Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Highest Bidder by Sara Cate

75 reviews

booklovinmamas's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When Sara Cate announced she was writing two more books in the Salacious Player’s Club series, I may have squealed for joy and scared my family just a bit. The Salacious Player’s Club was my fave series in 2022, and I devoured the first four books when I read them. You best believe I was going to devour Highest Bidder. The second I got the ARC of Highest Bidder, I told my husband not to disturb me. His immediate response; you know we are on vacation, right? You will have to put the book down every once in a while. Damn him for reminding me we were on vacation in Tennessee. I did finish the ARC whenever we were not exploring and hiking in Gatlinburg. 

Storyline/My Thoughts: What can I say about the Highest Bidder? If you read and loved the first four books, you’ll love this one, too. Ronan Kade was the one character in the series that I wanted to know more about, especially since he seemed to always be at SPC. He had a backstory that we readers’ needed to know. The young lady he falls for in his book is perfect for him because he falls in love again after so many times getting his heartbroken.   

I thought Sara Cate couldn’t make me smile and blush even more with Ronan’s book, but she did. While typing this review, I’m blushing, remembering my favorite scenes between Ronan and Daisy. My husband caught me several times smiling and having to put the book down to cool myself down.  

Sara Cate knew what she was doing when she wrote Ronan Kade. I’m not even sure who I love more now. Emerson Grant has been my favorite in the series, but Ronan Kade may have stolen that top spot. A fifty-six-year-old billionaire who loves to be called ‘Daddy’ and is a Pleasure Dom. Ronan is all about giving in the bedroom. Daisy is one lucky young lady is all I’m going to say. Everyone is going to want a Ronan Kate after reading this book.

What did I think about Daisy? I loved her character. She was curious about the man her mother dated and wanted to know why she had money in an account from him. She never expects to go on a date with him after he wins her at an auction at SPC when she loses a bet with her bartender there. I loved how she never gave up when it came to being with Ronan, especially when they were in Paris together. She may be young, but Daisy is mature for her age and knows what she wants, and that is Ronan Kade. Daisy has a backstory, too, but I don’t want to spoil it for readers.

You know what I loved most in this book, and no, it’s just not the spicy times. It’s a fact the characters eventually didn’t care about their age differences. Age is just a number. Take it from someone who has a husband fifteen years older. We met in the Navy; he was my best friend first before my husband. We’re happily married fifteen years later with kids. Ronan and Daisy had that instant connection; their ages didn’t matter because they fell in love. Ronan fell hard for Daisy, and you’ll find out how hard when you read his book.

I didn’t quite enjoy the emotional moments between the characters, but that’s because I’m not too fond of the characters going through heartbreak or drama, but Sara Cate made up for it with that beautiful, well-deserved HEA. Both characters deserved a HEA for everything they endured in their pasts and present. Their ending, in my opinion, is PERFECT, and I loved reading about their happiness together.

Another five-star book from the fabulous Sara Cate. (I wish I could give it more than five stars.) I’m so glad I found her SPC books last year because this series will forever be a favorite. Do you want to know how much I love these books? I’m making my husband read them, and he agreed too. He doesn’t read romance books, but he knows how much I loved this series and is curious why his wife loves them. I hope he doesn’t get jealous of Emerson Grant and Ronan Kade. He already says I’ve collected enough book boyfriends/husbands.

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Salacious Players’ Club series.

Steam/Spice: 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶    

Genre(s)/Trope(s)/Element(s): Contemporary Erotic Romance. BDSM. Billionaire Romance. Mother’s Ex-Boyfriend. Age Gap Romance. Daddy Kink. Pleasure Dom MMC. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy Age Gap Romance (35 years age difference) with a silver fox billionaire who falls for the Salacious Players Club’s drink server, this book is up your alley. Also, if you have read the previous books in the SPC series, you don’t want to miss out on Ronan Kade’s book.

Favorite Quote(s): He’s playing me like an instrument, and his fingers know all the right notes.


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chelsearose's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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kristynpittman's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

SPC is one of my favorite romance series and I have eagerly been anticipating Ronan's book. He made such memorable appearances in the first 4, that I had high hopes when we eventually got his own story. 
While this book was fun and steamy, the main reason it fell a bit short of the main series was the lack of backstory. Ronan is such a mysterious man, and unfortunately that mystery is never really solved. As a 56 year old billionaire I just know he had a wild life, but so much of this book focused on Daisy. Daisy...the 2o year old stalker. (Can you tell Daisy wasn't my favorite?)
I still think fans of Sara Cate and The Salacious Players Club will still enjoy this one! Especially if tropes like age gap, sugar daddy, mom's ex-bf, etc, are your cup of tea. 

*Thank you to the author for providing me with an advanced copy for review

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haneyhayespr's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

adventurous, emotional, hopeful, inspiring, reflective, sad, medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Ronan Kade, why can't you be real? I need you in my life. Because let's face it, if I found a guy like you, I'd get remarried in a heartbeat. I know you're all reading this like, WTF? Let me explain. Daisy is great, but this book-I was all about Ronan. My heart broke for him in the prologue and then again closer to the end of the book. This man has a heart of gold and deserves to be loved. When he was upset, I was upset. I feel so much for him. Get ready for this Silver Fox, I thought I wand, and I so wasn't!

Now I have to talk about these RULES. Ma'am!
Rule#4 You can't kidnap young women living in their vans-even with good intentions.
Rule#11 If you can't sleep in your bed, try his.
Rule#14 Play with fire, and you'll get burned.
Rule#30 Give her O's at work. If she gets fired, it'll be worth it.

These are just a few y'all have to look forward to.

Quote from the Book.
"Who do you think you are?" she argues. "You think because you're a man, you can just boss me around?"
Clearly, this won't work. I'll be thrown in jail within minutes if I try to abduct this flailing young woman and bring her to my apartment.

I was absolutely laughing at Ronan's thought process throughout this section of the book.

Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Child Death
Minor: Cancer and Pregnancy

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melanie_reads83's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

4.5
Move over Emerson Grant, I've got a new daddy 

As much as I love an alpha hole, sometimes we just need a nurturing filthy-rich pleasure dom to take care of us and Ronan Kade does exactly that. Although the declarations of love came a little too soon for my liking, the relationship between Ronan and Daisy was just perfect with each of them fulfilling the missing parts of the other. I wish we'd seen a little more of how Daisy dealt with the grief of losing her mother but it wasn't a major point of contention. All in all Highest Bidder has surpassed all expectations and easily become my favourite book in The Salacious Players Club series.

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