Review: Hired By The Mysterious Millionaire by Ally Blake

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Hired By The Mysterious Millionaire by Ally Blake
Purchase link: Amazon

What an amazing story Hired By the Mysterious Millionaire is! It's equal parts light and laughter, and equal parts dark, broody, mysteriousness. Evie is so bright she shines, and Armand oozes French sexiness.

I was sucked into the book from an ad saying "The One About The Train Boyfriend" referring to Armand as "Hot Stuff" and I thought: "I want to read about Hot Stuff". I was so impatient I didn't even wait for release day. I went onto the Mills & Boon website where I could buy the book directly from them a lot earlier than the official release day. And then I started reading it immediately. I didn't even give the book a chance to settle in my Kindle. I gobbled it up.

(Teaser image from author's social media)

What a delightful story! Evie was all bright, shining stars and light. And Armand was so broody, I fully expected storm clouds to gather over his head.

Evie has had a bad run recently. She's without a job and about to be without a place to live. But she has Hot Stuff to drool over on the train every morning and evening. Despite the setbacks she's faced, Evie is cautiously optimistic and determined to make a go of city-living. She's held herself back in the past because she's afraid to turn out like her mother and what she doesn't realise is that she needs to take a chance at life and living. To be brave. Armand, with all his dark, unapproachable broodiness, challenges her, pushes her, and makes her leap outside of her comfort zone. In him, she finds a man who is worth investing in despite his view of himself and the world around him.

Let me tell you, Armand has shot up my list of book boyfriends I'd like to keep to myself. I'm selfish and I don't want to share his brand of deliciousness. Armand is broody and grumpy to the extreme but with good reason. He has been beaten black and blue on the inside. He's retreated from life, from living, from feeling because he feels too responsible, to his family, to his friends, to the people he felt he's failed. Armand is pretty hard on himself. He doesn't realise he's a selfless, heroic man. He judges himself too harshly and in doing so, the light has leeched out of his life. Light that seeps back in the form of Evie. With her joie de vivre, with her determination, with her optimism.

Watching Evie and Armand fall for each other is like watching a very slow tango. The tug and pull of them towards each other, and then apart, and then together again, is breathtaking and beautiful. Armand thaws despite himself. Evie finds confidence and strength in herself and her worth. They bring out them best in themselves and each other when they are together.

Another fun thing in the book is Ms Blake playing off the cultural differences between the French and the Australians. Their view on workplace relationships, their view on romance, and their of the world in general. It was so much fun. I loved that to the French, Australians are uptight!

 “You Australians are too uptight,” Armand chided. “In France such things are not a concern. Lovers are found where they are found. In a bar, at a party, at work. The location is merely scenery.”

 “...It is none of anyone’s business. Including Jonathon. Yet you are determined we seal our lips?” She nodded vigorously. Then her gaze dropped to his lips, her wide-open face giving him everything he needed to know. “Then sealed they are,” he said. “You Australians, so uptight.”

I loved every minute of this book. It made me feel so utterly happy. A part of me didn't want it to end while another part of me raced to the ending because I wanted them both to find their happy with each other. The ending is sweet, poetic, and utterly satisfying.

This is my first time reading Ally Blake and I had a bang up time. I might need to go check out more of her books.

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