Breathless In Love (The Maverick Billionaires, Book 1) Paperback – May 30, 2015

Although I got started on romances pretty late in my reading life (I was already looking forward to Medicare when I got hooked!), I have read some good ones, with many of them being from our local authors. I think the 1st one I read was actually back in late 2011, when I read Past Midnight, by Jasmine Haynes. And that was not just a plain old romance; it was an erotic romance, which I had definitely not read before (I came across Jasmine and Shelley Bates signing their books at Barnes & Noble in the Pruneyard). Well, you may remember that I really enjoyed the love story (I swear I'm telling the truth!). In fact, here is what I wrote at the end of my review:AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have been with my wife now for over 45 years. She is the most beautiful, smartest, talented person that I know. And, yet, I feel that I have not spent enough time showing her how great I think she is. Jasmine Haynes' book has made me more aware of letting my wife know what I feel. For that, I say a personal "Thank you."So there. Now, along comes book 1 of a romance series featuring the Maverick Billionaires. Bella Andre and Jennifer Skully (aka Jasmine Haynes) have collaborated for the 1st time to bring us a series about 5 mid-30s men who have been friends since grade school. They mostly came from poor, rough childhoods and have made themselves into...well...billionaires. This 1st book is about Will Franconi, who has become rich by selling luxury goods for luxury prices. Almost by chance, Will meets Jeremy Newman, an 18-year old boy who had a very serious car accident when he was 7 and has never matured mentally past that age. And then there's Jeremy's older sister, Harper, who, in her late 20's, has already been taking care of Jeremy on her own for 6 years, since their parents were tragically killed in an accident.You know, I've said many times that it's okay with me that we know up front the girl will get the guy, and vice versa. But even knowing that, I still appreciate a book that keeps me guessing, at least a little bit. And this book absolutely does that.I really have a lot to say about Breathless in Love, but I don't want to lose you 1/2 or 2/3 of the way through. So I will try to be concise (yeah, right) with my analysis. Let me start by saying I just loved this book. I loved all of the relationships: Will with Jeremy, Will with Harper, Harper with Jeremy, Will with his 4 Maverick buddies, Will with his mom, Susan. Every connection felt real to me, and I truly connected with the 3 main characters. Maybe a little too much, if you catch my tear-soaked drift.Speaking of crying, wow, did I cry a lot. There were the obvious tearfests - when Will treated Jeremy like a brother; when will did NOT treat Harper like a sister; when Harper and Jeremy were together. But here's the thing: There were a bunch of very poignant moments that were not just about the main characters. There were tons of scenes when Will showed kindness to people far below him on the food chain. There's one time in particular in a porcelain factory in London between Will and 5 factory workers that was one of the highlights of the entire book for me. Oh, yeah, I cried.But this leads me to the most important message that I got out of this book. There's a reason I posted a quote from an earlier review. Just like I learned a valuable lesson from Past Midnight, so did I learn a valuable lesson from Breathless in Love: Just be nice to people. I try to do that, whether I'm with friends or as a customer in a retail situation. But you know what? I (and all of us) can do better. Treat everybody with the same respect that you expect from them. Money and status don't make one person better than the other. In fact, I just saw this on Facebook the other day (and had to share it) - Be the person your dog thinks you are. Does that sum it up or what? So, Bella and Jennifer, thank you for teaching me that lesson.I'm going to stop here - for now (evidently I just couldn't be concise enough!). But I will be doing part 2 of this post in the next few days. Don't worry, it will be shorter. But I still have more to say. And you don't want to stifle my creative literary juices, do you? (Do you? It's not a rhetorical question.) Stay tuned.

I was hooked by the writing style and story from the first page. Couldn't wait to pick it back up when I had to pause. Will is everything that Harper needs, and vice versa. Warm, rich, sexy, and full of glorious feels.

Great story. Great characters ..,.main ones being Will, Harper & Jeremy. Multiple extended characters who flesh out the story to make it one you don't want to put down (You might miss something!). Jeremy is a " boy of seven" in a young man's body Both parents are deceased, leaving him in the care of his twenty two year old sister Harper, who takes her responsibility of Jeremy very seriously. Harper meets Billionaire Will through Jeremy who has a love for cars, not just cars, but FAST CARS!There is no way to give a quick synopsis of this story; you must read it, savor every page of it. Authors Andre & Skull have out done themselves putting together a story worth reading. Give yourself "time" to read it & enjoy every word for it has life's lessons in it for all of us, Billionaire or not.This reader would not normally have read this book for many reasons, I'm glad I did. As the old saying goes, "You can't judge a book by its cover;" so true, so true. Read this one & Enjoy!

BREATHLESS IN LOVE is a standalone read with a happy ending. There are sexy scenes if that is an issue for you. This book has over 6,700 reviews &/or ratings. I'm impressed that, that many readers would write a review. On to mine. This story is about a young woman that is her brother's guardian. He was hit by a car when he was 7, it left him with a brain injury that will forever change his life. But his life is changed when he writes a billionaire that has cars as his hobby. His sister will have her life changed as well. In fact, so will the billionaire.This is a good story that takes two people and goes through the things in their lives that have made them who they are. It shows how they learn to accept the past and move on into the future. It is an entertaining and thoughtful read. I definitely recommend it.I was not paid for this review. I am not a writer, nor do I know one. I am not kin to this author. I am not a bot. I am a reader, and this is my opinion, nothing more, nothing less. 8/10/2023.

I wish I could rate this book higher. There is a good story in there. For me, there were too many in-depth bedroom scenes. Bedroom, garage, car, motel....I tended to skim through those details to get to the story that I wanted.I loved Will's story. I loved the relationships he had with people.If you are interested in lots of bedroom detail you will appreciate this story. If you aren't so much into that; the story is good. Skim as I did and read Will' s story.

I lived this book for its accurate portrayalof disabled as not helpless and able to learn. It's a sexy fast read with smart ways to behave with disabled people without demeaning behavior. Refreshing.

Will Franconi, reformed bad boy, billionaire exotic goods importer and classic car collector gets a letter from a young man about his classic car collection and he agrees to show it to him. Jeremy Newman shows up at the hanger he uses to store some of his cars with his sister, Harper and Will finds he is feels "Breathless in Love" at their first meeting.Jeremy is an eighteen year old that was hit by a car when he was eight and suffered brain damage and will remain an eight year old mentally for rest of his life. Will has his issues about his past history as a Roadside Warrior and Harper takes her responsibility for Jeremy seriously since the death of her parents. Will knows he has to move slowly with the Harper and Jeremy too to win them both to be his family. Great plot with a happy ending after lots of problem solving.

I loved the book. The story was funny at times then serious. I highly recommend it. It's the first book I've read by her. Ill definitely read more of hers.

This story was one I couldn't put down, only slept for a couple of hours but loss of sleep was the last thing on my mind. My only complaint is that I need the next book in the series. Oh well a few more sleepless nights coming up.

It's a wonderful book filled with all the emotions one can think of. It's a fairy tale book for anybody who believes in love. I would recommend it to all who loves love.

Bon livre

A bit far-fetched perhaps, and at stages quite unrealistic, but overall a sweet and heartwarming romance, not least through the introduction of the female protagonist's brother Jeremy.When speed-loving Jeremy writes to billionaire Will Franconi, he and his sister Harper leave quite an impression on Will, who in turn tries to make Harper see her wild side. She, however, has been responsible for her disabled brother from a very young age, and is no one to shirk responsibilities. Will is convinced anyway that his past prevents him from deserving something as sweet as Harper and her brother.As I said, a bit far-fetched, also, after the fourth repetition of Will hinting at his dark past and not being deserving of Harper, I think even an inattentive reader will have understood the hint. It really did not have to be repeated a tenth, or fifteenth, or even twentyfifth time - unless the author needed filler text, of course, because otherwise the story would have been much shorter?That was really the worst criticism from my part, I could overlook the little unrealistic scenes or behaviourisms, Jeremy was just too sweet to be true, and the ending was just perfect for everyone involved, including the reader.I would definitely like to get my hand on more books in this series.

This story is amazing, it's packed with everything from; beautiful characters, action, suspense, smiles, laughs, sex and love. I thought it was a beautiful in-depth love story, one I truly enjoyed, it made me laugh, cry and hold my breath!!! Brilliant, I've already purchased the next book.💜💜