Prince Maxence has disappeared because he rescued me, and now we’re on the run. One Night in Monaco, Prince Maxence went missing. Monaco’s palace security couldn’t find him. Neither could their secret service. They can’t find him because Maxence is my knight in shining armor, because he loves to play Sir Lancelot who rescues fair maidens, though I assure you, I’m neither. And now they’ve called …
And now they’ve called Max’s two buddies to look for him.
They’ll never find us.
Not until I’m safe from the mafia.
Because Maxence loves to rescue women in danger, and I’m in the worst danger a woman can be in.
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It’s not good to be the prince when the throne is up for grabs.
Prince Casimir and Lord Arthur ARE BACK in this high-suspense romantic thriller with private planes, limousines, and superyachts as they try to find Prince Maxence before his older brother Pierre finds him, because Pierre has sent commandos to kill Max before.
With the throne of Monaco in play, you play the game of crowns to win or you die, and Max is in real danger.
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One Night in Monaco is a fast-paced adventure that will have your pulse pounding and your heart on your sleeve. Friends are reunited and a new adventure has begun. This adventure will usher in a new era of revelation, love, and hope. What comes along the way is anyone’s guess, but be prepared to be completely enthralled, fully engaged, and utterly amazed.
Maxence is in battle over his heart, his mind, and his life. He knows what he wants, but will others allow him to have it? He just wants to walk a simple, happy path, but his options are short if not existent. All he can do is fight back with everything he has in order to find what he has always wanted. Once he does find it, nothing will tear him away from his end goal. What happens when you want nothing from the world, but it wants everything from you? Can you find a life that is worth living, or will you be left with nothing but a hollow heart and a plastic smile?
I have been looking forward to savoring Maxence’s story for awhile now. He has quite a tale to tell, and I am loving what I have read so far. He is just as intriguing if not more so then his friends Arthur and Casimir. They make such a dynamic and fascinating group of friends who are literally there for each other no matter what. To have and keep such amazing friends is truly a blessing. They want nothing from each other except their honest friendship and undying loyalty. I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Blair has kept the most interesting and fascinating of her characters for last. We know hardly anything about Max, but that will quickly change. I am so excited for this crazy and incredible adventure before me. I know that Blair will give us a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. Her deep passion and literary poise make each of her books a true delight and a precious gift to savor and enjoy. I encourage all romance readers to give her books a try. You will never be disappointed.
It has been a while since Blair Babylon has come out with a new book, and I was looking forward to reading Maxence’s story. Arthur and Gen and Casimir and Roxanne feature prominently in this “search” for Maxence. POV switches between the four of them and Maxence and the voice is third-person past-tense, not first. A new character is introduced at the end, Max’s new love interest, to be explored further in the next book, Rogue: Billionaires in Disguise: Maxence #1. Yes, this is the prequel.
Blair Babylon doesn’t write one-and-done books. Her books tend to be series, interrelated with characters from other series, which is wonderful because she develops characters so that the reader becomes friends with them. Xan Valentine/Alexandre Grimaldi makes an appearance, in name only. This story happens concurrently with Flicka’s story, after Wulf and Rae’s and Xan and Georgie’s, and presumably after the stories of the other bandmates. Keeping track of everything might be difficult with a less skilled storyteller. Not so with Blair Babylon. As a true professional, it’s clear that she has researched locations, which she describes in impeccable detail, has comprehensive character outlines and intricate plot summaries, and tells stories in a voice that is easy to follow and reminiscent of a friend telling you what they did over the summer. Except, I don’t have any friends who experience the things that her characters do.
There’s intrigue, danger, excitement, spies, royalty, unspeakable wealth, and even humor. And that’s one of my favorite things about these books. As an example, this made me chuckle: “Roxanne, standing beside Casimir, drew herself up to her full height of not-very-much…” Though not generally laugh-out-loud funny, there’s an understated wry humor that makes the reader feel like he/she is in on the joke, intelligent enough to “get it.” The characters, although almost otherworldly in their wealth, attractiveness, and intelligence, seem like regular folks with whom you’d like to hang out. You probably wouldn’t, because let’s be honest, even if they were real, they’d live in a different world, but because of her writing, you feel like you know them and are spending time with them.
I’ll be anxiously awaiting the next book in this series; perhaps, I should say the first in this series. I’m so glad that Blair Babylon is back at it, releasing another exciting new story with sympathetic characters and an intriguing plot.
Max gives us all a warm glow. This is the prequel to the third arm of the billionaire’s musketeers. The story is enjoyable and am looking forward to first book. This just wets the appetite. Pick this appetizer up for the special price and anticipate the next installment
Oh Wow, We’re Back On The Rollercoaster Of Emotions!!
Sibling Rivalry Gone Awry?
One Night in Monaco (A Billionaires in Disguise: Maxence Prequel)
This was an absolutely delicious first dip into the World of Maxence Grimaldi, potential heir to the Principality of Monaco!
His best friends, since they started at Le Rosey Boarding School, at 5 & 6 years old, get calls in the middle of the night to be informed Max is missing. That isn’t unusal, what is, is the fact that he’s missing whilst in Monaco!!
Arthur & his wife Gen, plus Casimir & his wife Roxy, all meet up at a private Nice helipad to get to into Monaco. Once the wives are situated in a hotel it’s time for the guys to start their search. Other than one quick glimpse of Max, and spotting a couple of suspicious guys heading in his direction, he isn’t spotted again on security footage. A female friend from their school days, is seen running in his direction, seemingly being pursued by her husband’s security though!
Things aren’t looking good for Maxence. With the potential for him inheriting his Uncle’s Principality & Billions, his brother might try to hide him or worse, he’s especially desperate now his wife, Flicka, has disappeared or run away!! Or the woman’s mobster husband could have him! Unless they’re working together?? There’s no way he could’ve escaped, Monaco is just too small.
I LOVED this book. I’ve been waiting for Max with love & patience, dying to get to know him better. This opened that window a little & it was so worth it! The characters we’d already met are just illustrious, they sweep off of the page into your heart & soul. Every one of this Author’s books has touched me & this one was no different. The love and loyalty these friends have is beyond compare! I can’t wait for more in this new series of Billionaires In Disguise: Maxence, I just know he’s going to rock my world and I truly can’t wait!
Debbie, 1970, UK
Maxance Grimaldi
Simone Maina
Friends, Casimir, Arthur and Maxance, will do anything for the other.
Max is missing… His friends fear the worst, when they look for Max, coming up empty handed, until, Genoa, Italy happened.
Maxance, always the gentlemen and rescuer, was needed by, Simone. He would do anything to help her get home, where she will be safe.
I want to thank Blair Babylon, for bringing Max’s story to life. I can’t wait until the next episode.
This book was really fun to read.
I feel that it was a connection between other books to fill you in on how people are doing. It also introduced people that I now want to read more about.
I was sad when I got to the end though because I wanted it to keep going.
—
Max has gone missing… Or some people think. Nothing like getting a midnight call to be told this.
Everyone is now wide awake, worried, and headed to Monaco to find out where he has gone and why he was there to begin with.
Max hasn’t really gone far. The people looking for him and his friend and the cameras just aren’t lucky enough to know where he has gone.
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This book does have a little bit of everything – love, mystery, suspense.
One Night in Monaco is like walking on a ledge while trying not to look down. Babylon masterfully guides readers through the heart stopping, unpredictable, neverending twists. Max is an enigma that will send chills up the spine while storming his way into your heart.
I have been waiting on the edge of my seat for Maxence’s story, and was not disappointed. It was an adventure from the very beginning and didn’t stop even as this first book was coming to a close. He is sexy and driven, and he faces danger around every corner. That’s what he gets for being a royal and truly altruistic.
This first book was exciting and action-packed with a bit of a romantic, sexy twist. Maxence is every bit the man I expected him to be and more. But he’s also trouble wherever he goes and seems to be able to easily anger some dangerous characters along the way. He’s the ultimate bad boy, and I know this adventure is only going to become more fascinating and sensational with each of his books. That cliffhanger was really something original, and I am completely intrigued. I look forward to the next chapter in his story.
In my opinion One Night in Monaco is the perfect setup for the next A Billionaires in Disguise adventure. Blair Babylon brought Arthur, Gen, Cash and Roxanne back to find Maxence, he has gone missing. There is a lot of suspense, mystery and adventure. I loved One Night in Monaco. I found it fun and entertaining. I couldn’t put it down. This is just a prequel so I can’t wait for Rogue to come out. The only question answered in this story is where Maxence was. Blair Babylon did leave many questions to be answered in future Maxence stories.
This prequel of one of the most curious of characters in Blair Babylon’s epic, expansive Billionaires in Disguise world, Maxence Grimaldi’s story is one I’ve been dying to get my hands on since I first ‘met’ him so long ago. He has always been an intriguing, mysterious dark horse and has popped in and out of many of the connected crossover stories from this series. After seeing those sexy little pieces of him, I want the total package, every juicy part!
He is the spare to the heir of Monaco and his psychopathic older brother, next in line for the throne, would love to see him gone, but Max seems to have 9 lives…how many does he have left now? He’s loyal to those he loves, has a habit of finding damsels in distress, thrives on danger and adrenaline flows through his royal veins. He’s intelligent, savvy, gorgeous and can vanish in an instant, disappearing for months without a trace, if the situation or his whims warrant it.
Seeing those lifelong friends, with their own stories to tell, jump to the rescue when Max goes missing, was a delightful bonus and I only wish this book had been longer to allow for MORE- more Max, more Arthur, Caz and their crazy ladies too. One Night in Monaco was a perfect, teasing start, written straight from Blair Babylon’s witty and talented mind. When she reveals what’s really going on underneath the dark cloak that hides Maxence Grimaldi’s true self in the next book, Rogue, I’m probably going to lose my mind!
To me, this isn’t a stand alone but the author may have another take on her books and series. These addictive, hot Billionaires were some of my first, exciting ebooks and I’ve reread several of my favorite characters stories more than once. If that isn’t an indication of how much I adore this author and her amazing, steamy, suspensefully twisted, often humorous and sometimes dangerous worlds, I don’t know what is!
This was my first read by the author and it was definitely not my cup of tea. Even trying to be objective and repeating myself it was fiction, it was way too much nonsense for me and any curiosity I had over the backstories of the other characters was killed by the fact that all of these are in multiple, seriously long books.
Wonderful romantic suspense by a fabulous author! Be sure to check it out!
I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting to read more about Maxence! There has been so much mystery around him. I don’t think his friends know exactly what he does when he’s gone for months at a time. In this book, the mystery continues, but we find out some pretty steamy and interesting tidbits about our Max! If you’ve been missing Cash and Arthur, fear not they are here along with Rox and Gen!! OMG! The way the book ends…well, you have to read it for yourself to find out!! Happy Reading!
Once Upon a Time in Monaco…
Maxence is Missing!
I’ve been waiting for this book for AGES. Maxence has always been a favorite character of mine. I love that Blair creates such intricate and inter-connected worlds. We see/hear peeks at characters from other books intermixed with this story – I LOVE that! These contemporary romance books are so much more than you’d expect from a typical billionaire story. She pulls us fully into the world of royalty, luxury, wealth, and espionage; with a side of potentially deadly family drama. Blair pours each character’s thoughts and experiences through the pages and embeds them directly into your brain (it’s amazing).
Action, suspense, romance, white knights, spies, and royal squabbles all play out in the most exciting 24 hours you’ve experienced in a long time. I can’t WAIT to read how the rest of Max’s story plays out. I just know there’s going to be some wild twists – in typical Blair style!
I voluntarily received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, although I would have happily bought it! I’ve read more than a dozen of Blair’s books, and not once have I been disappointed.
My general rating rationale:
3 – Perfectly fine story, perhaps some minor editorial errors. Entertaining. Typically with this rating I feel like there could have been MORE – be it believably/relatability, character development, internal dialogue, explanations or depth, richness to the overall storyline, etc. May lose a bit of engagement here and there but always finish reading.
4 – A very good book. Engaging, with well-developed characters, a great plot, relatable scenarios; keeps you invested to the last page. Would recommend to reader friends.
5 – Can’t say enough amazing things, loved the characters, fabulously detailed plot, a quick hook, intense investment in both story and characters (including supporting characters) throughout the book. Will tell anyone who will listen that they should read it (if they won’t listen, I’ll be louder).
Boy this is absolutely full of danger mystery action
Intrigue and twists and turns which makes it a real
page turner.
Some old friends from previous books makes an appearance.
Chemistry between the characters brings this book alive on the page.
Also the audio book of this book really brought it alive.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
August 22, 2020 edited to add my comments on the audiobook:
Audio Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5
Fantastic audiobook, great story!
This is the first book I’ve listened to that has more than just two performers. I was a bit nervous because I just wasn’t sure if I’d like to listed to so many different performers but it really was fantastic. I’d already listened to Joe Arden do a fantastic job with Blair’s Working Stiff, and John Lane’s wonderful voice perform Blair’s Hard Liquor and Stiff Drink, but the other performers were new-to-me voices. All of them did an outstanding job with this story.
I was fortunate to read an early copy of One Night in Monaco and then get to experience it again as an audiobook. Below is what I wrote after reading the book:
Fans of Blair Babylon have been waiting for quite a while for the series of “Maxence” books and she hasn’t disappointed us. While One Night in Monaco is technically a prequel for the series, it was enough to wet my appetite for the rest of the books.
In true Blair Babylon fashion, One Night in Monaco got me really going and ready to read all about Maxence. The story let’s us revisit favorite couples from Working Stiff (Roxanne and Casimir) and Hard Liquor/Stiff Drink (Arthur and Gen). If you haven’t read or listened to those books you can still enjoy One Night in Monaco but you will appreciate it a lot more if you do read them first. And why not? They are fantastic books whether you read or listen to them.
This story is full of the intrigue and droll (witty) humor that I have come to think of as Blair Babylon’s signature style. I won’t say I was kept on the edge of my seat exactly but I was captivated right from the start and couldn’t put this down.
Be warned – since this is a prequel Blair leaves us hanging a bit and we won’t find out more for a few months when book one of the series, Rogue, is released. I know that I can’t wait.
Maxence is missing, again. For some reason this time is different. His best friends, Arthur and Casimir are called right away, usually it takes more than four hours before they are called to come look for him. He was in Monaco and now he is missing.
Arthur, Casimir and Maxence are friends from school. They are rich, powerful, and very close. They will do whatever is necessary for each other. Maxence has angered more than one powerful person while in Monaco and now his life is in danger, but he will do whatever he can to help a school friend that is in desperate need of protection and help to escape.
This story was full of action, secrets, and money. The story leads the reader through the steps being taken by Maxence’s best friends to find him and make sure he is alive and safe. I give this story a 5-star review and look forward to Maxence’s full story. It’s a mystery to Roxanne, Casimir’s wife, what Arthur does for a living. The others know, but Roxanne has only guessed at it. I wasn’t clear on Maxence’s career, but it seems he is sent to different countries on a regular basis. He needs to stay out of Monaco for a while to stay alive, so he is in Paris. One night in the Buddha Bar finds him rescuing a woman that has had too much to drink and unbeknownst to Maxence, most of that alcohol was supplied by his two best friends’ wives.
What a start to Maxence’s story! The mysterious and quiet Maxence Grimaldi only makes a brief appearance in this start of his story. This prequel is definitely an action-packed beginning. I can’t wait to see where Maxence ends up. Maxence is an amazingly dynamic character that we’ve seen glimpses of, in Arthur and Camir’s books, I’m excited to see where his books take him from here.
We get the point of views from Maxence’s closest friends Arthur Finch-Hatten and Casmir van Amsberg as Maxence’s security team has lost him in a casino in Monaco. It seems he’s slipped security to help out a childhood friend. With more than just his friends looking for him, Maxence is on the run! And a down on her luck American seems to be next in line to cross paths with Maxence. Will Arthur, Casmir and their wives be able to find Maxence before more trouble gets stirred up?
I received an ARC for a voluntary and honest review.
Ohhh, we finally get to Maxence’s story! He’s always so distant. It will be such a thrill to hear all about him.
Max may be a behind the scenes kind of guy when reading about the others, but man does he jump in when it’s time. When an old school mate comes running to Max in the casino, he immediately takes action to get her safely out of the casino.
If the night in Monaco is any indication, his story is going to be a rollercoaster ride! I can’t wait for more…
I absolutely love Blair Babylon’s writing. The world of her contemporary novels is just incredible. One Night in Monaco is just a great way to lead into Max’s series. You get to spend more time with Max’s best friends Cashmir and Arthur and their wives. You get to meet Simone a new character who I hope I see more of.
As always there’s plenty of action, adventure, sexiness, and whitty banter. The story does a great job recapping a lot of the books before while setting up the next series.
Blair has always been good at including a wide range of characters of different races, nationalities, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. I was really glad that Blair had made an effort to include her first POC heroine. She specifically recruited POC beta readers to make sure she had written her book with sensitivity and accuracy. I absolutely love that she’s stretched herself as a writer and also responded to world events to make her books more inclusive.
A five star read. I can’t wait for Max’s series!
I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.