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Bad Boys & Wallflowers #1.5
The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement
(This is the contemporary version of
The Wicked Wallflower
.)
The first installment of a sexy, whirlwind romance about a modern day heroine writing historical romance novels based on her romantic misadventures with the bad boy billionaire.
Jane Sparks has accidentally announced her engagement on Facebook—to the infamous Bad Boy Billionaire, Duke Austen. As soon as it’s discovered that Jane and Duke barely know each other (One hot kiss at a party does not a relationship make), she’ll be humiliated. And then Duke does something Jane never expected. He plays along with her charade.
With his hard partying, playboy reputation jeopardizing a fifty million dollar investment deal, Duke realizes an engagement with the hot but oh-so-proper librarian could be just the thing to repair his reputation. This good girl tempts him to be very wicked…but just with her. It’s unprecedented. Inconceivable. Totally alluring.
As the unlikely match of librarian and tech entrepreneur set out to convince the world—and the internet—that their love is real, something unexpected happens: they start falling for each other. But Jane is secretly writing a historical romance novel that could expose their carefully constructed romance…unless two perfect strangers are content to be perfectly scandalous together.
The first installment of a sexy, whirlwind romance about a modern day heroine writing historical romance novels based on her romantic misadventures with the bad boy billionaire.
Jane Sparks has accidentally announced her engagement on Facebook—to the infamous Bad Boy Billionaire, Duke Austen. As soon as it’s discovered that Jane and Duke barely know each other (One hot kiss at a party does not a relationship make), she’ll be humiliated. And then Duke does something Jane never expected. He plays along with her charade.
With his hard partying, playboy reputation jeopardizing a fifty million dollar investment deal, Duke realizes an engagement with the hot but oh-so-proper librarian could be just the thing to repair his reputation. This good girl tempts him to be very wicked…but just with her. It’s unprecedented. Inconceivable. Totally alluring.
As the unlikely match of librarian and tech entrepreneur set out to convince the world—and the internet—that their love is real, something unexpected happens: they start falling for each other. But Jane is secretly writing a historical romance novel that could expose their carefully constructed romance…unless two perfect strangers are content to be perfectly scandalous together.
132 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2013
34 people are currently reading
1017 people want to read
About the author
Maya Rodale
46 books1,624 followersMaya Rodale is the best-selling and award-winning author of funny, feminist fiction including historical romance, YA and historical fiction. A champion of the romance genre and its readers, she is also the author of Dangerous Books For Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels, Explained. Maya reviews romance for NPR and has appeared in Bustle, Glamour, Shondaland, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post and PBS. She began reading romance novels in college at her mother’s insistence and has never been allowed to forget it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 137 reviews
May 13, 2014
I found this as a freebie from one of the many emails I get. At first, I was excited - I've been on a romance kick lately, and I felt I needed to read something contemporary. There were so many things wrong with this that I don't even know where to start. It's sad, really, as it had so much potential. Ok, ready? Here we go with what I disliked:
1. That it was only a third of the book. When I downloaded it, I didn't realize that it was the first in the series. I'm really not liking the way authors and publishers are starting to do that. I know it's so they're hoping you'll be hooked by first installment so you'll want to read the others, but it didn't work in the case, because....
2. The writing was atrocious. I've never been one for pop culture references in my books, and the first few chapters were littered with them. Also, there was too much "OMG"s for my tastes. The editing was poor, too. On one page, it was champagne, but on the next, it was Champagne. Is it too much to ask for to get a little consistency? Also, editor, if your author is starting a sentence with a number, it's spelled out: Forty-six people, not 46 people.
3. The main character, Jane. Oh, Jane. Where to being with her? First, I'm getting irritated that whenever an author needs a shy, unassuming character, they pick librarianship as the chosen profession. AUTHORS: not all librarians are quiet, meek, stick-in-the-mud wallflowers like you portray in seriously all of your books. A lot of us are vibrant, engaging, funny, and outgoing people. Hell, some of us even have tattoos and piercings. I have been out with my coworkers where we're the loudest people in the restaurant. The way you depict librarians is demeaning, so cut it out (end rant). Also, it's weird to me that a 28 year-old professional doesn't know how to use Facebook. My grandfather can figure it out. Additionally, I didn't like how clingy Jane got towards Duke. She knew it wasn't a real engagement, yet she got very needy with him after only knowing him a week. Maybe it changes later in the series, but I wasn't impressed enough to go read those (so I guess I'll never know!).
4. The plot is unbelievable. I mean, INCREDIBLY unbelievable. We first meet our heroine at a party at the New York Public Library. Ok, I get that. Events happen at libraries. However, this seemed more like a club party than something a library will host. I've never been to New York or the New York Public Library, so maybe they do hold events like this. I was willing to dispend my belief until this: Jane enters the special collections room, and notices tons of empty glasses and drinks lying around, plus two people going at it in the stacks. No library, nowhere will EVER let this happen in their special collections room. There is a reason why those items are in that room, mainly because they are rare and fragile and shouldn't have things like alcohol or semen accidentally spilled on them! At my own library, there is a special code to get into the room. I can just imagine the higher security that NYPL would have. And then, there's this: the day after Jane meets Duke, he sends her a Facebook friend request, and then her friend changes her relationship status to engaged with this guy. I know of NO ONE who wouldn't be weirded out by something like this, especially with someone they barely met. Most guys would be like, "Bitch be crazy" and then block her as fast as possible.
I'm actually very disappointed in this, because it seemed like such a cute idea (an engagement is announced without either person really knowing each other and then romance ensues). However, I don't think it works with the technology of today. I am interested in reading the book that Jane is supposed to be writing (also by Maya Rodale) - it's a Regency novel and in it, the announcement appears in the paper without either participant knowing about it. I'll give that one a shot, but I'm done with the contemporary version.
I just read over this, and my review is almost longer than the installment I read! (I'm being facetious.)
1. That it was only a third of the book. When I downloaded it, I didn't realize that it was the first in the series. I'm really not liking the way authors and publishers are starting to do that. I know it's so they're hoping you'll be hooked by first installment so you'll want to read the others, but it didn't work in the case, because....
2. The writing was atrocious. I've never been one for pop culture references in my books, and the first few chapters were littered with them. Also, there was too much "OMG"s for my tastes. The editing was poor, too. On one page, it was champagne, but on the next, it was Champagne. Is it too much to ask for to get a little consistency? Also, editor, if your author is starting a sentence with a number, it's spelled out: Forty-six people, not 46 people.
3. The main character, Jane. Oh, Jane. Where to being with her? First, I'm getting irritated that whenever an author needs a shy, unassuming character, they pick librarianship as the chosen profession. AUTHORS: not all librarians are quiet, meek, stick-in-the-mud wallflowers like you portray in seriously all of your books. A lot of us are vibrant, engaging, funny, and outgoing people. Hell, some of us even have tattoos and piercings. I have been out with my coworkers where we're the loudest people in the restaurant. The way you depict librarians is demeaning, so cut it out (end rant). Also, it's weird to me that a 28 year-old professional doesn't know how to use Facebook. My grandfather can figure it out. Additionally, I didn't like how clingy Jane got towards Duke. She knew it wasn't a real engagement, yet she got very needy with him after only knowing him a week. Maybe it changes later in the series, but I wasn't impressed enough to go read those (so I guess I'll never know!).
4. The plot is unbelievable. I mean, INCREDIBLY unbelievable. We first meet our heroine at a party at the New York Public Library. Ok, I get that. Events happen at libraries. However, this seemed more like a club party than something a library will host. I've never been to New York or the New York Public Library, so maybe they do hold events like this. I was willing to dispend my belief until this: Jane enters the special collections room, and notices tons of empty glasses and drinks lying around, plus two people going at it in the stacks. No library, nowhere will EVER let this happen in their special collections room. There is a reason why those items are in that room, mainly because they are rare and fragile and shouldn't have things like alcohol or semen accidentally spilled on them! At my own library, there is a special code to get into the room. I can just imagine the higher security that NYPL would have. And then, there's this: the day after Jane meets Duke, he sends her a Facebook friend request, and then her friend changes her relationship status to engaged with this guy. I know of NO ONE who wouldn't be weirded out by something like this, especially with someone they barely met. Most guys would be like, "Bitch be crazy" and then block her as fast as possible.
I'm actually very disappointed in this, because it seemed like such a cute idea (an engagement is announced without either person really knowing each other and then romance ensues). However, I don't think it works with the technology of today. I am interested in reading the book that Jane is supposed to be writing (also by Maya Rodale) - it's a Regency novel and in it, the announcement appears in the paper without either participant knowing about it. I'll give that one a shot, but I'm done with the contemporary version.
I just read over this, and my review is almost longer than the installment I read! (I'm being facetious.)
November 28, 2015
Lots of people picked this one up when it was freebie but I paid full price of it. If I had read it for free, maybe I would be less ticked off, but I would still be massively irritated by this book.
Some of my ire comes from the fact that I don't really love series that follow the same couple. I misread the blurb and that is on me. However, when a series does follow the same couple, I want and HEA or HFN with each book.
This novella is just series bait. I loathe series bait. And I really hate paying good money for what is basically and ad for the rest of the series.
I have seen a lot of good buzz on Maya Rodale and thought that this novella would be a good introduction.
I love geeky heroines and librarians rock. Her sideline as a Romance Novels isn't so appealing which again is on me because clearly the whole series will focus on that aspect of her character.
I felt given the heroine's personality and even with her desire to change the sex happened way to early in this book and didn't seem to arise out of the characters.
Only getting the heroine's point of view was a really downfall as well. The hero comes off a callous. I have no idea why she would be in to him.
And then...the end. Bleh. He never gets a chance to show her his love in this novella. So. Yuck.
I don't think shall read on.
May 25, 2014
WARNING - MAJOR RANTING TO COMMENCE! I adored Jane and Duke's relationship. It started out cute and funny and turned into something real and I couldn't get enough of their story but when I got to the 82% - oh look it just ends….then you get that all too familiar little message that tells you to continue reading the series to find out what happens. This seems to be a theme with authors and publishers - shell out small snippets of stories a little at a time. As much as I really liked this story, I refuse to support this new writing style so many authors seem to have adopted.
December 26, 2013
The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement by Maya Rodale is a December 2013 Avon Impulse publication. I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Jane is a librarian and aspiring author. She has been the plain vanilla type that never took many risk and certainly was not riske'. Then she meets Duke, a tech billionaire trying to launch a new company after two previous failures. He needs to clean up his reputation as a hard partying ladies man. Jane would be the perfect woman to latch onto until this start up company gets over the first initial hurdle.
Within a blink of an eye, Jane finds herself engaged to Duke through twitter, Facebook and every other social media site there is. Her mind is always reminding her that this is just temporary and not a real engagement. Her body and her heart are telling her something else.
This novella is the first installment in the Bad Boy Billionaire series. This is a contemporary version of the historical romance " The Wicked Wallflower". I loved it! What a great idea. Jane finally steps outside her comfort zone and takes a huge risk . But what about Duke? He seems to really like Jane, but as we wait for the next installment, we are left to wonder just what Duke is up to.
This novella is well written, funny and nails the use of social media in our lives. I can't wait for the next book!
This one gets an A!
Jane is a librarian and aspiring author. She has been the plain vanilla type that never took many risk and certainly was not riske'. Then she meets Duke, a tech billionaire trying to launch a new company after two previous failures. He needs to clean up his reputation as a hard partying ladies man. Jane would be the perfect woman to latch onto until this start up company gets over the first initial hurdle.
Within a blink of an eye, Jane finds herself engaged to Duke through twitter, Facebook and every other social media site there is. Her mind is always reminding her that this is just temporary and not a real engagement. Her body and her heart are telling her something else.
This novella is the first installment in the Bad Boy Billionaire series. This is a contemporary version of the historical romance " The Wicked Wallflower". I loved it! What a great idea. Jane finally steps outside her comfort zone and takes a huge risk . But what about Duke? He seems to really like Jane, but as we wait for the next installment, we are left to wonder just what Duke is up to.
This novella is well written, funny and nails the use of social media in our lives. I can't wait for the next book!
This one gets an A!
January 27, 2015
Not so good, and yes a 100% CLIFFHANGER
Didn't really care for this and I am a HUGE Maya Rodale fan! I have read all her books except this novella trilogy. So I thought I would give it a try. It does not compare to her other books. This guy Duke is somewhat of a douche bag. I don't like him too much. The heroine is too wimpy for me and this was a total cliffhanger. I was about to give up on it when it just.....ended. So, no I won't be reading the next. I hope she sticks to historical romance. Much much better books.
Sorry Maya. I still love you though!
Didn't really care for this and I am a HUGE Maya Rodale fan! I have read all her books except this novella trilogy. So I thought I would give it a try. It does not compare to her other books. This guy Duke is somewhat of a douche bag. I don't like him too much. The heroine is too wimpy for me and this was a total cliffhanger. I was about to give up on it when it just.....ended. So, no I won't be reading the next. I hope she sticks to historical romance. Much much better books.
Sorry Maya. I still love you though!
March 7, 2018
Finally read this one of Maya Rodale's since I've been reading more contemporary romance lately and it didn't disappoint. She is SUCH a great writer - love her style, humor, characters and sexy stories. Highly recommend reading this series - it is intertwined with her Wallflower HR series which I never realized. When she tangles stories together it really is amazing.
December 10, 2017
Oh, this was better than the historical ones. Just because what she writes is so much more modern than the times it's set on. Although the story didn't really end, so I guess I have to go on to the next novella...
October 11, 2019
Nettes Intermezzo für die Wallflower-Serie, aber einer nicht abgeschlossenen Novella kann ich nicht so viel Begeisterung entgegenbringen wie ihren Romanen.
February 15, 2020
Eh, I'm just not feeling the love for this series. This is a tiny filler, so don't buy it! Get it from your library.
September 17, 2021
I love these quirky novellas and the way they connect with the Wallflowers and Bad Boys historical books. They're fun and light, but also not afraid to dig into serious topics.
It's one story spread across three parts, so I'd recommend you read them all together, or else read each installment along with the corresponding historical book, if you haven't read those.
It's one story spread across three parts, so I'd recommend you read them all together, or else read each installment along with the corresponding historical book, if you haven't read those.
January 25, 2014
My Take on this Journey:
Wicked Arrangement, by Maya Rodale, is the first segment in a 3 novella series. This is my first experience with reading one of Ms. Rodales' books and I was pleasantly surprised. The novel starts out with a punch and keeps the reader captivated from the onslaught. Jane Sparks is an assistant Librarian by day. She has been dumped by her high school boyfriend, Sam, because she is too predictable. He wants a girl that doesn't have her whole life planned out. Jane is crushed by the break up. She already had her wedding planned out on Pinterest, knew what street they would live on, which house, how many kids, and where she would work for the rest of her life.
Jane moves away from her small town, Milford, to the high life in New York City, aspiring to be a romance novelist. She is working at the public library, and rooms with her friend, Roxanna. Roxanna is a writer for Jezebel.com; a smut writer. She has all the gossip on the major players, biggest stars, and life in the fast lane. After the close of the library, a big party for the rich and famous is going to take place, and Roxanna talks Jane into going to the party. As soon as they get to the party, Jane loses sight of her friend and is on her own. She has to talk herself into belonging with this crowd at the party, putting on her black Domino mask and music filled earphones, like the rest of the crowd. She spots a gorgeous man and decides to go for it. Little does she know that the man she follows in to the quiet room is none other than the billionaire bad boy, Duke Austen.
After going into the dark room, she is mortified to hear the moans and gasps in the room. She thinks it is the stranger she followed in. She shushed the couple to her own surprise, due to the good girl conflict of working at the library, always following rules, and being so straight laced. She tries to escape the dark room without them seeing her face, on her hands and knees, when she runs into the stranger. He is completely disarming with his delectable, boy next door grin. Before Jane know's what is happening to her, the rogue has her pushed up against the stacks and fireworks start exploding! Out the door goes all convention, until a vibrating phone stops their brief but hot as hell encounter. This gives Jane some juicy ideas for her romance novel, at last.
The next day, Jane receives an invitation to her tenth high school reunion. After showing Jane a picture with a caption of Duke, Jane verifies that he is the man she was making out with the night before at the party. Her friend fixes things on Facebook to look like Jane is engaged to the billionaire bad boy, Duke, so everyone back home will think she has an exciting life, and she can save face with Sam, her ex, that is living it up. Roxanna is proud of her ingenious idea in finding Jane a hot date to the reunion, to get her retribution. To Jane's surprise, she is texted by a foreign number inviting her to the roof top bar at the Soho House to celebrate their engagement. and there starts the ever exciting fake relationship of these two unlikely characters.
Sparks fly in this arranged relationship, with fun banter, dry humor, and eventual romantic relationship. You have to read this short novella. You won't be disappointed, except with the all too soon cliffhanger. Happy Reading!!! Looking forward to the next segment, coming soon! I give Wicked Arrangement, by Maya Rodale, 4 Sparks Flying, Swoon Worthy, Hot Kisses Against Stackable Stars!!!
Wicked Arrangement, by Maya Rodale, is the first segment in a 3 novella series. This is my first experience with reading one of Ms. Rodales' books and I was pleasantly surprised. The novel starts out with a punch and keeps the reader captivated from the onslaught. Jane Sparks is an assistant Librarian by day. She has been dumped by her high school boyfriend, Sam, because she is too predictable. He wants a girl that doesn't have her whole life planned out. Jane is crushed by the break up. She already had her wedding planned out on Pinterest, knew what street they would live on, which house, how many kids, and where she would work for the rest of her life.
Jane moves away from her small town, Milford, to the high life in New York City, aspiring to be a romance novelist. She is working at the public library, and rooms with her friend, Roxanna. Roxanna is a writer for Jezebel.com; a smut writer. She has all the gossip on the major players, biggest stars, and life in the fast lane. After the close of the library, a big party for the rich and famous is going to take place, and Roxanna talks Jane into going to the party. As soon as they get to the party, Jane loses sight of her friend and is on her own. She has to talk herself into belonging with this crowd at the party, putting on her black Domino mask and music filled earphones, like the rest of the crowd. She spots a gorgeous man and decides to go for it. Little does she know that the man she follows in to the quiet room is none other than the billionaire bad boy, Duke Austen.
After going into the dark room, she is mortified to hear the moans and gasps in the room. She thinks it is the stranger she followed in. She shushed the couple to her own surprise, due to the good girl conflict of working at the library, always following rules, and being so straight laced. She tries to escape the dark room without them seeing her face, on her hands and knees, when she runs into the stranger. He is completely disarming with his delectable, boy next door grin. Before Jane know's what is happening to her, the rogue has her pushed up against the stacks and fireworks start exploding! Out the door goes all convention, until a vibrating phone stops their brief but hot as hell encounter. This gives Jane some juicy ideas for her romance novel, at last.
The next day, Jane receives an invitation to her tenth high school reunion. After showing Jane a picture with a caption of Duke, Jane verifies that he is the man she was making out with the night before at the party. Her friend fixes things on Facebook to look like Jane is engaged to the billionaire bad boy, Duke, so everyone back home will think she has an exciting life, and she can save face with Sam, her ex, that is living it up. Roxanna is proud of her ingenious idea in finding Jane a hot date to the reunion, to get her retribution. To Jane's surprise, she is texted by a foreign number inviting her to the roof top bar at the Soho House to celebrate their engagement. and there starts the ever exciting fake relationship of these two unlikely characters.
Sparks fly in this arranged relationship, with fun banter, dry humor, and eventual romantic relationship. You have to read this short novella. You won't be disappointed, except with the all too soon cliffhanger. Happy Reading!!! Looking forward to the next segment, coming soon! I give Wicked Arrangement, by Maya Rodale, 4 Sparks Flying, Swoon Worthy, Hot Kisses Against Stackable Stars!!!
December 31, 2013
A lovely romance novella, The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement was a wonderful read. I really liked this romance and I love how it connects to the historical novels in the Bad Boys and Wallflowers series. Loved it!
I really like how this series is formatted. With each historical novel in the series, there's a corresponding addition to the contemporary novella (this book). I love it. It's unique and makes the series even more fun. I can't wait to see more of it!
Both Jane and Duke were lovely character. Jane was a quiet type, but don't mistake that for meek, because she had a backbone of steel. Not even a handsome billionaire could push her around. Duke was also great. A bit blind to what was in front of him, but, hopefully, that will be solved in later installments. But, for the most part, he was great.
The romance was lovely. Since this novella is only the start to their story, we only get the beginning roots of their relationship, and I really liked how it was done. They were sweet together, despite how adamant they both were to deny their feelings. And the chemistry was super hot. Those sparks were flying from the moment they met.
The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through. As I said before, I really liked the parallel, especially because I loved The Wicked Wallflower. I really enjoyed the story and the ending has me itching for more.
The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement was a fantastic romance novella. I really loved it. Romance lovers, this novella (and the whole series in general) is a must read.
*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
I really like how this series is formatted. With each historical novel in the series, there's a corresponding addition to the contemporary novella (this book). I love it. It's unique and makes the series even more fun. I can't wait to see more of it!
Both Jane and Duke were lovely character. Jane was a quiet type, but don't mistake that for meek, because she had a backbone of steel. Not even a handsome billionaire could push her around. Duke was also great. A bit blind to what was in front of him, but, hopefully, that will be solved in later installments. But, for the most part, he was great.
The romance was lovely. Since this novella is only the start to their story, we only get the beginning roots of their relationship, and I really liked how it was done. They were sweet together, despite how adamant they both were to deny their feelings. And the chemistry was super hot. Those sparks were flying from the moment they met.
The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through. As I said before, I really liked the parallel, especially because I loved The Wicked Wallflower. I really enjoyed the story and the ending has me itching for more.
The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement was a fantastic romance novella. I really loved it. Romance lovers, this novella (and the whole series in general) is a must read.
*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
November 11, 2014
Why I Choose this Book: Everyone kept telling me that I had to read a Maya Rodale novel, so when this was a freebie I grabbed it off Amazon.
Short and Sweet Summary: Good girl Jane meet bad boy Duke at a party. A joke social media posting by Jane’s friend leads to a faux engagement so that Duke, who has suffered two previous business failures; can get funding for his current venture.
The Courtship: Hey if it’s posted on Facebook and Twitter it has to be true, right??
What I Liked: The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement is a well written, funny novella. I’m a sucker for when the plain, smart girl gets the superhot bad boy and Duke is definitely one of those. Jane is extremely likeable and the two characters balance each other perfectly. However, Duke is in the relationship for the short term; while Jane tells herself she is but you can tell her heart is falling for the long term plan.
What I Didn’t Like: The novella’s of Bad Boys & Wallflowers are all installment novels which I didn’t know going into it. So although the story did “wrap up” the happy ever after that I was wanting with a romance novel just wasn’t there.
The Recap: The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement is a well written, funny novella and I can’t wait to read the next two installments which have a fun twist that I wasn’t anticipating in them.
Short and Sweet Summary: Good girl Jane meet bad boy Duke at a party. A joke social media posting by Jane’s friend leads to a faux engagement so that Duke, who has suffered two previous business failures; can get funding for his current venture.
The Courtship: Hey if it’s posted on Facebook and Twitter it has to be true, right??
What I Liked: The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement is a well written, funny novella. I’m a sucker for when the plain, smart girl gets the superhot bad boy and Duke is definitely one of those. Jane is extremely likeable and the two characters balance each other perfectly. However, Duke is in the relationship for the short term; while Jane tells herself she is but you can tell her heart is falling for the long term plan.
What I Didn’t Like: The novella’s of Bad Boys & Wallflowers are all installment novels which I didn’t know going into it. So although the story did “wrap up” the happy ever after that I was wanting with a romance novel just wasn’t there.
The Recap: The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement is a well written, funny novella and I can’t wait to read the next two installments which have a fun twist that I wasn’t anticipating in them.
May 25, 2014
Review for the story: The romance is fluffy, brainless fun. But like waking from a dream, if you stop for one second to think about the logic, it completely falls apart. The logic of the characters' actions... is pretty terrible. How did they explain the proposal video coming after the Facebook status change? If their relationship was secret, why was Duke tagged in Jane's fake tweets? And Duke must have a ton of longtime Twitter followers - wouldn't they know who that backdated ones were fake? I'm not a big Foursquare user, but do people really check in when they go to work? The tech stuff is pretty in-your-face - which makes the fumbles and errors more glaring.
Review for the format: Total fail. I was tempted to give this "novella" one star on principle alone. If it's a teaser (for two different books, in this case) and only one third of a book, PLEASE LABEL IT AS SUCH. Some people would be fine with it. But don't snooker readers into thinking they're going to get a complete story, only to end with an advertisement and a hand out for more money. That just pisses me off.
Review for the format: Total fail. I was tempted to give this "novella" one star on principle alone. If it's a teaser (for two different books, in this case) and only one third of a book, PLEASE LABEL IT AS SUCH. Some people would be fine with it. But don't snooker readers into thinking they're going to get a complete story, only to end with an advertisement and a hand out for more money. That just pisses me off.
December 25, 2013
Note: this was an advanced review copy (ARC) provided by the author so page references may differ. I will read anything that Maya Rodale writes even if I haven’t yet read everything she has written. I just love her voice. The way she pulls me into a story, I can’t stop reading. It’s an addiction. Her stories are fun, funny, charming, poignant, and real.
And have you seen her absolutely gorgeous web site? Even her author newsletters are fabulous with clever interesting articles on her research, her favorite books, and my favorite: championing the romance genre. She wrote her master’s thesis on the topic as well in Dangerous Books for Girls, and the bad reputation of the romance genre as it relates to women and reading choices. For my full review on my blog: http://bit.ly/19gsXx4
And have you seen her absolutely gorgeous web site? Even her author newsletters are fabulous with clever interesting articles on her research, her favorite books, and my favorite: championing the romance genre. She wrote her master’s thesis on the topic as well in Dangerous Books for Girls, and the bad reputation of the romance genre as it relates to women and reading choices. For my full review on my blog: http://bit.ly/19gsXx4
December 31, 2013
Had I known this was a story being told in three novellas, and installment series if you will, I would have waited to read this one until they were all complete and read them in a single go. Frustrating to say the least. Installment stories are simply not my cup of tea. That having been said, the premise was a good one and a nice counterpoint to the historical version by the same author. The grasp of San Francisco startup culture, technology, and investment culture is really stunningly spot on. And the javascript is good too. I'll wait until the installments are done before continuing to read though.
February 1, 2014
Jane Sparks could be described as boring, safe, and prim. If the thoughts that crossed her mind played out she would be anything but. When she meets Bad Boy Duke Austen in an embarrassing way,s he figures she can cut her losses it's not like she will ever see her again. That is until a joking roommate updates her facebook status and she finds herself engaged (pretend) to none other than Duke.
Fun quick read, Jane is trying to get over being dumped by the love of her life. Duke needs to show he is everything he is not, that is why he needs Jane. Wallflower meets badboy and everything is about to get shaken up. If your looking for a sassy fun, this a book for you.
Fun quick read, Jane is trying to get over being dumped by the love of her life. Duke needs to show he is everything he is not, that is why he needs Jane. Wallflower meets badboy and everything is about to get shaken up. If your looking for a sassy fun, this a book for you.
January 4, 2014
I hate that the story was cut off and it's going to be continued in another book. I liked this book. And I knew that The fortune games were based on The hunger games! I can't wait to see what's next!
tbr-later
November 5, 20155 May 2014: $0.00 FREE on Kindle
November 30, 2015
A bit unrealistic, and yet, I couldn't stop reading.
February 8, 2021
Sweet, Witty and Sexy…
Regency Era and Modern Day meet in a romance series featuring dashing rogues and the wallflowers who love them.
Librarian Jane finds herself engaged via Facebook Status Update to a man to whom she has yet to be properly introduced – the wickedly arrogant and devastatingly sexy tech bad-boy billionaire Duke Austen.
What starts out as pretend soon becomes more unaccountably real than anything that either of them have known before...
Regency Era and Modern Day meet in a romance series featuring dashing rogues and the wallflowers who love them.
Librarian Jane finds herself engaged via Facebook Status Update to a man to whom she has yet to be properly introduced – the wickedly arrogant and devastatingly sexy tech bad-boy billionaire Duke Austen.
What starts out as pretend soon becomes more unaccountably real than anything that either of them have known before...
~ Deanaera's Bloggy Book Bites
August 9, 2017
First story on the contemporary side of this series. I found Jane and Duke rather ridiculous. Stretches my capacity to suspend disbelief on their whirlwind "romance", real or pretend. Any book with "billionaire" in the title makes me cringe a little. Such a cheesy, overused genre cliche. I was however entertained by the idea that Duke's team of tech geniuses could backdate and document a faux five month dating relationship across social media in just a few hours. I do still like the premise of the contemporary story influencing the companion historical romances (although the order is backwards), and I plan to continue reading the entire series.
June 15, 2020
I loved the whole series. I like these geek type romances. Both Jane and Duke are very smart and likeable characters. I also like that Duke is not the extravagant, too successful and infallible cliche of a billionaire bachelor. Apart from surrounding himself with models and partying he dresses very Silicon Valley like and his apartment has minimalistic decor. Also the failure of his first two start ups makes him more relatable and human.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2019
I hate serials
Huge disappointment, I feel cheated. Where was the warning? You are not getting a story worth your time. The author created an incomplete product hoping to lure you away from your money. I feel cheated and I refuse to reward the author by buying an incomplete product. I want to buy the whole story. If I wanted a serial I would subscribe to a magazine.
Huge disappointment, I feel cheated. Where was the warning? You are not getting a story worth your time. The author created an incomplete product hoping to lure you away from your money. I feel cheated and I refuse to reward the author by buying an incomplete product. I want to buy the whole story. If I wanted a serial I would subscribe to a magazine.
Read
July 14, 2019I am not going to rate this book. I didn’t realize it was a novella and I also didn’t know it was only a 1/3 of the story. I liked it. But I felt cheated. I haven’t decided if I am gonna read the other two. I don’t want to pay for them and they aren’t available at the library. I may just have to wait.
January 26, 2021
2.5 stars. I thought this was a cute companion to the first book in the series; a contemporary retelling of the historical romance story. However, this novella isn't written/edited as tightly so it's more distracting to read. Also, it's the same couple through the novellas instead of friends like in the historical full-length novels in the series. That's really disappointing.
June 5, 2017
Was not aware that this was only the first part of 3 when I started it so glad all 3 books were already out so I could read them all without having to wait. Liked the story read the regency version first so it was fun to see a modern day take on it.
February 24, 2018
Yeah, nope. Glad I picked this up as a freebie. Kind of an editorial disaster halfway through. It seemed like the editor just stopped caring. Then the story ends abruptly on a sour note. So, yeah...
June 4, 2018
I love that this is technically the same universe as the Wallflowers series. Really fun novella.
August 14, 2019
Very cute, but predictable. One star because I hate books that sucker you in after a hundred pages and just stop. Tell me the story already. Ugh!
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