I like Jessica Clare. She is good at giving us non-traditional characters who are the sort of underdogs that you root for. So, I'm used to seeing offbeat characters from her and I was expecting it. Boone is that character in this book but Boone is also what goes really wrong for me in this one.
Boone is a billionaire oil guy in the tradition of the Beverly Hillbillies. He basically unexpectedly hit oil on his land and became richer than rich overnight. The problem is that Boone has not adopted any of the ways of wealth so despite the fact that he has access to all the rich people stuff, the rich people still treat him like something they stepped in. Boone comes up with a "solution" to his problem being accepted by "classy" people. All Boone needs is a classy woman by his side and he'll be totally in with the rich people. To that end, Boone chooses a woman who looks real upscale from her photo in a real estate advertisement, that woman is Ivy. What Boone does not know is that Ivy grew up in and still lives in a trailer park just like him (because despite being a billionaire, Boone still lives in a friggin trailer).
And things keep going downhill. When Boone meets Ivy, he approaches her about being his real estate agent because he wants to purchase a house that will make him look rich and classy. He's ready to get out of the trailer, apparently. Ivy is a great agent but she works for these jerks who steal any good listings from her so she basically can't make a living at all. Enter my problem with Ivy. Ivy is working her butt off but accepting living in poverty because she doesn't either stand up for herself or just find another flipping job. Ivy is a good person, I liked her but her being a doormat just worked on my nerves.
When Boone meets Ivy, yeah, it takes instalove to a whole new level. I think he asked her to marry him the first time he met her. He also tells her that he wants to be classy and that's why he wants a real big expensive house (although he doesn't shave or like wash the dirt off his hands before going in public). He also tells Ivy that he wants her because he needs a classy lady. Of course Ivy likes Boone and doesn't want to tell him that she's from the trailer park like he is trying to get away from. She means to tell him but keeps putting it off and blah blah until he finds out and blah blah blah, drama followed by HEA.
Boone's quest to be classy in the stupidest possible imaginable ways was a total turn off. I absolutely hated the way he wanted to be accepted and then did dumb stuff to get that acceptance. To make matters worse, when Boone wasn't accepted, he did even dumber stuff. Hint, he buys a golf course to get back at the people from the country club who treat him bad. And what happens next is even worse. But wait, here is the absolute stupidest part, he doesn't buy the golf course from IVY who desperately needs the commission. Like WTF just happened? I was so fixated on these issues that I honestly couldn't enjoy the book. I read the whole thing but both Ivy and Boone stand out in my mind as being sort of immature. This is not my favorite Jessica Clare book but I know I will read more by her and maybe even more in this series.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
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