Title: Grumpy Billionaire Rider
Author: Willow Finn
Date: 2024
Publisher: Willow Finn
Quote: "There was only one equestrian school close to here. I owned it."
Coti, who owns the equestrian school, is the grumpy billionaire who hires Wes to teach children how to ride in horse shows.
What I both like and dislike is the realistic presentation of the way this type of Americans relate to money. They're not in the top one percent of the extremely rich. They've never had the foggiest idea of what it's like not to have plenty of money, probably old money at that. If they're related to you, they're the relatives who will listen to your explanation of how your business is in danger, the mutual older relative living in your house is in the hospital again, your husband just broke his leg, and you just found out that a third child was on its way to your house, and they say, "I'll pray for you." While dutifully using ten percent of their money to shelter addicts or preserve historic buildings.
Horse people. Wes's family own a veterinary practice in Virginia. Coti's family own a horse ranch in Texas. Wes and Coti are in their twenties, and have gone to college, but they own houses and don't even mention having loans to pay off. Both Wes and Coti are wary because, as rich kids, they've learned about people who are only interested in their money. Both try to act as if they weren't rich. Each imagines that the other doesn't know they're rich. Rich Virginians are famous for poor-mouthing, while rich Texans stereotypically consider themselves poor because they work with super-rich Texans, but hello, does anyone seriously think their bank accounts are as small as even six figures? A little awareness of the more typical twenty-something lifestyle they've missed, a little gratitude, would be in order. But in real life, how many twenty-something billionaires have you found to have any idea what they've missed?
Well, cheers to Willow Finn for portraying this type of people well, and trigger warnings to those who can't stand them. The word "billionaire" is on the front cover. You're warned...except that fictional billionaires aren't always as realistically drawn as these two.
What I wholeheartedly liked about the book: It's a full-length "slow burn" romance. We see Wes and Coti having lives beyond their feelings about each other. We learn some things about the equestrian lifestyle. We meet the horses, one of whom rescues Coti after an accident. We see Coti snapping that a question about her favorite color is "unprofessional" during work hours, because she likes Wes but she's liked a few Mr. Wrongs before. We meet her latest Mr. Wrong, who at one point confides to Wes, after a particularly harsh snub from Coti, that of course money is the only thing that could possibly motivate anyone to put up with the attractive, successful business owner.
Wes and Coti have similar backgrounds and personalities, though she seems to have more surplus wealth than he has. They care about the children learning to ride show horses; they love the horses. Their compatibility is believable. Not everyone would want to live with either of them, but as a couple we can believe they'll live happily ever after. They take a long time deciding to kiss each other; when they get behind closed doors, we know the passion that's built up by waiting will make whatever they do in private feel awesome to them.
If this is your kind of romance, too, run don't walk.
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