I was wrong.
A billionaire with a secret…
Can the truth lead to happily-ever-after?
In this Once Upon a Fairytale story, hardworking magazine editor Sage White’s just getting used to being in charge, so she’s alarmed to find sparks flying with her new assistant—the distractingly handsome Trey! Working together, they grow closer, but can their blossoming relationship survive when Sage learns that Trey is really Quentin Rousseau, seventh heir to the publishing empire—and her boss?
Miss White & the Seventh Heir has a concept I love, at least in theory. The undercover boss trope is one I enjoy, and it adds a constant tension of "when will she find out, and how will she react?" I think this basic concept would make for a fantastic Hallmark movie, as Hallmark does seem to be fond of the "this person isn't what he/she seems" plot. (See: Snow Bride [one of my top five favorite Hallmark movies], Dashing Through the Snow, Anything for Love, and I could go on and on.)
So I think this book has a great concept, but I simply couldn't get into the story. I didn't care much for Sage, and I felt like we didn't even get to know Trey very well. There's a wicked stepmother character who is incredibly over the top to the point of being unbelievable (in a story where everything else seems to be based in reality), and the resolution to the stepmother problem felt very out of the blue.
And then there's the sexual content. If knowing characters are sleeping together but none of it appearing on the page had been the extent of it, I think my reaction to the book would've been different. But in actuality, while no sex appears on the page, the characters are constantly thinking about what they want to do with each other physically, and that made me very uncomfortable. (This definitely goes beyond wanting to kiss ... )
Additionally, I noticed words that were misused (like plains instead of planes) and phrases that were repeated within close proximity of each other. These are things that I don't fault author Jennifer Faye for—but they absolutely should have been caught in editing. All of the Harlequin books I've read in the past (which are in the Love Inspired or Heartwarming lines—this was my first regular Harlequin romance) have been edited/proofread well, so I was disappointed to see these mistakes.
I know I haven't really said much good about the book, and I'm sorry for that, but this book just absolutely was not for me. Many readers did seem to like it, and it is fairly clean (though I would not call it a "sweet" romance), so it's definitely a better alternative to much of what is out there. If you're interested in the book, check out the Amazon and Goodreads reviews, as they'll give you a much different take than my own. 1-1/2 stars.
Content note: There is a closed door love scene, and the reader is privy to many of the characters' sexual thoughts. I can't recall any curse words, but there may have been a few.
Award-winning author Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free through Prism Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and make a purchase, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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