Loved this book, and it is exactly what I expected from Cardello. A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This story was entertaining enough, I just couldn't connect with the characters and didn't really feel any real spark between Alisha and Brett.

Brett and Alisha kick off Cardello's strong Westerly Billionaire's Series. This one is a winner. Strong characters and personalities have set this series up well for fans of Ruth Cardello.

Super story with super characters and I couldn't put it down. Had to read all in one sitting. Fantastic book and would recommend this to everyone even if it's not your normal books you read you won't regret giving this book ago. Left review on Amazon.uk

Story of needing an inheritance and getting a fake relationship that leads Brett to the woman he knows he needs and wants. Must read.

This is the first book in this series by this author. You are always guaranteed a fantastic read with this author. The more you read the better they get. You will fall in love with the characters as you read. This is a fantastic start to this new series. This story has a few twists in the plot, strong writing and very strong alpha characters.
Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

Enjoyed this emotional read about secrets, friendship, sacrifices, family and love. Alisha agreed to help a childhood friend by pretending to be engaged in order to gain his inheritance. She didn't expect to be attracted to his brother. Brett is instantly attracted to his brother's fiancee. As they both struggle to fight their attraction to each, secrets are reveal, trust destroyed, friendships and relationships are strained. They later both decide to let go of their pasts and trust in their future together. Recommended read.

The prologue is well written, let’s you know somewhat what you are in for. The book starts off with Alisha and Spencer and the reader assumes that the book will be about their engagement/marriage. But you are thrown for a loop when Brett, Spencer’s brother intervenes in his would-be marriage and starts to have feelings for his brother’s fiancée. Keeps you on the edge of your seat, two people fighting the pull initially only to realize they can’t, one gives in and the other through love for the family continues to fight their feelings until the can no longer. The chemistry these two give off is off the charts, forbidden, and sexy. This relationship appears to be the first step in mending the broken family the men come from, broken years ago and damaged a little more during this story but able to be repaired in time. Eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.

In The Heir by Ruth Cardello
At first, Alisha was hard to like, mostly because she was so dependent on what others thought of her. She is a textbook people pleaser; once I learned about her past, it was easier to understand why she was how she was. One thing I liked about her was that she stands up for her friends and family; she stands up for what she believes is right, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do. This was my first book by her – I feel like the secondary characters will have books of their own.
Brett is so swoon-worthy! He is deeper than what I initially expected; he is like an orchestra conductor and influences his siblings lives in such a great and thoughtful way. He is wealthy, but knows when to not flash his money. He hasn’t needed to work hard for women in the past, and watching him work so hard for Alisha is funny and entertaining! He uses humor and wit in such a way that I could imagine having a conversation with him and just having fun! What I loved most about this book was the slow burn – the sex wasn’t immediate and they formed a relationship before jumping into bed. Brett values what is on the inside, rather than just the outside, which I absolutely love, because looks may fade over time, but the person underneath will always be there.
This is a solid 5* for me, and I look forward to reading more by this author! -K

I received this ARC copy of this book from NetGallery for an honest review. I give this book 5 stars. The storyline between Spencer, Brett and Alisha started out as Alisha becoming Spencer's fiance as stipulation in his grandmother's will. The only way they can get an early inheritance is if they marry prior to her death,. This book was well written. A must read.

When I think of In the Heir, I keep thinking that the book ended and left behind mostly a mess which hopefully the second book will fix. Everything worked for Brett and Alisha but everything else is in an unstable condition. There were some major revelations in this book that changed the dynamics in the Westerly family. I cannot say anything because it will spoil not only this book but also the next one. I feel like the only characters that were likeable were Brett, Alisha and a little bit Spencer. Rachelle is a selfish person and she better redeem herself in the second book or I won't be reading hers. The two other siblings were not in the picture a lot. Eric for some reason didn't appear at all and was only mentioned. One would think that the closest sibling to the main character (since these two grew up together) would have a line or two in the book, but so far he had none. He better have an explanation for this. The youngest sibling made some brief appearances, but nothing more. If the next books in the series are like this one then plenty of drama awaits us. The thing that I loved the most about this book is the pace of Brett and Alisha's relationship. They didn't rush things even though the chemistry was there and they tried to do the "right" thing. Most of the book they are just friends who might flirt a little with each other, but nothing seamy happens. Once the got together things were a little rushed and I didn't like that. I would have liked 50 more pages where they spend their time doing things a couple does and rubbing it into Rachelle's face.

The book wasn't bad. I liked it and I believe that it was a good beginning for the series since it prepares the reader for the drama that will follow in the next books. I have a feeling that this will be the tamest of the five. While the series won't become one of my favorites it has started on the right foot and I am waiting to see what will happen next.

I'll admit to being a bit disappointed, it was an average read, but not her best.

This is my first book by Ruth Cardello, which I thoroughly enjoyed!!

This is book one is a new series (Westerly Billionaire), and loved the whole family of characters brought into play here. But if anything this book just goes to show that money can't buy everything.

Delinda Westerly (Grandma) has turned eighty, none of her grandchildren came to see her, they are estranged after a difficult split with their parents. So to entice them back to her she decides to offer an inheritance to them if they get married.

Spencer has come up with a plan with his friend Alisha, whom he has known since childhood and is practically family already, to get married for the inheritance so that it will give his new business a boost in cash - Alisha is only too happy to help Spencer out, but loves him like a brother only, six months on and their contract will end and she will go back to being single, no biggie!!

Brett is the eldest and considered by the rest to be a jerk. He appears cold and aloof, cocky and arrogant, and has next to nothing to do with his family. He also runs a massively successful business, much to Spencer's disgust. Its not until Brett meets Spencer's fake fiancee Alisha, that the problems start - as they have an instant attraction to each other!!!

This was a good read with a good storyline, all about family and friendships, funny and emotional, with surprises along the way. I loved Brett's character and how he changed after Alisha got under his skin - hot, loving, loyal, protective and very sexy!!! Very recommended reading.

Great, sweet romance with the occasional dirty talk. Family dynamics are rather fraught, complicated too. Overall, an easy read, that made me smile

Really enjoyed the concept of this story. First time reading this author and will very much be going back. The character build was spot on and had the right amount of everything to make this story epic!

Alisa is trying to help her friend, Spencer, but it backfires when she falls for his brother! My heart goes out to Alish as she just wants to be part of a family and Brett’s family has always considered her a part of the family until things start changing. This is a true pull on your heartstrings kind of book and well worth reading. I hope there are more books about this family coming soon.

Loved this book. The grandmother trying to get her grandchildren to marry. Secrets come out to cause major problems in the family. Brett ends up falling for his brothers fiance.

Though I didn’t really have issues with the author’s writing style, at 40% into I realized I was growing weary of shrugging off my dislike of some of the sub-characters behavior/actions/rationale. I found myself questioning why Alisha, such a sweet heroine, would settle for such emotional table scraps from this wealthy, dysfunctional family. This “on the outside looking in”, loyal, willing to do anything they ask of her heroine simply deserved better. Sure, we were given a reason, but, frankly, Spencer didn’t deserve such a sacrificial friend. His stunt with the floozy Monica proved that. Though Alisha was putting him first, it consistently wasn’t coming across as reciprocal.

Agreeing to and keeping a promise to Rachelle that once again meant Alisha was browbeat into pushing her own happiness aside had me shaking my head in dismay and disbelief. For a girl everyone seemed to admire for speaking up, she played the doormat role quite well.

Brett, the groomed to be like his father, now ready to lead the family out of dissension and into harmony, quickly became one of the best parts. What a shame I had such a sour taste in my mouth I was reluctant to continue to find out if he succeeded or not. No one is more surprised than myself that now the way was finally paved for him to pursue the heroine I just wasn’t sure I wanted to read another word of this rich, entitled family’s soap opera drama.

Need an example? Well, how could it be justified for Brett’s dad to say Brett’s mother cheated during their marriage because he wasn’t the man she needed him to be? Sorry, buddy, but two wrongs don’t make a right in my romantic books. On top of that, everyone isn’t given the real story. Then there is the spewing hateful/hurtful remarks of the grandma matriarch, who happens to hold the inheritance purse strings, that everyone tiptoes around, because they don’t want to hurt her feelings. But, hey, supposedly she means wells.

So I made it to 72% percent, before too much inner monologue and somewhat mechanical writing set in and added to my discontent enough I stopped reading. The “doesn’t believe in love or marriage” mindset of the hero, even so late in the game, was a turnoff, as well.

There are tons of fangirling, raving reviews for this one, so maybe it’s just me. I wish this new to me author the very best. I just wish she had given me a more likable family to root for, other than the main couple which were great together. Too bad the family comes with the marital package, my fellow romance book-loving friends.

Title: In the Heir, Series: Westerly Billionaire (Book 1), Author: Ruth Cardello, Pages: 242, stand-alone but part of a series, sweet but hand wringing heroine, good guy hero who now wants his entire family to be happy, doesn’t believe in love or marriage, doormat heroine, stopped at 72%.

(I received an advanced reader copy via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. No compensation was provided to me, nor do I have any affiliation with the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

I absolutely loved this story!!!!! I was hooked from page 1, the characters are so well written I feel I know them, the story was so perfect in the sense that every time I assumed it would go one way, it went the other way around the back side with the long windy beautiful road.

***ARC Provided by the Author and Give Me Books***

3.5 Stars

I enjoyed this book, once I got about 20% into it. I thought a lot of the opening, the dislike of Brett with his other family members and the reason Alisha was involved in a fake engagement were handled rather quickly and in more of a "tell the reader how they should feel" instead of letting the reader make the discovery on their own.

This is not uncommon in the first in a series. Once we got to the relationship with Brett and Alisha, the book really gained it's footing. Brett and Alisha had wonderful chemistry and, even though you are told he is cold and a jerk, I never really got the impression of him that I was supposed to. Yes, he was work focused, but definitely not cold. And, I think this is how Alisha sees him as she gets to know him.

I liked that even though the engagement was fake, both Alisha and Brett were loyal to her engagement and kept things between them to a mostly unacknowledged upon attraction until there was no longer the issue with the engagement between them. Brett does go to a fairly extreme length to put them into the same place so they can work toward their relationship, but it is in character so it works.

I do recommend this book, and I think it was a good beginning to a new series. I am looking forward to the next title.