First, this is NOT your typical romance but so worth the read. And it will take you to the last few pages before you know what's happening. So grab something to drink and eat and some tissues because you will not want to move until you're done!

Nero is a billionaire recluse who is sees things one way, his way. Or you are fired. And he is very demanding. The flip side is he pays an astronomical salary and he may up it if it will actually find him a good assistant who will put up with him.

Phoebe is in need of work and money. Lots of money and fast. She's done her homework, or so she thinks, before going to her interview. That should have made her prepared, but it didn't. The thing is, she doesn't have much of a choice if she is going to get the money she needs.

This is an emotional override of emotions. Shock, anger, pity, fear, love, grief. You name it and it's in this book. Not for the faint of heart!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say that I wasn't expecting the story to turn out the way it did. At first I wasn't sure I'd like the story, since Nero came off as an A rate jerk but he grew on me really fast and in the end I really felt for him. His past nearly destroyed his future. He lived in terrible conditions as a child and was abused, so that left him with deep scars and with the fear to leave his comfort places. It's been years since he stepped out of his house, so of course he needed help from various assistants to get him things from the stores and so on. And that's where we get to met his new assistant, Phoebe. She needs the money that comes with her being by his side 24/7. He can be insanely demanding but over the time she comes to see his scars and fears. With that she of course wants to help him but that's easily said than done. You could say this is a story about two people that end up helping each other to get over their demons.
This story is a mix of sweetness, sexyness and sorrow. I really liked reading about the journey those two took and how that changed them. I would definitely recommend it!

Title: The Billionaire Beaste
Author: Jackie Ashenden
Publisher/Year: St Martin's Press 3/7/17
Length: 198 Pages
Series: Billionaire Fairytales #2

Overview

Nero de Santis: Damaged. Bastard. Beast.

Nero hasn’t left his house in ten years. He demands the world come to him, and the world is only too happy to bend to the strong-willed billionaire.

Ruthless, cold, and selfish, Nero wants for nothing and takes care of no one but himself. His last handful of assistants have left his house in tears, but the prim redhead applying for the job looks up to the task. Nero has spent his life shut within the walls he built, with no care to have more than a window to the outside world. But the fiery passion he senses beneath his reserved assistant’s exterior makes him want to break down the barriers he lives behind, and unleash the beast within.

Phoebe Taylor: Uptight. Misunderstood. Engaged.

Phoebe needs the obscene amount of money that comes with being Nero’s personal assistant for one thing, and one thing only—to pay for the mounting hospital costs that her fiancee’s two-year coma continues to incur. She’s heard rumors that the de Santis beast is a force that cannot be tamed—but even she isn’t prepared to handle the smoldering intensity simmering beneath his hard shell of feral dominance.

Nero is hiding something, something he is fighting with every step he takes. Yet he can’t help but stake his claim on this woman who has shaken up his life, and Phoebe can’t believe this animal of a man is the one person to ever look into her eyes and see her soul. Nero wants to keep her. He wants to devour her. And Phoebe just might let him.

My Thoughts

First off i should thank the folks at Netgalley and St Martin's Press for sending me this advance copy since i'm really a fan both of this author and a lot of what comes from the publisher. Anyhow, you'll remember that we began our journey with this family - the de Santis when we met Laurent in the first book - when he saved a girl Cinderella style from being homeless and bringing her into a life of stability, wealth and love. This 2nd book gives us more of the Beauty and the Beast aspect as the title suggests.

So we have Nero, the son that no one knew about for a while - or did they? He had a very interesting life up until he was about 15, and that's shaped the man that we know now. He lived in a 5x6 room for 10 years, his mother hid him from his violent stepfather (or did she), and because of that, he's got this insane fear of being outside and in the public. He's therefore closed himself off in 2-3 rooms in his HUGE house in new york city, and it's turned him into a demanding person/employer and that's where Phoebe comes in.

Phoebe is a Brit who's moved to new york with her fiance, a man who we learn is in a coma as a result of a car accident 2 years prior. Caring for him has become her life as she's devoted all her time and money to ensuring that he's got the best care in the hopes that perhaps he'll wake up. this is what leads her to Nero and that's where our story goes.

Throughout this story we see two really broken people come together in a way that's expected but sweet. Aside from what Phoebe's going through now, her past isn't that great either as we learn about her sister and parents, so it's not surprising that she and Nero find that they've got something complex together.

Nero's demanding ways shows us that he's going to have some type of controlling passion that will be unleashed, and Phoebe's insane calm and innocence means that we're going to see Nero's alpha dominance bring out a side of her that's so sexual that she never expected it.

What we get is Phoebe learning more and more about herself and how to pleasure not only Nero but herself too. Nero as a result starts to come out of his shell a bit and not just open up to things that he's terrified of, but to her too. It's sweet and hot all at the same time.

It's when secrets of his past are finally uncovered and Phoebe's forced to face a change in the situation with her fiance that we finally get resolution here and all in all it's nicely sorted out. It's such a sweet and intense story all that the same time and i can't wait to see what's next in this series.