by: Karen Booth
Series: The Eden Empire
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 1, 2019
Publisher: Harlequin Desire
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Can she stay away from her irresistible ex?Don’t bet on it!
Mindy Eden’s on-again, off-again affair with Sam Blackwell left her with regrets. So when her sisters bet her she can’t attend a wedding as her gorgeous ex’s plus-one without falling for him again, Mindy stakes her future to prove she’s over Sam. Will a week of passion with Sam be the one gamble she’s ready to take?
Karen Booth’s Eden’s Empire series is about three sisters who take over and run their family’s department store after the death of their grandmother. A Bet with Benefits is the third book in the series and is a standalone read. Fans of this series will be happy with the re-appearance of characters from the previous two books.
Karen is one of my favorite authors because I’m always able to lose myself to her stories and be transported to another world. Her characters all have heart and passion. What’s surprising is that even when a character rubs me the wrong way, she always manages to redeem them. Going into A Bet with Benefits, I needed both characters to redeem themselves. They did so and more.
Mindy Eden is the oldest of the Eden sisters. It was never her dream to run the “family business” like her sister Sophie. Mindy wanted to be her own person and stand on her own two feet. She started By Min-vitation Only (BMO) on her own. The company while new was successful and growing. Mindy was actually living out her dream until the death of her grandmother, Victoria Eden. Now, Mindy finds herself forced to spend the next two years working with her sisters to abide by her grandmother’s will. Not wanting to let her company go, Mindy is forced to hire an interim CEO for the company while she works for Eden’s department store. But Mindy isn’t one to let someone else truly run a company she built from scratch. Mindy, in essence, is burning the midnight oil, being COO of Eden’s and looking over the shoulder of her interim CEO.
Sam Blackwell is a successful real estate and business investor. He’s been known to make some questionable business choices, and thus has rubbed a few people the wrong way. Sam is driven to be the best, if for nothing else then for the memory of his parents. Sam is a man who keeps people at a distance, never revealing his true self.
Mindy and Sam first became a couple in A Christmas Temptation. It first appeared Sam was only seeing Mindy so she would agree to sell Eden’s to him. This didn’t go over well with Sophie. Adding to the issue is the fact that Sophie’s fiancé Jake despises Sam due to their past interactions. A Cinderella Seduction found Sam once again doing things that seemed to be unethical and impersonal. Choosing her family over the man she has been sleeping with, Mindy breaks things off with Sam for good. However, A Bet with Benefits finds the two back in each other’s atmosphere.
From the beginning, A Bet with Benefits owned my heart. I honestly kept waiting to see if my heart was just playing tricks on me. But my mind came on board too. Sam and Mindy are unbelievable. I didn't think they had it in them to love each other truly and deeply. But it turns out these two were just afraid of love and being hurt by it again. I wanted them to redeem themselves from the previous books and they did. They are probably my favorite couple of the whole series. In A Bet with Benefits, I was able to see who they truly were. All of their secrets, scars, and insecurities were laid out. My heart broke for them as they fought themselves, each other, and the Eden family to claim the love they so desperately wanted.
Karen has once again written an incredible story. She has thrown in some surprises and a twist. I’m looking forward to seeing what she has in store next.
**Received a copy of the book from the author and voluntarily reviewed.**
Rating: 5
Purchase A Bet with Benefits from:
The Eden Empire Series:
A Christmas Temptation ~ Review
A Cinderella Seduction ~ Review
A Christmas Rendezvous releases November 1, 2019
** You can read my interview with Sam Blackwell here. **
Places to find Karen Booth:
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