King’s Crown (Oil Kings Book 1) by Marie Johnston
Description
AFTER LOSING MY JOB and my home in the same day, I need a miracle. And that miracle is coming in the form of an interview with the son of a local oil baron, Gentry King. The catch? I have to hop on a private jet with said gorgeous oil baron to get to the interview.
Except, I miss the interview when we get waylaid by a snowstorm. Now I’m stranded with Mr. King. In the same hotel room. With only one bed.
I’VE MADE A PROMISE TO MYSELF—no more women. It’s not like I’m a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy. They all know the score, and they’re all looking for the same thing I am. But I have to set a better example for my grown sons, who seem to be making all the wrong decisions when it comes to their relationships.
The last thing I need is to be stranded in a snowstorm with Kendall, twenty years my junior and unintentionally sexy. We’re stuck in very close quarters. With no electricity. And no heat other than what we can generate…
King’s Crown is a standalone novel in the Oil Kings series written by an award-winning author.
Publication date 24/2/2020
My Review
Gentry has a lot of making up to do, after his wife died, Gentry threw himself into the single man’s life, drinking and women! In fact there wasn’t a woman safe from his charm, and because of that he list his sons! (They couldn’t forgive him for not mourning their mother) So he’s giving up women and focusing on his boys and his job. The job his wife got him (he works for his mother-in-law!) being the CEO of the company has him working long hours, but he’s not going to complain.
Kendall needs to get on with her life! But she didn’t realise it would happen all in one day! Being let go at work (downsizing) was bad enough, but getting home and finding your husband wants to move his new girlfriend into their home was a bit much!! She could move back home, but she doesn’t want to become the living nanny! (Her parents work long hours and put upon Kendall to look after her siblings!) So job hunting and flat hunting is a priority.
An age gap romance isn’t usually my go to read, but it’s part of a series I was asked to read. And I really enjoyed it. I liked Kendall, she was just so matter of fact, nothing really threw her, and she tended to take things in her stride. Gentry came across as arrogant, he wasn’t the type to stay around once he’d had his fun. But reading his story you’ll probably see where he’s coming from.
They meet up when they both have to take a flight out of town. Gentry has a business meeting, and Kendall has a job interview with his son (it’s a long story, but it is a good one)
The plane lands, but can’t take off again for Kendall to meet Beckett. They have to stay in a hotel together and in the same room….And I know what your thinking (same room, same bed, this is not going to end well) but nothing happens. Gentry is adamant that he won’t be tempted. And it works, for a while. But they more time they spend together, the harder it is to keep that promise.
Needless to say, Beckett thinks the worse of both Kendall and his father, so won’t even interview her! So she’s back to square one! But Gentry comes to the rescue and offers her a job. But that doesn’t really help, as gossips assume she’s sleeping with the boss!
And when they do finally get together, it’s not plain sailing! His mother-in-law gets involved, his sons have an opinion, and even the gossips make it awkward!
So can they really overcome all the obstacles that are thrown their way?
This leads nicely into book two of this series, King’s Ransom which features Gentry’s son Beckett.
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King’s Ransom (Oil Kings Book 2) by Marie Johnston
Description
When revenge turns into a fake engagement…
It was supposed to be a simple case of revenge: get to know King Tech owner and CEO Beckett King, learn his secrets, and ruin his life like he ruined my brother’s. But Beckett King offers me a deal I can’t refuse.
Not only does he want me to pretend to be engaged to him, he needs to marry me to get his grandmother off his back. And at the end of the year, we can go our separate ways, only I’ll be a whole lot richer.
I won’t fall for his irresistible good looks, or that aw, shucks country-boy charm he still possesses from growing up on a ranch. I’m smarter than that. He has a lesson to learn and I’m the best one to teach him.
But that’s the tricky thing with revenge. It doesn’t always go as planned.
King’s Ransom is a standalone novel in the Oil Kings series written by an award-winning author.
Publication date 6/4/2020
My Review
An enemies to lovers I suppose, only Beckett doesn’t realise Eva hates him and wants to ruin his reputation and company!
Beckett never wanted to go into the Oil business, nor did he see himself becoming a full time rancher. Beck has a knack of spotting things people need and then creating apps or promoting those those created the apps. And he’s become very successful. So successful that he needs a PA, his last one just wanted to marry him and get hold of his inheritance! And the one after that married his dad!
Eva wants to ruin Beckett King! He ruined her brothers reputation, and when companies pulled out of buying her brothers app, he spiralled into a depressive satiate that has Eva worried! So Beckett is going to feel all the pain and humiliation that Eva can bring down on him! She just needs a reason to be in his office!
I have to admit I didn’t like this one as much as the first book, but it’s still a great read. I didn’t really get the same connection that I got with book one.
Beckett gives Eva a job after mistakenly thinking she’s come for an interview. There are sparks, there is banter and there is the interfering grandma in the background trying to pull strings and orchestrate a wedding!!
So you can read these books out of order, you don’t need to read them all. But there is an ongoing story in the background….. Each King needs to be married to inherit a large amount of money. If they aren’t married then the money leaves the family! And grandma isn’t having any of that! So she’s harassing them to get married before they are thirty!
Beckett and Eva are getting on really well. There is a chemistry that they are both aware of, but Eva is trying to keep her distance. She’s not suppose to fall for her enemy, is she? But lies have a habit of being found out. And when they do…..
Can Beckett forgive Eva for lying to him about her motives for getting to know him? And can Beckett give Eva another chance, when usually no one gets another chance with him?
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King’s Treasure (Oil Kings Book 3) by Marie Johnston
Description
Broke, jobless, and stranded in Las Vegas on Valentine’s Day, I am forced to call my parents for a bailout. Again. A pampered princess and wannabe environmentalist, I know I’m a cliché and would do anything to change it. So when I meet Xander, a struggling photojournalist with absolutely nothing in common with my domineering, millionaire parents, I know just where to go next:
A wedding chapel.
But when I wake up the next day, my matrimonial rebellion comes with an unpleasant surprise. My husband is no penniless globetrotter—Xander King is the son of a billionaire oil tycoon, and my parents couldn’t approve of the match more. Now the only thing that could shock them would be a quickie divorce…except my new husband has a proposition for me.
***
I take one look at Savvy and know I could spend the rest of my life with her. The feeling is mutual…until she figures out who I am. I didn’t mean to hide my identity, and I thought a desire to get out from under the weight of familial baggage was something we had in common. But with Savvy just moments from proposing divorce, I offer her the one thing I’d been ready to walk away from:
A trust fund worth millions.
All Savvy has to do is stay married to me for a year and then she’ll get half—except I have no intention of letting her go after 365 days. I’ve spent a decade running from my father’s disapproval and my brothers’ successes. Now I’m willing to spend a lifetime convincing the woman I love to stay put by my side.
Publication date 8/2/2021
Xander wants to be known for his pictures, for his artistry, and not because he’s a King! Going into the Oil business with his family would have been a nightmare, the ranch work with his brother is ok, Xander just can’t see himself doing it full time! So Xander spends a great deal of time travelling the world and photographing it. And give the man his credit, he works his way around the world doing jobs.
He’s also hiding a secret, it keeps him from going home. He’s also hiding from his grandmother (who wants him to get married!!)
Savvy doesn’t want to go back home with her tail between her legs. If she does it means admitting defeat and fling back to work for her father! And he’s a hard taskmaster to work for, what she needs is a plan, and it’s a crazy one at that!
Xavier and Savvy meet in Las Vegas, get drink and then get married! She’s in awe of Xavier, he seems to know what he wants from life, and he goes around the world to get it. But in the morning, a cold and harsh reality sets it! Xavier isn’t a poor man, he’s in fact a potential client of her fathers! Talk about landing a big one!
There is a lot going on in this book, and for most of it I did enjoy the journey, but I couldn’t connect with Savvy, she seemed to want an independent life, but couldn’t break away from her family. And Xavier seemed like a waste of space in places!
So can this marriage work? Can Savvy finally break away from her domineering father? And can Xavier finally tell his family the dark secret that keeps him from going home?
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