What a Rich Woman Wants by Barbara Meyers

Apparently, the rich woman in this novel wants the exact same thing I do: a hunk of man muscle with tight abs and a firm tushy.

What’s it About? 

Right about the time Lesley Robinson’s father’s stroke left her in charge of his Fortune 500 company, she adopted her housekeeper’s sick baby and divorced her philandering husband. She’s survived the past six years by building an impenetrable wall around her emotions. But when a hunk of a sheriff’s deputy turns up at her office to apply for a grant from the company’s foundation, her distrust of men and relationships takes a direct hit. Niko Morales clawed his way out of gang life to build a new one grounded in law enforcement and a passion to help disadvantaged youth. So, Lesley needs a companion for an upcoming social occasion? He’s no gigolo, but for his community center, and maybe for her, he’ll wear the monkey suit. Without any apparent effort at all, Niko sneaks under Lesley’s cool façade, shaking up everything she believed about herself. But when their relationship is threatened by the sins of others, they’ll both have to step up—and out of their comfort zones. Or they’ll lose the one thing they want most: each other.

First Impressions

I must say that I was surprised, and happily so, that for a romance novel featuring a sexy sheriff’s deputy, we didn’t have any sex scenes featuring handcuffs. Mighty refreshing. Just because there are no restraining accessories used during their sexual activities doesn’t mean that they didn’t have any hot scenes together. Far from it. The fact that Lesley was a strong-willed business woman meant that she had no problem making the first move. Actually, it was more like the first shove up against a wall. Niko may have let her take control for a bit, but it didn’t take long for him to run the show.

Inner Struggles vs. Outward Battles

Lesley’s ex-husband was a total man-whore  who managed to knock up one of their employees. In an act of compassion, Lesley adopted the child when the mother was deported, and eventually kicked her hubby to the curb. However, she never really connected with the child, Ricky, and when Niko makes such a quick connection with him Lesley vows to be a better mother. In spite of this declaration, the novel definitely focuses more attention on Niko and Lesley’s budding romance between the sheets rather than the relationship with her son. Honestly, I think her attempts to reconcile with Ricky should have been featured more prominently in the story.

When Ricky’s birth mother, Maria, comes back on the scene demanding money and increased contact with her son, we really have a great balance between this suspenseful side of the story, and Niko and Lesley’s romance. Towards the latter half of the book though, our lovebirds have some internal struggles going on where they question whether or not their relationship will last. These two had so much passion within the bedroom, that I really would’ve liked to see some of that heat extend out to an actual argument. Some of you might be asking why I wanted these two characters to have an intense shouting match. Two words people: makeup sex. Instead, they just have internal dialogues with themselves instead of each other. Come on people, communication is key! Once you’re done getting it all out you can go right back to the bedroom again 😉

Stand-Alone? 

Both Lesley and Niko have extensive back stories, but the book sheds much more light on hers rather than his. I felt like we just scratched the surface of some of the issues surrounding Niko’s gang-related past, and I really wanted to delve deeper. That being said, this is the fourth book in the series, so it’s possible that some of the important aspects of what made Niko the man he is today were already covered in a previous book. Now if that’s the case, then I feel a more in-depth summary was needed in this book, or it should have been recommended to read the books in the order which they were published. As it stands, it seemed like we only heard half the story.

*A copy of this book was provided for an honest review*

Series: Braddock Brotherhood, book 4.

Should you read it? Let me put it to you this way, after reading this book I was intrigued enough by the characters that I would consider going back and reading the books that came before. It seems like an interesting series, and i just might have to start from the beginning!

Smut Level: The guy works in law enforcement! In romance novel land that automatically increases the sex appeal by 2 points.

Get it on Amazon: Click Here. $4.24 Kindle Price. Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 219 Pages.