The Marriage Merger
Marriage to a Billionaire #4
By: Jennifer Probst
Published: July 30, 2013
By: Gallery Books
Mature Content: 18 & Up
Source: Publisher
GR's Summary:
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?
Other Books in the Series:
Lindy's Thoughts:
The Marriage to a Billionaire series has been a favorite of mine, and I have been following it since the release of the first book in the series, The Marriage Bargain. Each of the stories in this series focus on two different main characters, yet they are all connected as either close friends, or siblings. I have come to love the Conte family, their friends, and significant others. Mama Conte is the thread that holds the fabric of the family together. They are Italian, and have been brought up with a traditional background. The Marriage Merger focuses on Julietta Conte who has always been very practical, and pragmatic. She is the most reserved, business-oriented, and conservative one in her family. Julietta is a highly intelligent, independent, and successful woman who runs the family business, La Dolce Famiglia Bakery. She lives in Milan, while her siblings Michael, and Carina live in New York with their significant others. Julietta has secretly longed for the type of passionate love that her siblings have, but has been unsuccessful in both her love life, and sex life. Therefore, she has decided to soley focus on her career. Carina pesters Julietta in to performing a love spell that Alex, Maggie, and Carina all did before they found the love of their lives. Carina wants Julietta to be happy like she is, and believes that the love spell's magic is what united her with the love of her life. At first, Julietta ignores her sister's request, but Carina won't stop pestering her, so she gives in, by doing the love spell, and her life changes...
Enter Sawyer Wells, who is charming, wealthy, respected, and a successful billionaire. He arranges a business meeting with Julietta to see if she'll agree to have her company become exclusive to his chain of expensive, and very exclusive, top of the line hotels. When they met, the sparks of a flame ignite! Sawyer is used to getting what he wants, and whenever he wants it! Women flock to him, and let me tell you he is very sexy, and charming. Julietta gives Sawyer a run for his money, and he realizes that she is unlike any other woman he's ever known. He see's her intelligence, quick wit, and she keeps him on his toes. Sawyer is turned on by the complete package that makes up Julietta Conte, and he has the ability to make Julietta feel, as no man has ever made her feel before. She is drawn to him, desire's him, and he brings out a whole other side of her. I enjoyed getting to know Julietta beyond a superficial level. I really respected her, and how she put Sawyer on his toes!
The Marriage Merger was such a great read! I devoured it in record time! Sawyer brought Julietta great love in to her life. The sex scenes between these two were intense and wild! I loved the chemistry, between Julietta and Sawyer. He had problems with being in a relationship, and had a dark and haunting past that had really scarred him deeply. However, he had a huge heart, and was very protective and loyal. He took in Wolfe, an older teenager that had been living on the streets, and became like a surrogate father to him. I loved watching Julietta, Sawyer, and Wolfe become a family. My heart broke for everything that had happened to Wolfe, and all of the secrets that came out about Sawyer's past. Those two had some series demons, and Julietta, Mama Conte, and the rest of the Conte family welcomed them, and helped heal them.
My Rating:
I Give The Marriage Merger by Jennifer Probst 4.5 Sizzling Hot, Orgasmic, He's the One Stars! The Marriage to a Billionaire Series is one of my absolute favorites! The Marriage Merger showcased everything that I adore in this series; unforgetable characters, humor, fun, sizzling hot love scenes, and great plot twists! Once you start the first book in this series, you will be hooked! Add the Marriage to a Billionaire Series to your TBR, for the perfect escape, where you will encounter a great group of friends, sizzling hot alpha males, laughter, and the ultimate in love stories!
My Favorite Quotes:
"Let's get something straight. I have no need to threaten or bully a woman into bed. I enjoy sex and giving pleasure. I find you fascinating, complex, and hot as hell. I also think you may be the only woman I've met in the past few years who made me crave to break a few rules just to put my hands on her. In her. Over her. But if you go screaming foul play and harassment, I'll politely back away and leave you alone. Capisce?" (eARC, Loc. 450)
~Sawyer
"Tough Shit, he sneered. I'm not going anywhere, and I don't play by the rules. You want to sleep chaste and alone in your own bed, fine. But I'll be flanking your side every day, reminding you of what I can give. I don't walk away from something because it's a mess and real, baby." (eARC, Loc. 2063)
~Sawyer
"What would it be like to be the woman Sawyer loved? The one who opened up all those dark, dusty corners of his soul and let fresh, clean air blow through? He'd possess his mate with a fierceness and primitive air that no man could equal. But there was also a sweetness in his soul that called out to her." (eARC, Loc. 2539)
~Julietta
"I love you, Sawyer. This is more than sex. More than business or companionship or something on paper. This is about how I feel when I look at you. About the way you protect Wolfe, and how you respect me, and how you make me a better person. A whole person. It's about the man I see every day. I believe he has everything to give; he's just afraid to take it. I'm not going to be afraid anymore. I'm going to be brave enough for both of us." (eARC, Loc. 3201)
~Julietta
Ro's Take on this Journey:
Julietta Conte was a masterpiece in the making. She was a well put together piece of work. She's OCD, and rides a motorcycle like a man. She was the CEO of the family corporation, La Dolce Famiglia Bakery, a high end bakery in Milan. Julietta was the eldest daughter, who was driven by her passion and will to show everyone around her that she had a mind for business and success. She would not let anyone, especially a man, try to demean her intelligence in any way when it came to her business acuity. Julietta had just lost out on a deal that could have proved to her family that she could put their bakery on the map, but instead she lost out to a business run by an inept man. She got an offer from Sawyer Wells to become exclusive with Purity Hotel, (his empire)and she accepts. Julietta was a woman with quite a temper, beautiful long hair, great body, and full of spunk. She would not let any grass grow under her feet, and Sawyer didn't know what hit him when he got a handful of that Italian! He was domineering, and though she would submit to his will for her own pleasure, she would not let her guard down when it came to her business. Their unending banter was great! They were always trying to get the upper hand from the other one. Along with their business agreement, they made a side deal that would fulfill both of their needs. The one thing missing in Julietta's life was the ever elusive Orgasm. She thought herself to be frigid, and Sawyer showed her that it wasn't her, but the men that had the problem in the bedroom. He soon melted her ice, and was aiming to please, and please he did!
Sawyer Wells was a self-made man, (with the help of a bankroll he inherited)who was running his own empire in the hotel business, Purity. He was a billionaire who knew what he wanted, and got it his way. He was a gorgeous, brooding man, sexy, lustful, and rugged. He carried a lot of baggage from his childhood. He was in the foster system till he was 18 years old, and was treated like an animal. His last foster family starved him, and beat him on a daily basis. Sawyer was left feeling like he would never be able to love another human being, and was unworthy of love because of his past indiscretions from the life he was forced in to.
Sawyer did have a big heart, and took in a young teenager named Wolfe, who tried to pick pocket his wallet from him. He realized that Wolfe, though he did have an attitude problem, was quite intelligent, with a photographic memory, and was a lot like himself when he was young, and deserved help. What started out as a temporary relationship developed, and not only did he open up to Sawyer, but also Julietta, her family, and Mama Conte. He had a lot of baggage, just like Sawyer, and their pasts came to light in this segment of the series. It was heartbreaking and overwhelming. Get your tissues ready!
Mama Conte was up to no good once again in this novel, and she weaved her magic like only she could. Along with the spell that all the Conte's had used to get the men of their dreams, Carina convinced Julietta to perform the spell as well, though Julietta actually did it just to shut Carina up!
I loved this novel, and how it all came together. The family becoming one, and the changes in Julietta, Sawyer, and Wolfe. This was a very dark segment that came to light. I loved every minute of it, and look forward to the spin off that will have Wolfe's story. He was a boy who became a man, and came into his own with the help of a loving family that taught him how to love and be loved, just like Sawyer.
I give The Marriage Merger, by Jennifer Probst, 5 Titillating, undulating, Blazing Hot Big O Stars!!!
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About the Author:
Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.
She is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of The Marriage Bargain. She is published both erotic and sexy contemporary romance with Entangled, Decadent, Red Sage and TWRP. She has also written a children's book, Buffy and the Carrot, co-written with her twelve year old niece, along with a short story, "A Life Worth Living." Visit her website for more info!
Guest Post:
10 Things To Make A Successful Series by: Jennifer Probst
#1 - Make the reader care about your hero and heroine - This builds the entire foundation of your series. Simply put, if a reader doesn't like them, they will not buy the second book. Or the third. Or the fourth...
#2 - Create interesting and unique secondary characters - This is your springboard to the series. Readers get attached to strong secondary characters and wait for their own story. In Merger, Wolfe was so unforgettable, I've had readers email me over and over to beg for his story.
#3 - Create siblings and best friends - Again, you want to be able to naturally develop the series. Siblings and best friends are the best place to develop new interests.
#4 - Create a strong setting - Where will you place your series? I am in love with Italy and all the flavor of family and food. I went back and forth to NY and Italy to create the Conte family so my readers were always intrigued. Setting becomes part of the story and characters. Look at Lucky Harbor with Jill Shalvis. Cedar Cove with Debbie Macomber. In my upcoming Searching For... Series, it takes place at a matchmaking agency in a quaint river town in upstate NY.
#5 - Create high stakes - Big time conflict is key to keep readers engaged. Make sure you've developed your characters to have contradicitons, issues, and a strong conflict to keep them apart.
#6 - Keep each book standalone - You don't want your reader to be confused. She should be able to jump in at any point in the series, get to know and love your characters, and want to read the rest of your series.
#7 - Don't go into too much description on other characters - At the same time readers should be able to find out what's going on in any book, don't overstuff them with information. Keep them interested and hook them enough to want to read about that couple in their own book. No info dumping.
#8 - A good hook - Readers are sometimes wary when they are starting a new series. Make it easy for them to love you and your book. Keep that first scene, that first sentence even, crystal clear and sharp. In my upcoming Posse series, I start with a funeral where five men who are like brothers lose one of their own. In the Marriage Series, I start with a love spell. Intrigue is key.
#9 - A satisfying ending - Happy ever after, please. But make sure there's room for the characters to grow - babies, marriage, engagement, etc. I want to see bits and pieces of them as I continue to read the series. They are like old friends I never want to truly let go of.
#10 - WRITE A SERIES YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE. If you love it, so will the readers. We hope! Truly, I longe to go to Mama Conte's family table and eat with my characters in Bergamo. They are real to me. Make it real.
