EARLY REVIEW: Filthy Rich (Blackstone Dynasty #1)

Filthy Rich (Blackstone Dynasty #1), by Raine Miller
Publish Date: November 15, 2016
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Format: e-ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4 STARS

(Synopsis) Billionaire Caleb Blackstone lives in the glamorous world of wealth and success, with every material luxury. But the moment he sees Brooke Casterley, none of that matters. Caleb is filled with a raw, undeniable need that he can’t ignore…for a girl who is so completely different from everything and everyone he’s ever known.

Only Brooke isn’t looking for love. She knows all too well just how much damage the wrong guy can do. Still, what sane, broke British girl can resist the charms of an incredibly sexy, chivalrous billionaire? What starts as flirtation quickly turns into all-consuming passion. Nothing could have prepared her for the searing heat of Caleb’s touch—or just how much she craves him.

Their whirlwind romance is the stuff of high-society fantasy—but for every moment of pleasure, there is a cost. Past mistakes and tragedy shadow them both…and falling for him might be the kind of trouble she can’t afford.

Raine Miller is back, as well as the Blackstones in the first book in her new Blackstone family spin-off series, Filthy Rich. The Boston Blackstones are interesting, indeed, and we get a good look at all five of them in book 1, but the real story here is about the oldest Blackstone sibling, Caleb as he comes to terms with his newfound desire to give up his bachelor ways, thanks to a single encounter with Brooke Casterley. 

We've seen Caleb's type before - the billionaire playboy who has all the toys and no desire to commit. It's not a lack of desire to settle down, but rather, he just hasn't found a woman he can stomach for much more than a few dates and some fast screwing. But one meeting - scratch that. One sighting of Brooke Casterley at a party does him in, though, and soon Caleb finds he's the one trying to convince her to make a commitment to him. 

Nothing was familiar when it came to Brooke. Each new thing we shared together felt to me as if I'd never done it before, and more importantly, as if I never wanted to do it again with anyone other than her - ever.

Fasten your instaloving seat belts, because this is one sexy ride. If instalove is a hard pass for you, you might want to think twice about Filthy Rich. But, if there's even a small possibility that you could put aside your feelings for the trope, I encourage you to do so. Especially if you love a good alpha male who flexes his protective nature regularly and treats his woman like a queen. Because Caleb may have fallen for Brooke at one glance, but their relationship is anything but easy after that. 

For one thing, Brooke is very easily spooked. She's got a lot of demons in her not-so-distant past that she's still trying to overcome. Luckily, Caleb is a very, very patient man. And, while he's waiting for her to give him her heart, he's contented with her body in the meantime. If you've read Raine Miller's books before, you know that she knows how to do sex well. So, it's no surprise that Caleb and Brooke have crazy awesome chemistry and smoking hot bedroom (and shower and wall and office...) scenes. 

I'm guessing that this is the first of five books in the Blackstone Dynasty series - one book for each sibling in Caleb's family. Caleb is the oldest with twin brothers Lucas and Wyatt behind him and twin sisters Winter and Willow behind them. Now that Caleb has been paired off, it seems that the next book will belong to Winter and Caleb's BFF James. In addition to their groundwork being laid, we also learn a little bit about each of the other Blackstone siblings, and everything we've seen tells me that this whole series is going to be fantastic.