Review of Up for Heir by Ruth Cardello

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ruth Cardello puts two hearts on the line when a Boston billionaire takes a second chance on the woman of his dreams.
Spencer Westerly is his own man. He didn’t need his father’s money to build his wildly successful tech company—and he doesn’t want to deal with the fallout from old family secrets. But as much as Spencer wants to avoid Westerly drama, his grandmother—the family matriarch—is determined to pull him back into the fold. And she’s discovered the perfect lure: his college sweetheart, Hailey.
Although she broke his heart, Hailey is still the only woman he’s ever loved. Now that she’s back and looking as desirable as ever, Spencer is determined to get a second chance.
A lot has changed for Hailey Tiverton. The only thing that hasn’t? The inexplicable pull she feels toward Spencer. When they were younger, his work was his priority. Now, he’d better be willing to prove that, this time, love comes first…

Available on Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.

The Audio: the Kindle Unlimited version of this book comes with the audio. The story is narrated by Terri Clarke Linden who does an excellent job. I enjoyed the variations in female voices and the nuances of the male voices too. Her tone is clear and easily understood. I didn’t notice any production issues as I listened to the audio.

The Story: I do enjoy reading a romance trope where there’s a troubled hero trying to overcome major life obstacles. His surly temperament is what we’re greeted with as the story opens and then we witness a sweet transformation as his edges soften. Sigh. Forgive me, I enjoy escapist reads!

That’s pretty much Spencer Westerly in this second instalment of the Westerly Billionaires, Up For Heir. 

Hailey, by contrast, is tough and lovable packed in one cute and fierce package. She’s faced life’s trials as well but has only emerged stronger and more determined from it. She should be bitter but is instead very earnest and ends up committed to helping one very broken family, Spencer’s.

As much as I loved reading Hailey I do find this author overuses the ‘orphan’ female in her stories. Most times the male MC comes from a large family and maybe that doesn’t leave much page space for the female MC’s family. Whatever the reason, I wish it wasn’t the default family setting in her, otherwise, very enjoyable novels.

Another romance trope, in general, I’m not a huge fan of is ‘the secret’. Okay, having a secret isn’t unusual but… seriously every time you go to tell a guy something a random act deters you? At some point you just gotta say, dude shut your phone off and listen to me! Oy! Fortunately though, the secret reveal didn’t play out with the expected over the top drama. It was actually worked in pretty well with some other secrets.

Second chance romance… it didn’t work out the first time but the characters are all grown up now and more secure in themselves. I really liked reading about how Hailey and Spencer reconnected and got to know each other better as more mature adults. Their dates are romance novel perfection.

Grandma Delinda remains a most insufferable and amusing character. She gets in some good barbs when talking to those she cares about and collects a few back as well. Her matchmaking ideas are quite entertaining.

One of my favourite scenes in this book is where Spencer and his business partner Jordan use their virtual reality meeting space. The concept is so cool and the descriptions of it are very engrossing.

Overall I enjoyed this story and can’t wait to continue the series. I give this book 4/5 espresso shots.