Kate Wilson thinks her life is pretty normal. She just wants to finish her internship at Sterling Bates so she can head off to business school and become a commodities trader in her own right. Enter Julian Lawrence—Sterling Bates client and mysterious billionaire hedgie. Despite a rocky beginning, Julian can’t seem to get enough of Kate. He’s using the L word before they’ve even had their first date. Suddenly her life is anything but normal.
The world slides sideways—Kate is fired for alleged insider trading, Julian has been keeping a complicated secret, and there is someone from his past dead set on ruining both of their lives.
With blind trust and perseverance, the two set out unravel a mystery that began long before they ever met. Over time and across the world.
“My God! You were just a mere colossus before, a billionaire hedgie, nothing at all. Now you’re Julian Ashford! I mean, how can Julian Ashford be here? Be in love with me? It’s just impossible!”
“It’s not impossible.” His eyes burned earnestly at mine. “It’s the most essential truth of my life.”
Julian Lawrence is a wet dream. He’s this perfect specimen with money to spare—but also he is kind and gallant and most importantly: anxious. That is what I love about this book. You feel Julian’s anxiety and for most of the book you don’t know why. As an anxious person, this is incredibly validating. It is such an accurate portrayal of something so human even when the character is set up to be super human. Also, it is rare to see a book where the man initiates the relationship. They are usually the ones that need convincing and deny their feelings. That is 100% not the case here. As someone who has read the gamut of romance tales, the switch up is a refreshing change of pace. The rest of the reasons why I love this book are unclear, even to me. There is just something about it that reached out and grabbed me. Out of all of the books I have read (of which there are many) this is one that will always be listed as one of my favorites.
“Always, always you were in my thoughts, Kate. And when you came up the drive that day in May, I thought my heart would explode from my chest. You’d come home to me.”
Why I picked this book for Self-Care BINGO:
Whenever I go to Dollar Tree, I beeline for the book section. Why, you ask? Because that is exactly where I found my absolute favorite book in 2015. And ever since, I wonder if there is another gem just waiting for my attention. That being said—that is how the book Overseas came into my life. A hardback, navy blue cover dotted with stars. I was in love just looking at it. I read all 450 pages in one sitting. Even now, I won’t pick it up if I don’t have the time to read it in its entirety.
This book and I have been through it together. It was my safe place to land when I was furloughed last year and couldn’t bear to be quiet with my thoughts, it’s the audiobook that got me back into running (when I run with an audiobook, it keeps me out of my head) and eventually stuck by me for the first 8 miles of my first half marathon and it’s the first thing I want to pick up every time the world gets a little too sharp. I never knew a book could be all of things until this particular one came into my life.
Because this book is so special to me, it is very hard for me to recommend it to anyone. I know that it might not touch people the way it touched me and it makes me very anxious to think I might have to hear how people didn’t like it. I know that sounds silly, but it is what it is. Also, this is Beatriz Williams’ first book and it is definitely outside the box for her. You can tell it was written before she hit her stride as an author, but I think that makes it all the more special. I have spoken with Beatriz about this book and she has mentioned the special place it holds in her hearts—and I can’t help but feel the same.
That being said—if you like romance, wildly unattainable charming billionaires, history, and unexpected twists, give Overseas a read. You won’t be disappointed. (Just don’t tell me about it if you hate it.)