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Their Diamond Ring Ruse
An engagement deal to save her may also set her free in this sizzling proposal of convenience story by Bella Mason!
Black sheep billionaire seeks fiancée
Only heiresses need apply
Self-made Julian Ford, a ruthless entrepreneur from the wrong side of the tracks, needs to secure funding from a group of traditional investors. His announce an engagement to a woman from a long-established San Francisco family…and Lily Barnes-Shah fits the bill perfectly!
Julian’s business proposal provides Lily with an escape from an unwanted convenient marriage. But she couldn’t have envisioned the burning heat between them. Or that she’d be craving something outside of the bounds of their temporary a passionate surrender between Julian’s billion-dollar sheets…
From Harlequin Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
Black sheep billionaire seeks fiancée
Only heiresses need apply
Self-made Julian Ford, a ruthless entrepreneur from the wrong side of the tracks, needs to secure funding from a group of traditional investors. His announce an engagement to a woman from a long-established San Francisco family…and Lily Barnes-Shah fits the bill perfectly!
Julian’s business proposal provides Lily with an escape from an unwanted convenient marriage. But she couldn’t have envisioned the burning heat between them. Or that she’d be craving something outside of the bounds of their temporary a passionate surrender between Julian’s billion-dollar sheets…
From Harlequin Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2023
10 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Bella Mason
60 books11 followersBella Mason has been a bookworm from an early age. She has been regaling people with stories from the time she discovered she could hold the dinner table hostage with her re-imagined fairy tales. After earning a degree in Journalism, she rekindled her love of writing and she now writes full time. When she isn't imagining dashing heroes and strong heroines, she can be found exploring Melbourne, with her nose in a book or lusting after fast cars.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 3, 2023
Lily and Julian are likable strangers who find out that they each can offer the other a service that they need. So they team up against the same people to achieve their goals. Of course one little issue pops up, they actually like each other. Can he change and accept his new reality with her? This book was better than I anticipated, I found both of them to be likable and neither one technically had to save the other. It felt balanced, unlike a lot of other romance novels.
February 12, 2024
3.5 Stars. With the hero driving a McLaren and living in a glass-walled home, and the heroine wearing some gorgeously described dresses (the yellow one on that beautiful cover is in the story), this is an author to go to for those who crave luxurious surroundings.
This is also an author for steam, which isn’t entirely my thing, I’m more in the a little is fine camp and a lot can verge on too much. But over the course of reading three of Bella Mason’s novels in a row, there’s a definite throughline here of characters who are sex positive, confident in their bodies, and unabashedly hungry for one another from the moment they meet, which are all good things for the right reader, so if that’s an aspect of romance you enjoy, this is absolutely an author for you to try.
I hoped to see a little more of the patisserie, of Lily baking and running her business, but I get that worklives aren’t really what most readers come to Presents novels for, still, even if we didn’t see much of it, I appreciated that Lily has her own business, that she’s independent, with her own money, so it felt like she was on equal footing with Julian, there wasn’t any sort of power imbalance, even their fake engagement is intended to be mutually beneficial, not just him “saving” her.
I also thought this did a good job of portraying the emotional scars of abuse, showing that even someone as outwardly successful and confident as Julian isn’t immune to the long term toll it takes on a person’s self-image.
I received this book through a giveaway.
This is also an author for steam, which isn’t entirely my thing, I’m more in the a little is fine camp and a lot can verge on too much. But over the course of reading three of Bella Mason’s novels in a row, there’s a definite throughline here of characters who are sex positive, confident in their bodies, and unabashedly hungry for one another from the moment they meet, which are all good things for the right reader, so if that’s an aspect of romance you enjoy, this is absolutely an author for you to try.
I hoped to see a little more of the patisserie, of Lily baking and running her business, but I get that worklives aren’t really what most readers come to Presents novels for, still, even if we didn’t see much of it, I appreciated that Lily has her own business, that she’s independent, with her own money, so it felt like she was on equal footing with Julian, there wasn’t any sort of power imbalance, even their fake engagement is intended to be mutually beneficial, not just him “saving” her.
I also thought this did a good job of portraying the emotional scars of abuse, showing that even someone as outwardly successful and confident as Julian isn’t immune to the long term toll it takes on a person’s self-image.
I received this book through a giveaway.
July 26, 2023
If you're a lover of the fake dating trope then Their Diamond Ring Ruse is the book for you!
Lily and Julian's chemistry sparks off of the page from their very first interaction and sustains itself throughout the length of the story. Just when I thought they couldn't get any hotter...things got hotter! Their personalities also compliment each other really well - even though this book is set in the real world, Julian has a darkness and werewolf-ish-ness about him that makes the story extra entertaining.
For me, Lily's brother Devan was an absolute scene stealer. I know secondary characters are meant to take the backseat in Harlequin Presents, but I found the arc of the sibling relationship just as engaging as Lily/Julian...
Thank you Bella, for sending me a digital ARC to read and review!
Lily and Julian's chemistry sparks off of the page from their very first interaction and sustains itself throughout the length of the story. Just when I thought they couldn't get any hotter...things got hotter! Their personalities also compliment each other really well - even though this book is set in the real world, Julian has a darkness and werewolf-ish-ness about him that makes the story extra entertaining.
For me, Lily's brother Devan was an absolute scene stealer. I know secondary characters are meant to take the backseat in Harlequin Presents, but I found the arc of the sibling relationship just as engaging as Lily/Julian...
Thank you Bella, for sending me a digital ARC to read and review!
April 25, 2024
Solid 3.5. stars. I felt the black moment wasn't needed as the main characters had Solid communication throughout. Small quibble on a very enjoyable read
January 14, 2026
Loved this book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews