Hawaiian Masquerade by Rachelle J. Christensen

Synopsis:

When Lexi Burke escaped the remnants of a cold winter in Chicago for the beaches of Kauai, it wasn’t a random vacation. She left the hectic pace of Burke Enterprises behind with enough money to retire at age thirty-two, intent on settling into the idyllic existence of island life. Until she met local photographer Derek Mitchell—a talented man with a grudge against rich tourists.

From art night to snorkeling lessons, hiking, and chopping coconuts, Lexi can’t talk herself out of spending time with the handsome, hardworking man who knows the value of every dollar. She also can’t find a way to tell him the truth about herself. But then Derek is selected to help in a benefit at a masquerade ball as one of the eligible bachelors up for auction. Lexi must decide whether to wear a mask or unveil her true self and risk losing Derek’s trust and a chance at love.

My Review: 4.5 Stars

March 2018:

Second time reading this book and I still enjoyed it! I also still really want to go to Hawaii! I'm looking forward to the next book in this series. Kind of hoping we get a little of Lexi and Derek.. I still want more of them! ;)

July 2016:

Lexi is an overworked, stressed out business executive and life is passing her by. After doing some soul searching she realizes that what she needs is a fresh start. Making the biggest and scariest decision of her life, she chooses to leave her job and her home in Chicago to begin a new journey on the beautiful island of Kauai. With a clean slate, she can do anything she wants, be who she wants to be, discover who she really is outside of her business world.

Derek has struggled all his life financially. He is unable to make ends meet on the income from his photography business alone. In order to pay all the bills and keep his business going, he must help is friend, Pika, by chopping coconuts on the side. As a photographer on the island of Kauai, he has seen lots and lots of tourists. The ones he does his best to stay away from are the wealthy ones. All the encounters with them growing up has left him with very strong feelings of resentment towards them. He thinks they are all the same and has no qualms about expressing his opinion of them.

When Lexi and Derek meet for the first time, there is an instant connection. Neither one of them were looking for any kind of relationship but fate had something else in store for them. But before they can move forward, Lexi must come clean about her wealth and Derek must overcome his issues with money and realize that not all billionaires are the same.

Watching Lexi and Derek become friends, going on adventures together, seeing who they were and what made them tick had me falling in love right along with them. They were both amazing characters with huge hearts! They both know that this life is not about money and how much you have. It's about the journey, the little things, family, friends, living life to the fullest and just being grateful for all the blessings and beauty in our lives. *le sigh*

Can I just say how much I fell in love with Hawaii just from this book?! The descriptions were amazing and I felt like I was right there with Lexi and Derek. Hawaii has definitely been added to my bucket list!

While I really enjoyed this book I would have loved just a little bit more! Like seeing more of Lexi and Derek's relationship after he discovered she was a billionaire. We all know how much I love my epilogues! ;) Hehe. The ending just seemed a bit rushed to me. And Eliza... what really happened with her?! She's plotting evilness, it's discovered and BAM! No one knows why nor does anything happen to her? Did I miss something while I was reading? Hmmmm.... 

So... I just have to say... this is my first book by Rachelle J. Christensen and I am proud to announce that it will not be my last! I am seriously loving this series and all the new authors I am adding to my list! So much fun! :) 

And this casting! It was definitely tough! Trying to find the perfect match had me wanting to pull my hair out! Haha. But I'm pretty happy with these two... ;) What do you think?!