Cover Image: Strictly Business

Strictly Business

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Member Reviews

When a savvy businessman posing as his twin and an oil baron’s niece battle over a family farm sparks fly. Can these two find a way to be together amidst lies, manipulation, and deception?
I really liked this contemporary romance. The characters were unique. The hero seemed open to romance and had a “forever” mentality that I wish happened a lot in real life. It seemed that the heroine was the one who, I felt, was apprehensive with the concept of the relationship. The plot was good. It had enough shenanigans and suspense to keep me interested. The one thing that I didn’t like was the cursing. There are so many other words in the English language that an author could use. Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake publishing for this advanced reader’s copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

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A 3.5 story
This first story in the series belongs to Jesse and Crystal.
Jesse is a businessman that has recently discovered he has a twin. While Jesse is a cutthroat businessman, his twin Scott is a gentle man. Knowing he needs help, in dealing with the company that is trying to force him to sell his family’s land, Scott asks Jesses to take his place.
The person delivering the papers is Crystal. The attraction is obvious but what happens when she discovers she’s falling for Jesse and not Scott.
The story had a few twists and turns, a little mystery and of course, romance.
I did feel the story left unanswered questions. Will Scott get his story next?
I have to confess that this is the first book by this author that I have read, and was not sure what to expect.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

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Great book loved this story.
The story of Jesse who is impersonating his newly discovered twin Scott in order to save his farm.
He meets Crystal send by her uncle from Steadman oil who is after information on the farm.
There are immediate sparks between them.
This book has a good story, hot sex, some laugh out load moments especially with Jesse’s first encounters of the farm animals and great characters.
Really looking forward to book two .

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Strictly Business🧑‍💼

Strictly business is the first book in the Switch series which is about twin brothers, Jesse and Scott, that recently discover they are related but didn’t know about each other. Scott has been getting harassed by someone wealthy, who wants to buy his farm when Jesse decides to step in and help Scott save his farm😢 However, the beautiful woman that shows up to hand deliver the contract is unexpected but also makes Jesse question his life when he starts to feel an attraction to her😳

A good story that I enjoyed but I felt it was a bit long winded but it could be because the characters were new to me and I’m still familiarising myself with this author and how she writes🤷‍♀️ I’m interested to see where Scott’s story takes us next❣️I received an advanced copy via Netgalley and voluntarily leave my honest review😍

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Sadly this wasnt a book I ever really got into. I tried, because I wanted to unravel the twin story, but the complications got too much. I gave up half way through, not something I like admitting.
But thanks for the chance to read and review this book.

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A lovely read. I really enjoyed the depth of the soul searching both Jesse and Crystal did and how they problem solved the situation. A nice message about how to step back and look around and enjoy your life to the max.
The next book about should be interesting, I can imagine he’s caused some problems for Jesse while pretending to be him.

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This is the first in a new series involving reunited twin brothers that is absolutely wonderful and I look forward to Scott's story as well. Ms. Cardello has a way with words, characters and bringing emotion from a scene that always draws me in. Keep up the good work!
#netgalley

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Another great book from author, Ruth Cardello. I never pass up one of her books and know I will be reading long into the night.
This one is about twin brothers who didn't know each other existed. When they do find each other , the story really takes a turn and gets interesting. Family drama, secrets, romance, suspense and shady business deals all made this another very interesting story.

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Crystal and Jesse's story was enjoyable enough, I have found some of Ruth's stories of late to be a little cut and paste but I didn't struggle with this one, opposites attract and pretending to be your twin are tropes I like so Strictly Business wasn't a struggle to read.

In the main it gave me a great introduction to Scott and I am really looking forward to his book.

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This was a really fun read with some great twists. Jesse is taking his twin's brother's place to deal with the person trying to buy his farm, but low and behold he finds so much more with her. I really appreciated Crystal's character in this and how sweet and strong she was. Her and Jesse have a great romance together and I just adored them. I can't wait to read the next in series!

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Old friends. New intrigue. Unpredictable romance. Strictly Business has the where with all to keep you guessing while tempting your senses and stealing your heart. Cardello stirs up a bit of suspense while pulling the ultimate con. Crystal and Jesse are not always easy to like, yet somehow they barrel themselves deep under your skin and take up residence within your soul. From captivating to aggravating, there's never a dull moment.

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Twin brothers who were adopted by different families have switched places, Jesse is a ruthless businessman and his twin Sam is somewhat naive. Jesse wants to protect Sam from being taken advantage of by an oil company that wants his land. Crystal has been sent by her Uncle to deliver the purchase proposal. The attraction between Jesse and Crystal is immediate but besides her thinking he is Sam, Jesse wonders what her agenda is. They have already told the oil company no. This is a romance and a story about family. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

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What a whirlwind story!

This is the book of Jesse, a cold businessman, who takes his twin brother's place in order to deal with an oil rep who wants to buy his farm. Crystal is sent by her uncle to leave the buying proposal but things take different turns than expected. Clue in a big secret that both Crystal and Jesse try to keep from each other in order to act on their families' interest.

I felt this was all full of twists, because there are a lot of characters that get in the mix and a lot of scenes unfolding. It is all very nicely written and while it didn't take my breath away it was definitely enjoyable.

What I loved the most is how the author pictured the love story, how skillfully she mastered for both of the characters to stay honest to one another while keeping secret details. I liked how lovely, caring and, naturally, reserved Crystal was, such a dear heroine. And I liked how in charge and creative in his quest to impress her Jesse was. Their comings together were absolutely explosive!

All in all it was a great story. While the romance shone brightest there are interesting themes threaded here, like the twins personalities and the nature versus nurture idea, the importance of Scott's discovery, the endearing moments with the rescued animals, great themes woven into these pages.

I received this in order to offer my personal view on it.

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Jesse, highly successful businessman, is trying to help his twin brother, Scott, a farmer who rescues animals and grows mull beans, keep his farm from those that want to buy it. Scott doesn’t want to sell. Jesse just recently learned of his twin quite by accident. Both boys had been adopted by loving parents.
Jesse and Crystal meet outside Scott’s farmhouse where Jesse is pretending to be Scott. They quickly get into a standoff based on distrust.
This is a great, unique start to an impossible romance. They are, however, attracted to one another which they both fight, Jesse calls a halt since he is lying about who he is, and Crystal because she thinks Scott doesn’t trust her. They are brought together through a mutual concern for some of Scott’s rescue animals.
I loved this story. The couple was brought together by unusual circumstances as near enemies. It deals with real problems and the character development feels realistic.

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Very interesting concept, quite steamy. I found it jumped in a little too quickly, I would’ve liked to see the lead up to the switch. Instead we first meet Jesse already acting as Scott and then he fills us in as why.

I felt as though there was almost too much going on, but I couldn’t put it down because I demanded answers.

Definitely not a slow burn - lust at first sight turned to “love”.

Will most likely read the sequel as I need to know how things play out.

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❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Another wonderful book from Ruth, that can only lead to a brilliant series.
Excellent characters and some awesome moments, both entertaining and a little tense.

Loved Jessie’s character, even though he’s a pretty tough and strong man in business he’s affectionate with Crystal.
Don’t get me wrong, they have their moments and it’s not smooth sailing by any means, but it’s a beautiful story.
One of beginning a relationship and sticking with it to the end, learning how to understand people and loving them wholeheartedly.
Excellent reading.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

Sent from my iPhone

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I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I request every book by this author and often love the books that she writes. I didn’t love this one as much because I felt that it had too much going on. There were the twin brothers that had just met, an overbearing father, a secret in the basement, an oil company and the oil rep who was actually just the niece, and a vicious attack by a former best friend. There was just too much going on without a strong base.

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This is the start of a new series about twins. In this story, we have twins who were separated at birth. Scott is the farmer raised by affectionate, loving parents while Jesse is the blunt businessman raised by an equally formidable father. Someone wants to buy Scott's family farm. Since Scott is too nice, Jesse and Scott switch places to avoid any negotiations from continuing.

While posing as his brother, Jesse meets Crystal who is tasked with delivering the new offer from her uncle who wants to lease Scott's land. As the story unfolds, secret science projects are revealed and the truth behind the interest in leasing the land is uncovered, all resulting in a unique storyline that kept me interested in the plot and had me turning the page to see where things would lead.

I did like Jesse and Crystal together and the cast of supporting characters. But this was insta-lust that transformed into forever in a matter of roughly two, super-fast paced weeks. My head was spinning. There was an undeniable physical attraction, but I wanted more time for that emotional connection to develop between them.

If you enjoy stories with a mix of mystery and sexy relationships, you will likely enjoy this start of a new series.

/I received an advanced edition of this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book or content of my review./

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Lies and attraction abound when a savvy businessman posing as his twin and an oil baron’s niece battle over a family farm in this steamy romance. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The storyline was phenomenal in this book.

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This storyline hooked me from the beginning. I love books about twins. This is definitely going to be a series. I will be watching for the next book

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