Reckless In Love: The Maverick Billionaires, Book 2: (Contemporary Romance)

Reckless in Love is the 2nd book in Maverick Billionaires series by Bella Andre and Jennifer Skully. I thought the character development was well done. Sebastian is a complex character who is influenced by specific experiences in his childhood - one very much so. It drives everything he does in his life and he's constantly analyzing himself and his actions against the yardstick he formed as a child. I really liked Sebastian as a character. Charlie is also complex. She's driven by a different set of principles but there are similarities in how their past has influenced their daily life. What I didn't like about Charlie is that she made decisions based on what she thought she needed to do to please Sebastian and lost herself in the relationship. As strong as she was portrayed, she didn't see that in herself. The one thing that held back a 5 star rating is some of the writing style. I felt there were many times that cliches and superlatives were overused. I rarely find it credible when the first time a couple comes together that it was the "best sex they'd ever had" or "most intense orgasm they ever had". Those superlatives tend to turn me off and I felt they were overused a bit in the book. I also felt the book could have been a bit more balanced between storyline and intimacy scenes. I wanted a bit more of the story line in the book. The intimacy scenes were well written but I feel, at times, that an author can overdo it with detailed intimacy scenes over and over when sometimes they can be left to the imagination of the reader. It wasn't that there was "too much sex" per se, it was more that there were times that I felt the balance wasn't quite right and once a couple has come together, there are times the intimacy can be alluded to without specifics to keep the story moving along. That said, the complex character development and the unique storyline of a relationship between a billionaire and a junkyard artist make it an interesting read. The authors also gave us a check-in with our previous favorite characters and continued to draw us into the lives of the other Mavericks and their parents and I look forward to subsequent stories.

I fell in love with each of the Mavericks in Breathless in Love, and more in love with Bella Andre's and Jennifer Skully's writing with each page. I couldn't wait to get to the next Maverick's story and have to say Bella and Jennifer totally delivered with Sebastian and Charlie's story. I adored Reckless in Love. I have to say on more than one occasion, I just wanted to give Sebastian a hug. His biological parents cared more about their next fix than they did their own child. Susan, Bob and the other Mavericks became his family, yet Sebastian really still didn't completely understand love or the fact that one didn't have to be perfect to be loved. I loved that he was instantly attracted to Charlie and the attraction was completely mutual. Sebastian was so sweet to try and do anything to make Charlie's life easier, even when he messed up in his attempts. Charlie is a super strong and independent character. I love that she turns junk from garage sales and junkyards into works of art. She is a bit of a free spirit when it comes to her art, and I think that is part of what makes her art so amazing. She has an amazing work ethic, partly because she is taking care of her mother along with her own bills. Charlie is just as attracted to Sebastian when they first meet, though she seems to want to take things much slower than Sebastian. I really loved the romantic build up between Sebastian and Charlie. They had amazing chemistry and I loved that they waited for the right time to make love for the first time. There are lots of steamy make out scenes leading up to their first time together. It totally worked for me that Charlie wouldn't just jump into bed with Sebastian no matter how attracted she was to him. I also loved that Sebastian totally respected Charlie and was willing to wait until the time was right, and them being together was totally worth the wait. Seriously some smoking hot love scenes between Sebastian and Charlie. I loved them as a couple. The only thing I didn't love about Sebastian was him trying to turn Charlie from a free-spirited artist to a high dollar commission obsessed artist. The stress of taking the commissions and being at parties all the time to promote her work, made Charlie question if Sebastian truly wanted Charlie for herself or if she had to change to fit into his world. I knew Sebastian loved Charlie just as much as she loved him, but sadly his childhood abandonment issues almost came between them. I could tell Sebastian totally thought he had Charlie’s best interest at heart and only wanted to help Charlie become the rock start artist she was in his eyes. Reckless in Love was a pretty emotional read for me. I connected with both Charlie and Sebastian and loved them as a couple, even before they actually were a couple. I loved their chemistry and felt it only grew stronger the more they communicated their feelings and needs to one another. Reckless in Love pulled me in from the very beginning and had work not gotten in the way; I know I would have read it in one sitting. I will now wait on pins and needles for the next book in the Billionaire Mavericks series.

You can almost visualize the art that is described in great detail that is created by Charlie and Sebastian. It was a unexpected and amazing bounces to reading this story. The visuals created in this book are so breathtaking it makes me so happy that I can't help but visualize everything I read. Sebastian and Charlie are the perfect pair both caring and loving individuals as well as extremely souls. Charlie's mom Francine is the best, her story of determination is so inspiring and her personality is so adorable. I loved every moment of this story. Looking forward to the next Maverick to find true love.