ARC Review…The Marriage Merger by Jennifer Probst

The Marriage Merger releases July 30

Book Links:

Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  Goodreads 

Synopsis:

Her sisters have found wedded bliss with their wealthy, wonderful dream men, but not Julietta Conte. She’s stayed on terra firma as top executive of the family’s corporation, La Dolce Famiglia bakery. Work is her passion, and her trendy Milan apartment her sanctuary . . . until Sawyer Wells, a masculine masterpiece in a suit, lures her out of hiding with an irresistible offer: an exclusive partnership with his international chain of boutique hotels.

Julietta’s been burned before—and trusting her brother-in-law’s friend, whose powerful gaze alone has her rethinking the best use of a conference room, is the riskiest proposition. But with a once-in-a-career chance to take the bakery global, will she mix stone-cold business with red-hot seduction?

My review:

The Marriage Merger is the fourth book in Jennifer Probst’s Marriage to a Billionaire Series and is Sawyer and Julietta’s story.  I am a huge fan of this series and have been dying to read this installment…and in true Jennifer fashion, she delivered a fabulous story!

As the head executive of her family’s bakery empire, Julietta Conte hasn’t made her love life a priority and with the louses she’s dealt with in the past, one can hardly blame her. Now, with her sisters all being married and convinced she needs to follow suit, she concedes to their requests to recite the love poem to Mother Earth that they has all done and are convinced had brought love into their lives.  So, doubtingly, she does it.  Not expecting much, she’s surprised when a business deal that would make La Dolce Famiglia an even bigger success, falls into her lap almost immediately after her spell was cast.  Why is she surprised?  Because the man with the offer, Sawyer Wells, evokes all sorts of sexual desires and delicious sexual tension within her.  She soon realizes she may have been playing with fire when she recited those words.  Now she just has to decide what to do with it…fan the flames or extinguish them.

Sawyer Wells has been through hell and back and has the scars to prove it…both emotional and physical.  Now, he’s a man on a mission to make his mark on this world and in doing so pay back many promises he’s made to himself and the people who have helped make him who he is today.  With his latest project, a merger of his new luxury hotel and the exclusive old world style bakery, La Dolce Famiglia, he’s one step closer to realizing his dreams.  It hasn’t been an easy road, and he will remember every dark twist and turn along the road leading him to the uber successful business man he turned out to be.  Now, those roads also lead Julietta Conte into his life and with the zing of sexual awareness like he’s never experienced before, he knows there is something special about her.  But when she turns him down flat, he relies on the determination that hasn’t ever failed him to get her to admit there’s something more between them then just a business deal.

Sawyer and Julietta have a great many hurdles to overcome, both personally and professionally.  They both have a lot to prove and can stand to learn a few things about love and trust and breaking down emotional walls.  Will they be able to help one another and maybe find love along the way?

So as I had said, I am a huge fan of this series and I have to say that this is officially my fave in the series.  Jennifer took a slightly darker approach to this book and I think it was simply perfect.  Sawyer is the ultimate damaged hero…the type of hero I absolutely adore.  His past is positively heartbreaking.  There were passages that had me reaching for tissues and damn, if that didn’t make me love Sawyer even more.  One of the things I loved most was that Jennifer didn’t display Sawyer’s past all out in the open at once.  We got pieces throughout the story and bit-by-bit the puzzle of his life comes into focus.  The reader was right there with Julietta as she tries to figure him out.  He is a character I won’t soon forget.  Julietta is 100% kick ass.  Yes, we know she is a tough as nails businesswoman and can hold her own in the boardroom but what was nice to see was that she has a vulnerable side.  She has many facets that round out her personality beautifully.  Together, they are a fantastic couple.  Both strong-willed and used to the take-no-prisoners approach, it’s great to see the push and pull between them and learn their individual weaknesses.  The heat and chemistry between them is delish and the softer moments they share are some of the best I’ve read.

Also a treat was getting to see the whole cast of characters from the Conte crew!  I love when we get to see where life is taking them all and enjoy a Sunday dinner with them and Mama Conte.

I know all of you Marriage to a Billionaire Series fans will adore Sawyer and Julietta as much as I did!  Thank you, Jennifer, for another awesome read!

Five Loves

About the author:

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. At twelve, I took a pen in hand and wrote my first love story. I haven’t stopped since. Those heroines taught me valuable lessons that served me well. I learned to keep my head up high and surge forward when I was afraid; I learned to demand respect in a relationship; I learned about compromise and dreams and independence. Those are the stories I want to write, and I can only hope I give back some of the joy I received over the years.

I live in the beautiful Hudson Valley in upstate New York. I’ve traveled to many places but always seem to be drawn back to the mountains. I graduated with a business degree, worked for Mercy College, and now spend most days dedicated to my family and my characters. I’ve pursued many career paths such as travel agent, yoga teacher and insurance salesperson. I’ve wanted to be an airline pilot, a dancer, an archaeologist, and a vineyard owner. I have been all of the above through romance novels, and intend to explore many more.

One of my turning points in my career was when I joined Romance Writers of America and met the wonderful people in my local chapter, The Hudson Valley RWA. Through supportive critique sessions, I learned how to develop my raw skills to get a publishable manuscript. I discovered my tendency for wordy prologues and passive phrases that all new writers work through, and now try to help others on their journey.

My “leisure time” is spent writing, reading, and raising two active boys. I believe animals are the other children in this world, and enjoy spending time at the local animal shelter, where I got my first “baby” Bella, a shepherd hound mix who gets into as much trouble as my son! I rescued my second dog from an abusive home, a beagle, basset hound who is the peacemaker in the household.

I met the love of my life when I had finally given up on my own romantic journey. The first time he asked me out he promised to buy my book if he could buy me dinner. We had dinner and fell in love over sushi and haven’t been apart since. We married and settled into domestic bliss. That’s when I learned it wasn’t about happy endings. It was about happy beginnings.

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