this was a very done-before story and not in a good way. We can get inspiration without following the script exactly. This needed a bit more originality.

This book is exactly what you expect from the cover and I really enjoyed it. It was spicy in all of the right places

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This was an unexpected read! I normally go somewhat blind into books when I request them on netgalley and this surprised me in a great way. My first read by this author and won’t be the last- this book was filled with comical moments and banter between the MC’s. I started off not a huge fan of the MMC who was a world away from the unique and quirky FMC but the dual pov helped us unpack the story behind both of the MC’s. If there was a checklist when it came to tropes, this book would Rick many. This grumpy/sunshine book was devoured in one sitting and I am hoping that the supporting characters in this book have been introduced to us in a way that sets them up for their own books, making this part of a series. Really enjoyed this, in a genre saturated by plots that end up similar, this was a breath of fresh air

This book was fun to read. Had some great banter moments. The cover is fun. The characters work well together being opposites. Virginia is a plant loving, color clothes wearing female that you want to root for.

Ms Bloom is a new-to-me author, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up. The cover is cute, and drew my attention and when I read the blurb, I definitely became interested in reading it. I was not disappointed! The story was cute, fun, and had a good dose of humor sprinkled throughout. Virginia owns a business taking care of people's plants. She's good at what she does, but she could do with a little more business. In an attempt to gain some tips and insight on how to grow her business, she signs up to attend Will's motivational seminar. Their relationship doesn't start off on the right foot when he picks her to come onstage during his talk for some personalized coaching and instead humiliates her. Virginia is determined to prove his assessment of her is wrong, and when she gets her hands on a golden ticket for free coaching with his company, she seizes the opportunity. She hopes not to run into Will, and when she does, he makes her an offer - in exchange for her free coaching lessons, she will take care of all the plants in the office for a given period of time. As they see each other more, things progress and they begin to build a friendship which doesn't take long to develop into something more.
This was a delightfully fun grumpy/sunshine romance. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Will and Virginia grow and the witty banter between them had me snickering and laughing the whole way through. A very fun and enjoyable romance. I can't wait to continue the series!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I enjoyed this story with all the characters within. The main characters were Virginia and Will Power IV.

Virginia love being a botanist. She wants to make a business out of caring for plants. So she decides to take the Power seminar. If she can get a in and get a private coach to help. But when she goes to the seminar and is able to get up on stage and might get in. The man that is performing humiliated her and send her home with only his coat. But late she find something in the coat that might change her life.

Will Power IV is a motivational speaker. He works for the families business entrepreneurs. While speaking he meets a woman that he can't stop think about.

This was a fun story to read. It had action, adventure, and drama throughout. It had a few giggles within. There was a bit of steamy.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley and StoryOrigin. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

I really enjoyed this book. The two characters were very different, a strong grumpy/sunshine vibe, and the conflicts fit well with their personalities. If you love classic romance story structure and all the juicy tropes, witty banter and romantic tension that come from enemies to lovers and forced proximity, this one would be a winner for you. Someone who is passionate about plants and the healing power of nature would also connect well with the FMC.

There were some parts where I had a hard time connecting with the style of prose and a couple of plot points stuck out to me, but it wasn't enough to take me out of the story. It did leave me wondering about the world they were in. An example would be: despite the MMC stressing how important his role was to the sustainability of the company and their brand, there wasn't more intervention and concern from a business standpoint on sustaining the physical and mental health of the MMC's company. From a business standpoint, it just didn't make logical sense that no one was putting two and two together that he might need to get outside and touch grass. I just felt he would have a stricter support team and the bottom line of the company would have put more pressure on the characters to force him to take better care of himself. I just brushed it off as family history that took place before the story started, but would have liked to have seen some more motivations here from the other characters in this respect so I could really get on the same page with the MMC on how he and his family really felt about the job/company/his mental health connection. I didn't personally connect with the MMC's core motivation, but just chalked it up to the fact that it was told in backstory rather than being shown through character, plot or dialogue.

Now, back to the romance. It was so cute. The witty banter and character motivations were consistent through the story as they learned how to trust each other and to give in to their own needs, first as plutonic friends, then gradually to lovers as the spice heated up. The FMC was delightfully quirky, but self-deprecating and aware enough that Danika completely avoided the manic-pixie dream girl trope. There is also a sister, which hopefully will lead into book two, and the plot between the FMC and her sister unfolded seamlessly and was so fully developed that I felt like I was getting a little story within a story.

I'd feel confident in recommending this to someone who is looking for a light, fun, rewarding summer read that will leave them feeling happy and content and maybe just a little more aware of how they treat their plants.

Thank you so much to Danika Bloom and NetGalley for this ARC which provided me the opportunity to read The Billionaire's Shrubbery prior to release. I received this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

A fun read, grumpy and sunshine romance. He is a billionaire who is growing tired of his career, and she is a plant whisperer looking to grow her business. When he publicly humiliates her, she takes an opportunity hoping to stay off his radar, but life is not that simple! Looking forward to more books from this author.

The Billionaire’s Shrubbery by Danika Bloom ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you love plants like I love plants and like Virginia Beach loves plants. And you love a good enemies to lovers trope then I definitely recommend you grab this book!!!! This is the light hearted story of Will Powers, billionaire public speaker of the Come to Power seminars, and Virginia the “plant whisper”. Virginia Beach owns a business where she cares for the plants of the rich and famous. Virginia hopes to grow her business so saves her money and attends the Come to Power seminar. Will chooses Virginia to come on stage where he instead of helping he humiliates her in front of thousands.
Virginia accidentally finds a ticket for Wills elite Power Broker Program a guarantee to grow her business, so should she keep it? Return it? This grumpy/rude billionaire will certainly find out if she uses it won’t he? This is such a great read, spicy, funny. Thank you NetGalley and Danika Bloom for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Heat Factor: It’s a good moderate spice

Character Chemistry: It’s kind of one of those “he needs her, she’s kind of perfect the way she is” type of dynamic

Plot: Virginia Beach (not kidding) lucks into some money and immediately spends it on a seminar from a famed business and success coach who comes from a self-help family dynasty. Will Power (not kidding) is deeply sleep-deprived and working himself into an early grave like every other head of the family has. Then Virginia sneaks her way into an executive coaching program, gets caught, and throws Will completely off course (in a good way).

Overall: This was a quirky, cute, fun read with a satisfying end—and it’s looking like it’ll be a series!

This book rides on Virginia Beach, who is quirky, vulnerable, grounded, and has incredible self-awareness. I loved her as a character. Virginia is an entrepreneur and plant expert who is trying to grow her business to a level where she can sustainably live off of her passion. In order to do that, she spends $2000 she lucks into on a ticket to Will Power’s success coaching seminar thing. Will Powers calls her up on stage and mocks her (honestly, incredibly rad) dress and gives her his suit jacket, humiliates her, and sends her on her way.

It turns out he left a “golden ticket” to his one-on-one coaching program in the jacket pocket, and Virginia seizes the opportunity with both hands. It also turns out that Will only mocked and humiliated her because she was so unapologetically clearly living the way she wanted to and it rocked him off base. In fact, he’s into her. REALLY into her. So when he sees her at their headquarters for coaching, he calls her out for sneaking in, apologizes, and connects with her further.

Their romance really ends up being one of “rich man out of touch with the world is saved by a down-to-earth woman with healthy values.” Will can’t sleep, but he’s consistently restful and able to sleep when he’s with Virginia. He’s tightly wound and testy, but he’s calmer and more thoughtful with Virginia. And Virginia is just living her life—talking to plants, breathing on them, dancing with them, finding their optimal environments—she’s kind of great on her own, honestly.

I think my only real critique of their development as characters is that Virginia is vibrant and multi-dimensional—she’s able to develop intimacy with the reader because the reader is given the opportunity to know her that way—but Will isn’t in quite the same way, maybe because he’s supposed to be closed off and brusque for most of the book. But I think there were opportunities where Will could have offered more glimpses into his feelings and inner self in a similar way earlier in the book without sacrificing his more brusque persona.

I need to get ONE THING off my chest here and it’s this: Virginia sucks a thorn out of Will’s foot at one point, and I get that it’s like, A MOMENT, but the thorn got in there because Virginia wheedled Will into walking barefoot through the soft squishy grass and even though she cleaned his foot with whiskey it was…it was too much. He just had it in his sweaty work shoes. Whiskey doesn’t clean the toe jam out from between his toes. No. No. Too far. He couldn’t have gotten the thorn in his palm???

Anyway, it was a lovely read and I can’t wait to see what happens with the rest of the Powers brothers.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

Virginia Beach runs her own business to taking care of the house plants of the top 1%. Will Power is a motivational speaker and professional coach. The first disastrous encounter is at one of his seminars, where he humiliates her. But then she finds a free ticket to her Power broker session and take advantage of the opportunity.

This books was an unexpected joy to read. This is an opposites attract romance with Virginia and her authenticity and earth goddess vibes, and Will, working hard as the face of a powerful company. I did feel like there were points in the plot or character flaws that could have been explored more fully to enhance the character development. There were also jumps in time a space that were either not called out or glossed over that caused me to stop and have to reread a little bit But overall a good read.

Virginia Beach is a plant-whispering, ball of quirky sunshine set out to help the local wealthy residents in keeping their plant babies thriving. She's out to make a living doing what she loves and she'll do whatever it takes to keep her business afloat.

Enter Will Power, billionaire face of Will Power & Bros who leads seminars on how to grow your business and be successful. While others may be charmed by his on stage personality, Virginia's admiration quickly wilts when he pulls her up on stage only to humiliate her.

The Billionaire's Shrubbery was a delightful combination of billionaire romance and grumpy vs sunshine. Virginia is such a lovable main character who truly is quirky and out there while remaining so incredibly kind and loving. Her grace in handling the humiliation she faced was astounding and had me rooting for her to get her revenge! Her positive outlook on life and situations that aren't so positive was a breath of fresh air without being overkill. Will truly is a cinnamon roll hero here. His rough and tough exterior is based purely on the belief of putting on the face everyone else expects him to. His belief of following in his dad's footsteps and dying from the workload had me wanting to snuggle the poor man right alongside Virginia.

Their chemistry was off the charts and I loved how it's not the typical man saves woman storyline but instead woman saves man. Will may have the life of luxury but Virginia shows him what a life of happiness looks like. Through the struggles of trying to fit into each others' worlds, both are learning that they might just have more control over their lives than they've grown to believe.

Danika Bloom has written a charming romance filled with laugh-out-loud moments, steamy chemistry, and all the feel good moments of falling in love.

I love plants. And I love romance. So I was fairly enthusiastic about this book going into it. I wasn't expecting to be so thoroughly charmed by the premise, the plot--and the characters.
But I was!
First of all, how could you not fall in love with Virginia, Will, and their surprisingly quirky and unexpected romance? There's steam in spades, but there's also heart, and humor, and a sweet depth to how they fall in love.
Second only to the compelling Virginia-and-Will (how does this work out?!) storyline is the intriguing and amusing cast of supporting characters. From Will's brothers and mother to Virginia's sister and clients, all were immensely engaging and left me crossing my fingers for more books set in this world!
For me, the mark of an excellent story is how I feel days later. After finishing The Billionaire's Shrubbery, I found myself thinking about the characters, remembering my favorite lines and scenes--and wishing I could go back and read it again for the first time!

I’ve read so many romance books in the last 10 years and yet I’ve never read one like this. It was fresh, unique, and fun! Will and Virginia are the perfect example of opposites attract and their story was so fun to read. This book had so many twists that I was constantly loving the story and hooked the entire time.

I thought this would be an enemies to lovers story but I was wrong and the bait and switch was amazing. The plot fit Virginia so well, she is a loving, forgiving, nature loving human that you can’t help but love. She is sunshine personified.

Will has an emotional story as he deals with his family curse and the emotions that come from it. Will struggles so much throughout this book, but yet he also has the most fun in the scenes with his brothers and with Virginia!

I hope we get to see more books with the rest of Will’s brothers!

This book came as a gifted ARC from author Danika Bloom - I've read one book by Danika in the past, a... snowboarding romance, maybe? ANYWAYS, I was thrilled to hear she was working on a new series!

Virginia Beach and Will Power... these main character names kind of sum up how quirky this novel is! Virginia, a personal plant whisperer, goes to Will Power's entrepreneurial event (a gimmick for money) to learn how to be successful in her business. Through a series of unfortunate events, Virginia ends up getting exclusive executive coaching, where she runs into the formidable Will Power again. She's just chaotic enough to distract Will from his fate - dying by the age of 44.

Things I liked about this book: the family aspect - both Virginia and Will had things from their past that they chose not to bring to their future, but they still found loving relationships with their siblings; all of the plant puns; the way Virginia helps Will to become a healthier self by grounding himself with nature, breathing fresh air, sleep hygiene, etc.; Virginia sticking to what she needs from a relationship to be happy, even if it means walking away from Will.

Things I didn't like so much: the way Will talks about his work - the beginning chapters he sounds truly cruel and mean when he thinks about work; I'M PRETTY SURE THEIR FIRST "I LOVE YOU" TOOK PLACE OFF SCREEN (because suddenly they say "you know I love you but..."); a few times in the spicier moments things jumped around just a little bit too much for me to follow... if we're going to be spicy, be spicy/if we're going to be open door but sweet, be that, but don't do both?

Again, thanks to Danika for early access to this one. These are my honest thoughts. Final rating: 3.75 stars rounded up to 4!

The Billionaire’s Shrubbery
A great read for summer!!
Virginia Beach, (did you chuckle like I did when you read her name?) is a botanist who has her own company, keeping the houseplants of the rich thriving.
Virginia has a great relationship with most of those clients except Will Power. Yet his grumpy exterior doesn’t faze Virginia one bit, she’s more interested in learning from his success to grow her business. After scoring a ticket for his company’s business coaching program, that wasn’t meant for her, Virginia takes the opportunity and runs with it.
After Will finds out that Virginia weaseled her way in surprisingly, he doesn’t kick her out but tells her she can stay if she takes care of all the plants at their corporate family empire.
The title alone was enough to hook me for this one from Danika Bloom! Once I read the blurb, I was even more intrigued and let me tell you it didn’t disappoint.
I love the plot of this story so much!! There were so many elements that I haven’t seen done before. I primarily read romance, to the tune of 3-4 books a week. I feel like I’ve seen it all in the genre. But The Billionaire’s shrubbery was unexpected, funny, and utterly delightful.
Virginia’s character is so absolutely endearing. Bloom was able to create an amazing balance of a caring, compassionate, forgiving character who was also fierce and was able to stand up for what she believes in (I don’t give spoilers, that’s the worst).
Will Power was an unexpected grumpy billionaire, and with good reason (no spoilers). I loved how Bloom was able to make him such a well-rounded character. I could feel the pressure he was under as the face of his family’s business.
When Virginia and Will find their way together it’s delightful! The amount of heat was great for me. And when the inevitable problems arise in their relationship you can feel the love the two of them had for each other, ultimately, they wanted the best for the other person and that’s what is at the heart of a great relationship.
Thanks to Net Galley and Fire Lily Press for my ARC for my honest review.
A great read for summer!!

I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters (main and side), the grumpy and sunshine trope, and the story. I would give this book 10 stars if I could. I really hope there is more to come from this world with the Power brothers.

Thank you Danika Bloom, NetGalley, and Fire Lily Press for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

"The Billionaire's Shrubbery" by Danika Bloom is about the love story of Virginia and Will. While their love story is interesting, many people can relate to the fear of death. Will struggles with this due to family members passing away in their early 40s. When he meets Virginia at one of his talks to help entrepreneurs gain confidence within themselves and their businesses, he talks to Virginia and basically publicly shames her. He ends up giving his blazer jacket to her. Inside that jacket is a business card that holds her future. Virginia is a plant-loving gardener for the rich, bringing the plants back to life. When Will and Virginia collide again, we see their chemistry.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was a fun read. Virginia as a character was interesting. Her love for the world and the people in it was so happy. She was straightforward and ready to do anything to improve her business. Her fears are very understandable but she still fights for the future she wants. Will is a grumpy billionaire that basically has never lived a normal person's everyday life. His fears are understandable but he lets them hold him back. I loved him as a character, while he's so privileged it physically hurts. But we learn that he is truly a lost man. Virginia helps him become the man he has always wanted to be. It's truly beautiful.

The only thing I wish was that we had more information about Virginia's sister and family. I really wanted to see that explored. Besides that it's a good spicy read, and with a good HEA!!

Thank you Netgalley for this read!

Fun opposites attract romance!

After having read the prequel (Catherine and Eric's story) I already knew Will presents as a misogynistic jerk, so I expected it would take me a while to warm up to him here. And yup, I wasn't disappointed. He starts off his association with Virginia in much the same manner, dismissive and borderline insulting, but to her credit Virginia takes the humiliating encounter and makes the absolute most of it.

I absolutely LOVED Virginia. I adored her work/life balance, her can-do attitude, and her willingness to question the status quo. Her inner monologue was a never-ending cornucopia of botanical metaphors and similes and I loved every bit of it.

Will, to his credit, began to bloom under Virginia's care, much like the plants she tended. Learning his backstory helped to explain why he was the way he was, and it was very rewarding to see him open up and consider that things might not be as dire as he's always believed.

Their romance was very believable, with most of the conflict coming from their city mouse - country mouse dilemma. I wasn't a huge fan of the twin swap thing, but I did respect the way the author resolved all the conflicts and settled Will and Virginia into their very satisfying HEA.

I also appreciated getting to know the other Power brothers, as well, and am looking forward to reading their stories in the future. If you love rom-coms, you don't want to miss this sparkling adventure. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Giving It Two Thumbs “Shrub”
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (3.5/5)

What I liked:

Our FMC - Virginia Beach - knew her own mind. She did not allow corporate cultural to pollute her vision for HER company.

This was a fresh hippie take on billionaire romance - where our billionaire is a famous motivational speaker, and our heroine is a literal “down to earth” small business owner.

Virginia cares deeply - about her clients, their plants, Mother Earth, and Will. His lifestyle is killing him, and something she desperately wants to help detoxify.

I also loved the Power family. The brothers banter was a big win! Plus *spoiler* adult twin swap goodness!

Things I didn’t love:

The hippie quirkiness lost me at times. I love the plug for holistic lifestyles, but it was a little distracting at times.

I totally didn’t catch Virginia’s business name until well past the 75% mark. *Spoiler* Her company name is The Other Side of the Fence.

The 3rd act drama/suspense was not my favorite, and the resolution didn’t bring it back into the light for me.

The spice was all over the place - sometimes fade to black, sometimes on page, and the angst/longing/obsession didn’t always capture my attention.

I also want to know what the heck happened to Virginia’s dad… loose threads kill me.

In summary:
Definitely worth reading if you want a fun twist on billionaire romance. I’m beyond grateful to have been approved for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I will be picking up more of Danika’s books in the future!