Rated 3.5 Stars

The Wicked Billionaire was an enjoyable read. I loved that it contained the ugly duckling trope but with a twist, I really loved the slant the author put on it. While I enjoyed that aspect I didn't too much like the fact that the hero didn't grovel after he messed up or the fact that he had been fighting this internal battle for most of the book and realized something that caused an about turn in his character. Had he come to this conclusion gradually throughout the book it wouldn't have felt as abrupt as it did.

That said I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series especially with what happened in the epilogue.

This romance was intense but I had some problems with the main characters. Lucas Tate is a Navy SEAL sniper who was adopted as a child by a billionaire. Now his father is dead and, according to a letter left to him by his father, he needs to protect a young widow who has gotten in the way of illegal arms dealers.

Grace Riley is the widow of Lucas's only friend. However, before his death, the friend got involved in the illegal arms trade. He took the money but failed to deliver the goods leaving Grace on the hook for them. Grace is mourning her husband but she is also focused completely on her art career. After a lifetime of being belittled by her father - a failed artist, she has a lot of insecurity both about her ability as an artist and her appearance. She has an obsessive desire to prove herself as an artist and disprove what her now deceased father said about her.

Grace doesn't want to deal with Lucas who is the most beautiful person she has ever met but who is also the coldest. Lucas was taught by his father to suppress all of his emotions and to remain distant from people in order to control his anger issues. This works fine for a sniper but isn't really conducive to a romance.

For the first half of this book I was convinced that both characters needed therapy more than they needed a romance. However, once they were living together and the reasons for Lucas's coldness and dispassion were revealed, I began to feel more sympathy for him.

The suspense part of this story definitely took a back seat to the major relationship issues in this romantic suspense title. Perhaps some of the questions I had about the overall plot relating to the family enemy were answered in the first book in this series, which I have not read.

Fans of the first book or fans who like very tortured heroes will enjoy this romantic suspense title.

A great series that will get you hooked. A billionaire is great but add a SEAL and it's amazing.

Luca's troubled past and how rough around the edges he is makes for a fascinating character. Then as you start to read more and understand why he is this way, your heart starts to melt a little more for him. Grace just annoyed me pretty much throughout this book.

Review of The Wicked Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden

ARC from Netgally in exchange for an honest review

5 +++++ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jackie Ashenden has done it again with another off the charts read ! This is the second book in her Billionaire series involving the Tate brothers with Lucas & Grace's story.

Lucas Tate is a highly trained military sniper and after the death of his stepfather is left a letter as part of his will requesting a final task in order to claim his inheritance. Grace Riley is the widow of Lucas's friend Griffin both having served together as Seal team members. Grace has no idea her husband was involved in illegal arms trading prior to his death & that she is herself now a target for the missing payment from his last deal.

Both of these characters have hurts from their pasts that influence their actions & feelings. Lucas does not want to get involved with anyone but there has always been major chemistry between him & Grace. Grace feels it too but she also feels some guilt as they spend more time together she comes to realize she has feelings for Lucas she never had for her husband.

Just when I think I've read a book by Jackie I absolutely love she writes another that pulls at my heart strings even more ! There is an amazing HEA as well as a lead in to Wolf's story!

Highly recommend this book & series !! Lucas & Gracie are "wicked" hot together !!

Enjoyed the book, liked the characters and this book ended in a HEA. So I win for me.

The Wicken billionaire s another story from the Jackie Ashenden series of The Tates brother. And I must say it blew me away. I was not satisfied with the first book but this OMG great beyond amazing. The plot and the characters the story everything amazing. The story is finished in the time frame of ca. Two weeks but it has such great depth that is amazing. We truly get to know Grace and Lucas and their deepest fear, desire, and wishes. When the chemistry that they feel every time they touch explodes it goes beyond amazing, there are fireworks and the stars explode. The anticipation, suspense, and tension are really great combined. I was satisfied with the every page I read. I can wait to read the story of Wolf.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

Boy, oh boy! The ups and downs that Lucas and Grace share and experience made this a book that was very hard to put down. It seems that the books in this series are happening simultaneously. Just a heads up, this is book two. So make sure you read, The Dangerous Billionaire, first.

I devoured this book!! It was everything I wanted and my expectations were high. It beat my expectations. This book had the typical Jackie prose, it came across very well and I am very glad I got the opportunity to read it. I will have a full review on release week!

Fire and ice, creation and destruction.
Lucas Tate, a talented Navy SEAL sniper, a man haunted by the mistakes of his past does not believe in love. He’s afraid that strong feelings can only end in destruction and hurt. He learned a long time ago never to follow his heart, and only trust his instincts.
Grace Riley finds herself in danger, hunted by ruthless arms dealers. Lucas Tate, her late husband’s best friend, and a man she always avoided is the only one capable of protecting her. She’s a struggling artist, and very talented at that. Her life is full of colours and all her emotions are poured into new paintings. That’s all she lives for, and fantasies of love are just that, fantasies.
I enjoyed reading this story. Even though the majority of this book is just thoughts and dialogues between Lucas and Grace. The writing is captivating, kept me interested and hot from the first page up to the last. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good second chance/contemporary romance.

Loved this book and this author. Just fantastic read. I've always enjoyed this author and her books and this is no exception, brilliant storyline with interesting characters that you want to just cheer on and the chemistry is amazing between the characters as well. Very well written with a storyline you can get your teeth into at the end of a hard working day. Just what the dr ordered 😊 Jackie Ashenden deserves 5 stars for this book and that why I've give her all 5 of them. Can't wait for more by this author. Would totally recommend

Loved Grace and how she cracked the shell that is Lucas.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's for the ARC!

This book just didn't do it for me. Some of the sentence structure is awkward. The exposition is awkward. The character chemistry is awkward (can you see a theme?).

I didn't like either character in the beginning. Grace is annoying. Lucas is flawed due to the way he was created. As the reader, I felt like I was being beat upside the head with how Lucas just didn't care about anything.

By the middle, the story was better but I downgraded to three stars because it took a LONG time to get to that point.

Do not let the title of the book throw you. This is not your typical “billionaire” romance. It is so much more. I was not sure what to expect since the first book was just okay. I also thought I would like Wolf’s story the best (the next book). Holy crap, this book tears you up one side and down the other. Lucas is so cold you are on pins and needles the whole time. Grace is his redeeming savior.

Ms. Ashenden can write angst and I always feel like I need something much lighter to read for the next book. But I love it! These men are so torn up and need so much love. It makes you cry and smile at the same time when they realize the strong women in their lives are what they crave and need.

Book 2 in the Tate Brothers series and holy hell it's one insanely good read. If you read book 1 please read this book. Book one not only tells Van's story but sets the stage for the following books. much back story along with the plot and absolutely necessary for this series. That said, if you just want to read this book... dive in! It's just that good. This is Lucas and Grace.

Each brother receives a letter from their father after his death. Lucas reads his and his job is to look after Grace. Lucas the trained sniper is not happy about this, then again much of the time Lucas isn't happy. We get good backstory on the boys growing up from his POV as well. Grace is an artist and now widowed. She was married to a fellow SEAL of Lucas' and they were on the same team. Lucas also gets a file folder along with the letter from his late father detailing why Grace is in danger. Seems Griffin was dealing arms with some very bad people and when he dies before a deal is completed. He's got the money, the arms dealer doesn't have the weapons and goes after Grace to get it. Grace has no idea that Griffin was doing this. There marriage wasn't that great.
When Lucas first follows Grace to get the hang of her daily routine and schedule etc and wow does he tear her apart (in his head) from her hair down to her choice of clothing and shoes. Yes, he's a dick.
He's a total alpha, initially so not happy with taking this on and when it becomes apparent that Grace is indeed in danger and a target he takes her into his home that no one knows about, sets her up with all her art supplies and leaves her alone much of the time. She has an exhibit, long awaited coming up in 2 weeks and her last canvas in blank. She has no inspiration to paint. Locked up in Lucas' home isn't helping matters. Although she spends time sketching Lucas. When she gets him to sit still or stand still for 2 minutes.

I really liked Grace. Lucas was consistently a real dick. There's some family drama with the brothers concerning Van and Chloe. Lucas always runs his mouth. The chemistry between the two is intense and pretty obvious, yet Lucas is, what's the word... seems to almost objectify her. If and when he feels like it, he's a quick hit and quit then disappears again. Meanwhile after a huge blow up, she's left alone again to paint and she's up over 24 hours painting. Her last canvas done. She's ready for the show. Lucas thinks he's done his job. Massive fail Lucas, you twit.

I really loved this book. You roll with Lucas and the mood swings and his unforgiving mouth. We get to see Wolf in this book two which is the next book and I must say I am totally intrigued by this one.
The plot in this book was good. Lots of twists and things you definitely don't see coming. Jackie really did this one justice. The characters were so well developed. Baggage and all!

Go for it! Read this one, you won't be disappointed.

**arc from NetGalley and Publisher in exchange for a fair review**

Lucas is a Navy SEAL sniper that relies on the focus and control that is needed to do his job. Always applying it in every way possible. So much so that he never feels anything too strongly. Grace is the widow of a deceased member of Lucas SEAL team. Grace spots Lucas and calls him on protecting her. A sexy tale that has both pushing their boundaries and changing what they know.

Ashenden is an amazing author and most certainly knows the art of telling an erotic romance. Fans of the genre will fall in love with this book. It may very well be part of a series, but it can be read as s stand-alone novel. This author has just made it on my must read list!

I received this book from Netgalley to read and give a review.
Wicked Billionaire is the second book in Jackie Ashenden, of her Tate Brothers series. Lucas is, to the outside a cold and emotionless Navy Seal sniper. He is good at what he does but has no room for feelings in his life. His adopted father has recently died and left him instructions to protect the wife of Lucas' best friend in the navy. It seems he was not such a good guy because he was selling guns to criminals for big money. But before he was killed in action he set up a deal, taking the money but not delivering the guns and now these criminals are after his wife for the return of the money.
Grace is an artist and considered plain but has beautiful hair that Lucas has always been attracted to since he has known her but protecting her is a job that he has been asked to do.
Both of them are dealing with problems from their childhood but together they can heal one another.
Good story and makes you want to continue on in the series.

First off, thank you to the folks at St Martin's Press and Netgalley for getting me this ARC - it's a great series and i'm so glad to see what was next for the Tate brothers.  We had the exciting introduction into their family a while back with the eldest brother and now it seems like it's time to get into Lucas's story - especially since there were hints throughout book 1 that he had something else going on.  that something else was protecting Grace.

So, Grace - where do we start - she's a girl that Lucas knew of because she was married to one of his close friends in the SEALs - and after his death there's so much that's come up, with Lucas only learning about that after his own father has passed away and revealed a secret.  So Lucas finds himself trying to protect Grace from several folks that are after money that her husband owed people after getting involved with De Santis in an arms deal gone wrong. 

Lucas on the other hand, he's a guy who is so stoic, a man who won't allow himself to feel anything because he thinks that he needs to deny himself of all pleasure and happiness....and he feels that its also the only way to stay in control of his life.  Grace makes that quite difficult because she's not that sort at all, she's an artist and by nature she's the kind of woman who is driven by emotion and passion.  So seeing these two come together is quite interesting. 

When Grace's life is put in danger, and Lucas has to hole them up in a secret apartment that he owns, we see them grow closer together, but it takes a while for them ever to admit that they have an attraction because they both can't really figure it out.  When they do finally get together, it's hot and steamy and so appropriate for what the story needs.  Ms Ashenden has a knack for finding the best moments to introduce the heat and chemistry and make it build.

There's so much going on in this story that you stay sucked in.  Grace as an artist is trying to finish her series of paintings for her first ever  show and she's having a mental block on the final piece.  Lucas ultimately because the muse for it and when the show debuts, it's something quite impressive.  Then there's the bits of someone is still after Grace and when someone sneaks past their defenses and she's at risk, we see true feelings come out. 

I think that we get what we were expecting here, but with the way that the story's written, we don't know what the full ending will be and may not even know it with the finale of the last brother's story.  I feel like De Santis will be a thorn in their side forever, even from what we got in the series from that side of things.  (recall that we got several books of the de santis heirs). So, who knows where things will go, and what family secrets will be uncovered next, but i know that i can't wait to find out.

Every time I think, no more billionaire stories, along comes one that is so well done I have to eat my words. The Wicked Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden is one of those eat your words books. Ms Ashenden has given us a book that is well-written. The characters in this book are absolutely phenomenal. A perfect fit for this book. Lucas and Grace's story is loaded with suspense, humor, drama and smokin' hot sexy bits. This book hooked me at page one and kept me wrapped up in it till the last page. I loved The Wicked Billionaire and look forward to reading more from Jackie Ashenden in the future. The Wicked Billionaire is book 2 of the Tate Brothers Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.