Betraying the Billionaire was my first book by Victoria Davies. And I loved it! It is so well written and the story is so good! I loved Julian and Holly. I hope we get Lillian's story too.

What an interesting storyline. I felt that the author has done a good job of building such a unique romance. Good overall writing.

I wanted to like this story more than I did because it ha several elements that I usually enjoy including the twin swap, marriage of convenience and even the billionaire factor. Julian is just about what you'd expect but I warmed up to him fairly well, but Holly made this story really hard to enjoy.
She's not as beautiful as her sister and people often overlook her, poor baby. She's wealthy and privileged and seems to be liked and respected by everyone in her orbit except her father, so OF COURSE that's what she focused on. Constantly. After a while it became whining and that's just unattractive on all levels.
Then...the betrayal. I'm all for big dramatics when they're needed but Holly knew what she was doing and did it anyway, knowing it would hurt the man she loved and help the man who didn't care about her at all. The stupidity, the whining, it made this a tough story to love.
I did like the story but dang, I just could not open up to Holly.

Betraying the billionaire is the first book in the Abbott sisters series. Since they are two, I expect one more book in the series, but maybe some secondary characters will also get a story. I am guessing here of course.

I liked Holly's character and how caring she was, but I didn't like how tame she was. She could have acted more like a person who is worth something rather than the second-best person. I feel like she could have done more in her life instead of been in her sister's shadow. I liked Julian's character and how he passed the test. He is a good person, even if he was a little harsh when he found out Holly's secret.

I enjoyed the book. It was easy to read, with a good pace and the characters were likable. I wasn't sure about the other sister, but I also ended up liking her and I am looking forward to reading her story. There is a little tease at the end of this book and it piqued my interest. While the book might not be wow, it was good enough and I would recommend it.

I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for a hidden identity or a switch willingly Romance, and BETRAYING THE BILLIONAIRE has all that and so much more. Lillian and Holly’s father is about to send Lillian off to a business enhancing marriage of convenience and she wants nothing to do with the man who she is supposed to surrender herself to. In steps her twin sister, Holly, who is also appalled by their father’s actions by trying to marry her sister off to a man who will never love her and only sees her as a way to grow his business. Holly will make the temporary sacrifice to stand in Lillian’s place because Julian Worth would accept nothing less than the heir apparent sister.

But what happens when the man Holly meets turns out to be so different from anything she or her twin had ever expected? And how in the world was she supposed to simply walk away from the man who now owns her heart – even if he had no clue as to who she really is?

I fell in love with Julian. He’s not a typical wealthy CEO, he’s a man who has worked his way up to capture his dream. He still has close ties, even a deep love for his foster parents and while he may have spent his life building his company, he also sees the value of one sweet Holly in his life – although he doesn’t yet know he’s falling in love with the “wrong” twin.

BETRAYING THE BILLIONAIRE is full of banter, steamy encounters, falling in love and holding on to a secret that will or could destroy everything that truly matters. There are chuckle out loud moments, and a few moments when tears will threaten to fall. In all, I had a wonderful time with Holly and Julian — and now I need to know what Lillian’s future holds. Hopefully, I’ll find out in the next story.

Looking for a Romance that will capture your heart and your imagination? Then you’ll want to check out BETRAYED BY THE BILLIONAIRE. I had such fun and I believe you would as well.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

I love BETRAYING THE BILLIONAIRE! We see a heroine who came into her own, who changed the way she saw herself by the end, and the romance was absolutely romantic! Julian was to-die-for. He's so sweet and thoughtful and protective, and it was a joy to watch him change his views about relationships and fall in love. This book is already on my to-be-reread list, and of course, gloming the author's backlist while I wait for the next book in the Abbott Sisters series, which will feature the other twin, Lillian. Can't wait to read about her adventure with Dominic.

The only beef I have is with the cheesy title. Stop with the "Billionaire" thingy already, although if it's the #1 search term, we'll surely see a lot more billionaire titles in our future. But if the story's as good as this one, I'll put aside whatever reservations I have. There were lots of typos in the book, but I hope that's because what I've got was the review copy and the final copy should be free of those. If you love to read about twins who switch identities, a seriously sexy and sweet hero, and a fabulous romance, do pick up a copy of BETRAYING THE BILLIONAIRE.

Three and a half stars.

Julian Worth is a foster-child turned self-made billionaire. Let down by people he loved in the past he has determined never to be hurt again. He feels that he is looked down on because of his humble origins so he decides to enter into a marriage of convenience, a strategic alliance with a rival family.

Holly Abbott is the quiet, bespectacled less glamorous of the Abbott twins, born shortly after the heir Lillian. But when Lillian disappears at a crucial moment Holly's father blackmails her into taking Lillian's place and pretending to be her sister to ensure the marriage, and the merger, takes place as planned.

Julian and Holly go on their first date with low expectations but neither finds the other to be as expected, can love survive deception?

Gah, I tried to change the edition in Goodreads and the computer ate my review! Anyway, although this felt quite old-fashioned to me, with the billionaire with a heart of gold and the overlooked younger twin, I have to say it is exactly what I was expecting based on the blurb and it delivered in abundance. Definitely one to read when you want to escape reality to a simpler time.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Loved this book and could not put it down! I love a good twin switching places romance and this one was definitely one of the best I’ve read.
Our heroine Holly is the sweet and unassuming twin, eager to help cover for her sister Lillian, even if f it means pretending to be engaged to Julian, Lillian’s fiancé. Of course you know sparks will fly! But even I was surprised by how quickly Julian was attracted to Holly. While Julian is a determined, and let’s be honest, a ruthless businessman, he’s still a sad and lost little boy inside. Maybe that’s why he’s drawn to Holly, because she represents comfort and caring.
I wanted to throat punch the twins’ father through the whole book...so great job writing that villain, Victoria Davis! I did really like Lillian all that much, either...maybe we saw a sneak peek into her future match, though...that was definitely intriguing!
Engaging characters, great dialogue, a few twists and a lovely romance...another winner from Davies!

Amazing Enemies to Lovers type Book! Victoria Davies wows you with every word.
Holly Abbott had to step up to help the family even if it was uncomfortable - she stepped into her sisters' shoes and pretended to be her when it was time to meet her sister Lillian's intended. For an arranged marriage that her sister didn't want, but as Holly got to know Julian Worth she fell in love with him, but she knew with the deceit she would lose him.
Julian was marrying into a family to merge their businesses not more, nothing less. That is until he got to know Lillian (Holly) and began falling in love with her. Until it all falls apart - how can the merger or the marriage be saved?

This was a unique twist on an “opposites attract” romance. I liked the setup and that the two twins were opposites. I particularly enjoyed reading about Holly and how she struggled to find her place. I thought the romance was well-done, with the banter between Julian and Holly especially true-to-life. The overall concept that the heart knows what it wants was a great message. I only wish that Holly’s father got a bit more of what he deserved. Overall, it was a good read, and I would recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and the author for a complimentary pre-release digital ARC of this book.

This was fun.

We have Julian and Holly; he’s supposed to marry Lilian (Holly’s twin sister) in order to merge their companies. But when Lilian disappears, it’s up to Holly to take her place and hope Julian doesn’t realize this.

I liked both characters, I loved Holly and her selflessness, and I was so rooting for her to be selfish for once in her life and take a chance on Julian. It hurt to see how her father treated her (good God, that man) and how in turn, she viewed herself for that. She had so much worth and I was so happy Julian was able to see that and made HER believe it. :-)

Julian was a jerk at first, I wasn’t much of a fan but I quickly warmed up to him, simply from the way he treated Holly. He had a rough past, so I could understand his hang ups.

There were some ups and downs and I was desperate to know how thing would be fixed! I loved the ending for these two, and I loved the glimpse we had of Lilian’s story. Also, there’s QUITE a lot to fix in terms of her Dad in future books. Grrr.

*Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing a copy for which I’m giving my honest opinion*

4.5 Stars!

Wow, what a totally engrossing novel from author Victoria Davies. Betraying the Billionaire grabs you right from the start and the compelling story never falters. The two primary characters, Holly Abbott and Julian Worth, have seductive chemistry, and their romantic courtship is replete with discovery, desire and love. After enjoying quite a few of Ms. Davies's offerings, her books have become an "auto-buy" for me.

Holly and Lillian Abbott are identical twins. Their father is a control freak, and instead of working hard to secure the almost bankrupt future of the family's business, he attempts financial freedom by using his daughters as pawns. Lillian, the older twin and heir to millions, is supposed to marry Julian Worth, a kind, hard-working, self-made billionaire. Their marriage would keep the wealthy Abbott's in the red. Lillian escapes her father's clutches in order to seek out a better solution to their financial problems, leaving Holly no choice but to step-up and become Lillian. Holly has always been the quiet twin, doing whatever her father asks of her. She is a good person and will do whatever is necessary to prevent her colleagues from losing their jobs. Julian is okay with an arranged marriage, since being loved and being in a family was never a part of his foster care upbringing.

This is a quick-paced story with well-defined and exciting characters. I loved the way Ms. Davies evolved Holly and Julian's relationship, with discovery, emotion, and longing. Holly's father was amazingly mean, and his ability to hurt was never ending. If you are looking for a contemporary romance with some surprising moments, a bit of deception, and a happily ever after that will leave a smile on your face, read this book.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

Holly felt this meeting was far out of her comfort zone to work But if she fails everything will fall apart She was to meet her sisters fiance as her sister as her sister -Jullian-had left in the middle of the night as she will not marry Julian but she must have a plan to leave Holly in this position. . So Holly was to meet Jullian and act like she was Lillian. The twins had learned long ago to avoid their father-John- whenever they could. The man might be a business mongrel but when it came to his daughters all he cared about was what they could do for him. But he had pushed Lillian to far and she had ran. She wondered who brought a wife - the answer was - the answer was Julian Worth. The billionaire CEO had built his empire from the ground up as he had a knack at predicting the market and that had made him several fortunes. The plan was to combine the two massive corporations by marriage. Julian would get the connections he wanted and the Abbotts would get a son-in-law who everything he touched turned to gold. Holly’s father's company was struggling. If nothing changed they wer3e going to cut some jobs. Which was why she was here. Julian was set to meet his fiance instead he would meet Holly. Either she would confess his fiance had called everything off and the company would collapse even further at the expense of the employees or she could pretend to be Lillian and buy some time so they could look for Lillian. Even though Lillian and holly were identical twins they made sure they were different in some ways like how they style their hair or what they wore. Holly didn’t have Lillian’s vibrant personality. As their eyes locked Holly felt electricity shoot across her skin. But she had to be Lillian and not drool as Julian approached or lose the power to speak at the sight of him. The man who could doom or save them all. She couldn’t allow herself to be attracted to Julian. For Julian to agree to this deal he had to be as unscrupulous as John was. Julian said since this was a business arrangement they could approach the marriage honestly and say what they wanted to make of their life together work. He wasn’t opposed to them living as separately as she wanted. After talking a little Holly said so his idea of a successful marriage was where they never seen each other. Julian said society is full of these marriages. This would be Holly’s idea of hell, after a lifetime of being ignored. Holly couldn’t imagine a worse fate. Julian wanted a wife with connections, not one that took his breath away. Instead of being annoyed, for the first time in longer than he wanted to admit , his interest was stirred. Julian thought he would rather have her in his bed than across the city. Julian came up in the foster care system. Holly was wrong in thinking Julian was like her father. Julian wondered how to win over his future wife. Julian had two close friends, they were Ryan and jason, they had met in business school.
I loved this book. I loved how Holly was caring and kind and that Julian was a billionaire but not a manwhore. This made me chuckle at times and choke up at other times. I didn’t like how Holly lied to Julian but she did it to protect employees in her father's company. So didn’t hate her for it but didn’t like her father or even her sister for running away. I loved watching Holly grow in this book. I loved the pace and plot. I loved watching Julian’s and Holly relationship grow. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend it.

Being born four minutes after her identical twin sister, has set Holly Abbott, second in life. Her grandmother was very clear leaving her estate to the first born. Now that her father wants to join businesses with billionaire Julián Worth, he has set his mind to marry her sister Lillian off. Except when Lillian runs away, since we wants no part in her father’s schemes, Holly has to take her place. Transforming herself into Lillian’s personality and clothing, isn’t hard for Holly, she’s had a lifetime of experience.

Julián Worth is a self made billionaire. The only thing he’s missing is a name to take him into the right circles, which is why a marriage of convenience with the Abbott name, is exactly what he’s looking for. What he wasn’t expecting is the feisty Lillian to put him in his place. He is really intrigued, which says a lot for him, since he is always calculating everything in his life. The last thing he was expecting, was to fall for this beautiful woman.

Holly is in trouble. She has now fallen for Julián, and she can’t tell him her true identity. He will surely hate her if he finds out her deception, but what if she’s honest with him. Surely he will understand..

I truly enjoyed reading this intriguing and wonderful love story. Another great book by Ms. Davies!

A delightful story involving switched identities, self-sacrifice, lies and betrayal. Loved the story - recommended read. I will be looking to read more by this author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

BETRAYING THE BILLIONAIRE by Victoria Davies is the story of Holly Abbott and Julian Worth.
Holly and Lillian are twin sisters but Holly is the 'oldest' so she is the 'heir' to the family. So when a business deal is struck with Julian to marry the oldest sister he is on board. Julian is all business and if his business needs a marriage to help him out then so be it. Although Holly and Lillian are twins they are completely different in attitude and action..but they do look somewhat a like. So when Lillian gets cold feet and leaves, Holly steps up to the plate until her sister comes back. What started out as pretend starts to feel to real for Lillian.
Loved their story...hope to read more from this author.

Betraying the Billionaire is a sweet arranged marriage romance story. Holly was born into money, however, she doesn’t act like it. She works hard, she is down to earth and isn’t one to go around flaunting her wealth and privilege all over the place. She also was treated like the black sheep of her family, especially being a few minutes younger than her identical twin sister, Lillian.
Julian was also different from the typical billionaire hero. He had a rough life, he built his company from the ground up. He wasn’t a player and even with going into an arranged marriage his first plan or thought wasn’t to go and find a mistress.
I enjoyed this story. It was such a fun read and the whole twin swap was a different twist. Holly and Julian were super sweet and so right for each other. I loved reading about their relationship and watching it evolve from a business deal to true love.
This is a great summer read!

I really enjoyed this book a lot. Julian and Holly were great main characters and it didn't take long for them to tug on my heart. Especially Holly who was so caught in her father's trap. She was practically invisible to him and others. Well, until her father John needed to use her. She knew that her father just saw them as tools to use to his advantage; in any way he saw fit. And he knew ways to force them into line.
Everyone was quick to see her twin sister Lillian. And as much as that hurt her she also loved her sister so much. The nice thing was that it was mutual. They were super close and as often as the could had each other's back. And for the most part, that is all of the people that were in their corner. Lillian was NOT interested in marrying someone like Julian but she was looking for another way to rescue both herself, the family company and their employees.
The emotions in this book were really well done with some good secondary people as well. Julian's early life was really tough but he'd also made some close friends that now work with him in their company. Jason and Ryan had their own area of expertise and the 3 of them had a tight friendship as well. When Julian had his first meeting with "Lillian" it was all business to him with little or no feelings to his fiancee at all. He was in it for a blue-blood woman as his wife, business connections and a company merger. It was a pretty cold blooded deal. It was really good to get a look at the better man that he had underneath all the "shark in business". It takes a while though. The more I got to know the real man, the more I wanted him to win in love.
The story does come to an interesting end with one thing not completely taken care of but the main characters do get their H.E.A. There is also an interesting twist for Lillian that REALLY makes me want to know her story now. I will be watching for it.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Heat Factor: Mostly closed door, but not 100% (in case you’re squeamish)
Character Chemistry: In the way of love based on a lie, the chemistry was aces
Plot: Pretty close to exactly what you’d expect
Overall: I alternated between rage and euphoria

Let’s do a contemporary take on Dukes, I said. Billionaires are basically contemporary Dukes. Billionaires are a whole romance thing! We’ll see what happens. I was prepared not to be impressed on account of the twin swap dishonest beginnings trope and the marriage of convenience trope and the billionaire all rolled into one literary package. (20,000 dukes - fine, 20,000 billionaires - NOT FINE. lol.) Also, the paragraph formatting of my ARC was not good, so that was distracting, and I hope that gets sorted out for final publication. Anyway--the short story is that I went into this book like a huge snob.

Maybe I’m too removed from money (new money, old money, whatever), but the notion that a billionaire entrepreneur would include marriage in a merger in the present day seems a little out there. So I guess it’s not surprising that the twin who was supposed to be the bride runs away, leaving the naive twin to take her place. That may seem harsh to our heroine, Holly, but we need to be honest with ourselves. It takes a special level of naivete to know your dad is a manipulative narcissist and still to believe his reasoning when he asks you to lie to someone. Especially when you also work at the company your family owns. So. Eventually, as the relationship is becoming something real to our protagonists, Davies makes a case for why Julian, our hero, would want a marriage like this. And it does include trust issues and also business goals. But does he really need marriage for the business goals? Eh?

I knew all of this and pretty nearly every moment of the plot the whole way. And you know what? I want to read the book about the sister and I’m bummed it’s not even teased on Davies’s website yet. Yeah. Because Davies just reeled me right in, and once I started I couldn’t stop.

For one, Holly and Julian are good, kind-hearted people. In the context of who they actually are, it’s a little ridiculous. Julian is a self-made billionaire (from the foster system, no less). He didn’t get to be a billionaire by being a nice guy. Yeah, Davies makes comments here and there about how someone would see just how cold and businesslike he could be, but nah. Likewise, Holly is all mousy and wallflower-y. She's the identical twin of a confident, hot socialite, but somehow she's a nobody. Because her sister got all of their grandmother's inheritance? Mmkay.

So I am arguing that there's definitely a degree of suspension of disbelief. But if you can wrap your head around it, this book works because Davies’s prose does a nice job of growing a relationship that totally wants to work between a nice guy who went into an arranged marriage for entirely selfish and mercenary reasons and the nice woman who’s lying to him. The prose isn’t totally perfect, though. There’s a totally made-up word in there, posing as a real word. It’s not even slang.

At first, the relationship is supposed to be between two people living their separate lives, so when Holly and Julian meet for the first time, Holly is trying simultaneously to avoid Julian and also not to close any doors for her sister, should Lillian wish to come back and actually go through with the wedding. Naturally, Julian’s interest is captured by the mousy twin because she is refreshing and challenging, and he suggests that they date. This sets the ball rolling for Holly and Julian to build a real relationship with each other, with Julian in particular thinking this is going way better than he’d ever imagined. I found it somewhat refreshing that for her part, Holly (thanks to her friend) seriously considers early on whether or not she wants to try to build a relationship with Julian that could weather the storm of discovery. Because what they have is real.

There is a fine line between eye-rolling and the aforementioned euphoria throughout the book. I fell on the line of euphoria because I am a sucker for a romance between characters with good chemistry and just enough not-completely-stupid drama.

So where does the rage I mention above come from? The stupid drama. Dishonest beginnings = stupid drama 100% of the time. Because invariably when one character starts to lie, stopping the lie becomes increasingly impossible. We get lucky in this book because Davies gives us a twofer. Not only does Julian find out about the lie, but also, before that happens, the twins test him. And because people do not voice every thought or doubt in their heads, Julian fails their test. And I wanted to throw my phone across the room, but I turned the pages instead because → sucker.

Anyway, this would not be a good choice for readers with a low tolerance for the ridiculous and/or readers who have a hard time with suspension of disbelief. For my part, as I said, I can’t wait for the next book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

Holly was the perfect heroine in so many ways. She really stole the whole book. Her determination and willingness to love whole heartedly made this book such a passionate read and I loved every second of it. I just hope that Lilian's book is just as good.