Nouveau Riche
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4.6 • 52 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
After a lifetime in rags, Emerson had no idea that riches came with so many strings.
As a foster kid in the system, Emerson Duplessis never had two nickels to rub together. He worked harder than anyone else he knew and graduated with a degree in accounting—the safest career he could imagine. But when a round of unexpected layoffs leaves him unable to pay his rent, he resorts to taking temp jobs found for him by friends.
At one odd job, serving hors d'oeuvres at a funeral, his friend points out that the dead man in the massive portrait looks exactlylike Emerson. The bereaved mother of the deceased turns out to be the grandmother who tried to prevent him from ever being born. Now that her only child has passed, she makes Emerson an offer.
She'll leave her massive estate to him, but only if he shows he can properly run it, marries a high society woman, and has an heir. At one of his grandmother's horrible parties, Emerson meets the well-educated, pampered daughter of one of his late father's friends, Elizabeth Moorland.
She mocks him to the entire room, and Emerson hates her from the start, but he also discovers that she needs money, badly. He agrees to get her the money she needs if she pretends to be his girlfriend to keep his grandmother happy. But Elizabeth Moorland has a secret, and if it comes out, it will ruin both their plans.
Can Emerson manage to satisfy the woman who never wanted him in order to secure the life he's always wanted? Or will he discover that sometimes even gold that glitters isn't worth the price?
Customer Reviews
Rags to Riches
4.5 stars
The title of this book means “new rich” and is a French term that refers to someone who comes into a lot of money (and then proceeds to spend a lot to impress). While our hero comes into the possibility of a lot of money, he definitely has trouble with ostentatious spending. Emerson is a former foster kid. While he has a temporary job as a waiter at a funeral, he discovers his biological father’s family. His grandmother is the height of high society and she needs a new heir. She offers Emerson a deal that includes dating someone she approves of. Our heroine has grown up a society girl. There are masks in place and behind the scenes things are crumbling. She has used much of her own trust fund to bank roll her animal shelter and is running up against the wall. As Elizabeth and Emerson embark on a fake relationship, their forced proximity causes them to learn more about each other’s lives and grow closer.
We all expect how our contemporary romances are going to end. And there are a lot of “cookie-cutter” responses to various things that come up in books that we learn to expect certain outcomes to conflicts. I was pleasantly surprised with the conversations and responses in this book. Things weren’t as cut and dried as most contemporaries would have them and I really liked those twists and turns.
Emerson‘s parents are the couple from book one of this series and I am anticipating his foster siblings appearing in subsequent books. This book mentions swearing but there is nothing on the page. There are a lot of dogs and animals in this book and they were woven in seamlessly. With found family, a former girlfriend, and more, this was a great contemporary romance. This is a just kisses romance.
Must read!
Loved! Lots of laughter, sentimentality, and learned lessons. Best book I’ve read in awhile!
2nd book worth the read
Emerson has grown up without a lot of stuff and in foster care. He ended up with great foster parents. He is having a very bad week he lost his job and his girlfriend. He needs a job so his sister calls in a favor and gets him a job as a caterer. He is catering a funeral and someone points out he looks like the guy in a picture. He then meets his biological grandmother. From there a lot happens in his life. He also meets Elizabeth who overhears a conversation she shouldn’t and she then develops a plan to help Emerson and to help her animal shelter. Nothing can go wrong when you’re fake dating right?