Master of Fortune

The Devonshire Heirs #1

by Katherine Garbera

Mr. March: Henry Devonshire, illegitimate...irresistible.

Determined To: Become master of his own fortune.

Derailed By: Attraction to his lovely new assistant.

Never had he had such a desire to win. If Henry Devonshire wished to inherit his dying father's empire, he had to make Everest Records a huge success. And the one person who could help him, Astrid Taylor, was also the only woman he wanted. Mixing business with pleasure was never wise, but this time, it could literally cost Henry a fortune.

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Desire

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 17, 2010

About the author

Katherine Garbera is a USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 novels, which have been translated into over two dozen languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. She is the mother of two incredibly creative and snarky grown children. Katherine enjoys drinking champagne, reading, walking and traveling with her husband. She lives in Kent, UK, where she is working on her next novel.
 

Reviews

[willaful · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had problems with the writing style of the story. It's very formal, which lead to unintentionally funny scenes like this one:

"... I'm the typical person that most of these labels are targeting. I am young, social and know the scene." He nodded. "I think that has given me a good ear for trends."

Yeah, he sounds straight from the streets, that guy.

The other issue was that nothing feels real. At the end of the book, the heroine tells the hero something quite significant and he doesn't even take a second to process the information, just continues on to offering her the perfect fairy tale ending. I don't expect a high level of reality in category romances, but they're not much fun if people don't even react.

So overall this was a dud for me.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. For once there was no blackmail or past issue that got Astrid Taylor and Henry Devonshire together. Henry is one of 3 illegitimate heirs to Malcolm Devonshire and is putting his 3 sons in charge of one part of his company to decide who gets the CEO position. Henry's in charge of Everest Records and instantly likes his position and his new secretary the job comes with.

Astrid Taylor is trying to recover from her affair with her last boss. The same boss that fired her for a health issue that has forever scarred her. When she finds herself attracted to her new boss, Henry, she is determined not to go down that path again.

One of the reasons I really liked this book was they way Henry and Astrid talked about their feelings for each other. Although she didn't tell him why she left her old job, she did make her feelings clear and Henry was willing to take it slow to gain her trust.

Henry could tell there was more to her past with her old boss than just an affair and I was waiting for him to dig into her background and find out, but he was willing to wait for her to tell him.

Even when they did begin a relationship, their working together was not affected. One could argue it became stronger. There was a perfect of respect and job focusing. They were truly the perfect team.

However, the ending was rushed and not near as good as the whole book was. A pregnancy scare almost ends their relationship and Astrid never tells Henry her secret until the final page and he doesn't even blink at the news.

[Kristiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Not everyone she met had the same feelings of loyalty toward their friends that she did. And until she really had Henry's measure as a man, she wasn't about to trust him."

[Adrianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was extremely short, much too short. A slim 180 pages, with wide spacing and larger font, the book is a quick read. The writing is very spare, no frills, not much description. Furthermore, there are several typos in the book, giving it a rushed to print feel. The premise is interesting, three devilish former half brothers running a mega industry. The boss of the music sector gets involved with his secretary (the heroine) and their work performance and relationship actually improves, and seems to be relatively low-drama until the final few pages. Ultimately, the story and characters are not well developed. Too much time is spent on "off-screen" characters instead of developing the hero/heroine and the ending is too rushed with a terrible twist. An ex-girlfriend comes back in his life (whom he never even loved) pretending to be pregnant with his child and he immediately breaks up with the heroine, declaring he will marry the ex-girlfriend (who was really just lying and blackmailing him). This is unforgivable, and the heroine should never have taken him back. I preferred the "Devilsh D'angelos" series because they books were longer and had a higher quality writing.

[gemsbooknook Geramie Kate Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Mr. March: Henry Devonshire, illegitimate…irresistible.

Determined To: Become master of his own fortune.

Derailed By: Attraction to his lovely new assistant.
Never had he had such a desire to win. If Henry Devonshire wished to inherit his dying father’s empire, he had to make Everest Records a huge success. And the one person who could help him, Astrid Taylor, was also the only woman he wanted. Mixing business with pleasure was never wise, but this time, it could literally cost Henry a fortune.’
I enjoyed this book.
This book is part of The Devonshire Heirs series, luckily it is the first book in the series, so I didn’t need to have read any previous books to understand what was going on. After reading this book I would definitely consider picking up more titles from this series.
I have read a few Mills & Boon books recently, so I went into this book knowing what to expect. While this book was not my favourite Mills & Boon read it was better than I hoped it would be after reading the synopsis. This book had everything I was expecting it to have yet didn’t feel boring or pedestrian at all.
I enjoyed the main characters but I think I would have benefitted from some more background on each of them in order to fully understand their emotions and reactions to various situations. This lack of background didn’t cause any problems in enjoying their coming together and building their relationship.
Katerine Garbera has done a good job with this book. The writing was easy to read and really well-paced which made for a nice and quick reading experience. The characters were believable even if at times they were a little two-dimensional, and the story was both intriguing and entertaining.
Master of Fortune by Katherine Garbera is well worth the read.

Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com

[Mιss •kαthєяίиє• Τhε Emεrαℓd Pяίиcεss® · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this is the first book I've read from the Devonshire Heirs and luckily I got the right one. Three half-brothers decide to take up their unknown and soon-to-die father's will and race for becoming the CEO in his company. Henry Devonshire takes the music department and he finds himshelf charmed by the dazzling personality of his secretary. He decides to pursuit her and a romance between them starts. After all, he is a believer in team work....

The first Devonshire heir' book.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok read. I felt that the main characters lack depth and I didn't feel a real connection between them. The ending felt very rushed.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

It ended so abruptly it felt rushed