What happens when your next door neighbor is the hottest, most notorious playboy in all of South Beach? Reece Rowe is on hiatus from respectability. Before she returns to her stable, boring existence of charity events and dating predictable, stuffy suitors who are only interested in getting closer to the wealthy family who adopted her, she’s going to get a taste of what she’s been missing. She … been missing. She screws up her courage and heads to Vincent Ferguson’s office to find out what all the women in South Beach already seem to know about him.
Once CEO Vin Ferguson’s tech company goes public, he’ll have proved he’s no longer the poor, gritty kid from the wrong side of the tracks. But, citing his bad boy reputation, some financial backers waver, and his friends suggest dating a more respectable woman to improve his image. Ridiculous. Because delectable but snooty socialites, like his next door neighbor, are way out of his league.
And then, Reese walks through his office door and makes him an offer. To say his jaw hits the floor is an understatement.
And he can’t believe what she just proposed…
more
This was just okay. The writing wasn’t horrible, but I did get really tired of reading their same thoughts over and over again. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with more misunderstanding between 2 MCs in my life. Reece really needed to take advantage of that wealth that she didn’t feel she deserved and get some therapy. Girl had alllll kinds of problems. I understand Vin using something that happened in his past to motivate him, but holding on to a slight from a freakin 5 year old girl for 20 years is a little much. And Landon was a douche. He threatens them to break them up, then changes his mind and tells Vin that Reece has issues from the birthday party incident. So her brother knew for 20 years that she has issues and instead of telling her that it wasn’t her fault or trying to get her help, he does nothing. Awesome brother. They get their HEA, but it’s more a “for now” ending.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
Let’s hear it for the fake romance! 🙂
I really liked Reece and Vin–though why doesn’t anyone ever ask me to make a deal like this for the summer? I’d love to learn to loosen up more! (Though I guess in real life the suggestion might seem more creepy than sexy, so maybe it’s a good thing? Darn it)–and spent most of the book rooting for those two crazy kids to get together for real. Trust me, they take their own sweet time!
And then that epilogue–it was not quite what I expected, but it was fantastic. I’ll never look at fancy pickup trucks (or oranges) quite the same way again 😉
But I digress…
My one issue with the story is that I really, really wanted Reece and Vin to discuss their pasts together way before they did, and not only because they’re each still hung up on things that happened to them growing up, but also because that past is getting in the way of their mutual HEA. (Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m pretty sure that one of them doesn’t actually have that conversation at all. Their sibling does it for them, which is less than ideal.)
Still, everything is finally revealed, and since they both had a part to play in the big breakup, making things right again was also a joint effort. I really liked what Ms Cleveland had them do there.
And did I mention the epilogue? It went a long way toward making up for some of the frustration that came before.
Fingers crossed that Ms Cleveland gives us future books with some of the secondary characters…
Rating: 4 stars / B
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
Great romance novel! Reese is the adopted daughter of a rich powerful family. Vin met her years ago when she made a lasting impression that motivated him to become a self made millionaire. Now his company is ready to go public but he has to look more respectable first. This leads to the two of them making a deal for the Summer where they each get what they want. The problem is that neither wants it to end but they don’t want to be the one to say it. Makes for a fun steamy romance novel that I really enjoyed so I give it 4/5 stars.
This is the first time I’ve readable Ms. Cleveland’s writing and Reforming the CEO was very enjoyable. The chemistry between Reece and Vin was off the chart. The more time they spent together the more they realized their differences anchored each other. A quick, light read to definitely add to your THE list!
This is my first book by this author. I liked the characters as individuals. I felt the author was successful in portraying Vin and Reece as real and accomplished individuals despite their low self-esteem due to childhood circumstances. I enjoyed following their budding friendship as they made arrangements to help each other over the summer. I just had a difficult time with the romantic part. I felt their relationship was more a friends with benefits arrangement than a til-death-do-us-part since any intimate encounters were hurried and furtive. Each encounter was barely worth a page, with little to no foreplay, no description of the actual encounter or any post coital observations. I liked how the past misunderstandings were resolved. A fairly quick read.
I received a free copy from Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
Reforming the CEO by Marisa Cleveland, is an interesting and engaging novel that takes place in South Beach. This corporate romance is replete with an entertaining plot, well-defined characters, and a very meaningful story-line.
Reece Rowe was adopted into an extremely wealthy family when she was very young. She has always felt that she was not good enough to be a Rowe, and as result, she spends most of her time being the perfect daughter. She works extremely hard for the charities her family supports, and takes great pride in doing a good job. Her life is relatively repetitive and a bit boring. Spicing it up with a hot man is what she craves. Luckily, CEO Vin Ferguson accepts her proposal for more than a few hot sexual encounters. In exchange, Reece accompanies Vin to some corporate events, so he appears to be in a stable relationship to both the public and his board.
Vin is a self-made success story, and he is on the verge of taking his company public. His potential investors are not very happy with his playboy image, and they would prefer that his personal life become more settled. Vin and Reece have known each other for years, and their new quasi-relationship evolves into lust and love.
I enjoyed this book, however I found the pace to drag quite a bit. Reece and Vin are a hot couple, and I really enjoyed getting to know them, as well as the secondary characters.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
This is the first book by this author that I have read and I liked it. Quick, fun read. Reece and Vincent were a good couple. They had trouble seeing what was right in front of them and it was fun watching them discover each other.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving a honest review.
This romance was very sweet but just ok for me.
It is the lovestory between Vincent a former poor boy now self made billionaire and Reece a socialite who humiliated Vincent when they were kids.
Reece has always been very scared of making mistakes so she keeps to herself and the few friends she has and lives a very sheltered life. Vincent on the other hand is a playboy who parties a lot and does not have the greatest reputation amongst the people in the industry he works with.
And by the way they are neighbors and she has a big crush on him.
To help Vincent’s reputation and to help Reece have a summer of secrets and fun they make a deal. Six dates spread throughout the summer where she helps him make business acquaintances and show that he is settling down and he arranges for her something fun and steamy that she asks him for in exchange for these “dates”.
What will happen with these two very different people throughout the summer and can they keep away from each other when the arrangement is through?
They are a very sweet couple and they fit together. And I loved to read about how their views on each other changed throughout the story and of course their fun experiences too.
But my problem was her brother and all the drama and judgement he put on Vincent and then suddenly everything was just fine with him. That really annoyed me.
Vincent and his judgement on rich people and their entitlement also annoyed me.
And the misunderstandings in the end pulled the rating down to three stars.
I can recommend this book if you are looking for a sweet romance with steamy but fade to black sexy scenes, sweet characters and a lot of drama and misunderstandings.
I got this book from Entangled Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Reece and Vincent are from two seemingly different backgrounds. Reece is from a family of multi millionaires and Vincent had to make his own money. There is a history that they hide from each other that could bring them closer. This is a superb story with awesome characters. The author does a great job of highlighting the personalities that make the characters real and lovable. It gets a little emotionally intense when they both reveal the deep scars past events from their childhoods have had on them, but she makes it all better with the happy outcome.
Reforming the CEO by Marisa Cleveland a five-star read filed with heat. I didn’t know what to expect with this one, but the publisher always does goes work so I was hoping for good, I ended up with great. South Beach I need to come and run my fingers through your sand, this had a sweetness to it that surprised me, and I adored Reece Rowe, she just blew me away. Vin well Vin blew me away but in a totally different way. The pair of them have undeniable chemistry, they just worked, and I can see how it shouldn’t, but It really did. I also loved the secondary characters; they all played a great part and there are a couple I would love to see more of. A new author to me that I will definitely be looking out for from now.