Untamed Billionaire’s Innocent Bride is the second installment in The Combe Family Scandals. I not sure where to start in reviewing this book. I read the whole story because of course I wanted to see what happened between Lauren and Dominik because their marriage was something unconventual. When I read the synopsis, I found it interesting but once I started reading the story I couldn’t connect with the characters. I loved how the author referenced to Little Riding Hood fairy tale. Lauren was a very strong woman and I couldn’t believe that she didn’t think she was sensual and didn’t know what the big fuss was about being intimate with another person. Then there is Dominik and his story which was very sad. His mother gave him up because of her father and she never went looking for him once she became of age so in his eyes, he was thrown away just like yesterday's trash. I felt bad because he didn’t think he deserved to be loved but he did everyone deserves love. Lauren and Dominik’s journey is sensual and painful at the same time but in the end, they have their happily ever after.

This wasn't really my thing, unfortunately. While I didn't see anything wrong with the plot or characters, for some reason, it didn't really do it for me.

Untamed Billionaire's Innocent Bride is the second book in The Combe Family Scandals series by Caitlin Crews, but it's the first book in the series that I've read, and while I'm generally not a fan of the fairy tale romance trope, this one worked for me and it gets a 4-star rating.

Lauren Clarke is the personal assistant to multi-billionaire, Matteo Combe, and at the reading of his late mother's will, Matteo is shocked to learn that he has an older half-brother, the illegitimate son born to his then 16-year old mother--a child who was given to an orphanage at birth. Apparently, giving away her firstborn son was something she regretted, but never did anything about, but instead, she willed one-third of her billions to her unclaimed son, Dominick, and Matteo tasks prim and proper Lauren with finding him (it is known that he lives in Hungary), bringing him back to London, and training him to assume his proper role as a cultured, well-groomed and well-mannered addition to the uber-rich family, in true Pygmalion fashion.

With an obvious nod to Little Red Riding Hood, Lauren, in her inappropriate, too-high heels and red cloak, sets off into the dark, foreboding Hungarian forest to find Dominick, tell him of the fortune he's about to inherit, and get him to return with her to England, and she does. To call Dominick brooding is like calling a thunderstorm wet, but he is instantly attracted to the prim and lovely blonde woman although he doesn't want to be. When he learns that Lauren is not only a virgin, but claims to have no sexual urges and no interest in kissing, sex, love or romance, it's as if she's thrown down the gauntlet, and Dominick will only agree to go to England and meet the family that threw him away under certain conditions--the main one being that Lauren will allow him to kiss her when, where and how he chooses, and she agrees to his terms.

What awaits them in England is an empty mansion. Matteo, who so wanted to meet his half-brother, isn't even there, another slap in the face for Dominick. Next, Matteo instructs Lauren about her duties regarding grooming Dominick for what will be an eventual attack by the papparazzi and mass media when they get wind of this sotry, and as if that wasn't enough, Matteo then decides that it would be helpful if Dominick was married and settled, and orders Lauren to marry the man, all for goal of keeping up appearances and making him seem like a valued and legitimate member of the family. Dominick again has conditions before accepting this latest demand--he'll marry Lauren in exchange for a real wedding night with her. Lauren is already slowly learning with each of Dominick's kisses that she does seem to have some sexual urges when it comes to him, agrees to the deal, and boy is she ever in for some surprises from this handsome alpha male. The only thing missing from this fairy tale, and it was something I expected, was that Dominick is not a shape-shifting wolf, just a very sexy, very masterful and moody man.

While this story is rather unbelievable, it is based on a fairy tale after all, I loved how deeply Ms. Crews delved into the psyches and emotions of these two main characters, giving the reader insight into their private thoughts and emotions, something I rarely see in the rather abbreviated page counts of the Harlequin Presents line, but as the story progressed, I found myself drawn into the drama, history and feelings of these characters and even though I knew there would be an HEA ending, rooting for them nonetheless.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable and heartwarming read, and I'm happy to recommend it, especially if you're a fan of fairy tale romances. Well done, Ms. Crews.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Sometimes you need a shot of pure romance and the HP delivers. I went for one of the many TBR ARC HPs I have knocking around, Caitlin Crews’s Untamed Billionaire’s Innocent Bride and got what I was looking for; the HP recipe: eye-rolling premise and plot, standard-fare hero and heroine, and heart-tugging romance experience.

Personal assistant to billionaire Matteo Combe trudges through a Hungarian forest in high heels and red cape to lure a beast out of its lair. Said beast is Matteo’s long-lost half-brother Dominick James, the product of their mother’s foolish youth, abandoned to the miseries of an orphanage, the Italian streets and eventually the army. Though Dominick is wealthy in his own right (the ubiquitous security company having earned him $$$$$$$$), he chooses to keep his own counsel and company in this forest. When Lauren pounds on his cabin door and is granted entry, the inevitable visceral lust-response follows, “lust at first sight”. (Except for the niggling sense that neither Lauren nor Dominick has ever reacted to a man or woman this way before! *gasp*) Lauren tries to convince Dominick to return to England with her to take his place in the Combe family and claim his inheritance. In the interim, she’s going to give his wild, rough, gorgeous ways, a make-over. I must say I did get a kick out of this HP role reversal: it’s usually the heroine who gets the grooming and clothes update.

But Dominick isn’t convinced and little does Lauren know that he’s wealthy. What else could induce him to leave his forest-lair? Acceptance, family, connection? As we learn along the way, Dominick craves these, but he’s angry, resentful, and cynical about their reality/possibility. What he does know he wants is Lauren, in all her glorious prissy, high-heeled self. He strikes a bargain: he’ll come on this make-over/family reunion if she grants him kisses on demand. Lauren, in turn, has made her work for and loyalty to Matteo Combe her entire life and agrees to this Mephistophelian bargain all the better to serve her “master,” as Dominick refers to him. Except she secretly craves this hermit-looker and the lust-promises flashing in his eyes. She’s curious and physically hungry for his touch. Again, I appreciated the role reversal: workaholic heroine, devoid of any personal life and, as a result, to keep in line with HP-uber-trope, virginal! When Matteo, for “PR purposes,” tells Lauren and Dominick to “marry” for the sake of quieting the media hullabaloo, hero and heroine have the means and reason to explore their attraction, their singular attraction. You can guess the rest.

Like most HPs, Crews’s latest operates on the level of the characters’ premonition. The mood is gothic; the conceit is fairy-tale, and the characters’ spidey-sense tell us the readers and not them — YET! — what is to come. Crews plays with the Little Red Riding Hood tale and Dominick’s wolfish smile and sexy ways dominate Lauren’s world from their meeting onwards. ‘Tis true, however, that Lauren stirs the wolf as well. I enjoyed the Red Riding Hood references and the sexy banter they elicited in Crews’s protagonists. A snort-guffaw from me when Dominick looks at Lauren “as if she were a meal, not a messenger.” At times, the conceit becomes mannered and the delight it can evoke is erased. But then it returns and Crews would win me over again. I thought Dominick as Cinderella was a hoot, for example, and again the hero-heroine role reversal was clever, witty, and entertaining:

“Are you suggesting a makeover? Have I strayed into a fairy tale, after all?”

“I certainly wouldn’t call it that. A bit of tailoring and a new wardrobe, that’s all. Perhaps a lesson or two in minor comportment issues that might arise. And a haircut, definitely.” Dominick’s grin was sharp and hot.

“Why, Lauren. Be still my heart. Am I the Cinderella in this scenario? I believe that makes you my Princess Charming.”

“There’s no such thing as a Princess Charming.” She sniffed. “And anyway, I believe my role here is really more of a Fairy Godmother.”

“I do not recall Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother ever being attached at the lips,” he said silkily. “But perhaps your fairy tales are more exciting than mine ever were.”

Cleverly done, at times overdone, but if you’re going to read one HP this year, this might be it. Miss Austen and I agree that Untamed Billionaire’s Innocent Bride speaks of “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Caitlin Crews’s Untamed Billionaire’s Innocent Bride is published by Harlequin Books. It was released on May 21st and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from Harlequin Books, via Netgalley.

Untamed Billionaire's Innocent Bride by Caitlin Crews is book Two in The Combe Family Scandals Series. This is the story of Dominik James and Lauren Clarke. I haven't yet read the previous book, so for me this was a standalone book.
Lauren has been asked by her boss to find his long lost brother who is thought to be a hermit of sorts that doesn't mingle much with the other or the 'upper-crust'. So this leads her to Hungary where Dominik is living in a cabin. Lauren comes forward to teach him what he needs and of course her feelings become engaged with his. Dominik worked himself up from an orphan to be very rich but chooses to live a quite recluse type life. Dominik had know about the family but since they didn't come looking for him he didn't go looking to follow up with them. But Lauren brings his feelings out that he didn't know he had.
Enjoyed their story.

Being indispensable to her boss means everything to Lauren Clarke, so when he says he wants her to find his reclusive, illegitimate older brother and MARRY him, she travels to Hungary to do his bidding. Only, when she arrives, Dominik James is nothing like what she expected.

While he wants nothing to do with the family that threw him away as an infant, Dominik wants everything to do with Lauren. He cannot believe the lengths she's willing to go to for her boss, but if those lengths get her in his bed, he'll go along ... to a point. A self-made billionaire in his own right, he wants nothing to do with the fortune his mother left him, but he's more than willing to let Lauren try to convince him to take it.

Little Red Riding Hood meets the Big Bad Wolf in this story, I liked this version.

A nice play in red riding hood. Lauren is dispatched by her boss to find his estranged half brother in Hungary. As she makes her way to the cottage deep in the woods wearing a red hooded coat the parallels are clear.
This big bad wolf seduces the lovely innocent and returns to England with her where they embark on an interesting courtship.
This is definitely a novel plot with some old familiar tropes that makes for an I hated to g read.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin romance for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Well this was a pretty unbelievable book but still fun!! Who doesn't meet a guy and marry him in the same day! Complete stranger...long lost brother that Matteo can't even bother to meet in person?? Wow Chemistry was good though. I still read the whole book in one sitting. I give it a 4.

Untamed Billionaire is a to me that was boring, so much so that I did not finish it. This is the first time I have read this author and probably will not try her again.

The romance moved too slow. The heroine was a doormat but she never knew it. The hero was no hero.. I usually loved this author’s books so I am not sure what she was trying to do here. This book does not reflect her previous work.

This was a difficult book to rate. The first half of the book was slow and I struggled to keep reading. Around the half way mark it definitely picked up. I especially liked the epilogue and I'm looking forward to reading the other characters stories.

Good solid Harlequin. Lauren is ambitious and driven and hopelessly in love with her boss. He doesn't return her feelings but sets her on a quest to find his long lost illegetimate brother. She finds Dominik in the forest of Hungary. She thinks his a poor reclusive hermit, while in reality he is a billioniare who never got over being given away by his mother.

There are some poignant sad moments about Dominik's insecurities but nothing that really brings down the mood. The hero is likeable and we have his POV-score!

I haven't read much from this author, but I enjoyed this one enough to change that.

Dominik likes to get a rise out of his woman, “I have always found kissing very serious business indeed. Would you like me to demonstrate?” I liked this book, I liked Dominick.

This book was pretty good and I liked the twist that Lauren had to ask Dominik to marry her in a marriage of convenience. I also thought it was a nice touch that the author used fairytales in the story. Some of it had me laughing out loud, all the while I had this song by Sam the Sham going through my head. 🎼Hey there Little Red Riding Hood You sure are looking good
You're everything a big bad wolf could want.
Now with that being said, the story was lacking. The thoughts from their heads went on and on. I kept skipping pages and yet missed nothing. This book should have been awesome because it was actually so different from other books but it just didn’t get to the promises made in the first chapters. I still recommend it because it’s different.

Rating 3.5 This would have been a 3.o rating if not for the wonderful epilogue.

Lauren is sent by her boss to find his half brother who they just learned about after the death of his Father and Mother. She's to find him and get him up to speed with all the family history and business.

Lauren ends up in Hungary walking up a dirt road, in her high heals, in the middle of a forest in pursuit of Dominik James (she comes under the illusion that he's somewhat of a hermit). She spies him on the cabin porch waiting for her. What then ensues is a play on words and some talk of fairytales. Lauren was wearing a red cape and Dominic has the grace and cunning of a wolf. The premise then is of little red and the big bad wolf. This theme and the theme of fairytales is woven throughout the story.

Lauren convinces Dominic to return to England so he can be prepped, given a make over and instructed/educated on his rich inheritance. Unbeknownst to Lauren, Dominic is a billionaire in his own right and well aquatinted of the behavior the upper crust of society. But during their interaction it's revealed that Lauren never has felt any sexual/physical desire. Dominic then assures her she is defiantly a sexual being and will prove it to her. The two then proceed to have dialogue about fairytales and sexual a lot of awareness woven into their conversation. Lauren is instructed by her boss and Dominic's brother that they should marry as it will help him handle the press. With her as his wife, she will be a buffer against the media and assist him with his transition (I found this a very weak reasoning). The two decide to marry and they decide that he'll teach her all that she's been missing out on in the physical/sexual realm. The two then spend several months together until the press finds out about his existence. He leaves and returns to his cabin. Lauren learns a lot about herself during their time together and after he leaves. She then realizes that Dominic loves him and that he needs her and she needs him. She also feels he's running from his true feelings about them and her. She quits her job and goes after her man. Each reveals their insecurities of past family issues and fear of true love and trust. And of course they find their HEA.

I have to say this was not the easiest book to read. Two thirds of the book took place the first two days of the main characters meeting. A lot of inter dialogue, which this author is known for and it normally works with exceptions here and there. This is one of those exceptions, choppy and confusing. Then the last third was all jammed into two months, which I kind of felt cheated in not seeing their love develop. I believe that is when the true foundation and basis of their relationship should have evolved and developed, and I would have loved to witness that. In fact I would have given it a 3.o rating if not for the phenomenal epilogue. It was exceptional. The epilogue was so sweet, clear and touching. Fourteen years into the future and it was the sweetest ending.

I will be looking for Mateo's book, which is before this but since this was an ARC I'm a little ahead of myself in the reading sequence. Also looking forward to Pia's story.

I liked the main characters, and the author did a good job of fleshing them out and building their personalities on troubled pasts. It's a satisfying contemporary romance.