Sandy M’s review of The Billionaire Next Door (O’Banyon Brothers, Book 1) by Jessica Bird
Contemporary Romance published by Silhouette Special Edition 1 August 2007

Isn’t it just wonderful when you find a book you can’t put down, a book that calls to you, makes you feel a gamut of emotions, and gives you the romance you were looking for in picking the next book to read? Oh, and a hot hero to boot? Look no further. Jessica Bird has made the choice easy for your next read.

[Ed.: Read on to the end of the review for information about J.Bird’s plans for her next series…]

Sean O’Banyon has escaped his horrible childhood at the hands of his father, as has his two brothers. He came from nothing but violence and now he’s the man all of Wall Street looks to to turn their deals into gold. And he’s a billionaire, he has the best of everything, a beautiful woman always on his arm. All it takes is a phone to call to free him of his past. Or so he thought. Learning his father has died breaks that final link to the man he and his brothers feared for so long, but when he goes to finally rid their lives of their shared brutality, Sean finds himself returning again and again to the place he hold himself he’d never go back to once he left.

Grieving for her friend and the father she never had, Lizzie is the one to tell the Eddie O’Banyon’s son that his father is dead. She’s stunned when Sean accuses her of being after his father’s money, but even such suspicions can’t overcome her attraction to him. Knowing he won’t stay once his father’s estate is taken care of, for once she does something for herself and falls into bed with him, giving him all he needs to break her heart. But when she finds out who he really is and what he truly thinks of her when he discovers “proof” she bilked Eddie of huge amounts of money, it’s time for Lizzie to walk away and never look back.

It’s almost a sin to bring this book down to two quick paragraphs like this. Sean is a great hero. His lesson that all his billions can’t make his past or his pain go away, it can’t buy him love and happiness is a moving progression to watch once he meets Lizzie. She doesn’t push him, doesn’t nag him to talk about whatever it is that causes him to become a different person when he walks into his father’s house. I loved all their time spent together, whether it was with laughter or tension between them. And the differences in their current circumstances is very interesting, as are their individual reactions to that subject the more they learn about one another. Then their realizations they each had wrong impressions about their interactions with Eddie are quite enlightening. For them and for the reader.

I also like that this is just the first book in the trilogy. Sean is the middle brother. We meet Billy, the youngest brother in this book and we get a little peek at Mac, the oldest. The treatment they each suffered at their father’s hands is on opposites end of the spectrum, as is the way they’ve dealt with it and do deal with it in the here and now. Their books have the potential to further blow a reader away just with the emotion alone. I am definitely looking forward to them.

Grade: A+

[Ed note: as of right now there is no date set for the next book in the series but they are still happening and Jessica Bird is still excited about the series. She said she would let us know as soon as something was solid. As soon as we know you will. Sorry, I didn’t have better news but she does sound really excited about the series! And if it wasn’t for deadlines, RT and such she would have been here for our SSE Spotlight.]

From the back cover:

     Take–no–prisoners deal–maker Sean O’Banyon ate Wall Street financiers for lunch. So why was he losing sleep over a fresh–scrubbed nurse in old jeans and a too–big T–shirt? Maybe it was those warm green eyes. Or the way she blushed when he got personal. There was no denying the serious chemistry between them. But sooner or later Lizzie would learn his deep, dark secrets: First, he had trust issues. And second—he’d rather not go into the whole family thing. He didn’t do relationships…but amazingly, Lizzie made him want one anyway.

     Read an excerpt.