Crave Review

Billionaire Archer Bancroft always gets what he wants—and he’s wanted Ivy Emerson, his best friend’s sister, for far too long. Being forbidden and untouchable only makes her more tempting. When a million-dollar bet with his friends throws down a challenge—last bachelor standing takes all—Archer knows he can win. That is, until one enchanted evening with Ivy takes his heart for a ride.

Ivy knows Archer is nothing but bad news: Infuriating, arrogant…and completely intoxicating. But despite her best efforts, she can’t seem to keep away. When a stolen kiss leads to a night of heated passion, Ivy realizes she’s in trouble and in head over heels.

But in the light of day, everything seems clearer and Archer’s not so sure a one-night stand is all he wants. Concocting a plan to keep Ivy by his side, Archer might just be willing to lose this bet…and win the jackpot instead.

CRAVE by Monica Murphy is the first book in the Billionaire Bachelor’s Club series and a cute contemporary adult romance story. I’ll tell you straight - there’s nothing new here, no fresh, new ideas and no original character traits.  Yes it’s all been done before and it’s completely predictable BUT...it’s well written and I am a sucker for these kind of stories and remember -  just because you know the destination doesn’t mean that the journey isn’t going to be enjoyable ;)  I also love the fact that this is part of a series and we get to see each billionaire bachelor fall hard for the girl of their dreams.  I mean, why have one millionaire when you can have three, right? Nope. Not jealous AT ALL.   I do think however it might have been nice to turn this idea on its head and have at least one female billionaire in there.  Just sayin’.

CRAVE is written in dual narrative so we get to see inside both Archer and Ivy’s heads.  Let’s start with Archer.  He’s hot, he’s arrogant, he’s annoying and he doesn’t do relationships.  He’s cock sure that he’s going to win the bet his friend’s have made with him that basically, the last billionaire left standing wins all.  Personally, I don’t know why you’d want to win that bet but that’s just me.  I don’t pretend to know everything about the male ego.  There’s just one little snag in Archer’s plan though, he’s kind of had a thing for his best friend’s little sister since they were kids but she’s completely off limits, something to do with that guy code of ethics that gets thrown around every now and then.  The banter between Archer and Ivy is cute in a who-can-annoy-each-other-the-most kind of fashion and it’s obvious that these two are full of sexual frustration as the tension...Oh, the sweet, sweet tension.

Ivy is not oblivious to it either.  She’s not blind and she’s not stupid.  She knows he’s hot but just lately, the temperature has risen a few notches above boiling point and she’s been looking at him in a whole new light. One night, passion spills over and the attraction between them won’t be denied any longer.  But Archer being Archer has to be a little bit of a jerk every now and then and actually made me say OUT LOUD “Oh, Archer.  What in the hell are you doing?”  Ultimately, it comes down to what he wants more – to win the bet or to win Ivy’s heart.

Predictability is not always a bad thing, sometimes it’s good to know what you’re going to get and I have to say that I really did enjoy this story.  So much so, that I’ve pre-ordered the next two as I have to know what happens with the other billionaire bachelors, particularly Gage (Ivy’s brother) who quite frankly, sounds like a selfish, immature prick and I need to see some girl smash through to his heart and bring him to his knees.  CRAVE is a very sexy read and if you like your romances with plenty of chemistry between the main characters, then this is definitely the book for you.  Now, if only I could put myself in the story and find my very own billionaire bachelor *sigh*.

CRAVE was published on 6th August, 2013.  To find out more about Monica Murphy and her books, please click here to visit her website.