{"id":73347,"date":"2024-01-25T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=73347"},"modified":"2024-07-24T23:34:50","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T03:34:50","slug":"release-arc-review-the-billionaire-is-back-beacon-harbor-1-by-kaley-loring-connor-crais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=73347","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: The Billionaire Is Back (Beacon Harbor, #1) by Kaley Loring & Connor Crais"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Billionaire is Back by <\/strong>Kayley Loring & Connor Crais is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Funny, sexy, and beautifully romantic, this book made me laugh and swoon, and gave me all the feels. A small town, brother\u2019s best friend, childhood crush, all-consuming billionaire love story (and even a little fake relationship thrown in), this book has so many fabulously fun tropes, and I loved every single moment of it!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon US<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon UK\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Amazon CA<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon AU<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Universal<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a> (narrated by Connor Crais & Samantha Brentmoor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

People in this small town are whispering\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

What they\u2019re saying is that the billionaire is back and he\u2019s going after his best friend\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m trying to do is help Claire Sweeney\u2019s bakery business.<\/p>\n

What I haven\u2019t been able to admit to myself is that in all this time, no matter how hard I tried, I never forgot her.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now she\u2019s all grown up. I can\u2019t stop thinking about her muffin. Or how guilty I feel when I fantasize about buttering it.<\/p>\n

Claire has always been as much a part of Beacon Harbor as the hanging flower baskets, the boat tours, and the lobster races. She has no idea how beautiful I think she is. Even when she has flour on her face. Even when she\u2019s rolling her eyes at me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got her brother\u2019s approval, but now it\u2019s Claire that I really have to convince.<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t believe we have the right ingredients for a real relationship\u2014so she only agrees to pretend<\/em>\u00a0to be my girlfriend to help me close a deal in New York.<\/p>\n

I believe she\u2019s about to discover exactly how I roll when I know what I want.<\/p>\n

And what I want is her.<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

5 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

Funny, sexy, and beautifully romantic, this book made me laugh and swoon, and gave me all the feels. A brother\u2019s best friend, childhood crush, all-consuming billionaire love story (and even a little fake relationship thrown in), this book has so many fabulously fun tropes, and I loved every single moment of it!<\/p>\n

Claire Sweeney grew up in a small town in Maine with a massive crush on her brother\u2019s best friend. Grady was always sweet to her, but never really saw her as anything other than Jake\u2019s little sister. He left town to make a name for himself, and now he\u2019s a billionaire living the high life in New York City. When a family emergency brings him home for the first time in years, he gets a chance to revisit his past, and he\u2019s in for a massive shock when he runs into grown-up Claire.<\/p>\n

My heart seizes.
\nClaire. Claire Sweeney is coming toward me.
\nThose gray-blue eyes lock with mine, and she freezes.
\nI haven\u2019t been going back in time \u2013 I\u2019ve rocketed into the future.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Their reunion gave me tingles, and I was so excited, bouncing with anticipation as we see them reconnect. Claire wants to protect her heart, and she tries to keep her distance, but Grady is instantly all up in her business. He is bold and confident, and he goes after what he wants, and what he wants is Claire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had real reasons for holding back my feelings about you. but after last night, I realize those reasons are like anything else that has ever stood in the way of what I want. The obstacles aren\u2019t what matter. It\u2019s what I want that matters. I want you, Claire.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Grady is a master at wooing, and they are out there with the declarations and all the feels, and it\u2019s freaking awesome!<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to know that I\u2019m coming after you,\u201d he whispers.
\nMy mouth goes dry and I\u2019m finding it difficult to swallow. \u201cExcuse me?\u201d I squeak.
\n\u201cI\u2019m going to seduce you, Sweeney. <\/i>When I do, I don\u2019t what you to accuse me of skulking around and being underhanded or two-faced.\u201d He brushes a strand of hair from my forehead. \u201cWhen I make you mine, I want you to know that I did it head-on.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They get to know each other once again, and the attraction between them absolutely sizzles! And as they banter, flirt and tease, the tension builds brilliantly, and I love watching everything between them start to shift. Best of all, they are so honest with each other! It\u2019s taken them YEARS to get to this stage, but they\u2019re in a place where they know what they want and they\u2019re ready to claim it. It\u2019s emotional and all kinds of hot, and I was here for it!<\/p>\n

\u201cGod, I don\u2019t know if I would have survived tonight if I couldn\u2019t make you mine, Claire.\u201d
\n\u201cYou can. I\u2019m yours.\u201d
\nBowing his head, he whispers to my neck, \u201cFinally, finally.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s wonderfully fun and romantic. I was swept up in their mad attraction, their wild passion, and their intense love for each other, and was right there with them as they navigated the reality of their new relationship. Their fierce love each other shines off the page. They want to be together, but their lives are very different, and they have to work at it, but it\u2019s so, so worth it for the promise of all that they could be.<\/p>\n

This book gives us the complete journey \u2013 from teen longing to admitting feelings, coming together, watching them start to build their life as a couple and overcoming obstacles, and beyond. I laughed and smiled, and fell hard for these two, and I loved their story.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a fantastic cast of supporting characters \u2013 their parents are so funny, and both Grady and Claire have brothers that are screaming for their own stories (Grady\u2019s brother in particular, who is a complex one and who seems to have a little something brewing with Claire\u2019s feisty best friend, Vera). I cannot wait for more from this series.<\/p>\n

Such a fun and entertaining read. 5 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Beacon Harbor<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

The Billionaire is Back (#1)<\/strong> (Grady & Claire)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Rockstar Returns (#2)<\/strong> (Damien & Vera)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About Kayley Loring<\/b><\/h4>\n

\"\"Amazon Top 25 and USA Today bestselling author Kayley Loring had a fifteen-year career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles (under a different name) before moving to the Pacific Northwest to pen steamy romantic comedy novels. Now she\u2019s breathing cleaner air, writing dirtier words, and staring at her computer screen until her eyeballs dry out instead of getting facials and going to the hair salon. Read or listen to Kayley\u2019s books when you want to laugh, warm your heart, and enjoy top-notch banter, strong heroines who need to be chased, lovable characters you\u2019d want to know in real life, and swoon over perfectly imperfect book boyfriends.<\/p>\n

Learn more at\u00a0www.kayleyloring.com<\/a>
\nCome join Kayley in her Facebook reader group!\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/kayleyville<\/a>
\nFollow Kayley on Instagram:\u00a0https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kayleyloring\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to Kayley talk to the wildly talented narrators who narrate her audiobooks and her wildly talented author friends on the Multiple Eargasms with Kayley Loring podcast!<\/p>\n

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Instagram<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0FB Reader Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Audio Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0BookBub<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0TikTok<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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About Connor Crais<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Connor Crais is a classically trained actor living in the Midwest with his wife and three kids. He has been both a stage and television actor, and before plunging into the romance genre, he had been narrating commercials, audiobooks, and explainers for well over a decade from his home studio. From alphas to bosses to cocky sports stars (a particular favorite), he loves sparring with beautiful, sassy heroines (and their talented narrators) but also loves winning them over and reaching that happily ever after. He is excited to now create those stories as an author.<\/p>\n

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Website\u00a0<\/a> <\/strong>|\u00a0 Instagram<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 TikTok<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Twitter\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Newsletter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Billionaire is Back by Kayley Loring & Connor Crais is live! Funny, sexy, and beautifully romantic, this book made me laugh and swoon, and gave me all the feels. A small town, brother\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,443,65,9,29],"tags":[59,1533,1342,1140,48],"class_list":["post-73347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-billionaire","category-brotherbest-friend","category-lol-funny","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-beacon-harbor","tag-connor-crais","tag-kayley-loring","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/The-Billionaire-is-Back.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-j51","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}