I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Nixie, lost in an unfamiliar part of Manhattan, is rescued by Nash, who sees two men follow her into a dark alley. It turns out that Nixie is hiding from her ex-bofriend, but is unwilling to accept any assistance from Nash, despite his persistence and vast resources.

I enjoyed the early text conversations between Nash and Nixie, where she repeatedly turns him down, but after that, I struggled a bit, both with the plot and the characterization. Both Nixie and Nash behaved in ways that were contradictory, and they never had a straight conversation with each other. They spent too much time being carried along by circumstances or just plain dithering, despite the fact that Nash is supposed to be some corporate wizard and Nixie claims to be able to look after herself.

SPOILERS


Nixie doesn't need Nash to be her knight in shining armour, except that he does save her after she is knifed, and she agrees to move into his hotel suite, allows him to have her locks changed and security in her apartment block upgraded, allows his driver to take her everywhere, and allows the hotel staff to walk her dog. Nixie is not afraid of Derrick, except that actually she is afraid of him and he successfully forces her to do all sorts of things. Nash will never love again or get married because Eva betrayed him with his own brother, except that maybe Nash will marry Eva and help her raise her children. Nash never allows a woman to sleep at his apartment, except that he brings Nixie there, except later she has to sleep at the hotel.

Low points for me:

The marriage of convenience hatched by Eva (into which Nixie and Nash seem happy to sleepwalk) so Nixie and Nash can marry, divorce, and Eva can then marry Nash.

The fact that it turns out Derrick doesn't have any gambling debts because his father has been secretly paying them.

Nash's comment:

"Over the years, I'd realized it wasn't a good idea to work closely with attractive women. They usually wanted to be the future Mrs Knight much more than a current colleague. They were a distraction, and inefficient."

Deal Breaker by Tara Leigh is a fantastic read. Ms Leigh has delivered a well-written book. The characters are amazing and my favorite part of the book. Nash is a self-made billionaire and part-time boxer. Nixie is an art student in hiding from her ex. After Nash rescues Nixie from a couple of thugs in an ally, things get interesting. There's plenty of drama, humor, action and suspense along with a bit of sizzle that kept me focused on my kindle from page one to the end. I totally enjoyed reading Deal Breaker and look forward to reading more from Tara Leigh in the future. Deal Breaker is book 2 of the Billionaire Bosses Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.

Running away from an abusive ex-boyfriend only to be saved by a seemingly similar domineering alpha male can make a woman scream in frustration. Nixie does not scream. She becomes a prickly woman that makes it hard to understand why Nash would even want to woo her. This is the second in Ms. Leigh's series and it is lovely. Reading this book as a standalone will be fine. Still, I recommend reading the first book too.

Not every person is cut out to be confrontational and pushing back hard when someone shoves them. And that's okay. Nixie chooses to deescalate a volatile situation by removing herself from the equation. Sometimes this works. Sometimes, ignoring the one who wants attention will force that person to move on. Unfortunately, it does not work for Nixie with either men - her ex and Nash.

There are disturbingly several common characteristics between Nixie's ex and Nash. One could postulate that Nash is more attractive because he has millions of dollars and Nixie's ex does not. They both come across as aggressive, domineering and to some degree, stalkerlike. Nash's inability to take the answer "no" from Nixie is a bit troubling. So what makes Nash different? His intent. Intent makes all the difference in the world. Nash's actions when compared to Nixie's ex demonstrates that Nash cares about Nixie's well being and sees her for who she is, not what he wants her to be. Nash and Nixie's contentious non-relationship is amusing. Because as Nixie states at point blank, she isn't Nash's type because she is not easy.

I liked Nixie. She is a character who is very different from me but she isn't weak. Some may think she's weak, just like Nash's sister in law, Eva. Because when Nixie is feeling threatened, she tends to run. Running away to live another day is not a bad thing. Nixie sticks around when it matters most. Her life has been tragic and it takes a while for such tragedy to lessen with time. It is understandable why Nixie behaves the way she does. She does stick up for herself and is a genuinely thoughtful and kind person. She is a perfect balance for Nash's cold-hearted ruthlessness.

Ms. Leigh creates a lovely romance which takes time and a building of trust. The point of this romance for me is that trust is hard won and when lost, it is very hard to win back. Still, it is possible. This seems to be a recurring theme for this series so far. And I like it. The erotica in this story is light and vanilla. There are some humour innuendos and Nash behaves pretty much like horny business men I know. It is both amusing and at times exasperating. This light-hearted romance is recommended to readers who love happily ever afters with alpha males.