The Greek’s Billion-Dollar Baby

This was a one sitting read, truly I did not want to put this one down, fabulously written a sensual story of falling in love and not wanting too, I have a special place in my heart for Greek heroes and Leonidas is strong but a little vulnerable and Hannah shows such strength and honesty as she wins him over.

Beautiful Hannah takes off when she finds her fiancé in bed with someone else, Hannah has felt a burden to people for a long time and now she is determined to find her way and although not looking for love when she arrives in Chrysa Vrachia love is going to find her when she bumps into the most handsome of men.

Leonidas Stathakis is rich and a loner after losing his wife and son fours earlier a shocking tragedy caused by his mobster father, Leonidas has sworn to be on his own from now on because of guilt, but when he literally runs into the beautiful innocent Australian Hannah and when one very passionate night leaves consequences his world is turned upside down.

I loved this story so much, MS Connelly is a gifted author who can bring her characters to life, I felt Leonidas’s pain and vulnerability and Hannah her empathy warmth and the love that flows from her, to see them opening up about the past and finding such happiness and joy had me smiling. It was such a wonderful journey for them both to the best HEA, I do highly recommend this one.

Hannah May just wants to move past her pain. Leonidas Stathakis doesn’t want to forget his past but does want to move forward. This seems to be a case of in the right place at the right time. Hannah and Leonidas meet at just the right time and then the story takes off from there.

The author weaves a good story. If you like your book boyfriend to be moody, good looking, rich, and just needs the right woman to love him than you’ll be happy with this one. Hannah seems to be a young woman who seems vulnerable but willing to let the man take charge. She’s apprehensive, like most of us would be, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t accept help. Her reactions to certain situations seemed very realistic.

The question of “how would you react if you traded places with her” came to mind. Leonidas has a strong personality but there are moments where you will like him – he doesn’t shirk his responsibility. He has a brother that we see just enough to make you curious as to what his story is. This story shows how quickly life as you know it can change. Not much is written in stone and your life’s plan can change and we’re not always ready for it. This may be a work of fiction but it has a ring of truth to it. In getting toward the end of this ride, Leonidas has an epiphany that he shares with Hannah – and us. There are times where we reflect on our lives and here it was Leonidas’ turn.

We get to take a trip to Greece without having to leave our chairs – and you don’t even need a passport. Our author does have me thinking I need to take a trip, bring her book, and go exploring for some of the places our couple may have been. Sometimes when you’re reading you try to picture the places where the story is taking place. Picturing the locations that are mentioned are easier if you’ve been there but it can be difficult if you have not. Maybe playing some of the country’s music will help set the mood. I’m looking forward to take my next trip with both the author and her characters.

I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

This was the first story I’ve read by Clare Connelly and I definitely enjoyed it. The writing was great, and the story good. The reason for the four stars was that the characters were a little cookie cutter. It seemed a little formulaic.
Leonidas Stathakis was a broken man due to the murder of his wife and son years prior. An act of revenge, not towards Leonidas, but towards his father has left Leonidas dead inside. On paper, he’s one of the richest men in the world, but he’s all business. He leaves the partying lifestyle to his younger brother. That is until New Year’s Eve. That night, his life changes forever with a one-night stand with Hannah.
Hannah never wanted more from Leonidas than to take her virginity. She’d left her fiancé, the man who wanted her to stay a virgin until their wedding night, when she caught him with her cousin. The same cousin she was raised with.
Enjoying herself on the island of Chrysa Vrachia, Hannah makes the decision to lose her virginity. She doesn’t know who Leonidas is, other than a stranger in a bar, but she heads out with him. Afterwards, she leaves, and they both resume their lives. That is, until she finds out she’s pregnant. Now she’s informed Leonidas, and the lion comes out. He wants her to marry him so that he can protect her and their child, to make sure that nothing happens to either.
This is a quick, enjoyable read. I’ll definitely be checking out more of Ms. Connelly’s works.
** I received an ARC of this story from the publisher and Netgalley, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

I have complicated feelings about this book. Did I think it was terrible? No. Did I think it was great? No. There are a few things I can say with certainty. I do think the book had potential but in the end it was buried under the heroes never ending lament for his deceased wife and child. Now, do not get me wrong, I have experienced more loss and grief than many have and I know how hard the past can be to let go of. The anger, the guilt, the intense desire for things to be the way they once were and yes, even falling down the whole of depression that is so deep you don’t think you will ever make it out. I will say that this is a scenario you see often in books but there is a line where it stops being a plot device and simply turns into drudgery. I feel that was unfortunately the case with this book. The way the story unfolded left me with not one single feeling that Leonidas cared for Hannah or the child he had made with her. They were a responsibility at best and an unwelcome burden at worst. I felt really bad for Hannah, who had her own painful baggage and had such a need to be loved. In the end he does an abrupt about face but for me the damage was done and I simply couldn’t buy it. If this is not more than enough, add in the fact Hannah looks like the dead wife AND they meet and hookup at a place that holds special meaning to him and the wife. Then the frosting on the cake was…we learn that there were problems in the marriage! WHAT!!?? So yeah, this book was not a winner for me.