lj_maney's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
iggyebab's review
3.0
A story of revenge and unexpected connection. Both of the main characters are fine. The story was good. It is not one I’ll remember but it is a good story.
mandy_pandy's review
5.0
Lucas Oliver has a plan. He is going to get revenge on the man who ruined his life 15 years ago. He has to use Sydney, the beautiful daughter of his enemy, to get his revenge. Sydney has always been controlled, from put-downs about her weight or wild hair, to marrying a man she doesn't love to help save her fathers business, she is used to sacrificing herself for those she loves. What should have been a simple bachelor auction where she was going to bid on her fiance, ends up with the wrong man and being blackmailed into a marriage she doesn't want.
I LOVED this story! Revenge themed romances are a weak spot for me and this is one of the best I have read. Lucas has his reasons for seeking revenge and after reading his story, I understand why he was willing to do whatever he had to do to get revenge. Sydney was a wonderful heroine. She's kind and sweet but also grows throughout this story into a strong, self-assured woman. The chemistry and sexual tension between these two characters was amazing - it sucked me in from the very beginning and built throughout the whole book. This is the first book I have read by this author but I can't wait to read more! Fantastic!!!!
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
I LOVED this story! Revenge themed romances are a weak spot for me and this is one of the best I have read. Lucas has his reasons for seeking revenge and after reading his story, I understand why he was willing to do whatever he had to do to get revenge. Sydney was a wonderful heroine. She's kind and sweet but also grows throughout this story into a strong, self-assured woman. The chemistry and sexual tension between these two characters was amazing - it sucked me in from the very beginning and built throughout the whole book. This is the first book I have read by this author but I can't wait to read more! Fantastic!!!!
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
readers_together's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
voracious_book_addict's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
2.75 Stars, I struggled through the audio for this beauty and the beast retelling. The story was challenging for me to get into, felt slow in some places and like it sped through the story in others. i didn't know until half way through the book that the heroine was black, I wish this was a more defined part of the story and her character. The word voracious was used frequently in the book, which began to feel repetitive. This was the book club book for April and i think I might have enjoyed it more if I had read it several years ago, having read a variety of beauty and the beast retellings, this one was a nice introduction to the trope, but doesn't stand out to me.
stephsromancebooktalk's review
4.0
4.25 Stars / 3.5 Steam Fans
Video review available in Week 51: Dec 13 – Dec 19 weekly book reviews.
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Video review available in Week 51: Dec 13 – Dec 19 weekly book reviews.
For other video book reviews, check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.
tawnyad2004's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know where to start with this honestly. I liked the book. It was ok. I had some issues with it though. Lucas blackmails Sydney to marry him. Legit blackmails. She marries him and then shortly into the marriage falls madly in love with him.....how? How in the world could you fall in love with a man who blackmailed you to marry him and hated your father. I just couldnt buy that. Honestly that alone almost had me mark this as 2 stars. Also for my personal taste it felt like most of the love was actually lust. I mean there were a BUNCH of sex scenes. However I did enjoy the writing and the characters. Hence the 3 stars instead of 2. I will probably give book 2 a try and see if I continue with the series.
storieswithsoul's review against another edition
5.0
It is a contemporary romance novel. I loved the story line and characters as well. It was quite interesting and chemistry between Sydney and Lucas was off-the-charts, which is a definite plus.
Sydney doesn't think of herself as a perfect daughter but she tries her best. Even then her parents are never happy with her. She knows that her parents may not love her the way she wants but she loves them and that is enough to garner family loyalty. For them she is willing to marry someone she doesn't love. At least Tyler respects her and they have friendship. Then Lucas come along. With his plans of revenge and it seems that Sydney is going to be a pawn in his grand scheme.
Lucas has lived his life in hatred and all he has ever wanted is to destroy one person who is responsible for the destruction of his family and his happiness. he doesn't care about methods he might have to use in order to accomplish that, after all "the only way to fight is dirty." What he didn't count on was the feelings which Sydney aroused in him. He wanted to protect her rather than hurt. But will that be enough to move him, to make him forgo his revenge, let go of the past and move on with his life with Sydney.
Sydney doesn't think of herself as a perfect daughter but she tries her best. Even then her parents are never happy with her. She knows that her parents may not love her the way she wants but she loves them and that is enough to garner family loyalty. For them she is willing to marry someone she doesn't love. At least Tyler respects her and they have friendship. Then Lucas come along. With his plans of revenge and it seems that Sydney is going to be a pawn in his grand scheme.
Lucas has lived his life in hatred and all he has ever wanted is to destroy one person who is responsible for the destruction of his family and his happiness. he doesn't care about methods he might have to use in order to accomplish that, after all "the only way to fight is dirty." What he didn't count on was the feelings which Sydney aroused in him. He wanted to protect her rather than hurt. But will that be enough to move him, to make him forgo his revenge, let go of the past and move on with his life with Sydney.
bananatricky's review against another edition
4.0
Three and a half stars.
Lucas Oliver has overcome his less than privileged upbringing and become a self-made man. With his big build, ruthless business approach and scar under his eye people refer to him as the Beast of Bay Bridge Industries (his business). However, what really drives Lucas is his hatred of Jason Blake, the man who was in business with his father but then took advantage of him and whose actions led to his father's death. Lucas has the perfect plan to destroy Jason, trick his daughter into bidding on him in the bachelor auction and then blackmail her into marrying him to stop Jason covering up his falsification of the company's results in the merger with Sydney's fiancée's firm, before exposing Jason's dodgy dealings to the Feds.
Sydney Blake is Jason's only daughter. She has spent practically her entire life atoning for her actions which led to the death of her adored younger brother. She does everything she can to appease her parents but it never seems to be enough. She is too voluptuous, her hair is too unruly, she doesn't support the right charities. She is engaged to the son of potential business partner of her father's until she bids on the wrong man at a charity bachelor auction.
This felt like an homage to the old school revenge romances that I used to read when I was a teenager. Lucas executes his ruthless plan but then finds that Sydney is not the vapid, shallow society woman he was expecting, instead he feels the need to protect her from her mother's venom and her father's expectations. Sydney thinks of herself as the sacrifice to save her family but soon comes to fall in love with her scarred husband (Beauty and The Beast, of course).
I just really liked this, it was a bit retro but there's nothing wrong with that. My only gripe is that I am pretty sure that Lucas amassing 46% of the shares of a public company through companies controlled by him could not be done without him falling foul of Stock Exchange laws. In the UK any shareholding of 3% or more in a publicly listed company must be notified to the Stock Exchange and every 1% change must also be notified (I Googled it). The laws in the US may well be different but I can't believe his actions weren't in contravention of US Stock Exchange rules. Anyway, nerd alert over.
I will definitely look for other books by Naima Simone.
Lucas Oliver has overcome his less than privileged upbringing and become a self-made man. With his big build, ruthless business approach and scar under his eye people refer to him as the Beast of Bay Bridge Industries (his business). However, what really drives Lucas is his hatred of Jason Blake, the man who was in business with his father but then took advantage of him and whose actions led to his father's death. Lucas has the perfect plan to destroy Jason, trick his daughter into bidding on him in the bachelor auction and then blackmail her into marrying him to stop Jason covering up his falsification of the company's results in the merger with Sydney's fiancée's firm, before exposing Jason's dodgy dealings to the Feds.
Sydney Blake is Jason's only daughter. She has spent practically her entire life atoning for her actions which led to the death of her adored younger brother. She does everything she can to appease her parents but it never seems to be enough. She is too voluptuous, her hair is too unruly, she doesn't support the right charities. She is engaged to the son of potential business partner of her father's until she bids on the wrong man at a charity bachelor auction.
This felt like an homage to the old school revenge romances that I used to read when I was a teenager. Lucas executes his ruthless plan but then finds that Sydney is not the vapid, shallow society woman he was expecting, instead he feels the need to protect her from her mother's venom and her father's expectations. Sydney thinks of herself as the sacrifice to save her family but soon comes to fall in love with her scarred husband (Beauty and The Beast, of course).
I just really liked this, it was a bit retro but there's nothing wrong with that. My only gripe is that I am pretty sure that Lucas amassing 46% of the shares of a public company through companies controlled by him could not be done without him falling foul of Stock Exchange laws. In the UK any shareholding of 3% or more in a publicly listed company must be notified to the Stock Exchange and every 1% change must also be notified (I Googled it). The laws in the US may well be different but I can't believe his actions weren't in contravention of US Stock Exchange rules. Anyway, nerd alert over.
I will definitely look for other books by Naima Simone.
morebookspleaseblog's review against another edition
5.0
Well... So a little misguidance can go a long way! When Sydney attends a function with her family, it's completely innocent. She's to bid on her fiancé and her life will go on... being average; which is the best she can hope for when she does everything her family tells her and expects of her. She places her bid, only it's not her fiancé... it's Lucas, who's hell bent on destroying her father as he destroyed his. The best way to destroy Sydney's father, Jason... use Sydney. But you know what they say about best laid plans! There was romance, humor, angst, and drama. I loved every second of this. It left me clutching my pearls at times, and at other times wanting to hold Lucas. This is a book I could read over and over.