3 stars Had I read this book before the other books in the Big Bad Billionaires series, perhaps I would have liked it more. Instead, I found it really doesn’t compare to the others. All of L. Steele’s books are told in present tense, which has the benefit of pulling the reader into the story and making them feel like they are experiencing it in real time. The book starts from Sienna’s POV in first-person, but when it switches to Jace’s POV, the voice changes to third-person. Every time this happened, it jolted me out of the story. To go from a voice saying “I” this and “I” that, to one saying “he” this and “he” that is very jarring, and initially it made me go back to see if I had misread the first part. The characters are not as well-developed and the plot seems abridged. There could have been so much more. Sienna’s background is sketchy and the explanation for how she came to be adopted has some holes. There is some mention of her adoptive family and one childhood friend, but little else (no concrete memories to speak of). The reader is told how much she loves her sister Bella, but there’s never any interaction between them. The mother is a shadowy figure. The issue with Tom is never really resolved. And honestly, I’m not sure why Sienna was so bothered about a video from when she was 18 showing her topless. I mean, it’s not ideal, but it’s not devastating either. Jace’s backstory also seems inadequate to explain his relationships with his friends and family. We never really find out why he’s friends with Damian and Arpad. At one point, Damian says something in his “Texas drawl” and that threw me because I thought all of the Seven, of which Damian is a part, are British. I’m not clear on how Jace met Eric either. And does he resolve things with Asher? Asher played a big part in Jace’s development into an adult, but I feel like he needs to deal with that history (and Asher’s current actions) to be able to move one. I’d like to see another interaction with Asher before Jace heads back to the US. Overall, I felt like I was reading the surface of a story rather than getting the complete picture. I read about the characters, but I didn’t feel their emotions. Sure, I know a bit more about Sienna and Jace, and that’s useful for reading the other stories. On the other hand, I feel like I don’t really know them at all. This book doesn’t pack the emotional punch of the other books in the series (especially The Billionaire’s Christmas Bride). Secondary characters felt more like props than real people. For example, Natalie seemed to serve the sole purpose of facilitating bringing Sienna and Jace together. She was the bride-to-be and immediately glommed onto Sienna like they were best friends, and there was no evidence of other friends at the wedding. Didn’t she have bridesmaids? This could be a really good book, but it needs more development. First of all, I would change the POV to first-person and continue to switch between Sienna and Jace. Next, I would explore Sienna’s and Jace’s backgrounds, before they met each other, to explain why they are who they are and how they relate to other people in the book. Finally, I would delve into the feelings they have for one another by providing more interactions and emotional responses. We know they’ve both built up walls to protect themselves. Who hasn’t? We want to know why and how the other person helps to break down those walls. Show; don’t tell. Give the reader some credit for being able to interpret the information provided and understand the characters. December 23, 2020
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September 2022
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