{Review} Bonfire Beach by Lily Everett

Bonfire Beach by Lily Everett
Also by this author: The Fireside Inn, Lantern Lake, Shoreline Drive, Homecoming
Series: The Billionaire Bachelors #2
Also in this series: The Fireside Inn, Lantern Lake
Published by St. Martin's Press on January 14, 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 104
Goodreads  Buy the Book

They’re single, they’re rich, and now these billionaire bachelors are heading to Sanctuary Island in a new e-original novella series from Lily Everett! Fall in love with the island’s latest catch.

Leo, Zane, and Cooper made a pact to stay bachelors and enjoy the single life forever, and when they receive an invitation to their friend Miles’ wedding, they head down to Sanctuary Island determined to talk some sense into the errant groom before he makes a life-changing mistake. But Miles knows his own mind, and he makes a vow of his own: before he walks down the aisle, he’ll have Leo, Zane, and Cooper changing their tune about matrimony. Because Miles knows, better than anyone, that all it takes is a little Sanctuary Island magic to turn romantic cynics into true believers.

Zane Bishop has always been the life of the party, the guy who makes sure everyone is having a blast, and he turned his experiences as a college DJ into a multi-billion-dollar entertainment company. He can’t wait to take control of the bachelor party, but Zane’s plans for an all-night rager come up against wedding consultant Felicity Carlson’s ideas about getting Miles to the church on time and sober.  While Zane works overtime tempting Felicity into having fun, she discovers that there’s more to the party boy than meets the eye—but can a woman who makes her living planning other people’s perfect romances ever find true love of her own?

Kassiah: I will start off by saying that I haven’t read the other novellas in the Billionaire Bachelors Series, but that didn’t make me feel lost with what’s going on here in any way. I do plan to read them, if for nothing other than to find out about the bet (and Cooper!), but I have a feeling you can start with whichever of them you want to.

Wedding planner Felicity Carlson is in charge of billionaire Miles Harrington’s dream beach wedding, the event of her career, when she is met with a little conundrum. She has to plan everything alongside Miles’ best friend, bad boy entertainment mogul Zane Bishop. There’s no denying that he’s hot and they’ve got chemistry, but their views on the wedding and reception are totally opposite. She wants romantic and elegant, he wants over the top and unique. They spend pretty much all their time together over the next several weeks, scouting locations and making plans for the wedding. All the while avoiding giving in to temptation.

“Is fun all you ever think about?” she demanded.

Sinking lower into the luxurious embrace of the custom Herm ès leather seat, Zane squirmed his hips and let his legs fall open with a filthy smile. “No. Sometimes I think about sex.”

Zane tries to get Felicity to let go and have some fun and she tries to show him that it’s okay to stop and be serious about something every once in a while.

I liked the idea for this story, and I am looking forward to getting to know the other characters, especially Cooper, who I found funny and a true friend to Zane. I liked Zane all right and understood why he likes his life the way he does, but I didn’t care for Felicity at all. She was rude and completely unprofessional, even going so far as to leave the planning to Zane when her personal feelings got hurt. She constantly points out how wealthy Zane is and is generally a brat.

There are a lot of misses in this book–missed opportunities at character and relationship building, missed chances for Zane to show he was truly Miles’s best friend and wanted to give him and his fiancee the wedding of their dreams, and missed explanations for the insta-love. There as also a bet mention that turned out to have no bearing on this story. I’m not sure if it will be in the other novellas or not, but it was a waste to even mention it here. Also, Bonfire Beach is a total FTB. There’s talk of sex (and we know they’ve been together), but no details–physical or emotional.

This was a quick read with what could have been a good story and characters that could have been likable. I will be checking out Cooper’s story, but the lack of buildup and believability of the main characters’ relationship left me wanting more here.

Report Card
Cover
Characters
Plot
Writing
Steam
Overall:	2

Related Posts