She finds a wallet (not a shoe), and he’s a billionaire (not a prince), but this time, Cinderella’s turning the tables. . . . Julia: Shilling samples at a grocery store isn’t exactly my dream job. Yet here I am, tray in hand and fake smile plastered on my face. The one highlight is seeing him. I don’t know his name, but if I did, I’d scream it during the naughty dreams he inspires. He’s crazy … naughty dreams he inspires. He’s crazy handsome, all confidence and an air of power. He’s never said a word to me. Never even looked in my direction. Then one day he literally falls at my feet. Now I have his wallet. I know where he lives. And I’ve found the nude photos of him online.
It’s not the bruschetta on her tray he really wants to taste. . . .
Bastian: I’ve dated models, doctors, and CEOs, but something about Julia Rominger has me intrigued . . . and more than a little aroused. Maybe it’s her lush curves driving me wild. Or the fact that she has no problem telling me to go to hell. Either way, she’s seen me at my worst; I want to hit her with my best. I know where to touch, where to kiss, and just how far to push to drive her crazy. Soon, however, pleasuring Julia isn’t enough. I want to possess her. I need to make her mine. And I’ll fight to the bitter end to win her heart.
Don’t miss Virna DePaul’s Belladonna Agency series:
TURNED | AWAKENED
Or her other scorching romances:
A VAMPIRE’S SALVATION | ARRESTED BY LOVE | FILTHY RICH | MR. RICH
Praise for Mr. Rich
“Virna DePaul does smart and sexy like no one else. Mr. Rich brings the heat, the banter and the swoon!”—New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff
“Mr. Rich is sexy, emotional and laugh-out-loud funny! I fell in love with Julia and Bastian.”—Brenda Rothert, author of Blown Away
“Bastian meets his match in Julia and in true Virna DePaul style, the heroine brings the hero to his knees in this sexy rom-com.”—New York Times bestselling author Marquita Valentine
“I love a good meet-cute, and this one did not disappoint. Mr. Rich is a perfect mix of funny banter and a sexy story.”—USA Today bestselling author Sidney Halston
“Smart, sexy, and funny. That’s Virna DePaul. Every. Single. Time!”—New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett
This sexy standalone novel includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
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Mr. Rich is pleasant, but nothing too exciting. It’s not horrible or even bad, it’s just a little bland.
Julia is a grocery store samples girl, meaning she’s one of those people who hands out samples to customers as they walk by. She’s sort of put her life on hold after dropping out of music school. She has a best friend who works with her, Kevin, who is probably my favorite part of Mr. Rich. He’s funny and a loyal friend. Julia has been crushing on a customer she keeps seeing, who apparently has a really nice ass. Then one day he finally stands in front of her sample stand, but when she comes back from getting more chicken wings to hand out, he’s passed out cold on the floor in front of her stand. She ends up with his wallet after he’s taken away by the ambulance, and she makes it her mission to find out who he is so she can return the wallet. Unfortunately, their meeting is less than pleasant, and she leaves after returning his wallet, thinking not that he has a nice ass, but that he IS an ass.
Of course, Bastian Rich makes a decision to apologize, as he’d been interested in her, too since he saw her at the store, and they begin a casual but exclusive relationship that turns into more. But, Bastian has a secret he doesn’t want her to find out, and it makes him stupidly push her away after she reveals her real feelings for him.
Mr. Rich had all the makings of a good story: hot, rich hero who turns out to be a really nice guy, sassy, take no shit heroine, a good secondary cast, but it’s all a bit boring. The feelings aren’t very deep between the two of them and she is a mass of insecurities despite her actually being a smart, talented woman. It’s not that I didn’t like either of them, because I do, especially Bastian, I just wanted more. I wanted more passion (not sex, as there was plenty of that), more of a deeper connection, more excitement, just more, and I didn’t get it. It’s why I couldn’t rate it 4 stars or even 5.
This is my first Virna DePaul read and I found that I enjoy her writing. Mr. Rich is a fast read that I found to be ok. The main character Julia was wasting away working at a grocery store serving samples and it was quite depressing. But her obsession with the very attractive Sebastion Rich was quite funny. This book is certainly steamy and the chemistry between them is fire.
I liked Bastion’s character. He was quite enjoyable to read about, although his attraction to Julia is quite lust filled, but so is Julia’s. I think I would have loved him even more if the relationship he builds with Julia moved a little slower and the reader got to see more of the buildup between them. I also would have liked to see Julia not be pushed into making a decision about her future, but pursuing it on her own.
The Contemporary Romance world has become so big and so dear that you never know what you are going to find in there. Sometimes you come across stories that are unique; stories that are similar to one another; and other times you come across stories, which may not leave a great taste in your mouth after you finish them but they have this specific twist and ingredient inside their recipe which steals the show and partly fill the biggest gaps. Mr. Rich is one of these books for me.
I have to admit that the first thing that pushed me to check it out was the cover. I mean, come on! Did you see that guy’s body? I’m a leaving, breathing, hot-blooded 22-year-old female, right? So, no judge. No matter if you want it or not, the eye will get caught by that sight. It’s nature, girls! Embrace it. So, after I got my eyeful, I go to read the blurb and I have to say that I was quite intrigued by it. The whole Cinderella concept got to me. Although, the girl isn’t the Cinderella in this case. That trigged your curiosity, huh? Well, that’s how it goes:
Julia is a girl who works for the past few years in a grocery shop giving out products’ samples. Bastian is a billionaire CEO who does his shopping there. She has a magor crush on him. One day, while he’s speaking to her for the first time, he falls unconscious on the floor which ends up with him in the hospital and her with his wallet in her hands. So, after she learns who is he and where he works and leaves, she decides to pay him a visit and give him back his wallet. The things though don’t turn out as she had thought and she ends up putting him in his place. Whose only result is to strengthen Bastian’s crush on her and give him the strength and stubbornness to purse her and make her his.
Now you will be probably thinking where is the twist in that. Well, except for Bastian being an absolute sweetheart character – he has a health problem which complicates his life and put his love life in the freezer for a while. Although, Julia is more than what he can resist and he locks his illness in the box for a bit. But what is kept hidden, finds always its way out into the light. And this time is no different. The way, though, this situation is being handled with, especially from Julia, is beyond impressive and shows in a way that love is sometimes stronger and more stubborn than a hardship Life has decided to throw in the way.
Mr. Rich is a kind-of-short love story about two characters who have been and are going through a lot but they got to find in one another what was missing from them. The influence they had in one another and that I got to witness wasn’t something that haven’t read before, but it will never get old the heart-warming feeling it causes every time. Seeing someone to change for love is an event worth-celebrating on its own and something that always gets you and gives you hope for the future no matter how many times you get to witness it. And no one can denies the power a beloved person can have on us.