Publisher: Gallery
Publish Date: Out Now!
How I got this book: NetGalley
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?
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I’ve enjoyed this series by Probst so much, so when the final book came out and we got the chance to see Julietta get her happily ever after, I was both anxious and sad to read the final book.
Julietta doesn’t have time for a man in her life, so when her sister Carina forces her to do the love spell, she puts down the most outrageous ideals and forgets about it. With a new business merger on the horizon, Julietta has plenty to keep her busy. But working with Sawyer is more than she expected, and the man pushes all her buttons in both the boardroom and the bedroom.
Sawyer came from nothing and has built an empire. Partnering with Julietta and the bakery is just good business sense. Falling for the woman is not. But Sawyer can’t seem to keep his hands to himself. When a promise he made as a young man ties him to Julietta forever, he gets the glimpse at a life he never expected to have, and realizes he might have to fight harder than ever before to keep it.
I think this book might be my least favorite in the series, only because the marriage of convenience plot didn’t play in until late in the book. I love that Probst has kept with that trope throughout, but was sad to see that it wasn’t brought up sooner.
I really liked Sawyer, but felt so horrible for what he had to endure as a child. I wanted so much to wrap him up in a big hug and tell him that everything would be okay. I thought the relationship that he had with Wolfe really helped them both deal with the horrific aspects of their past, and I sincerely hope that Probst will take the time to write a story for Wolfe.
The romance between Sawyer and Julietta was wonderful, as expected. I loved that Sawyer had the ability to bring Julietta out of her mind and just feel. Although Sawyer had a bit of a tendency towards BDSM, I thought Probst had the perfect blend of romance and smut and didn’t try to “play up” to the current themes of rich playboy BDSM heroes that is common right now.
While I liked Julietta, she wasn’t my favorite heroine. She was so strong and commanding in the business aspects of her life, and for some reason it didn’t really seem to transfer over to her personal life. If anything, she came across as a bit of a timid mouse when she wasn’t working. I wanted some of that assertiveness to impact her everyday life too, and it wasn’t until the end of the book that I felt she really came out of her shell in her personal life and really lived.
It was wonderful to see all the previous couples in the series get back together. We also got the chance to see more of Mama Conte and her backstory. I liked getting a little bit more from the matriarch. The end was a little confusing to me though, because it came across very final in Mama Conte’s POV, and had me wondering if the wonderful grandmother was finally passing on. It had a very end-of-life feel to it.
All in all I was happy with the final installment of the Marriage to a Billionaire series. I thought Julietta and Sawyer were so different, and yet so perfect for one another. They had a fabulous opposites attract romance, and it was great fun to read from start to finish. I do hope that she dips back into this world for the chance to give Wolfe his HEA.
I give The Marriage Merger a B
This series is great and I can’t wait to start this last book. Julietta deserves a little hapiness after everyone in her family found a loved one and now she is pratically alone.
@Mariana: She really does!! Happy reading to you. 🙂
The one thing that captures my interest, is the love spell. Is that real magic, is there more magic through the books?
Cannot wait to read Marriage Merger and the new Novak book. Thanks for the reviews.
@xaurianx: Um, the spell isn’t really of any big significance, and other than being the catalyst to bring the heroes and heroines together, it doesn’t play a role in the series.
@Patoct: Of course!! Happy reading to you!