The Renegade Billionaire by Rebecca Winters is the story of two people seeking meaning in their lives. Stavros feels irrelevant to the family business and ends up calling it quits and ends up seeking some down time on his family island. .While there he ends of becoming involved in a search for a teenager who went missing through one his family's tour outings. During the search he meets Andrea, a tour guide involved in the search. They start to fall in love. Will it last after their task is complete? I was given an ARC of this story for my honest opinion. Although the story was slow moving, it was a good and deep read. ( )

This was one of the best from the Romance line that I have read in awhile. Most of the time there is a lack of intensity that leaves me wishing there had been a little more heat, but this one had almost everything I could want. There was also a lot of emotional depth. The story starts with Stavros in an extreme state of frustration, thanks to the ultra conservatism of the family business's board of directors. He has a proposal for a new product line, but they refuse to change with the times. Having had enough, he quits as the managing director, and heads to his home on the island of Thassos. Shortly after arriving he finds out that a teenager on a local tour has disappeared, and goes to help with the search. Andrea is part of the tour company and also arrives to help with the search. She joins with Stavros to check some of the more remote locations.

Stavros and Andrea are drawn to each other from the moment they met. Her beauty and intelligence light up the dark places in his soul that have only gotten worse with the problems he's been having. Stavros is one of the best looking men Andrea has ever met, and appeals to a side of her that has been dead since she lost her fiance the previous year. Once the rescue mission is over, Stavros wants a chance to get to know Andrea better, but Andrea is cautious. She's already loved and lost once, she's not sure she could do it again. And there are obstacles to a relationship that might be impossible to overcome.

I really liked both Andrea and Stavros. Andrea is an intelligent and independent woman. She grew up with just her father, travelling around the world with him in his work as a mining engineer. They have a very close and loving relationship, and have never spent much time apart. Andrea knows that her father's work in Greece will be done soon and they will be moving away. As a result, she knows that a relationship with Stavros isn't possible for her. But as she spends time with him, she falls fast and hard for him, and is torn because she can't see a way to be with both the men she loves.

Stavros is a wonderful man. He may be rich and powerful, but he is also warm and kind. He loves his family, but he is also frustrated with them. His relationship with his father is especially difficult as the man never seems to have anything good to say to Stavros. When Stavros refuses to fall into line with his father's plans, his father makes threats that hurt Stavros even more.

I loved the connection and the growing feelings between Andrea and Stavros, The empathy that she has for Stavros's unhappiness is strong. She also has a really big protective streak for him. I loved her care for him when he gets hurt, and her efforts to help him with his business show just how quickly her love for him happens. That love also shows in the way she trusts him, especially in regards to his ex-girlfriend. I loved the way that Stavros fell so hard for Andrea. His respect for her intelligence and independence is obvious. He wants her to stay in Greece, but understands her love for her father. I loved the fact that he doesn't try to force her to choose between them. I was a bit worried about how they were going to make it work. The resolution was great and felt quite realistic.

One of my favorite "characters" in the book was the island of Thassos. I loved the descriptions which were so vivid that I could easily picture it in my head as I read. ( )