Review: The Billionaire’s Bid by Kaira Rouda

April 18, 2015July 7, 2019 Deanna | OkieDreams

Publisher: Tule Publishing
Release Date: April 20th, 2015
Pages: 120
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Heat Level: Semi-Hot
Series: Indigo Island (Book #4)

Handsome tycoon James Putnam is acting CEO of his family’s logging company, Putnam Industries. He needs to land a big deal to prove to the board he’s capable of taking over the company. If not, his father’s right-hand-man Walter is more than willing to fill the role. James hurries to Indigo Island alone, certain he has what it takes to land the deal.

Aubrey Templeton is a gorgeous magazine reporter facing a mountain of debt after her parents’ tragic deaths. The only asset she has to leverage is 2,500 acres of land on Indigo Island. She hires Dirk Cooley, a forester, to create a forest management plan for her family’s land and to solicit multiple logger bids to lease the land. Aubrey makes sure James Putnam’s company is included. Aubrey and James shared a night she’ll never forget and she’s certain, once he sees her, he’ll want a repeat as much as she does. What she doesn’t know is that Dirk’s goal in life is to destroy the Putnam family and he doesn’t care who goes down with them.

Will James recognize Aubrey as more than a sexy landowner? Could she become a partner in both love and business? Will they uncover Dirk’s plot before it’s too late? Will they recognize the common roots that lead to love?

Find it at: Tule Publishing | Amazon | Goodreads

*I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review*

It took me a bit to get into this book, mostly because I prefer a little bit deeper POV in my stories, but I did enjoy it just the same. I loved that Aubrey tried so hard to do the right thing with her family’s land, despite having a personal reason for wanting James in on the bidding for the logging lease, and that James was doing his best to not only change his playboy ways but also protect his ailing father’s company. The story was well-written, though I do feel as if some readers will have a hard time relating to the characters. Not because they aren’t sympathetic, because they are, but because the POV isn’t quite deep enough to allow readers to truly invest themselves in the characters and what they’re feeling. That may be due to the author’s writing style, but it may also be due to the short word count. Either way, this was a good read and there was a part toward the end that reminded me of a line from one of my favorite movies, Sweet Home Alabama. In truth, it was likely that line and the follow-up story resolution that really cemented this story for me.

If you want a quick, mid-range heat level read, this is a good novella to check out. The author is new to me, but I would recommend her and will be on the lookout for future works from her.