REVIEW: Scandal on the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire

In Scandal on the Sand (The Billionaires of Barefoot Bay #3) by Roxanne St Claire, Nate Ivory is trying to maintain a low profile and clean up his act. As part of the wealthy and influential Ivory family, he’s lived a decadent lifestyle of parties and casual hookups. Dubbed “Naughty Nate” years ago by the press, Nate has decided it’s time to grow up. A new business venture with two of his best friends, managing the new minor league baseball team in Barefoot Bay, will hopefully be the start of something stable in his life. Then Liza Lemanski shows up with paperwork claiming he’s the father of her deceased friend’s young boy. Nate is determined to find out if her claims are true. But in the process he ends up not only wondering if it would be so bad after all to have an heir to raise, but he also develops serious feelings toward Liza.

“You got me,” he repeated, coming closer like he was going to kiss her. But he inched to the side and put his mouth right over her ear. “You got my attention.” His breath tickled and teased. “You got my interest. And, Liza, sweetheart, you got my heart.”

Liza Lemanski has been a part of Dylan’s life since he took his first breath. When her close friend, Dylan’s mother, died in a tragic accident, he was left in Liza’s care. All she wants to do at this point is to legally adopt him and ensure his father won’t take him away. Told by her friend that his father is none other than billionaire Nate Ivory, Liza confronts him to sign over his parental rights. But Nate is not convinced. Going along with his plan to investigate further, Liza finds out the facts are not as they may seem. She grows closer to Nate during their time researching and before she realizes, she’s fallen for the one person who can hurt her most.

“Please don’t use your family power to take my little boy.” She stood up, driven by the need to plead and beg. Whatever it took to keep Dylan. “Please?”

Talk about drama, secrets and passion. Scandal on the Sand is another fabulous offering from Roxanne St. Claire set in magical Barefoot Bay.

Nate and Liza’s romance is the third and final novella in the Billionaires of Barefoot Bay trilogy which can easily be read as a stand alone. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous two stories and found this one just as well written, with as strong a storyline as the others. I wasn’t really sure if I would like Nate, given his reputation as a playboy, but he pleasantly surprised me. He may have been a spoiled rich kid with a trust fund, but he matured and decided to add meaning to his life. Finding out he could potentially be a father at that point turned out to be even more of a wake up call. I thought it was admirable that he did give merit to Liza’s concerns and took the time to investigate with her instead of tossing her allegations aside. And I loved that he looked at how real and down-to-earth she was and knew he didn’t deserve her unless he finally took himself seriously.

I found it pretty easy to empathize with Liza’s position in the whole situation. All she truly cared about was Dylan’s well-being. He was left in her care and she knew him better than anyone else so she fought for him, tooth and nail. The fact that she developed feelings for Nate was a complication she couldn’t control. I thought her skepticism of what Nate would do and what he was really feeling was realistic, like a true reaction to have in that situation. The dialogue between them was very raw and honest, yet there was also a playfulness to it which was fun. Liza and Nate had some serious attraction happening between them and their scenes together were extremely passionate and intense.

I seriously loved Scandal on the Sand and hope you get a chance to read it as well. I think you’ll enjoy getting to know Liza, Nate, and cute little four year old Dylan who loves to spell…and kind of stole my heart in the process.

Book Info:

Published February 2014 by South Street Publishing

Nathaniel Ivory is known in the tabloids as “Naughty Nate,” and this son of a huge, wealthy family that’s often referred to as “American Royalty” has done everything he can to earn that nickname. Nate’s penchant for trouble has kept him from fully earning a respectable spot in the many family businesses. He’s forever destined to be the black sheep whose scandals need to be swept under the rug. But Nate is determined to change all that through his new position as the manager of the minor league baseball stadium and team that he and his friends are launching in Barefoot Bay. All he has to do is avoid even a hint of scandal.

But then he meets irresistible, blue-eyed Liza Lemanski, who makes some claims about his past that rock him to the core. Liza maintains that Nate has a son that is a result of a fling he had with her best friend, who died in an accident. Liza plans to adopt the child, but wants to eliminate any chance Nate will claim paternity rights. No problem…he doesn’t even believe he has a son, and thinks the whole thing is probably a scam. Until he meets four year old Dylan and recognizes every Ivory gene in the child. All he has to do is give up his child to save himself from a scandal he can’t afford to have, but suddenly Nate is looking at life differently. As he and Liza dig to find out the truth about Dylan’s father and mother, their attraction turns to fire and, without a doubt, someone is going to get burned.