Tag Archive | melody anne

Revenge is best served from a hottie billionaire

The Tycoon’s Revenge: Baby for the Billionaire ♥ ♥ ♥

Synopsis

Derek and Jasmine have history. They were once so in love as teenagers that they were going to run off together. They did not and years later they meet under very different circumstances. Both are very jaded individuals who feel as if the other person betrayed them. While the attraction between them is still is very palpable, both are trying very hard to safeguard their hearts. Once all the secrets are revealed, both of them have to make the decision about their future.

Opinion

This is my type of story. Derek is a billionaire who does not forget where he came from and his humble beginnings. Jasmine grew up in a less than loving environment, but she does not allow that to taint her outlook on life.

Not much to say about this but that it is the typical alpha-billionaire-male-reunites-with-his-first-love story, but it works. I liked everything about the story. I especially like the interaction between the two of them. I like how they handled seeing each other once again. Even though Derek was intent on exacting revenge for the way that he thought Jasmine mistreated him, he was sensible and enough to examine the facts and make a decision that was best for the both of them.

The ending was very sweet. Not sappy, but tender.

Overall, The Tycoon’s Revenge is the type of story that I like to see from Melody Anne. She wrote one book (Surrender (Volume 1)– a FSOG knockoff) that almost put me off of her books altogether , and then I read this one. I am a fan once again.

Surrender

Sep30

Surrender (Volume 1) ♥

Raffaello (Rafe) is looking for a mistress. He chooses his mistresses in the way most people would hire a secretary. There is an application and interview process. Arianna (Ari) is looking for a job so that she can care for her ailing mother who is in the hospital in a coma.

Rafe has decided that Ari will be his new mistress and he will stop at nothing to make sure that happens. Ari is torn morally. When she finds out what the “job” entails, she does not want to prostitute herself but she needs money to pay mounting healthcare bills. The stress of the bills and the guilt over her mother’s situation is almost too much.

At this point, I thought the premise of the book was okay. It seems to be the standard “Pretty Woman” theme. And there are valid reasons why Rafe is a heartless manipulator, unwilling to give his heart to any woman. But here is where the book’s plot began to deteriorate. Rafe lacks compassion for Ari’s situation. He exploits her attraction in order to satisfy his lust. At every opportunity, he uses his wealth and power to intimidate her. Anytime a man has to coerce a woman, it is not romantic. He might not have used brute force, but he might as well have in my opinion.

By the end of the book, there is no resolution. The cliffhanger made me question if there was a missing chapter. Two things were clear: Rafe is a Class A jerk and Ari is in a worse position.

There are two more books in the series (I did not know this was going to be THAT type of series) and I assume the characters will have a happy-ever-after by the end. I am not wasting my time to find out.

Two words: VERY DISAPPOINTED

I liked Melody Anne’s other books – Billionaire and Tycoon series. Her style seemed to be jaded-wealthy-man-finds-love-with-sincere-down-to-earth-woman with variations along that theme. This book seemed to be a 50 Shades of Gray style series. I did not have any interest in reading FSOG, nor do I want to read imitators of it. On the other hand, if you liked FSOG, then you might like Surrender (Volume 1)

Closing 2012 with THE Opinionated Woman awards

Dec31

Opinionated Woman Awards for 2012

As year 2012 comes to an end, I decided that as part of my reflection over the past year I will give awards based on categories that I chose. There are two main categories: Literary and Foodie awards. I know these awards have little significance, but since this is my blog I make the rules.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Literary Awards

Favorite author of the year – Brenda Jackson

Her books have consistency and predictability in a good way. I have liked all of her books so far. The characters were alike in many ways but different enough so it was not the retelling of the same story over and over.

Favorite book of the year – The billionaire wins the game by Melody Anne

This book is super sweet. I love the story of Amy and Lucas. They are wonderful characters and their story is heartwarming. This book has become my go to novel when I went to read something pleasant and comforting.

Favorite thriller of the year – All for one by Ryne Douglas Pearson

I had so many emotions reading this book. A bully is murdered and his victims are the suspects. Even though I wanted justice to be served, I was sympathetic to his victims and part of me did not want them to be found guilty even if they were. The author did a wonderful job of weaving an engaging story.

Hottest romance of the year – The Proposal by Brenda Jackson

It is no surprise that Jackson is bringing the heat. Jason and Bella have a super steamy romance and a wonderful story to go along with it.

Creepiest book of the year – Auld Lang Sigh by Jennifer Connor

In this story Ella and Lee hook up after she misses her bus going home. He owns a copy shop in the building where she lives. To me, he comes off like a stalker because he is super observant regarding the details of Ella’s life. He is a stranger but knows a lot about her lifestyle since he has been watching her. As he recounted many of his observations, warning bells should have been ringing in Ella’s head. Instead she sleeps with him! This is very risky behavior to me even if this is a nonsensical romance novel.

Foodie Awards

Favorite restaurant of the year – Chicago Grill

What can I say? I love the chicken Philly. The bread is wonderful, there is plenty of seasoning on the meat, and the peppers and cheese are scrumptious.

Favorite food truck of the year – Asada

Everything that I have tried from Asada has been delicious. I am following them on Facebook so that I know where they will be serving lunch when I have an opportunity to be in Greenville. And as I followed them around town, I hope that they will decide to serve empanadas that day since that is my favorite dish from their food truck.

~~~~~~~~~~

So even though it does not mean much, I congratulate all of the 2012 award winners. I look forward to trying even more things, reading more books, and sharing more opinions in 2013.

Free books can be a crap shoot

Aug29

Free Books may be a good read or a waste of time

Here are three books that I got for free and had three different reactions. Just because a book is free does not mean it is going to be cheesy, but it is definitely a chance. I have found that some books are free for the author to introduce you to their characters and sample their writing style. Other books are free because the author just decided to publish a book. They might not have edited their book or have a decent story line. But at least they can say that they have published a book!

GOOD (not really to me but you might like it): Love Me (Contemporary Romance) (Take Me) – Bella Andre

When I read this, I was not very impressed with the story. The romance seemed too contrived and I did not find the characters likable. I know that I am the first to admit that romance novels should be viewed as “contemporary fairy tales”, but even with that being said, I still cannot figure out how these characters found love. The emphasis of a romance novel should be on the fact that the characters are able to fall in love or profess their love for one another. In this book, it seems that there was too much lust confused with love. Maybe if the author developed the characters some more, it would be involve the reader more emotionally in order to understand how the characters fall in love with each other.

BETTER: The St James Sisters – Leen Elle (downloaded from Smashwords not Amazon)

There are too many sisters and not enough time to develop the story for each one of them. This book would have you believe that if a young girl spends a considerable time with any one guy, they will fall for each other. And they will be so in love that they will be willing to overcome all odds to be together.

When I chose this book, I thought the story was going to focus on one sister’s story. As you probably know from my post about Dakota Home, I don’t like it when an author tries to cram too many stories into one book.

The book was mediocre to me, but not terrible. If you are looking for something for free, check it out.

BEST: The Billionaire Wins the Game (Billionaire Bachelors – Book One)– Melody Anne

When it comes to romance novels, it is always great when there is limitless amounts of money involved. That being said, this was a sweet story even if it followed a very predictable storyline.

Super rich man and his secretary fall for each other. Sparks are ignited, but her insecurities make her think that he would not seriously consider loving her. Plus, she feels that this is a good job and she does not want mess it up by sleeping with her boss. She could put behind her the fact that she had one indiscretion, if it was not for the fact that she got pregnant. That led to a whole another set of problems. He is the consummate bachelor but knows how to face up to his responsibility. Each person had to confront their reservations about what will make the relationship work. In the end, I was rooting for both of them.

This story was fun and the characters provided me with some laugh-out-loud moments.

I am going to find the rest of Melody Anne’s books and read them. I loved this story so much. I have re-read parts of it just when I wanted to feel warm and fuzzy.