Review: All or Nothing At All (Billionaire Builders, #3) by Jennifer Probst

AJ

Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

Review

2 heartbreakingly unfuriating stars

This is the third and final book in the Billionaire Builders series, and it’s the one I have been really excited for. From the moment Tristan and Sydney were in the same room, you just know they have a history, and though on the surface there has been some animosity and they’ve pretty much ignored each other, the sexual tension that has been zinging between them for the last two books has been building the anticipation for this final book of the series. But there were certain twists and plotlines that I just couldn’t deal with, and that made this an aggravating and rage-inducing read for me that required much venting with my book buddies (thanks for that), and results in this ranty, feel-purging review.

Please note that while this is the third in the series, each book is about a different couple and this one can be read as a standalone.

Tristan is the middle of the three Pierce brothers, and is the straight-laced, serious one. The boys’ world fell apart following the tragic death of their mother and, lost, bitter and grief-stricken, they all went their separate ways. The death of their father over a year ago bought them all back together when they were forced to work together in order to save the family construction building, and since then they have mended their relationships, and each of them has found their place working alongside each other.

Sydney has been a part of the boys’ world for as long as they can remember. She grew up with them, and then began working with Pierce Construction when she was just 16 years old. She has been by their side through everything, and they have looked after her in turn as she balanced her work with being a single mother. And now, she’s ready to branch out and ask for a higher stake in the company – a move that will have her working side by side with Tristan on a huge project.

As I said earlier, Tristan and Sydney have always had a special chemistry between them and it was clear that there is some sort of romantic/sexual edge to it. There was one potential storyline for them that I was hoping couldn’t come to pass, and it was much to my disappointment when I started this book and chapter 1 revealed what I was dreading… Yes, they had had a relationship in the past, and yes, Tristan is indeed the father of her 7 year old daughter and that neither he nor his family know.

Now, this adds an interesting dynamic to their situation. They are working together, their animosity soon becomes grudging respect (on his side) and angst-ridden lust (on her side), and they soon recapture their easy friendship, which becomes more as their attraction to each other quickly rekindles and they find themselves falling for each other all over again. But Sydney’s secret is still between them. Will Tristan ever be able to understand and forgive the decision she made all those years ago?

Warning… spoilery rant ahead…

Spoiler
OK, so I love a second-chance-romance. There’s something so magical about two people either recapturing love for the second time, or two people who have never really moved on from each other, coming back together. That feeling was definitely there with Tristan and Sydney, and I know that a lot of readers will revel in the drama and emotion of it all, but I wasn’t able to feel it alongside them because I couldn’t get past the fact that SHE. HID. HIS. CHILD. FROM. HIM. FOR. SEVEN. FREAKING. YEARS!!!

How? How can any mother… any woman… do that and possibly think that it’s ok? If it’s a dangerous situation, I could understand, but that is not the case here. Tristan wanted to go off and explore, leaving town and a heartbreaking situation with his family to branch out and find himself for a while. And Sydney figured that if she told him, he would resent her because he wouldn’t have been able to do that. You know what? Grow up princess!! This stuff happens, and people learn to change their plans and deal with it! It doesn’t give you the right to play God and deny Tristan the chance to decide that for himself! It’s pretty much unforgivable in my eyes, and I was so mad for the majority of this book. I felt zero sympathy for her at all.

It’s even worse because she has worked side by side with his family for all of that time, joining in on family dinners, and even seeing and working with Tristan every day for over a year. Her daughter, Becca is a big part of all of their lives, and none of them have a clue that she’s theirs in more ways than they realize. Even when Tristan and Sydney start seeing each other and Tristan begins to spend time with Becca, Sydney she doesn’t immediately come clean, intentionally avoiding getting too close so she doesn’t have to reveal her secret.

Now everything had changed.
Because Tristan was in her bed, and in her life.
And the truth was finally going to come out.
She dropped her face into her hands. Maybe she could push him away. Pretend it was only about sex. Maybe it wasn’t too late to backtrack and try to get back to the way things were between them.
Because if she couldn’t, she was going to have to tell him the truth.

Seriously? AARGGHHHH!!!

And all this while he’s fighting so hard to build something between them.

“I just want you. I want a second chance at your heart. I know you’re scared shitless because of what happened in the past, but we’ve both changed and grown, and I refuse to blow this because it’s easier to pretend it’s all about sex.”
…
“I want Becca to join us too. She’s part of you, and it’s a package deal. It’s time we date, sweetheart. I won’t take no for an answer.”

And when Sydney finally grows a pair and reveals all, my heart broke for Tristan, for little Becca, and the rest of the family, as they struggle to come to terms with Sydney’s betrayal.

“Do you know how much time I’ve lost? Time I can’t get back. Do you know what that feels like, Sydney?”
Eyes glittering with fury, he stepped toward her, his muscled body tight with drawn tension. “How would you feel if you found out you had a daughter and missed the first seven years of her life? Missed her first step, first word, first smile? And you had no choice, because the person you once trusted decided to keep her from you?”
…
“You never gave me a chance. Even when I came back, and you had opportunities to tell me, you continued to lie.” He backed away again, his face haunted. “Even in bed, buried inside of you, thinking we had this connection nothing could break, you lied.”

He was a father.
Her words spun in his brain, causing more havoc. That little girl belonged to him, and he’d been kept from her. He didn’t care about Sydney’s tangled rationalizations or excuses. He deserved a chance to be a father and hadn’t been given one.
…
All this time he’d been patient, tearing down each one of her walls, pleasing her body, and through every kiss, she’d known and deliberately held the most precious thing of all from him.
Family.

*sob*

And though I was already mad as hell at her, I still managed to get madder because through it all she never apologises. She never admits that she did the wrong thing, instead constantly defending what she did and declaring that she made the right decision for her daughter – never mind that she deprived both Becca and Tristan the first 7 years of her life that they could have spent together. How is that ok? You know what? It’s just not, and I don’t understand how she could justify it.

Everything changes for the three of them once the secret is out, and I admit that Tristan’s response to finding out the news is extreme and he doesn’t handle it as well as he could have. But I could actually understand his motivation and his reasons for doing what he did, and by that point I had zero fucks to give for Sydney, so whatever.

Beneath all of the pain, anger and confusion, you can see that there are real feelings, and there is an emotional and dramatic love story as Tristan and Sydney work to get past her lies and betrayal, and his (in my opinion, completely justified) anger and coldness. This book is an angsty ride with lots of ups and downs as they navigate their difficult situation. It’s an interesting dynamic for a love story, and a lot of romance fans will probably lap it up, and I get that, because usually I would have loved the sweet moments, the seriously passionate sexy time and the swoony declarations.

“I don’t care about then. I care about now. And the woman you are right now, right here, is the one I’m falling for all over again … I’m playing for huge stakes, Syd. I’m playing for you.”

But for all of the above reasons, this one just didn’t work for me. I was pissed off from chapter 1 and that soured everything, and it only got worse the more I had to read about Sydney’s self-righteous declarations that she did the right thing, and never even apologising for it. It’s just not ok. But bravo, Tristan for clearly being a better person than I!

The scenes with Tristan and Becca were just gorgeous, and I loved seeing the brothers all together and being a rock for Tristan to lean on, supporting him and having his back completely. There is some progression for each of their stories with their girls and an epilogue which finishes off all three of the stories really nicely. And those relationships are what saved the book from being a DNF for me.

Like the others in the series, this book is really well written, and the characterisation, dynamics and romance are all there… I just couldn’t with this one.

2 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Billionaire Builders series

     

Everywhere and Every Way (#1) (Caleb)
Review
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

Any Time, Any Place (#2) (Dalton)
Review
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

Somehow, Some Way (#2.5) (Brady)
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

All or Nothing At All (#3) (Tristan)
Review
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *