The Billionaire's Demand

The Billionaire's Series, Book 1

By: Ashley Sands

Narrated by: Zach Kovach, Natalie Armstrong

Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

I want you, you have no idea just how much. And now I'm going to have you.

Jenna:

I have always been the good girl. The quiet girl. And I’m sick of it.

I want to play; I want to have some fun. And there is one man with whom I want to do that.

Caleb Anderson.

Caleb:

Jenna is too pure. She is too good. But one look at her at my bar and I have to make her mine.

I am all kinds of wrong for her. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting her. Or from falling for her.

The Billionaire's Demand is a stand-alone billionaire fake romance set in New York City with plenty of heat with a guaranteed HEA and no cliff-hangers!

©2021 Amelia Valpreda (P)2023 Amelia Valpreda

Caleb and Jenna

Caleb and Jenna decide to fake a relationship. Well, faking it does not always work. The story is interesting, with its unique take on this type of relationship. Characters well developed. The narration was well done. I received a free copy of this audiobook from BookSprout and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Demand?

I don't think the title fits the story so much but I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this story. I love the characters and the plot was engaging, entertaining and passionate. The story is about Jenna and Caleb. She is working on her final rotations to become a doctor. She is serious, a rule follower and Daddy's girl. He is very controlling and ask her to go out with a guy to help him get published. She reluctantly agrees. Caleb spends time as a social influencer, in the bars and is a player. When Jenna's date blows up her bestie talks her into going out to a bar. She is challenged to go up to her ex-stepbrother, Caleb, and tell him what she wants. Caleb is so attracted to the women who has approached him but does not recognize her. It is funny when he door man at his apartment building outs her. The sets off their story and a lot of fun. The narration was okay but the male narrators sound was strange.

Pretty Good

Well, that's one way to get out of your father's grip. I was proud of Jenna for standing up for herself and taking what she wanted for herself. I also admired Caleb's sincere determination not to use or hurt her, though I didn't understand his seeming possessive feelings for her from their teen years when he also seemed quite dismissive of her overall when they were connected by marriage. That seemed like an inconsistency in the story telling, and it stuck with me. Overall, though, I loved the story and really enjoyed the narration of the audiobook. I would recommend.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Great listen.

I really enjoyed listening to this story. It pulls you in right from the beginning. I loved the characters and storyline. So good.

Not Quite as Presented

Before I discuss the story proper, I want to let the potential future reader know that both the book's title and the book description don't really line up with the story itself. While I can't say for certain because I don't remember every detail from the audiobook, I don't think it's ever mentioned that the hero or the heroine is a billionaire. Yes, they both come from wealthy families, but I don't remember actual numbers—or even the word “billion” in any form--being discussed. In any event, that aspect was certainly never emphasized. Even after listening to the entire 6+ hours of the book, I don't know what hero “demand” mentioned in the title refers to. The blurb does not accurately reflect the major elements of the story or get them wrong. Sometimes I think authors write blurbs (or have them written) to match a certain popular way of writing book descriptions in their romance subgenre or to hook a particular type of reader--but they don't always match up with the reality of the book. Not having the book title or description match the book drives me a little crazy.

As to the story itself, it is jam-packed with many contemporary romance tropes: forbidden relationship ( former stepbrother and stepsister), fake relationship, good girl/bad boy. There's probably more, but those are the ones that initially spring to mind. The heroine is a medical resident (or “residence” as the female narrator said once!). The author didn't really seem to have much of a clue about how medical school/residency actually works; I have some knowledge of this as my nephew is a radiologist, and I saw every step of his educational process. It really wouldn't take much to research this to get it right in a book; Not doing so makes the author appear quite lazy. I won't go into the details because probably a few care but me! The hero is a part owner of several bars in New York City, and he's the social media candy who helps bring people in.

This book is certainly steamy. As a part of their agreement to have a fake relationship to help him create a more wholesome image to assist his mother in gaining a judgeship, she convinces him to show her a good, sexy time. She's not remotely experienced, and she's always been attracted to him and would like to explore that with him. He's very uncomfortable with the idea at first because he still sees her as a distant relation to protect, even though he's attracted to her. He wants her help, and she’s insistent, so eventually, they initiate that aspect of their agreement. The intimate scenes start out rather benign, but soon, they incorporate elements some readers may not feel 100% comfortable with. <start spoiler> The entire scandal that nearly breaks them up at the end has to do with intimacy, and frankly, how that played out with how what happened was so universally reviled just seemed nonsensical. They are two consenting adults. Yes, how unfun to be caught and have it go viral on social media, but seriously, did everything need to fall apart and be seen as so repugnant by so many as it did? It just seemed way out of proportion to how it was taken so seriously. And, no, it is not unethical for a doctor to have consensual sex! Sheesh! <end spoiler>

The book has two narrators, one for the hero and one for the heroine. I didn't like the heroine narrator's voice at all. It sounds like she's been hanging out in a smoky bar far too often, something our naïve heroine would not do! The hero's voice was fine, but the audio quality changed dramatically between the hero and the heroine's parts. His sounded as if he was somehow in a room with odd acoustics. Now and then, too, you would hear in his sections odd sounds, like the rustling of the wind or occasional bangs; at one point, it was quite prolonged, and I thought maybe someone was messing around in my backyard. I also think that at certain points, he was fighting a cold, as he sounded a little congested. Both occasionally mispronounce words, and I think once the female narrator made a mistake where she backed up and repeated a phrase but didn't edit out the mistake. In other words, the audio felt a bit sloppy.

Jenna and Caleb

Jenna and Caleb's ultra-steamy fake relationship... Party boy Caleb needs to clean up his image to help his mother's quest for a judgeship. Jenna is a quiet good girl, looking for more "experience". It's a win-win, and so is their story. There are a few bumps along the way, and it's a really steamy book. I've read a number of other books in this series, but not this one. I jumped at the opportunity for this audiobook. The narrators did a good job with this, although I feel they could have voiced a bit more emotion. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A Billionaire Fake Romance

This is the first book in The Billionaire's Series, a billionaire fake romance. Jenna and Caleb's story is fast-paced and passionate. Jenna is beautiful, sweet and determined. Caleb is alpha, enigmatic, and possessive. The storyline is interesting. Zach Kovach and Natalie Armstrong did a good job bringing this story to life. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Billionaire's Demand

The Billionaire's Demand by Ashley Sands is a good, and enjoyable alpha billionaire taboo forbidden fake romance read. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good instant attraction chemistry. This story is an entertaining read. I really enjoyed the narration of the audiobook. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.