Love in all it's tragic glory turns into an empowering tale of happily ever after. Ms. Ashenden breaks down barriers and tunnels deep into the soul of her readers. The Big Bad Billionaire is a haunting story of obsession, romance and so much pain. Ella and Rafe share a bond that has remained embedded in their souls. It borders on manic, but it seems almost ethereal. The misunderstood little boy has now become an embittered adult with a multitude of agendas and an obsession to gain back all he's lost. Including the angel that has flitted through his mind and held a claim on his heart for years. Can the broken man find redemption in the scared young woman that has yet to discover her own strength? There were so many moments that I could barely breath from all the emotions. Part Phantom of the Opera, part Little Red Riding Hood, Ella and Rafe dance to the beat of their own drum and the melody is one not easily ignored.

The Big, Bad Billionaire, is a great representation of Little Red Riding Hood and I love this type of books.Ella is an orphaned ballerina and ends up being Rafael's ward. Their story is sometimes sad but also angsty and I loved it.It's a quick read and now I really want to read the rest books.

Fairy tales have fascinated everyone no matter their age. The Big, Bad Billionaire is a fairy tale themed story, particularly Red Riding Hood themed.

Everything from the writing, the story, and the characters were alright to read.
the ending was a little rushed in my opinion but besides that the book was a generally okay read.


eARC was kindly provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a fan of this author, but I wasn't feeling this one. The characters just got on my nerves -- one a bully and the other an indecisive whiner -- and then the predictable ending.

Well this one melted my kindle! This author never fails to deliver strong alpha makes and strong feisty women. Rafe is a complicated character. He struggles with controlling his anger and drags around a whole lot of baggage centered on revenge. Ella is drawn to Rafe and throughout their story, she struggles with her feelings and her physical attraction to him. I enjoyed their journey tremendously.

The scene in the dressing room at the theater...wow. Pretty steamy. I felt like there was some slight similarities to 50 Shades, but this was more digestible and less ridiculous.

I received an ARC of this book from netgalley. I am sorry to say I was not a fan of this book. The odd relationship and manipulation just turned me off and I couldn’t finish the book.

So we all loce our fairyrales and this one is thewith The big bad wolf (Rafe) and then we have the Little Red who Ella.. which shaped them to who they are today, insecure, mistrustful people. How will they cope, withnit, will they deal with the past? Well you Ned to read, its pretty good.

First let me say that I love Ms. Ashenden. I have read many of her books and love her tortured heroes. Both main characters are tortured in this story. So, I should love it, right? Not really. I felt a disconnect with both of them. Ella needs someone to take care of her (even though she does not want to admit it) and Rafe is very controlling but also needs someone to take care of him (even though he does not want to admit it). I wanted more of their background and a progression of them getting to trust one another. I am not sure anyone can hold their own against Nero who is still my favorite in this series.

*** 3.75 Stars ***
A modern retelling of Little Red and The Big Bad Wolf. A broken, possessive, domineering hero searching for his ever more.

Ella is a ballerina living with her grandmother. She wants to fulfill her dream of going to dance school in Paris, but doesn't have the money. Rafael is a billionaire that gets what he want's, and his next prize is Ella. They both have feelings for one another, but Ella is scared of the BIG BAD WOLF. He wears a mask around everyone but Ella can see right through him.

A hot steamy romance that will get your blood pumping!


*Why my rating?*

Even though I did enjoy this story, I had trouble connecting with the main characters. Couldn't see that connection that made me think that Ella and Rafael were made for each-other.

First i have to thank the folks at Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC - i'm a huge fan of Jackie Ashenden and they've gifted me with the pre-read. 

We've gotten stories from all the other brothers so it's about time that we get to see what the story was for Rafe.  In the last book we watched him take down his father's role as CEO and now it's come to fruition.  He seems to have everything that he could ever want - with the exception of one thing.  one person.  Ella. 

Ella - our leading lady is a bit of a girl - twenty years old and really just trying to live her life as best as she can.  Dancing is the only thing that she has to look towards - her mother was a ballerina and she's only ever wanted to follow in her footsteps.  Which would take her to a summer intensive program in paris.  That of course is where Ella sees her path crossing with Rafe. 

As Ella's newly appointed guardian, Rafe has control over the money that Ella needs to go to Paris and of course he's able to manipulate the situation so that it works to his benefit.  He makes it so that Ella is at his control, and in order to get what she wants, she has to give him a bit of what he wants.  her.  So this is a story of seeing that power struggle unfold while also watching what was once a sweet relationship when she was a baby turn into something that's heated and intense. 

There's also the underlying story of how damaged both of them are.  Rafe has an uncontrollable temper and that was something that was a fear for her family when she was a baby and something that he struggles to control and contain now.  Ella on the other hand has her own anxiety issues stemming from the loss of her parents.  She's afraid to experience life at all in the fear of losing everyone and everything that's important to her .

It's a tough journey that they go on, and one that's written in the exacting style of Ms Ashenden as we've become accustomed to over the last few books in this series.  there's heat and passion that jumps off the pages, interspersed with intense anger and fear.  all the right components to making a story a good one.  So...on that note, i think that we've wrapped things up with all the brothers and i hope that you've enjoyed the series and get a chance to get this next installment when it's out in November.

Wolf = Rafe + Red = Ella
These fairy tales are on the dark side, which is not my preference, but they are really well written. My biggest issue was that I felt disconnected from these characters. I needed more information on them, needed more development of the characters. I'm dying to know what happens to Olivia, the de Santis sister, but I think that will be a book in the Tate Brothers series.

3.5 stars
This modern retelling of the Little Red Riding Wood was interesting to read, with another broken, possessive and domineering hero by Jackie Ashenden. Rafe de Santis didn’t move me as his brother Nero, but he was a fine example of the deeply tortured and cruel hero in which Ashenden excels.

This is the first book by this author that I've read. I fell in love with the characters from the first page. The characters have amazing chemistry. I was hooked from the first page with this book. The mixture of hot and steamy scenes, make this an amazing story. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future. Highly recommended I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

Absolutely loved this book!! Amazing read! Wow!!! Highly recommend reading this

The Big, Bad Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden is another fantastic read from Ms. Ashenden. She has given us a well-written book and furnished it with characters that you love and some you love even when you don't want to. Rafael is a billionaire that plays by his own rules. Ella is an orphaned ballerina and ends up being Rafael's ward. Their story is sometimes sad and a bit more angsty than I like but overall, it held me captive to my kindle from start to finish. There's plenty of drama, bits of humor and 5 alarm heat in this book. I enjoyed reading The Big, Bad Billionaire and look forward to reading more from Jackie Ashenden in the future. The Big, Bad Billionaire is book 4 in the Billionaire Fairy Tales 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.

Little Red Riding Hood.

Rafael de Santis - Rafe - had a certain anger problem, so his father, Cesare de Santis, sent him to live with his grandfather and be "tamed."
The years he spent with his grandfather in fact taught him to be calmer. But he also learned to be cool, calculating, and vindictive.

Rafe, the younger brother of Santis, lost more than the affection of his parents and the company of his brothers. He lost Ella Hart's friendship.
As a child, Ella always went to Santis' house and was fascinated by Rafe. Ella's parents were friends of the Santis couple. Until on Rafe's 14th birthday, he had a fit of fury and punched the wall. Ella, without understanding, became nervous and cried. From that day on, Ella was no longer there.

Over the years, Rafe had sporadic news of Ella and was accompanying her dancer's career by going to every recital.
Ella grew up and became a beautiful woman.
Rafe realized that his interest in her was beyond friendship. He wanted to court her but was forbidden.
After finally getting revenge on his father, taking away the presidency of the family company, Rafe would give his final card getting custody of Ella, who had been passed to his father when her parents died.
Rafe would have full access to Ella and her fortune and so he could show to Little Red Riding Hood just how Big Bad Billionaire he was ...
5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I have liked most of the books Jackie writes and this was no exception. I am so glad I picked this book up. I really think if you're a Jackie fan you will not be disappointed with this read at all.

Ella is a ballerina who lives with her only remaining family member, her grandmother. She was to go to a dance school in Paris for the summer but has to ask her guardian for the money.
Rafe is the CEO of his family’s weapons company. He makes his father resign and takes over guardianship of Ella’s trust. He shows everyone how mean he can be. He wants Ella and will do anything to have her, even bribe her. He tells her she has to make a case for the money she wants.
Ella has feelings for Rafe but doesn’t want to. She is scared of him until she spends more time with him and realizes he wears a mask around everyone. But she sees the real him and he doesn’t like that. When he goes off on her, he tells her to leave, so she does. Can she get him to open up to her or will she lose him?
Great story. Very hot sex. A wolf and red riding hood storyline, sort of. He refers to himself as a wolf and Ella plays red riding hood in a ballet.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for netgalley *

Really liked the overall story, the only thing I wish the author could have done was develop the character's relationship a bit more. The ending was great, will definitely be reading more from the author in the future. :)