Sydney, Australia – the Present

Jake Vance, billionaire corporate take-over expert, or raider as some critics complain, is interested in Australia’s richest diamond company, Blackstone Diamonds. Since Howard Blackstone’s death, the company has been floundering, and someone inside the company has been giving company secrets to the press. The scandal surrounding Howard’s death is keeping the family in the gossip columns and eroding shareholders’ faith in management. Howard’s nephew’s wife also died in the plane crash with Howard. His nephew from the Hammond side of the family -- the side at war with the Blackstone relatives since James Blackstone’s abduction and the disappearance of the Blackstone’s magnificent rose diamond necklace thirty-two years ago -- wants to destroy his Blackstone cousins.

Jake's goals changed when his mother died. On her deathbed, she told him he was the missing James Blackstone, eldest son of Howard and heir to his mansion and a large share of his company. He didn't believe it until DNA proves his mother's claim true. For a hard-driving workaholic, don’t-need-emotional-ties businessman, the news throws Jake for a loop. At a meeting with his brother, sister and brother-in-law at the Blackstone Company headquarters, he finds himself awarded a personal assistant, Holly McLeod, to show him all the company's facets.

Holly loves her job and has a deep loyalty to Blackstone Diamonds. They helped pay for her college. However, her previous boss, Carl, has a hold on her that could cost her her job. He demands she spy on Jake. As sole support for her ailing mother and father, Holly depends on her job and can't afford to lose it. She is drawn to Jake, discovers he is far different from her image of a hard, greedy trader based on her press clip readings, but she knows he isn’t interested in long-term love affairs, let alone marriage.

Jake is an appealing character: rich, handsome, hard working, and so emotionally vulnerable he denies he even has feelings. Holly is his perfect match, although she hardly thinks so, coming from a less than affluent family as she does. Their romance is sexually charged but is also a love affair that will touch your heartstrings.

Oh. Wow! This fifth title in the Diamonds Down Under series does not disappoint! It is a rugged and emotional ride that blends well with the previous works. Great characters, lush setting, and a view of life on the ultra-rich side make for an enjoyable read. You will want to read the previous titles first for the full impact of the combined authors' efforts, but if you start with this title you will still enjoy it; you'll just be compelled to find the first title. So make sure to save BOARDROOMS & A BILLIONAIRE HEIR for a later reread after you do read book one of the series. For those following the series, a few mysteries remain to intrigue you about the concluding story, but James's return to the family is an emotional story too good to miss.

Robin Lee