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Friday, November 8, 2019

ARC Book #Review: The Billionaire Chef's Baby (McClellan Billionaires 2) by Leslie North .@leslienorthbook #TheBillionaireChefsBaby #NetGalley

Book Title: The Billionaire Chef's Baby ( McClellan Billionaires 2)
Author:  Leslie North |WebsiteTwitterFacebook
Publisher: Relay Publishing
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Series/Standalone: Book 2
Format: ebook
Cost: $2.99
Free on Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 155
How I got it: Via NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: October 15, 2019
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Synopsis:
Covered in tattoos, sarcasm, and muscles, Arthur McClellan is the best thing to come out of the kitchen since sliced bread. A billionaire from birth, his trust fund hasn’t stopped his drive to achieve his dreams of celebrity chef status. However, a dying wish from his mother has caused him to pivot his aspirations. Instead of being the “bad boy,” he now wants to join the ranks of the happy chefs of the Taste Network. It’s taken a lot of convincing, but he’s finally landed a show: a wedding special filming in the Bahamas. But the network doesn’t trust him alone. They want a romantic interest: a perfect, bubbly wedding planner to soften his edges. Arthur’s not mad when they pick a wedding planner he’d had a single, very passionate night with. In fact, she just might be the cherry on top of his food show cake.

Cassandra Kelly has been winning the wedding planner game for years, and she wants more: national coverage for her creative celebrations. So when the Taste Network offers her the position of wedding planner on their new pilot, Cassandra jumps at the chance. The only catch? She’s got to be the “girlfriend” of famous bad boy Arthur McClellan— a position not unappealing to her after a celebratory night of passion that left her with a continuous craving for the chef… and an unplanned bun in the oven.

Now, they’ve got to fake their relationship on screen while wading through their real relationship off. They both agree the baby should be kept secret until they’re ready to spill the beans. But when a careless conversation reveals all to the producer, who thinks a secret baby would make for a great reality TV series, they have to decide how real they’re willing to get and how much their romance can weather for their careers. For two people who want to live in the public eye, they must decide how much of their passion they want to keep private.
Cassandra has the perfect opportunity to create the reality show of her dreams, she's the wedding planner for the tv network's daughter and she needs this wedding to go off without a hitch. She's working with celebrity bad boy chef ( think Gordon Ramsey) Arthur, he's beyond creative in the kitchen but he's known for throwing tantrums and acting out. Arthur wants to move beyond his well-known image and this wedding is going to be his chance, even if the uptight wedding planner is on his case. He's not messing this up he wants his own show on Taste Network and he's going to prove that he's more than the bad-boy chef. After they pull off the wedding of the decade Arthur and Cassandra celebrate with a drink and a little more. Which of course leads to an unplanned pregnancy.

After a few weeks, these two find themselves being propositioned by the network but neither of them wants the offer they are being given, however, it's a foot in the door and they can't really turn it down. I loved the concept of the story and the flow of the story. Arthur wanted to be more than he was known for and when he gets the opportunity he's not going to lose it. Cassandra knows that unlike Arthur who has his family money to fall back on if all else fails she can't screw this up, and now that she's pregnant she needs to really get this nailed down. As the story develops and they both explore their chemistry while trying to keep it off the cameras how can you tell what is real and what's for the show??

Both had so many insecurities and hang-ups that they had to work through and neither knew how to do that and actually be vulnerable. Arthur was trying to be what everyone wanted and still change his image and he wasn't sure who he was supposed to be anymore, especially after making a deathbed promise to be better. Cassandra is so focused on her goals she's not looking to see all that Arthur is offering because she doesn't trust that anyone will give her what she needs. It's a lot of back and forth with steamy sexy moments, vulnerable awwww moments and then moments that are interrupted by the film crew demanding that they redo what should have been private moments. They are on the island with another couple who they are helping get ready for their wedding and while they keep the couple from tearing themselves apart for the love of the drama for the cameras they also have to figure out just what it is they want for themselves.

I felt that Cassandra never really gave Arthur the space to be vulnerable with her, when he was being genuine she kept accusing him of playing to the camera and when he explained what happens she doubts his words and actions all the time. While they had good chemistry I wasn't sure I wanted them to end up together, Cassandra didn't seem open to being in a real relationship, she had these ideas that she wanted and kept kicking Arthur for not knowing what she wanted even though she never verbalized it. Like he's not a mind reader dummy communicate.  They certainly had a few moments that made me chuckle and they were good together when they got out of their own way and were just them. It's a cute little romance especially when they figure it all out. They certainly had the swoon-worthy moments down, and I absolutely loved the moment when Arthur was going to cook for her, just so cute.

This is the second book in a series, however, I hadn't realized that when I requested it, so I don't know the history of the characters or the overall story if there is one. I did however like what I read.  It's a fast-paced read, and I certainly wanted to know what happened next *much like a reality tv show*
 ★★★☆
It's a fun fast read, I hope you enjoy
Happy Reading my loves, 

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