I paused my M&B TBR and (yes, I have a separate one for it) picked up this one. Dani Collins' latest! She is one of my favourite authors and after reading the excerpt she shared in her newsletter, I was eagerly waiting for its release.

The first thing I would like to appreciate would be her sharing the inspiration behind the heroine's name. Luli, short for Lucrecia, a Venezuelan (what a beautiful name!).

Gabriel Dean just receives a cryptic message from Luli and comes to know that his grandmother, Mae Chen, has suffered from a stroke and is very ill. The pair of them don't possess a single sentimental bone in their bodies, grandma and grandson. When he reaches Singapore where his grandma and her empire is based, he's introduced to Lucrecia Cruz, or Luli.

The blurb reveals the basic premise of the story, how Luli blackmailed Gabriel and took an extreme step against Chen Enterprises, due to the threat of bring deported back to Venezuela.

A hero boasting of Singaporean heritage, there's always a firstin Harlequin books. And the title is apt. He's filthy rich. Because of a name he hadn't heard before, it was hilarious when Gabriel mistook Luli for an AI. Gabriel shares an estranged relationship with his Grandma, so he wasn't aware of her employee. Another first is Luli being a coder, not only that, she is an all-rounder too, apparently, learnt from the late lioness herself, working since she was fourteen, and it's been eight years now. She's quite devious in the way she tries to secure her life and her living in front of Gabriel, I like her. And I like the thirty-one-year-old Gabriel who's in the same league as Luli as far as their professional mojo goes.

When little-by-little Luli's past is revealed, it made me so sad for her, and grateful that she was kinda rescued by Mae Chen, though not on very good terms. And then Mae's truthful face comes forward, and it's disgusting, actually. Ugh... Though a set up by Mae, seeing Luli's reaction to marriage with Gabriel left me in splits! It was really adorable, after a paper marriage, the protectiveness Gabriel felt towards her.

This is one great hero. He takes her with him to the office. And she's getting there, into her own zone. Their carefree camaraderie, their easy jokes, everything drew me to them. I love the way [a:Dani Collins|6572063|Dani Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1505087522p2/6572063.jpg] has shaped this heroine. She can take care of herself and Gabriel admits as much.

I can't help but share this, and the reason why I so love her writing:

The walls he kept so impermeable around himself were weakening. The first knock had come when she had locked him out of his own software. Sections of mortar between the bricks had disintegrated under the tears she had shed against his chest that night in Paris. The winds of Africa had eroded those bricks further, as her joy at the beauty of the earth and earthly pleasures had reminded him that this world was more than greed and users and privilege. Now she had rocked his foundation with such power he could feel the fissures extending through him. Because she had wanted to know what it would feel like if someone loved her.

It's a slow burn romance where the scene builds up pretty late because the hero and heroine meet for the first time after quite a few pages into the book. And then when it feels they should come together, there's the fear of becoming like his father in Gabriel and the sadness of never receiving anyone's love in Luli that results in more time for them to grow close.

Well, the buildup takes so much of the story, that the ending felt punctured. I think it could have been better had it been a two part story. It tries to compensate with a cute epilogue but it's too little, too late.

P.S. I have read nine of her books till now and she's an absolute favourite.