
November 11, 2024
No pierdan su tiempo leyendo esto.
March 31, 2021
This popped up on my Facebook feed- no title, just the first few chapters. I started reading and I was in to the characters pretty much straight away. Then they wanted to charge me $20! Good old Kindle to the rescue (£1.99). Turned out to be an adult romance and I actually really enjoyed it! I temporarily considered not putting it in to my goodreads feed but you know what? I’m an adult and I like reading adult romance. And I’ll read more from this author. Easy to read, likeable characters, a bit of drama, a bit of sex- sorted.
March 16, 2021
Enjoyed. I think the characters were well drawn. Adored James. Audrey was believable. The evil mothers were a little over the top but without them, I suppose there wouldn’t be much conflict. The love scenes are well written, steamy. This was as if the movie “Pretty Woman” was updated to today.
April 16, 2021
Since the movie 'Pretty Woman', I have a weak spot for love stories featuring prostitutes or courtesans. And Escorting the Billionaire tried really hard to repeat the magic. There are some scenes very similar to the movie. But I could not like either of the main protagonists.
February 27, 2021
It was on my Facebook page , I started reading it was distracted by a call when I went back it was gone had to do a search to find out the title just want to continuing reading
April 17, 2023
I read trashy books to waste time when i have to study.
There. That is the review.
Finished in 2 days.
Not all keep you on your toes books are good for you.
#guilty.
There. That is the review.
Finished in 2 days.
Not all keep you on your toes books are good for you.
#guilty.
February 25, 2021
This was a Pretty Woman redemption but with a more likeable, caring and hotter hero.
James Preston is a real estate billionaire, sexy handsome, coming from old money and a pedigree last name. What I appreciated during the whole story is that he never treated the heroine like a hooker. The funny part was that she wanted to be treated like one, in order to don't blur the lines of the contract they had and to safeguard her heart. So she's always pushing him to be the next John. James was entering under her skin and this scared her to death.
Audrey Reynolds was an awesome heroine. She entered the escort world in order to guarantee the cures and care needed for her incapacitated brother. She comes from poor backgrounds, with an alcoholic heartless mother and no father.
They had a significant age difference she was 22 while he was 40. Their immediate chemistry and lust followed by James request to have a two-week no sex contract made their story interesting and opened the window for them to first know each other, have time to develop feelings and then exploring their physical needs.
The villain of the story is Celia, Preston's mother who has bern fighting any former middle class girlfriends of her son. There's a reason for that of course. And when James falls in love with his escort, she will move hell to not let that happen.
Cute epilogue!💞
James Preston is a real estate billionaire, sexy handsome, coming from old money and a pedigree last name. What I appreciated during the whole story is that he never treated the heroine like a hooker. The funny part was that she wanted to be treated like one, in order to don't blur the lines of the contract they had and to safeguard her heart. So she's always pushing him to be the next John. James was entering under her skin and this scared her to death.
Audrey Reynolds was an awesome heroine. She entered the escort world in order to guarantee the cures and care needed for her incapacitated brother. She comes from poor backgrounds, with an alcoholic heartless mother and no father.
They had a significant age difference she was 22 while he was 40. Their immediate chemistry and lust followed by James request to have a two-week no sex contract made their story interesting and opened the window for them to first know each other, have time to develop feelings and then exploring their physical needs.
The villain of the story is Celia, Preston's mother who has bern fighting any former middle class girlfriends of her son. There's a reason for that of course. And when James falls in love with his escort, she will move hell to not let that happen.
Cute epilogue!💞
February 15, 2021
I couldn’t put this book down.
So James has to go to his brothers wedding and he decides to hire an escort to go with him to keep his family off his back about not dating anyone. He’s pretty emotionally unattached. He wants an escort who can hold her own and not act or look like a bimbo. And the one thing he doesn’t want from her... is her services.
He gets Audrey. And he is quite surprised by how sweet and straight forward she is. She not only wins him over pretty quickly but she wins the reader over as well. She was a great character, doing what she needs to do to take care of her special needs brother.
There ended up being so much more to this book than just a Pretty Woman retelling. There was family drama for both of them, there were fun story lines for other characters and characters that you started out not liking, ended up being pretty cool by the end.
It was super enjoyable and I loved watching James fall madly in love with his hired woman. I definitely need to go back and read the first book, since I didn’t realize this was a series.
So James has to go to his brothers wedding and he decides to hire an escort to go with him to keep his family off his back about not dating anyone. He’s pretty emotionally unattached. He wants an escort who can hold her own and not act or look like a bimbo. And the one thing he doesn’t want from her... is her services.
He gets Audrey. And he is quite surprised by how sweet and straight forward she is. She not only wins him over pretty quickly but she wins the reader over as well. She was a great character, doing what she needs to do to take care of her special needs brother.
There ended up being so much more to this book than just a Pretty Woman retelling. There was family drama for both of them, there were fun story lines for other characters and characters that you started out not liking, ended up being pretty cool by the end.
It was super enjoyable and I loved watching James fall madly in love with his hired woman. I definitely need to go back and read the first book, since I didn’t realize this was a series.
August 9, 2021
Escorting the Billionaire (The Escort Collection #1) by Leigh James was not a book I meant to read. After all I have only a gazillion already on my list. However I accidentally - really - read the first few chapters and I HAD to know what was going to happen next, so I bought the book and read it today. The first thing you need to know is the book is seriously hot - and the mothers in the book are seriously creepy! It is Pretty Woman with snobby people in Boston and serious drinking issues. Oh and it is hot - did I mention that?
James Preston is a billionaire and needs to show up to his brother's wedding bonanza. After all, he is the best man. He needs a date, so he calls the best escort service in town and gets Audrey Reynolds. The service supplies her with the clothes and the accessories and she is ready to go. The wedding and all the festivities will take place over a two week time and so much can happen in that amount of time!
Escorting the Billionaire (The Escort Collection #1) by Leigh James is hot, hot and even hotter! Enjoy the read - bring a fan or your own billionaire.
James Preston is a billionaire and needs to show up to his brother's wedding bonanza. After all, he is the best man. He needs a date, so he calls the best escort service in town and gets Audrey Reynolds. The service supplies her with the clothes and the accessories and she is ready to go. The wedding and all the festivities will take place over a two week time and so much can happen in that amount of time!
Escorting the Billionaire (The Escort Collection #1) by Leigh James is hot, hot and even hotter! Enjoy the read - bring a fan or your own billionaire.
May 8, 2019
So what an interesting story?!
At least the first 35 chapters...
After that... hm.. I don't know what hapent... I found the chapters predictable and extremely overly and was as the writer wanted it to hold the story even more as a result I be tired in the end...
I hope the 2nd book will be much better...
2,5 stars for now
At least the first 35 chapters...
After that... hm.. I don't know what hapent... I found the chapters predictable and extremely overly and was as the writer wanted it to hold the story even more as a result I be tired in the end...
I hope the 2nd book will be much better...
2,5 stars for now
September 21, 2021
GOD this book annoyed me.
they had me in the first half, but then LOST me. completely off the map. no gps. no phone signal. no compass.
once you hit 50% it rotates the same three lines.
“i’ll never be accepted by your family”
“oh i have to be strong and cant have someone close”
“i love you more than anything in the world nothing good has ever happened without you”
brought dishonor to us all.
they had me in the first half, but then LOST me. completely off the map. no gps. no phone signal. no compass.
once you hit 50% it rotates the same three lines.
“i’ll never be accepted by your family”
“oh i have to be strong and cant have someone close”
“i love you more than anything in the world nothing good has ever happened without you”
brought dishonor to us all.
August 16, 2018
This was a one day read with a storyline that kept you in suspense the whole way through
January 1, 2022
If you’re looking for an escort/billionaire romance, look no further. Will this blow your mind? No. But if you’re a romance junkie like me and the sub genre is something you’re interested in, I think you’ll enjoy! I really liked the length, wasn’t too long or too short.
January 7, 2018
I liked it. It was exactly what you expect, maybe slightly better than the typical dramatic romance. Worth the read.
June 6, 2019
La verdad es que pudo haber tenido 4 estrellas de mi parte, porque los primeros capítulos son atrayentes ya luego se vuelve novela mexicana y así no se puede.
July 28, 2021
An accidental read that began with two chapters shared in a FB post. Lots of waiting rooms later today and I ended up finishing it via the library on my kindle. 🤷🏻♀️
Want to read
March 6, 2023Purch Amazon July 29, 2018
October 31, 2017
Okay, so I'm going to start off with the positive. I love that they did not sugarcoat anything - Audrey was an escort and it wasn't glamorized or erased to try to make her seem more "pure." She did what she had to do with what she had for her own familial reasons.
I liked the portrayal of her mother and James' mother and how the conflict seemed natural to that type of society and it's what I was expecting in a good way? I liked the ending, I liked the characters - by them selves - I liked the setting, the conflict (despite how unbelievable), the plot, and the general romance (despite the insta-lovey).
What really pooped it all for me was the dialogue and writing style. I don't know why I hated it so much and I hated the language used and how it was used and how everything was said - just I hated it. It bumped it down from a 3.5 to a 2.5 - which honestly, it just really really really bugged me.
2.5 stars, wouldn't reread, would recommend - to a specific person I know would like it.
I liked the portrayal of her mother and James' mother and how the conflict seemed natural to that type of society and it's what I was expecting in a good way? I liked the ending, I liked the characters - by them selves - I liked the setting, the conflict (despite how unbelievable), the plot, and the general romance (despite the insta-lovey).
What really pooped it all for me was the dialogue and writing style. I don't know why I hated it so much and I hated the language used and how it was used and how everything was said - just I hated it. It bumped it down from a 3.5 to a 2.5 - which honestly, it just really really really bugged me.
2.5 stars, wouldn't reread, would recommend - to a specific person I know would like it.
June 3, 2021
There was a lot of unnecessary f* bombs throughout the whole book. The plot reminded me of Pretty Woman, which I love, but with a twist. I wish the ending would have had more to it but overall a good spicy romance.
March 12, 2024
****SPOILERS AHEAD****
I know this is a fictional romance, but there were too many issues with this story for me to overlook.
When I started the book, I was intrigued and couldn't put it down. Unfortunately, about halfway through the book I sighed with exasperation when I realized I still had about a hundred pages of convulated conflict to trudge through before reaching the end.
James is a billionaire in his late 30s who comes from a prestigious family located in Massachusetts. He hasn't been in a serious relationship in years but needs to bring a date to his younger brother's wedding. In order to keep his family members from giving him a hard time about not bringing a date, he hires an escort named Audrey to attend all of the wedding festivities with him.
Considering all of the social dynamics at play, James needs an escort who can deal with his family and navigate that environment seamlessly. So, of course, the agency gives him a 22-year-old woman who barely graduated from high school, has never left Boston, and is one step away from turning tricks on the street corner.
This is a Pretty Woman opposites-attract love story, but there is no way in hell the relationship between James and Audrey would work. They fall in love and claim they want to be together forever after only knowing each other for a little over a week. The intense connection they claim to have is purely based on lust and trauma bonding. That is not a recipe for a solid long-term relationship.
James and Audrey don't really know each other. The circumstances under which they are interacting are so heightened and dramatic. They are constantly dealing with secrets, blackmail, abusive mothers, and coming to terms with past trauma, all while "falling in love" with each other.
After being together for a few days, James proposes to Audrey, wants her to move to California with him, and he also agrees to take care of her brother who has special needs. Audrey agrees to this arrangement even though she has put no real thought into how any of this will turn out or what their life will be like when they are together.
Thinking that you can truly love/know someone and build a life with them after knowing each other for a little over a week shows a lack of maturity and reveals that they have no real relationship experience. I know there are people who will say they only knew their spouse for a few days when they got married and they've been together for 55 years. Congratulations, but that's not the norm. Most people need to know who they are in a relationship with and understand each other's expectations when it comes to marriage.
Throughout the book, James and Audrey are either having sex or trying to figure out how to resolve all of the family conflicts being thrown at them. Once James and Audrey get past the lust and overcome family drama, what do they have in common? What do they even talk about?
There is a big age difference. Audrey is 22 years old while James is 38 or 39. Audrey has been in survival mode her entire life and hasn't had time to think about what she really wants out of life (other than some childhood fairytale about being treated like a princess). James has had the time to grow and establish himself financially and professionally.
The discrepancy in terms of power dynamics within this relationship is vast. Audrey has low self-esteem. She is starting a new relationship and uprooting her life for a powerful man she doesn't know and she doesn't even have a strong foundation in place. The odds are that this relationship would turn into an utter disaster.
A subplot is that Audrey's best friend, Jenny, is also an escort. James's best friend, Cole, hires Jenny for the wedding. Cole and Jenny also end up falling in love and conveniently live out their happily ever after within the same ridiculously short time frame as Audrey and James.
Towards the end of the book there is a 50-page suspenseful buildup about a family member possibly being a murderer, but it ultimately ends with a whimper and it felt like such a waste of time.
Initially I enjoyed the book, but I liked it less and less as the story wore on and became utterly absurd.
I know this is a fictional romance, but there were too many issues with this story for me to overlook.
When I started the book, I was intrigued and couldn't put it down. Unfortunately, about halfway through the book I sighed with exasperation when I realized I still had about a hundred pages of convulated conflict to trudge through before reaching the end.
James is a billionaire in his late 30s who comes from a prestigious family located in Massachusetts. He hasn't been in a serious relationship in years but needs to bring a date to his younger brother's wedding. In order to keep his family members from giving him a hard time about not bringing a date, he hires an escort named Audrey to attend all of the wedding festivities with him.
Considering all of the social dynamics at play, James needs an escort who can deal with his family and navigate that environment seamlessly. So, of course, the agency gives him a 22-year-old woman who barely graduated from high school, has never left Boston, and is one step away from turning tricks on the street corner.
This is a Pretty Woman opposites-attract love story, but there is no way in hell the relationship between James and Audrey would work. They fall in love and claim they want to be together forever after only knowing each other for a little over a week. The intense connection they claim to have is purely based on lust and trauma bonding. That is not a recipe for a solid long-term relationship.
James and Audrey don't really know each other. The circumstances under which they are interacting are so heightened and dramatic. They are constantly dealing with secrets, blackmail, abusive mothers, and coming to terms with past trauma, all while "falling in love" with each other.
After being together for a few days, James proposes to Audrey, wants her to move to California with him, and he also agrees to take care of her brother who has special needs. Audrey agrees to this arrangement even though she has put no real thought into how any of this will turn out or what their life will be like when they are together.
Thinking that you can truly love/know someone and build a life with them after knowing each other for a little over a week shows a lack of maturity and reveals that they have no real relationship experience. I know there are people who will say they only knew their spouse for a few days when they got married and they've been together for 55 years. Congratulations, but that's not the norm. Most people need to know who they are in a relationship with and understand each other's expectations when it comes to marriage.
Throughout the book, James and Audrey are either having sex or trying to figure out how to resolve all of the family conflicts being thrown at them. Once James and Audrey get past the lust and overcome family drama, what do they have in common? What do they even talk about?
There is a big age difference. Audrey is 22 years old while James is 38 or 39. Audrey has been in survival mode her entire life and hasn't had time to think about what she really wants out of life (other than some childhood fairytale about being treated like a princess). James has had the time to grow and establish himself financially and professionally.
The discrepancy in terms of power dynamics within this relationship is vast. Audrey has low self-esteem. She is starting a new relationship and uprooting her life for a powerful man she doesn't know and she doesn't even have a strong foundation in place. The odds are that this relationship would turn into an utter disaster.
A subplot is that Audrey's best friend, Jenny, is also an escort. James's best friend, Cole, hires Jenny for the wedding. Cole and Jenny also end up falling in love and conveniently live out their happily ever after within the same ridiculously short time frame as Audrey and James.
Towards the end of the book there is a 50-page suspenseful buildup about a family member possibly being a murderer, but it ultimately ends with a whimper and it felt like such a waste of time.
Initially I enjoyed the book, but I liked it less and less as the story wore on and became utterly absurd.
February 18, 2024
ARC Review: First off, Leigh James is a genius! This book pulled me in so quickly and had me in a chokehold the first day of reading. I had to force myself to stop at the halfway point for sleep. I love that this was a billionaire/employee & age gap romance with lots of spice. There were so many times that I wish I was just in the story to physically shake Audrey (MFC) because of her stubbornness. Overall, I give this book 5/5 stars and cannot wait to read more of her books in the near future!
April 17, 2018
I liked this a lot even though--like everyone already said--it reminded me so much of Pretty Woman. Probably because I liked Pretty Woman as well. :)
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