The Billionaire Beast: A Billionaire Romance

Jackie Ashenden

Mar 2017 · The Billionaire Fairy Tales Book 2 · Sold by Macmillan

About this ebook

An intensely sexy Billionaire Fairy Tales standalone novel by Jackie Ashenden that is billionaire romance meets Beauty and the Beast with a happily ever after.

Nero de Santis: Damaged. Bastard. Beast.

Nero hasn’t left his house in ten years. He demands the world come to him, and the world is only too happy to bend to the strong-willed billionaire. His last handful of assistants have left his house in tears, but the prim redhead applying for the job now looks up to the task. The fiery passion he senses beneath his reserved assistant’s exterior makes him want to break down the barriers he lives behind, and unleash the beast within.

Phoebe Taylor: Uptight. Misunderstood. Engaged.

Phoebe needs the obscene amount of money that comes with being Nero’s personal assistant for one thing, and one thing only—to pay for the mounting hospital costs that her fiancee’s two-year coma continues to incur. She’s heard rumors that the de Santis beast is a force that cannot be tamed—but even she isn’t prepared to handle the smoldering intensity simmering beneath his hard shell of feral dominance. And yet he is the one person to look into her eyes and see her soul.

Nero can’t help but stake his claim on this woman who has shaken up his life. He wants to keep her. He wants to devour her. And Phoebe just might let him.

Jackie Ashenden’s novels have been described as “Dark, explosive, and gritty, with a splash of dominance.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review on In Bed with the Billionaire) and The Billionaire Beast is the ultimate combination of those unforgettable qualities.

Don’t miss the sexy Cinderella retelling: The Billionaire’s Virgin.

Ratings and reviews

***4 ‘Give Me the Words’ Stars*** I decided to give this one a go simple because of the fact that it was based on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, which hands down is my favorite of them all. I hadn’t read the first book in the series, nor anything by the author, so I went in blind and was hooked from the first page and found that I had very difficult time putting it down. I was absolutely intrigued by both Nero and Phoebe and enjoyed watching as they got under each others skins, stripped each other bare and forced the other to take a good, hard look at what their truths really were. The description of Nero in the synopsis is perfect Damaged. Bastard. Beast. and I absolutely adored the bastard that Nero was. I did. I know most hated him instantly, but not me. Nope. That was the hook. I loved how he owned the asshat he was and didn’t apologize for it. But I also loved watching as his well construction kevlar armor started to crumble and revealed the heart that he so desperately wanted to believe was dead, only to find that it wasn’t as black as he thought it was. And to find out what formed him into the beast was heartbreaking. Phoebe Uptight. Misunderstood. Engaged and all three descriptions were of her own making. This is how she describes herself and yet there is so much more to her. I loved how controlled she was, the facade she presented to the world was amazing. Her strength of will was insane, some may have seen a doormat, I didn’t. I saw a woman who had a goal and worked it. But the fire that lay underneath, once unleashed, only made her that much stronger and I loved how she embraced it. Nero and Phoebe’s journey was erotic romance with a bit of dark rolled in it and it just worked for me because they were so evenly matched. While Nero was big, bold and in your face, Phoebe was slow, subtle and a hit you when you least expected it. The force of their personalities made it so neither one could be ignored and that lead to so many truths being exposed and dealt with, sometimes painfully, but dealt with. This can be read as a standalone since it’s a character driven story and while there are references to Nero’s family, they don’t play a major role in anything that happens. This retelling was a fun, quick and smexy read that hooked me from the start and I found the ending more than satisfying. ~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley ~

Hmmm...so I was a little hesitant to read this book, since it was based off a "Billionaire Fairy Tales". It was a lot more than I expected. I knew Nero was damaged. Almost broken beyond repair. Phoebe was not broken, but needed experience. She is a care giver by nature. She always wanted to be there to "fix" anyone or anything. Then tragedy happens two years before and it seems to me that she has lived in a shell of herself. Nero has not really owned up to his past. He is a very high demand man in the business world. But due to unusual circumstances, he needs a live in assistant that would take care of business needs outside his home. He also had gone through too many employees and it would be a miracle one would last at least a month. Until Phoebe came aboard. He says she is not pretty, but he is attracted to her from the inside out. I still believe after reading this story that Phoebe is the most beautiful person in this story line. These two characters have issued within the past. But I was sad to find the truth in Nero's. The events that are place in the book had me anxious and sad. Then it turned into hope. By the end of the book I was rooting for these two. If you love Billionaire stories, this is a great read. It gives you much more that you would have imagined.

This is a steamy, twisted take on The Beauty and the Beast and I loved it. Nero De Santis is truly beastly and a character that is difficult to like. That is until you hear his story. Never leaving his home he needs a personal assistant willing to live in his home and handle every request he has. Phoebe Taylor is efficient, appears cold, and desperate. Her fiance has been in a coma for two years and to continue his care she needs the outrageous salary Nero is offering for a personal assistant. Dealing with the churlish Mr. De Santis may be more than she can handle though. I wasn't too sure about this one when I first started reading it but as I got to know these characters the story pulled me in. I definitely recommend it!

About the author

Jackie Ashenden lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband, the inimitable Dr. Jax, and their two kids and two cats. When she’s not torturing alpha males and their stroppy heroines, she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, posting random crap on her blog, or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband.

Jackie writes dark, sexy contemporary romance for St Martin’s Press, the titles Mine To Take, Make You Mine, and You Are Mine.