LGBT Monday: Billionaire with Benefits

Author: Anne Tenino
Series: Romancelandia, #2
Published: October 18th 2014
Publisher: Riptide
Length: 415 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: Amazon

Before confessing his gayness to his best friend, Tierney Terrebonne’s sex life is -strictly restroom. After confessing his gayness to his best friend . . . it doesn’t improve much. Why bother trying when the man he’s loved for fourteen years (see: “best friend”) is totally unattainable? Good thing Tierney is an old hand at accepting defeat; all it takes is a bottle of bourbon. Or fifty. Repeat as needed.

Dalton Lehnart has a history of dating wealthy, damaged, closeted, lying, cheating, no-good, cowardly men, so of course he’s immediately attracted to Tierney Terrebonne. Fortunately, Tierney is so dissolute that even Dalton’s feelings for the man would be better described as pity. Which becomes sympathy as they get to know each other. Followed by compassion, concern, caring, and hopefulness as Tierney struggles to change his life. When the man comes out very publicly and enters rehab, Dalton finds himself downright attached to Tierney. And as everyone knows, after attachment comes . . .

Uh oh.

But post-rehab Tierney can’t handle more than friendship, so Dalton should be safe from repeating his own past mistakes, right? Right?

The wonderful Anne Tenino is known for her delightful, albeit slightly ridiculous plots and her fabulous sense of humor. I haven’t read all of her novels, but I’ve read enough to know that she always hits all right buttons and that I inevitably end up laughing like a lunatic and scaring my poor neighbors in the process.

The first book in Anne’s Romancelandia series fit that description perfectly. It’s been years since I’d read it, but I remember the details well, and I remember laughing until I cried. Therefore, the seriousness of Billionaire with Benefits came as no small surprise. We remember Tierney from the first book, where we saw him in the worst possible light. I was less than thrilled to be reading a novel in which he was the protagonist. Rich, spoiled and used to getting his way, Tierney seemed to be the most unlikely hero. In fact, I couldn’t imagine that the word hero would ever apply to him. But only the best author can redeem a character while still showing all of his weaknesses, and Anne Tenino certainly is one of the best. We see a different Tierney in Billionaire with Benefits: still an alcoholic, still extremely difficult, but brave and willing to make radical changes.

Dalton made less of an impression since Tierney’s struggles were the very core of this book, but he was the perfect match for our troubled billionaire. His no-nonsense approach to everything, and the vulnerability underneath, made me fall in love with him in a heartbeat. Me and Tierney both, it would seem. Neither of them was perfect, although Dalton came pretty close, but their flaws were well-matched, and by the end, I was completely convinced that they were a couple made to last.

I loved that Tenino offered no easy fixes, no ‘love cures all’ approach. Tierney had to do the work and face the fact, and only then was he capable of being with somebody else. The road to forgiveness is never easy and his made me cry more than most, but the warmth in the end was more than worth it and I loved every second of my journey with him and Dalton.

You can’t go wrong with one of Anne’s books, but these are (and likely always will be) my favorites. Pay no attention to the silly cover, this book will make you cry those ugly tears, but they’ll make the wonderful ending that much sweeter.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No consideration, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.