Here I am enjoying an erotic romance about a heroine who is insecure about being overweight, with all the requisite Mean Girls snide remarks and angst about looking dumpy and fat. Then I come to find out that the heroine is a SIZE EIGHT. What the hell??? The only people who think a size eight is fat are size 00 runway supermodels. Bloody hell. That knocks this down at least one star, if not more.

Ok, made it through, and despite the utter absurdity of a size 8 woman being plus-sized, I'm leaving this on the BBW shelf because with all her angst and insecurity and other peoples' insults, etc, I would have bought Faith as a chubby heroine if I had just not read the couple lines about her single-digit dress size. There was a lot about this story that I enjoyed, but there were two issues for me personally: one, the book is 75% sex and I was in the mood for more romance than that allowed. Two, it was hard for me to really identify with the heroine. Not just because she is - by her own admission - a spoiled rich kid, but because she was so inconsistent: insecure about her appeal yet brazen af in bed; "knowing" that Conner would never love her, yet believing he might due to his actions, and trusting him when frankly, she had no reason to. Although, I was surprised to find I actually enjoyed the corporate power-play plotline. This book is 75% sex, 20% boardroom drama, 5% relationship development. It's a scorcher in the fuzzy-handcuff kind of way. (2.5 stars) ( )

This erotic story wasn't really all that interesting but I did finish. Same accusation got tedious then everyone did complete turnaround in last chapter. Accountant Connor offers to marry and give Faith a baby if he can be CFO in her dad's company.
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3.5 stars ( )

**Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques**

All Faith Castle wants in life is her own family, complete with children. Unfortunately, her status as the only heir to the Castle fortune doesn’t exactly make her a target for family-minded men. Resigned to a life as a frumpy spinster, she contents herself by teaching kindergarten, even though she doesn’t need the money.

Then Connor Kingston walks into her life, offering her the deal of a lifetime. He’ll marry her, give her children, and in return he’ll become the CEO of her family’s company. Honest, straightforward, and seemingly too good to be true, it is an arrangement that Faith finds impossible to pass up. Especially considering the effect Connor and his all too sensual appeal have on her from the start. She knows he won’t love her, but she can live with that, right? Now if she can just keep her own heart out of the deal…

The Fortune Hunter is the second novel written by Jasmine Haynes that I have had the pleasure of reading, and it has cemented her place in my favorite authors list. Indeed, after reading another of her novels, Somebody’s Lover, I was so smitten with her talent that I have purchased many of her other stories and am working them into my massive to-be-read pile. Luckily, receiving The Fortune Hunter for review gave me the perfect excuse to prioritize it in that TBR pile – something I am very grateful for.

In a market that is bursting with historical and paranormal romances, many overlook a good, old-fashioned contemporary romance. For this reviewer, the contemporary romance still occupies a major portion of my bookshelf alongside those other genres. While those other genres take me away to far-off worlds, contemporary novels such as The Fortune Hunter are stories that inspire romantic hope and more attainable dreams for many of us. And Jasmine Haynes certainly knows how to inspire both for her readers.

In Faith Castle, Haynes introduces us to a heroine that is easy for the average woman to identify with, despite her status as an heiress. Faith is insecure with her looks, especially her size, and struggles in a world that focuses on superficial qualities far too often. Still, she is strong-willed, smart, and refuses to settle for less than she deserves – even if she thinks true love will never happen for her.

Connor Kingston pushes all the right buttons, for both Faith and readers alike. His relentless seduction of Faith, even after she marries him, is the catalyst needed to ensure Faith blossoms under his sensual guidance. But the lessons he teaches her backfire on him as he realizes his beautiful wife has unwittingly seduced him with her sweetness more effectively than he could ever have imagined.

As with all great romances, Jasmine Haynes delivers a more than satisfying happy ending for The Fortune Hunter, as both Faith and Connor prove their love beyond a shadow of a doubt, paving the way for a future happiness readers will be sure to dream about long after they have finished this wonderful story.

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