3.5 stars, rounded up.

High school deb makes a bad decision (surprise!) and now she's cleaning toilets for a living.

High school geek turns into Superman and makes billions of dollars. Bumps into the down on her luck deb and his infatuation with her rekindles, but now he has to prove he's not just another rich bad boy.

Characterizations were sharp, the story was good. Ultimately, I suppose I prefer my characters to be more "everyday" to be relatable, so the beauty queen and the billionaire premise is what made me downgrade my rating, but that's a personal opinion and has nothing to do with the quality of this well-done book. ( )

This book is not only disappointing it is doubly disappointing, as the author is not only a NYT best-selling author but won the Daphne Du Maurier prize, although probably not for this book. The story is predictable, but a reader may want the predictable happy ever after from a work of romantic fiction. The hero is rich, an outcast done well, and transformed via the gym to become a super hunk. The damsel in distress is capable and feisty but she has a problem only our hero can fix. Her nemesis is spiteful and mean, drawing our sympathy towards the heroine and hoping the villain gets all she deserves. Like any good romance there is not too much sex, but plenty of sexual tension. The plot feels formulaic because it is and the characters are typical cliched tropes. There is nothing wrong with the writing and the reader should feel sympathy and empathy for the characters and there are enough twists and turns to keep you reading until the end, but it is q throw away. Unlike Daphne Du Maurier no one will this, unlike Rebecca. ( )

Secrets on the Sand by Roxanne St.Claire (Audio Edition)
Narrated by Kaleo Griffiths
The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay #1

3.5 Stars - This was a super quick read as it was a novella. The story was a feel good romance and I loved the plot of the hero getting his high school crush in the end. Mandy had a couple flighty moments which didn't make sense to me, and I sorta wished she’d secretly crushed on Zeke back in the day - but that's just me.

Zeke knew what he wanted and had the money to use that to his advantage. He seemed like a caring man and I felt he truly wanted Mandy, I just wish I had felt a bit more chemistry between them.

This is the first time I have heard a Kaleo Griffiths narration and while I like the tone of his voice and his clarity, I found he was quite breathy as if every conversation whispered - though perhaps that was the story as well.. it was very “hush hush” in parts. I would listen to another of his narrations.

Original review posted at: http://paragraphsandpetticoats.blogspot.ca/ ( )

Mandy was the most popular girl in her high school who has fallen on hard times and is now a maid at the local luxury resort. Zeke was the high school nerd turned billionaire who has always longed for Mandy. Now Zeke's back in town and has his heart set on Mandy. Sweet, fun and light reading. ( )

DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: Zeke Nicholas has turned his mathematical genius skills into a mountain of money. But Zeke sits on that mountain all alone, longing for the one thing money cannot buy: a lifelong partner and true love. Enter Mandy Mitchell...the maid at his thousand-dollar-a-night resort.

The minute they meet, Mandy knows he’s exactly the kind of trouble she should avoid...but Zeke does have one thing Mandy needs to gain the independence she craves. Will he give it to her? One look at Mandy, and Zeke turns his relentless ability to get what he wants into a full-on seduction and he’s ready to give her anything. But can Mandy face down the secrets of her past to find a fairy-tale future with Zeke? ( )