A review by yvo_about_books
Stone Broke Heiress by Danielle Owen-Jones

4.0

Finished reading: March 4th 2022

"The whiff of his aftershave, combined with a tinge of smelly bin juice, fills the air as we roll away into the night, like a budget Bonnie and Clyde."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

Spoiler

There was just something about the blurb of this inverted rags to riches story that caught my attention immediately, and I knew straight away that I HAD to add Stone Broke Heiress to my list. The promise of a fun romcom had me very excited to finally pick up this title, and I'm happy to say that I ended up having a great time with it. While there are some heavier moments I didn't expect and some elements I never enjoy (cheating/love triangle), as a whole Stone Broke Heiress turned out to be a more than solid and hilarious debut.

The main focus is on Bella Whittington and how she goes from a millionaire heiress of a soup empire to being almost completely broke and jobless. While it took me some time to warm up to her, once things started going south for her everything improved drastically storywise. Talk about irony! Having Bella suddenly having to experience 'ordinary' life and her having no clue for example how to clean or use public transport results in some very hilarious situations... It is this riches to rags element that results in the majority of the humor of this story. That said, I also really liked the development and growth of Bella's character as a whole. The rest of the cast is great too, and I always love it when a dog plays such a big role in a story.

It isn't all roses and sunshine in Stone Broke Heiress, as there is also a focus on animal cruelty, activism, veganism, homelessness and addiction among other things. These elements are well balanced with lighter and fun moments, so as a whole this story can still be considered an uplifting read. I do have to warn that Stone Broke Heiress also includes a cheating/love triangle element; a major pet peeve and something I never enjoy... Thankfully, there were a lot of other things to distract you from it though.

The writing itself makes it really easy to keep turning those pages, and as a whole there is no doubt that this is a very engaging, fun and entertaining romcom. Stone Broke Heiress mixes more serious topics with lighter moments, and the romance itself is great too. All in all definitely recommended if you enjoy the genre.

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