BILLIONAIRE ON THE LOOSE is book five in Jessica Clare's Billionaires & Bridesmaids series. Once again, Bellissime politics plays a part in Jessica Clare's Billionaires & Bridesmaids world. Loch delle Scogliere comes to the U.S. to wait out grumblings back home and to avoid the bonds of royal succession. He and geek extraordinaire Taylor Westfield get thrown together over her friend Gretchen's upcoming wedding. This is a story of two opposites coming together, and how that meeting changes them fundamentally and profoundly.

Taylor has a secret she tries to keep from her family, friends, and colleagues. She keeps this secret because it's something she thinks she can handle on her own. Taylor is beleaguered by unwanted attention from fellow gamer Sigmund and is the victim of emotional blackmail. What once was a fun outlet for Taylor has now become a source of dread. Jessica Clare does a fabulous job of conveying the claustrophobic feeling and anxiety that Taylor lives with, while also showing readers her true personality underneath. I love how Loch ends up brightening Taylor's days and gets her to think out of the geek box now and then. Likewise, Taylor gets Loch to re-evaluate his life and see how sheltered his life has been. Although he may have wildly different interests from Taylor, Loch eventually sees that his world was just as narrow as hers is. Rex, the homeless vet, makes a nice sounding board for Loch as well.

In spite of some of the heavy themes, and soul-searching the main characters do, Jessica Clare also packs BILLIONAIRE ON THE LOOSE with her usual sexiness and fun. Having Loch bring Taylor to the Excelsior Convention, and have him be totally out of his element among a sea of gamers brings a few laughs. I always think that having the main characters in a romance dress up in costume is always a great idea, and Loch and Taylor totally rock their otherworldly threads and add sizzle in a big way. As always with a Jessica Clare novel, the hero and heroine are made better and have their horizons expanded by knowing and loving each other.

BILLIONAIRE ON THE LOOSE is about the perils of geekdom, and a perfectly imperfect romance between two opposites. I can't wait for the upcoming novella about Gretchen and Hunter's wedding! Any Jessica Clare book is a pleasure to read and I look forward to reading about her next hero and heroine.