Matchmaking The CEO: A Grumpy-Sunshine Romance (The Whitley Brothers)

Sets The Stage For More To Come.This appears to be the first in an eight-book series about the Whitley brothers.ABOUT THE WHITLEY FAMILY:The Whitley family is complicated, to say the least. Abe and Jeannie Whitley head the family. They are grandparents. Abe, eighty-eight, had run Whitley Industries, a family company, until retiring and leaving it for his son Ryan to manage. Jeannie, eighty-nine, is a spirited grandmother. Her biggest hope is to finally become a great-grandmother, and she isn’t above a little meddling – a.k.a. matchmaking – to make it happen.Colton Whitley, thirty-four, is a scientist and the CEO of the biotech branch of Whitley Industries. Serious and dedicated to his work, he has no social life. He has been working tirelessly on his latest project.Jake Whitley, thirty-three, chose to follow a different path. He runs his own management consultancy firm in New York City. This is his story.Cade and Spencer, fraternal twins, are thirty-one.Cade Whitley is the prankster of the family, but he has a sensible side as well. He developed a love for coffee in high school and now runs Whitley Industries’ The Boston Coffee Expert. His grandmother appears to have a scheme in the works involving him and an old high school friend, Meredith.Spencer Whitley runs the publishing branch of the family company. The perfect complement to his twin, Spencer is the pacifist of the family. That doesn’t mean he never finds trouble, though.Gabe Whitley, the youngest, is twenty-nine. He might be the carefree brother, but he didn’t make things easy for his grandmother when she took him in for his senior year of high school. He runs the family’s craft distillery. He is sometimes recognized for his appearances in distillery commercials.Ryan Whitley, the boys’ father, secretly had a second family. Jake discovered this life-altering fact when he was twenty and doing an internship for his father at Whitley Advertising. Jake and Colton witnessed their mother’s heartache upon learning about the betrayal. The younger three boys were sheltered from it; they suffered less trauma than Jake and Colton as a result. In the aftermath, tragically, their mother fell ill and died months later. At the time, Gabe was the only minor, so at seventeen, their grandparents took him in. Their father moved to Australia after the discovery, although he left no fans behind. His second family didn’t follow him, either. Ryan had never married Nancy, the other woman, but she had no knowledge about his wife and children. She rejected him when she learned the truth. Ryan has three sons with Nancy – Maddox, Nick, and Leo.Abe and Jeannie have made an effort to bring Maddox, Nick, and Leo into the family. The boys all agreed to move to the Boston area where, like four of their half brothers, they now each run a branch under the Whitley Industries umbrella. Even though they have lived locally for years now, it is a bit wonky that they have not been fully incorporated into family events. The younger brothers seem to have fallen in with their half brothers on the down-low, but Colton and Jake remain too traumatized to make the effort thirteen years later.Maddox manages Whitley Office Designs. He seems uptight in some ways, yet relaxed in others. It is difficult to marry the difference. At this point, I don’t find him very likable due to the inconsistencies.Nick oversees the fitness center branch of the family business. He recently opened an online security company as well. He and Maddox once had the same girlfriend.Leo runs Whitley Real Estate.IN THIS BOOK:The story opens in Boston. It is late June.Jake Whitley, thirty-three, is a self-made man. He is CEO of New York Management Consulting and is known for his ability to turn around troubled companies. Although he could easily have gone to work running one of his family’s companies after college, he wanted nothing to do with that legacy. His entire outlook on family was destroyed when he discovered that his father kept a second family. Childhood memories of his loving parents and of happy family moments were erased in that instant. That was when Jake was twenty and interning at Whitley Advertising. The discovery destroyed his family. His mother died with a broken heart months later. Two years later, Jake finished his B.A. and left Boston behind. He still valued his family, but he wanted nothing to do with the city and the company that reminded him of his two-timing father. There were too many painful memories associated with both.Jake got a master’s degree at NYU’s Stern School of Business and made New York his home. He lives for work, devoting years of his life to eighteen-hour days. His employees wonder if he is really a robot. He isn’t much of a people person, though he knows how to turn on the charm when needed. Jake prefers working with numbers. He also likes schedules. He believes in strict discipline in every aspect of his life. He is confident, stubborn, and known for his difficult personality. He eventually recognized the need for a little downtime, so he has a monthly weekend retreat at his Martha’s Vineyard estate. It is a time to decompress and meditate. Back home in New York, he now makes time for dating and working out. Although he dates, he has never cared about a woman. He makes his grandparents and brothers a priority in his life, but Jake has no intention of having a family of his own.Natalie Summers, thirty, was born with a wholesome and cheerful disposition. She is stubborn in a good way – her tenacity helps drive her success. She is undaunted in the face of life’s challenges. In fact, she enjoys a good challenge. She now finds herself in a financial bind, thanks to her ex-boyfriend Vince. She lost her job three months ago. Worse, her former employer is refusing to provide a letter of recommendation, hindering her job search. Natalie was the first in her family to earn a degree, something she is proud of, but the competition in her field is fierce. She earned a degree in computer science and spent five years working in predictive analytics. She is working with a recruiter, but the process takes a while. Her parents moved to Greece to live near her two sisters, so she doesn’t have family to lean on. Since Natalie spent years assisting her mother run a party planning business, when her funds begin to run dry, she opens up her own. Natalie’s Event Agency went live online days before when she gets her first call. Jeannie Whitley is turning ninety and wants to throw a big party – and she wants Natalie to manage the event.Jeannie Whitley is a force to be reconned with. She listens to her intuition when she comes across Natalie’s website, and she begins to set the stage for a grand scheme. In addition to wanting great-grandchildren, she wants Jake to move back home to Boston. With that in mind, she plays matchmaker with him and the local woman.When Jake’s grandmother asks him to host her birthday party at his Martha’s Vineyard estate, he doesn’t know how to say no to her. When she insists that he pick up her event planner and take her with him on his next trip to Martha’s Vineyard, he still cannot refuse her. Nevertheless, he wants nothing to do with the woman – Natalie Summers – and already hates her. But soon after meeting the somewhat naïve beauty, he finds himself amused by her banter. She is authentic and real in a way he hasn’t experienced in a woman before. When Natalie sees Jake for the first time, she is electrified. His powerful gaze captivates her, but he is just as difficult and stubborn as Jeannie had warned. He is proper and all business, never an unguarded moment. Still, she cannot help but admire his sense of command.When Jake learns that his grandfather has stepped in to help run Whitley Advertising, he is concerned that his grandfather is overextending himself and unhappy that nobody had discussed it with him. With no CEO for months, the company is floundering. And when Jake takes a closer look, it appears his father left the company in worse shape than anyone realized. Since Jake is in the business of turning companies around, he is the perfect person to step in and take charge. The only problem is that Jake is already a CEO and has no intention of leaving New York. A medical emergency finally convinces Jake that he has no choice but to move to Boston temporarily. He plans to turn Whitley Advertising around and either sell it off or find a new CEO. The move also puts him in Natalie’s sphere. As the pair begin to spend time with one another, they know their time is limited. Jake must face his past when he returns home. As he spends time with Natalie, he begins to discover new things about himself and rethink his beliefs. Natalie struggles with the direction of her life as she tries to put the past behind her. She doesn’t want another relationship after things ended so badly with her ex, Vince. Jake and Natalie don’t have a future, but they decide to enjoy the little bit of time that they do have together. The couple eventually finds a happy ending.It appears that Cade’s story with his high school friend Meredith will follow.Jake and Natalie’s romance is a light story about the importance of family. The Whitley family is introduced here, which is a complicated story in itself. There is a lot of heartache, but they are trying to move forward and make the most of what they have. Jake is the only one pulling away entirely. He is not conflicted about his half brothers or Whitley Industries – he doesn’t feel any sense of responsibility toward either. On the other hand, he has a keen sense of responsibility toward his grandparents and keeps in touch with his brothers. He doesn’t really feel like he is missing out on much, and in his mind, he is living a full life in New York. It takes one slightly quirky and surprisingly direct beauty to challenge his thinking and have him reexamining his regimented lifestyle. She amuses him, and he finds himself more relaxed and happy than he has been in years.Natalie’s life is a mess when Jake enters it. She is in no position to begin a new relationship. She still feels the burn of her last breakup. She hadn’t been a good judge of character with Vince, and she paid the price. She is also financially unstable without a steady job. Jake’s instinct is to offer help, but Natalie doesn’t want to be his charity case. As her job prospects grow dim, she begins an event planning business to bring in some cash on the side, but even that might not be enough to bridge the gap until she finds employment again. She faces some tough choices.There are a few issues that merit mention. *Spoilers* There is an occasional minor timeline error that causes confusion. Additionally, there are a few confusing or vague passages, some of which are later clarified, so be patient. Later in the story, there is an event that brings together all the brothers and half brothers for the first time. This is not credible. It feels manufactured for the convenience of the storyline. The grandparents talked the half brothers into moving to the area and gave them jobs running companies under the Whitley Industries umbrella. This was sometime after Jake left eleven years ago, but still, they have lived locally for a number of years now. It is hard to imagine that holidays and other events have passed by all these years without all being together. It felt strange learning about the half brothers being welcomed by the grandparents, yet not being invited to family meetings and meals. Next, there is an issue between Jake and Maddox later in the story. Everyone seems to blame Jake, but I didn’t buy it. Jake walked into something unawares, completely at a disadvantage. Maddox understood initially he should have handled things differently, but when faced with his choice to go along, he throws it in Jake’s face. Knowing Jake has a reason to feel concerned and even betrayed, and that the situation was heated and emotional, he nonetheless provokes Jake. When Jake takes the high road later and reaches out, Maddox is again proactive for no good reason. He had initially come across as reasonable in the story, but after that, I didn’t like him at all. I don’t want to read his story at this point. I don’t care for people who kick you when you are down. And I didn’t understand why everyone threw all the blame on Jake. It was Natalie who was largely to blame, and Maddox made a conscious choice as well. The point is, there was a lot of blame to go around. Finally, Natalie chose to have an emotional conversation with Jake in a spot where all of his brothers could watch. That was on top of the other unnecessary damage she caused. Jake lets it go – again the bigger person despite getting all the blame. That entire scene bothered me.Jake and Natalie’s steamy romance has a feel-good ending. The Whitley family’s debut story sets the stage for more to come. The story is nicely written. The plot is somewhat simple. There is a large cast of unique and interesting characters. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Jake and Natalie. I rate this book four stars.I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I love me a good fun book by this author. I look forward to reading any of the books she writes. But when it’s a huge crazy complicated family and you throw a meddling grandma in to the mis well hello I’m so in. I look forward to getting to know the Whitney Family or more importantly the Whitney brothers. This one is Natalie and Jake’s story and I absolutely loved it. Jake finds himself back in Boston. He has been called back to town by his grandparents, what do they need you may ask well they need him to take over their advertising company. Which is a bit complicated since he has his very own company to run back in New York. But unfortunately he is left with very little choice when his grandfather gets sick and he sees no other option but to take over until he can find a better solution. He is overwhelmed and overworked but does that stop his grandma of course not. She thinks it’s a brilliant idea to try and get him and her party planner Natalie together while planning her 80th birthday party. I mean what can go wrong right. This was such a fun story to read and I can’t wait for what the author gives us next with this amazing crazy family. Highly recommend.

This is a new family (hopefully more from) we meet Jake and Natalie. Jake left Boston after his father disgraced the family by having another family. He still had contact with his grandparents and brothers and visited them but he went to NYC and started his own company. Jake is brought back to work at one of the family businesses to try and turn it around after his grandfather takes ill. Jake’s grandmother has other plans and hopes to bring Jake back to Boston permanently and in order to do that she decides she is going to throw herself a birthday party. Natalie is a party planner and when grandmother sees her she knows has hope. Jake is grumpy and determined he is going back to NYC and Natalie is just trying to make ends meet until she finds the job for her degree. The chemistry is off the walls for them but he knows he is going back to NYC and she is staying in Boston so whatever they have is just temporary but grandmother doesn’t see it that way. I really think you will like the ride these two take you on. A ride of discovery, understanding and realization. I really hope that we get the other brothers because the family has a great dynamic

Natalie finds herself reinventing her career and decides to embrace event planning since she enjoyed helping her mother with her event planning business. Her first job has her planning a 90th birthday party. When her client suggests having the party at her grandson’s home on Martha’s Vineyard, Natalie is excited to take on this challenge. What she doesn’t expect is a grouchy and stubborn billionaire that wants to take all of her fun away. Jake likes order in his life and is known for sticking to his plans no matter what. When he meets Natalie, he encounters a breath of fresh air that challenges all his ordered plans while she pushes him out of his comfort zone. I love that Natalie stands her ground with Jake as they build a friendship. Jake is a gentleman and wants to take care of her as he realizes he has feelings for her, especially when her ex-boyfriend keeps stalking her. Natalie has been taking care of herself for so long, she struggles with letting him help her. I had fun experiencing this couple’s journey to find love.

This is a lighthearted romantic novel with the usual "opposites attract" theme. The addition of family dynamics & a bothersome ex add a little more drama. Not a bad but quick read.

This book was amazing! I couldn’t put it down. Natalie and Jakes love story mixed with a handful of brothers and adorable grandparents made this another amazing read from Layla!

This was honestly a really relax read. No major conflict and pretty straightforward. I liked the communication between the MC and FC, it felt fresh.If you’re looking for a fun short read to take your mind off, this is it!

Beautiful written, I couldn't put the book down. Its a must read for all romance readers!! Get your copy today.

A good storyline, Jake and Natalie’s story. Definitely a grumpy sunshine romance. A meddling grandmother who wants all her grandsons to be happy and married with grandchildren. Natalie is out of a job due to her ex and ends up doing a birthday party for Jake’s grandmother as an event planner. She meets his 4 brothers and eventually his 3 half brothers who he want acknowledge due to his dad committing bigamy. There is drama with the ex boyfriend but overall a very lovely romantic story and I gather there is more to come in the future with his 7 brothers.

A nice enjoyable read.First book I have read from this author and look forward to reading more.Loved reading Jakes story. Good read and recommended

I've struggled getting into reading lately, which is probably why this isn't a higher rating. In saying that, the story was still enjoyable, and I can't wait to read more of this family.