Red Flag relationship

What was most disappointing about Melody Anne’s story?

The relationship between the main character and her love interest was extremely abusive while trying to say "his good family loves her so it's not that bad." and "but he has a soft side so it's okay". He is colored as having control issues, and she is obviously damaged from her past with an abusive mother and then foster care. Boss and assistant are attracted to each other and slip and have a one-night-stand. Whoops! No surprise there. And, of course, she's a virgin. But when she winds up pregnant, he lords it over her, threatening to take the baby if she doesn't do as he says. She believes he can do it because his family is very wealthy and can hire better lawyers showing that they would be able to raise the child better. She finds herself swept into a marriage she didn't want, living in a house she didn't choose, suddenly leaving her job (independence and self reliance had been important to her before) all because they got careless and she got knocked up. Their relationship was full of red flags and the cycle of abuse as they welcome a baby into the world. A relationship that was only started because his parents wanted a passel of grandbabies, so they're happy for the pregnancy and support his strong-arming her into marriage.

7 people found this helpful

So much wrong, I don’t know where to begin

But I will begin by saying that I had just finished another poorly written romance and I had no patience for Melody Anne’s unskilled writing - read by untalented narrator. I turned it off in less than a half hour, but before I returned the book I re-read the Audible description that had enticed me to buy this title in the first place. The expectation of a warm family and playful banter between brothers sounded charming, so I waited a week and gave the book another chance.

The story, the writing and the characters were so devoid of complexity that I was able to listen to the book and consider what to say in this review – simultaneously.

Melody Anne’s editor was really laying down on the job. Not only did the editor not demand competent storytelling from the author, he choose to indulge the fantasy of a woman whose only encounter with real life could only have been in the pages of bad romance novels.

I mean, HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD THE TERM “SEXUAL HARRASSMENT”? It was ridiculous! The author was trying so hard to find a way that these characters could have a passionate one-night-stand so her heroine could get pregnant that she totally exposed the fact that she has never had a job outside of her home. I kept wondering what decade this book was written in. They drove hybrid cars and had GPS navigation, but how could anyone in a post Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill America think that the CEO of a major company would EVER force himself on an employee on the street, insist that she get into his car and regularly push his way into her apartment!?! Ridiculous! And the idea that Amy would not have hauled out the threat of reporting Lucas for sexual harassment the first time he made a move is equally implausible.

The characters were annoying and one-dimensional. Amy was inconsistent: competent in some moments and incapable in others. Lucas was just an asinine, bossy, demanding, bully who ignored the word “no”.

The author did not use all of the tools in a writers’ toolbox to craft these characters. When she could have used dialogue to allow the characters to reveal themselves to each other and to the reader, she relied on telling us what the person was thinking and how their background had shaped their perceptions. When she could have allowed other characters to make observations about Lucas or Amy as a way of giving them more depth and interest, she just had Lucas repeat (ad nauseam) the same thoughts about how all women wanted to take advantage of the Anderson money – or Amy agonize that luck was never on her side and how ashamed she was of her apartment, her clothes and her reliance on public transportation.

Then, out of the blue, Ms. Anne would toss out an extraneous tidbit that she must have thought would make her characters more likable. For example, driving through Amy’s neighborhood has Lucas thinking about the under-privileged, so he reminded himself to do more charity work. Pa-lease! At least have that thought lead to action if you want to make an impression on the reader!

And she did not trust the reader to get the motives behind the characters’ actions. She made sure to tell us tell us what we were supposed to figure out. Lucas’ brother meets Amy for the first time and takes her into his arms for a big kiss. Miss Anne does us the favor of telling us that the brother does this “to push Lucas’ buttons”. Thank you. I’d never have known!

And the sex scenes? I mean really. A total disconnect between the characters she describes and the way the scenes play out. Hey, here is a good one. Lucas rips her skimpy towel off, throws her on the bed, is ready to drive himself into her….but he decides to take a minute to make sure she is ready because he wants to make sure she remembers him for the rest of her life.

Oh, and in the last five minutes Ms. Anne introduces a whole family of new characters: Joseph’s twin brother, his wife and children. The last five minutes of the book is not about the drama and characters we have just devoted seven hours to, it is about people we do not know!

But believe it or not, the writing was not the worst part. That would have to be Lily Swan’s narration!

Swan was totally unsuccessful at creating distinct characters and her voices did not fit the people. At one point early in the story a new character was introduced with a voice that had the affected diction of an entitled high-society diva, impeccably dressed in designer clothing and dripping with diamonds. I did a double take when I realized the voice was supposed to be male, and then I shook my head in disbelief that it was supposed to be the voice of the male lead!

Maybe it was because she did not have much story to work with, but Ms. Swan’s pacing and inflection did not ever help build any excitement or create any tension. She did not seem to be moved by what she was reading, so it made it hard for me to be moved by what she was reading.

Audible’s form is set up so that I have to give this book at least one star, but I sure don’t have to buy the next book in the series! I went so far as to read the blurb on The Billionaire’s Dance and I see that the story line is stolen from another bad book I listened to a couple of years ago. Ridiculous.

10 people found this helpful

Completely predictable...

Think about every cliche you've ever read about in romance novels and this one has it. It's so predictable and boring that I can't believe I manage to finish it. Young woman who's a virgin comes to work for handsome billionaire. They fall in lust at first sight. They have sex once without protection and obviously she gets pregnant. Add a medling billionaire father in law that has made his life's mission to make his sons marry and give him grand babies and you have a predictable fluff... With a happily ever after. An average unremarkable narration does not really redeem this story. Skip this one...

14 people found this helpful

drivel

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I can't imagine anyone with a brain enjoying this. I am pretty sure my IQ. Dropped 20 points

Would you ever listen to anything by Melody Anne again?

No

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Lilly Swan?

Not sure, but I didn't enjoy her breathy performance

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No

Any additional comments?

Don't waste your time

3 people found this helpful

Could have been better

The story could have been good and a good series. But when the leading man is extremely unlikable and the leading woman sounds like an complete idiot, it was hard to finish listening. The other characters were likable, which made me finish the book. Not sure if will purchase the rest of the stories.

2 people found this helpful

Huge eye roll

Annoyingly fluffy and predictable. It was really hard for me to finish listening. I would usually return one this cheesy.

2 people found this helpful

Enjoyable Characters! Great Read!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Billionaire Wins the Game to be better than the print version?

Unless the narrator's voice doesn't agree with me - I usually enjoy the audio version of most books. This one is no different. I love the emotion that Ms. Swan brings to the book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Billionaire Wins the Game?

I think one of the most memorable moments in the book was when Lucas finally realizes that Amy is not after his money and he goes after her.

Have you listened to any of Lilly Swan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I love to listen to Lilly Swan. She has a great voice and is great with narration.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book had a lot of ups and downs. You learn to love Joseph and his family..they make you smile and laugh. Lucas was frustrating at times and he could be very upsetting when dealing with Amy.

5 people found this helpful

Cute and Sweet love story.

A sweet little love story and not to much not to little. Short and sweet read.

3 people found this helpful

Hokey

What high performing college grad sounds so oblivious to how a corporation works. Who would be hokey enough to ask "How can one man handle it all" with her level of education. Who compares Bill Gates Billions to Trump Billions as a business major. You'd know better. Just unbelievable. I could barely get passed the first chapter. I'm disappointed because I enjoyed past books by the author. But this was very disappointing.

Wonderful

So enjoyable great story love that Joseph what a great man to have in your life the family was fun and of course the couple having up